What did you do for clinical/research experience?

[MorganMuscles]

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What have you done (or planning to do) for clinical and/or research experience?

 

[Siggy]

Clinical: Volunteer at local hospital (CCE's unite)
EMT-B


Research: None yet, I need to apply to some more...

 

[bluejellybelly]

Clinical: Volunteer at local hospital (CCE's unite)
EMT-B

Does volunteering at local hospitals count as clinical? Even as an emt? I
didn;t think research was anything other than research...

 

[OSUdoc08]

Does volunteering at local hospitals count as clinical? Even as an emt? I
didn;t think research was anything other than research...

EMT is FOR SURE clinical experience. Volunteering or shadowing can possibly be counted as well.

Research isn't essential for med school, unless that is your interest.

 

[DoctorFunk]

Clinical: Volunteered in ED for approx. 6 months
Shadowed two doctors for total of 16 hours
Worked in group home for mentally ill/developmentally disabled for 2 yrs.

Research: Worked in molecular evolutionary biology lab for 2 yrs.
Received and completed an undergraduate research grant in above lab
No publications

For what it's worth, I felt like the above were fairly meager compared to some of the experiences people around here toss around, but I got into three schools this cycle.

 

[Siggy]

Does volunteering at local hospitals count as clinical? Even as an emt? I
didn;t think research was anything other than research...

Clinical is diferent from research.

Clinical is almost anything that brings you incontact with patients. Specifically the Clinical Care Programs in Souther California are great with that because all you do is assist the patient care team in various different programs (which makes the program, INHO better then volunteering in the ER because you have a larger breadth of patient contact).

 

[cfdavid]

Clinical: Volunteered in ED for approx. 6 months
Shadowed two doctors for total of 16 hours
Worked in group home for mentally ill/developmentally disabled for 2 yrs.

Research: Worked in molecular evolutionary biology lab for 2 yrs.
Received and completed an undergraduate research grant in above lab
No publications

For what it's worth, I felt like the above were fairly meager compared to some of the experiences people around here toss around, but I got into three schools this cycle.

I did some volunteering in college. And am involved now as well. But when I was in high school, I didn't really do jack. But I played a lot of hockey!

Today I was trained as an ED volunteer at a local hospital. Well, they have all these high school kids walking around doing different things (not ED though). It's kind of a program (semi-formal) that the h.s. kids have to gain healthcare experience. A really good opportunity for them.

But when I was in h.s., I was playing sports and chasing pu...y, nothing too philanthropic. Oh, well.

 

[CarleneM]

Clinical is diferent from research.
.

not necessarily. i am a research study coordinator in the outpatient psychiatry department. this entails doing a lot of "research" stuff (IRB submissions, data management and analysis, abstract/manuscript submission) and a lot of "clinical" stuff (diagnostic interviewing, ecg administration, taking vitals, tanner staging, observing the physicians complete all exams and assisting where appropriate). not all study coordinators do both roles but if you look, you can find places doing clinical research that are small and therefore you get to "wear a lot of hats" so to speak. i have more straight research stuff and straight clinical stuff but i have definitely found the combination to be the most stimulating and rewarding.

 

[PineappleGirl]

CarleneM,
You have my dream job! 😍
Seriously.
I've been trying to get a job like this for months, but I think not having my bachelor's in psych kills me every time. 🙁

 

[CarleneM]

CarleneM,
You have my dream job! 😍
Seriously.
I've been trying to get a job like this for months, but I think not having my bachelor's in psych kills me every time. 🙁

well if it makes you feel any better, at the moment i am counting pills and filling out "drug accountability forms". it definitely has many less glamourous moments that cause me to post on SDN rather than do my job.....but no, its an awesome job and its tough to get even as a psych major. are you looking at any jobs in the boston area? biederman's group at mass general tends to take people with less psych experience but that's a huge lab so your position would be more focused on one area, like diagnostic interviewing. good luck on your search!!

 

[PineappleGirl]

well if it makes you feel any better, at the moment i am counting pills and filling out "drug accountability forms". it definitely has many less glamourous moments that cause me to post on SDN rather than do my job.....but no, its an awesome job and its tough to get even as a psych major. are you looking at any jobs in the boston area? biederman's group at mass general tends to take people with less psych experience but that's a huge lab so your position would be more focused on one area, like diagnostic interviewing. good luck on your search!!

I've been looking at BU and BMC. Thanks for the tip on MGH. I'll check it out. And hey, a good job wouldn't be a good job without at least allowing a few mintues to post on SDN. 🙂
Thanks again!

 

[CarleneM]

I've been looking at BU and BMC. Thanks for the tip on MGH. I'll check it out. And hey, a good job wouldn't be a good job without at least allowing a few mintues to post on SDN. 🙂
Thanks again!

I'm happy to help out. There's a ton of psych reserach going on at MGH besides biederman's group you may want to look into. Also, McLean Hospital (psychiatric hospital) in belmont has a lot of interesting research. I don't know any RA's there though so I can't speak to how much experience they are looking for.

 

[boardchic]

My clinical/research stuff overlaps in a way similar to Carlene's... I study adolescent pregnancy and am involved in basic research stuff like data management and chart abstraction, but I'm also involved in the prenatal clinic, mainly conducting interviews, but also occasionally involved in other aspects of their care. I love the patient interaction stuff, and it's nice to have some desk work too (so I can check SDN constantly). I also do patient education - I'm designing an intervention to prevent repeat pregnancies in adolescents.
I've worked in an operating room and a basic science lab, and this is way better than either...

 

[PineappleGirl]

I'm happy to help out. There's a ton of psych reserach going on at MGH besides biederman's group you may want to look into. Also, McLean Hospital (psychiatric hospital) in belmont has a lot of interesting research. I don't know any RA's there though so I can't speak to how much experience they are looking for.

Excellent. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Siggy]

not necessarily. i am a research study coordinator in the outpatient psychiatry department. this entails doing a lot of "research" stuff (IRB submissions, data management and analysis, abstract/manuscript submission) and a lot of "clinical" stuff (diagnostic interviewing, ecg administration, taking vitals, tanner staging, observing the physicians complete all exams and assisting where appropriate). not all study coordinators do both roles but if you look, you can find places doing clinical research that are small and therefore you get to "wear a lot of hats" so to speak. i have more straight research stuff and straight clinical stuff but i have definitely found the combination to be the most stimulating and rewarding.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Not all clinical stuff is research and not all research is clinical. Of course there is clinical research too. Kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

[mrgq912]

Clinical:

Work as a ER Tech. in the university hospital. Done and seen everything 1st hand. Everything from working on trauma to mundane things like pressure wraps and splints. I even get to teach the Med students how to draw blood. And a doc even let me do sutures a couple of times. Also the pay is good.

Research:

Thesis was the Study of tumor/endothelial interaction in the organotropism of prostate cancer. Cut up some rats and chopped up the liver. Got to work on thesis with 2 urology residents during there lab rotations.

MCAT is 30 - O and GPA well lets not get into the GPA. I am still waiting for a call from Dr. H over at NJMS. PLease GOD please GOD just one call, thats all I ask for. Oh GOD please.

 

[Sundarban1]

CarleneM,
You have my dream job! 😍
Seriously.
I've been trying to get a job like this for months, but I think not having my bachelor's in psych kills me every time. 🙁

I was a research assistant in psych also in an inpatient clinic. I didn't have a psych degree, however I was very interested in clinical research. If you can find a willing PI, you don't necessarily need a psych degree. However, these opportunities are rare to come by, and competative as someone already said.

 

[45408]

Clinical:
EMT-B (for private ambulance company)
Volunteered at a hospice for a year
Shadowed five MDs for 1-3 days each

Research:
15 months (and counting) in a neuroscience research lab

 

[bbaek]

Clinical: Volunteer at local hospital (CCE's unite)
EMT-B


Research: None yet, I need to apply to some more...

hey siggy, i got accepted into cce hoag's program over at newport. i just wanted to know, how long do i have to work there in order to get the higher level positions like a coordinator or something.

 

[Siggy]

Generally those open up as they open it. I wouldn't know (I want to be one...), but I would say that the longer you stay in the program the better your chance. I would ask Jennifer about it.

 

[bbaek]

Generally those open up as they open it. I wouldn't know (I want to be one...), but I would say that the longer you stay in the program the better your chance. I would ask Jennifer about it.

thanks for the reply back. i'll look for more info from fellow students and the program itself on how they do it.

 

[Ambs]

CLINICAL: I worked as a medical technician at a clinic, and after I think ten months, I got promoted to lead medical technician and office manager. My clinical duties involved administering cardiac therapy, monitoring ECG tracings during therapy, vitals, assisting physicians, training other technicians etc. My desk work included scheduling, hiring, billing, insurance authorizations, marketing, etc. I did this for a total of 2 years. For the last year, I've been working at a cardiology practice as a cardiovascular technician. I room patients (vitals, medications), draw blood, assist physicians, instruct patients on caths & nuclear stress tests, assist in cardioversions & stress echocardiograms, and do treadmill stress tests, x-rays, ECGs, lower extremity arterial/Doppler studies, apply and scan Holter, Event, and other cardiac monitors, and other cardiac testing. I did my EMT-Basic training and followed it up with some per diem ER tech work -- didn't last long since this was on weekends, and I was simply too tired from the actual work week to work MORE on the weekends. Lastly, I've shadowed GPs and specialists and volunteered at hospitals and clinics.

RESEARCH: I did research on human lung carcinomas (1.5 years), presented at a conference, etc. I also did a semester of research on bacterial food spoilage (just randomly became interested in microbiological research, and my mentor was AWESOME). Lastly, through one of my jobs, I served as a sub-investigator for a year on a clinical research study on erectile dysfunction in relation to cardiovascular disease.

 

[BAM!]

clinical - called back outpatients and shadowed an ER doc for a semester.

research - intern at a lab for a summer and currently working full time at a lab.

 

[Aero047]

Would having research in psychology still count as *research* on my application? Or would it not make any difference?

 

[CarleneM]

Would having research in psychology still count as *research* on my application? Or would it not make any difference?

yes that counts. whats most important is that its the scientific method and psych research usually is.

 

[Sundarban1]

Would having research in psychology still count as *research* on my application? Or would it not make any difference?

Did you actually "research" anything? I don't think you could say "I did an internet search on schizphrenia, wrote a report, therefore I did research."

If you worked in a study performing research with patients in a psychological setting (inpatient, outpatient, laboratory, etc.) thats what I consider real research.