Hi, I'm an canadian/international student applying to USMD this cycle. I have already applied but I still want an honest feedback on my clinical hours, so perhaps I can start to prepare my gap years if I have no chance. I tried my best with my application, but as an international student I feel like I really need to be at the top in order to get accepted.
Here are my clinical experience:
- I worked as a testing assistant at my school's hospital during freshman year (two semesters). I administered clinical testing on patients. Total around 400 hours, but only ~50 hours are actual testing. The rest of the time I'm entering patient information and organizing patient files.
- I volunteered 93 hours at a COVID-19 testing site May-June. The site is a primary care clinic with a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and physician assistants.
Not clinical experience, but related and hopefully can make up some of my shortcoming?
- I worked as an editorial associate at a medical journal in a specific speciality. It's my main commitment (>1500 hrs). I work with physicians everyday communicating on matters about their schedule, reviewing, and publishing. I worked with more than forty editors (mostly physicians) so far and administered... a lot... of manuscripts.
- Due to my work at the medical journal, the head of the journal (a physician) wrote me a LOR.
- I volunteered at a homeless shelter helping homeless individuals getting the personal hygiene products they need. I volunteered there since I came to the U.S. and have around 85 hours.
- I volunteered at a correctional facility delivering health-related workshops to the inmates before COVID ended everything (~30 hours). Afterward, I successfully advocated for changes in the correctional facility to protect the inmates health against COVID-19 (through the connection and the guidance of the nursing professor that leads the project).
After all, when I look at my application, there is not much traditional clinical exposure, especially on shadowing (none). I didn't start to use SDN until the past few months, but I get a sense from the community that no shadowing is a big red flag, especially when one don't have enough clinical hours. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
