what counts as clinical experience?

[Avenue Q]

Hi. So I'm wondering what counts as a competitive amount of clinical experience?

I have volunteered in a hospital in high school (visiting patients), I have worked at blood drives in college, I have shadowed a pediatric resident (only 1 day), and am currently doing research with involves an extensive amount of observation in a pediatric orthopedic department in Vietnam (8 hours a day for 2 weeks) including scrubbing in on surgeries.

I am worried that next semester I will not be able to volunteer in a hospital, although I really want to.

I may want to spend this summer working at a camp for critically ill kids - does that count?

Sould I try to work out working in a hospital for next semester when I return to the US?

If all you are doing is hanging out with kids in the play room, how is the clinical experience?

Thanks guys.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MoosePilot]

If you're applying vs. AMCAS, remember anything in High School doesn't count.

 

[whattodowithmys]

bumpin

 

[vtucci]

For what it is worth....

I would recommend becomming an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and volunteering with a rescue squad. I would also recommend becoming a CPR instructor.

Hospital experience may or may not be clinical depending on what you do. For example, I have clinical research experience at a hospital but that did not count for strictly clinical for the USUHS.

If you are going to be working with critically ill children, it will depend on what you can do.

At the blood bank, did you draw the blood? phlebotomy is certainly clinical experience.

The Vietnam experience should certainly count. Shadowing, although useful to show dedication, will likely not.

High school will not work-- you need to show recent experience.

Good luck!

 

[45408]

What is clinical experience?

If you have to ask......it's probably not.

 

[wonderkid]

listen. you dont do clinical experience just for the application. becoming a dr. is very hard. you have to shadow a dr for a while and see what they do. is that really what you want to do? observe their schedule too, their free time, family life, etc. med school isnt that fun. its a long road. if i were to sit on the adcom ide want to make sure the applicant knows what he/she is getting into. think about that.

 

[Avenue Q]

listen. you dont do clinical experience just for the application. becoming a dr. is very hard. you have to shadow a dr for a while and see what they do. is that really what you want to do? observe their schedule too, their free time, family life, etc. med school isnt that fun. its a long road. if i were to sit on the adcom ide want to make sure the applicant knows what he/she is getting into. think about that.

By the way, I left out spending this past summer working in the surgical recovery room at Planned Parenthood.

I completely agree wtih you wonderkid. My problem is that I have a TON of undocumentable experiences. I have been surrounded by doctors and hospitals my whole life, but it terms of things I can write down on a list, it's less clear. I'm a rape counselor, and I've held someone's hand while they have gotten a rape kit done, but that doesn't "count" as far as I know.

That's what I was concerned about. I want to make sure that written on a form I look like I have enough, so that when I go into an interview I can talk about all of the millions of other things I have seen and done and experiences that has made me want to be a doctor, even know what it entails.

 

[MedPuck]

Don't worry about labeling your experiences as "Clinical". You have had a depth of experience interacting and assisting people in the health care setting which goes very far with adcoms because it shows your desire to serve. Do not try to pad your resume with meaningless experiences that you think will look good on your app. The adcom will see through you if you pursue this route. Continue serving because you enjoy serving. There are countless ways to make yourself competitive and no one formula gets you into school. Relax and enjoy your pre-medical years!

 

[45408]

Don't worry about labeling your experiences as "Clinical". You have had a depth of experience interacting and assisting people in the health care setting which goes very far with adcoms because it shows your desire to serve.

Those are things that I would call clinical experiences. 😉 I personally think that Embily123 will have plenty of opportunity to share what s/he's done working with rape victims, if properly addressed, that would definitely show a positive side to an adcom.

 

[kenmc3]

The most important clinical experience is that which can demonstrate (through your AMCAS app, LOR’s, personal statement, and interview) that you understand what a doctor does, what their life is like, and what it is about that life that makes you want to be a physician. So, becoming an EMT while helpful is not going to help you solve this problem because that’s not what physicians do. My opinion is: Shadow and develop meaningful relationships with physicians and volunteer in departments where you see physicians in action like the ER.

 

[45408]

The most important clinical experience is that which can demonstrate (through your AMCAS app, LOR’s, personal statement, and interview) that you understand what a doctor does, what their life is like, and what it is about that life that makes you want to be a physician. So, becoming an EMT while helpful is not going to help you solve this problem because that’s not what physicians do. My opinion is: Shadow and develop meaningful relationships with physicians and volunteer in departments where you see physicians in action like the ER.

But on the other hand, if you're just watching the doctors, you're not getting much, if any hand-on work with patients. A lot of ER volunteers might not get to watch the doctors do much if they're busy re-stocking everything. I do work as an EMT, but I also shadow physicians/surgeons when I get the chance. Like you said though, the goal of all of this is to see if this is really what you want to be doing and express that you know what you're getting into.

 

[Bones2008]

I would recommend becomming an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and volunteering with a rescue squad. I would also recommend becoming a CPR instructor.

You don't need to do this. Out of my class of 170 I know one person who has this kind of background. It certainly wouldn't hurt, but don't feel like this is even close to mandatory.