What exactly counts as clinical experience?

[Antares]

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Sorry if this question is a bit basic, but I would like to get it cleared up. I always read posts saying that you need a combination of volunteer, research, and clinical experience to be competitive in the med school app process. In the past, I would always assume that when someone said clinical experience, they were referring to volunteer work. Also, how would one go about acquiring clinical exp and how much time should be put into it?

😕

 

[Mayday]

Sorry if this question is a bit basic, but I would like to get it cleared up. I always read posts saying that you need a combination of volunteer, research, and clinical experience to be competitive in the med school app process. In the past, I would always assume that when someone said clinical experience, they were referring to volunteer work. Also, how would one go about acquiring clinical exp and how much time should be put into it?

😕

I have always assumed that it means any sort of experiance where you are directly working with the patients. I would love to hear other's answers to this though, as this is something that I need to start on myself.

 

[armybound]

I have always assumed that it means any sort of experiance where you are directly working with the patients. I would love to hear other's answers to this though, as this is something that I need to start on myself.

I would have to agree.

Of course volunteering is good because it shows you're willing to work for no personal gain other than experience. I've never done it though, and I consider my clinical experience very good.

 

[AlaskaHopeful]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Q_7DpuQ3M


I live next to Alaska Regional Hospital and am applying to medical school. I also live next to Taco King, which was voted the best fast food Mexican restaurant in Anchorage for three years running. Actually, I live a little closer to Taco King than to the hospital. I also live very close to the Alaska Club, which is a health and fitness club. I'm certainly qualified to be a doctor (based on my close proximity to the hospital), but can anyone tell me how detrimental my fast food proximity/experience will be to my application? Do schools consider health club proximity/experience as clinical experience? How do admission committees view chicken enchiladas? Thanks, and good luck everyone.

 

[146233]

I always read posts saying that you need a combination of volunteer, research, and clinical experience to be competitive in the med school app process.

That is ridiculous. What you need is substantive (i.e., more than "one time" or "for a couple of weeks") experience doing one or several of those things. By no means do you need to do research, volunteer, AND have clinical experience. That said, sometimes those overlap -- doing volunteer research with a physician is likely to get you some patient contacts. 🙂

Whatever you do, make sure you're interested in it and can learn something; at least have something meaningful to say about it at an interview. Good luck.

 

[linguini]

Volunteering and clinical experience can definitely overlap. Also a good way to get clinical experience distinct from volunteering is to shadow.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

My favorite explanation:

"Are you close enough to smell the patients"?

Kudos to the original writer of that one.

 

[GoSpursGo]

My favorite explanation:

"Are you close enough to smell the patients"?

Kudos to the original writer of that one.

Darn, I was going to throw that out there, but you beat me! The only place I've seen that is LizzyM's sig, so I'm not sure if she said it first, but that's where I know it from.

 

[CourageKid]

I've worked the last two summers at a special needs summer camp. With nurses around to supervise, the counselors directly took care of some very medically complicated adults and children. And then we got to do stuff like take them on jet-skis and horseback riding.
My experience has been one of the biggest topics in both my secondaries and interviews. And more importantly, it changed my life and is something I treasure and think about every day.

So shadowing and volunteering in a hospital can be excellent ways to start to work with patients. But I'd also urge people to look for other, perhaps more non-traditional experiences. Find something you care about and jump into it wholeheartedly.

 

[STXGregor]

I like to go by that "if you can smell the patient, it's clinical experience" explanation too. But that still puts my experience in a bit of a grey area. I've volunteered and shadowed, but my long-term clinical experience is working as a pharmacy tech for the past two years, 20-30 hrs/wk. I've hesitated to call that clinical experience at times, but I've seen a lot of opinions agree that it does counts, so I do so as well. In any case, I can definately smell our patients, though sometimes I'd rather not

 

[deleted212936]

We are just Pre-meds, who would let us "work directly" with patients?!

I wonder if taking care of a sick family member is considered "clinical" though.

 

[Double A]

Interaction with patients. If you can explain as to how/why it is clinical experience, I say add it.

 

[Mobius1985]

I always read posts saying that you need a combination of volunteer, research, and clinical experience to be competitive in the med school app process. In the past, I would always assume that when someone said clinical experience, they were referring to volunteer work. Also, how would one go about acquiring clinical exp and how much time should be put into it?
😕

Typical extracurriculars would include 1.5 years of clinical experience. Gaining this at a rate of 3-4 hours/week is fine. If you have the time, a broader experience gained in more than one venue would be desirable. You can get clinical experience through the workplace, for class credit, data gathering for a clinical trial, by physician shadowing, or via volunteerism. It can be gained at a clinic, hospice, hospital, residential home, crisis hotline, or nursing home (among others). Note that unpaid clinical exposure isn't always a volunteer experience. If there is any purpose that serves you (money, class credit, research credential, shadowing experience), it is not community service and it's not "Volunteer" for the purposes of the AMCAS application.

During your clinical experience you will hopefully meet doctors. These are the folks you hit on for a shadowing experience. Typically, one shadows 2-3 types of specialties, for 8-40 hours each, depending on your interest.

Altruistic service is also desirable. If you gain your clinical experience through volunteerism, you have this covered. If your clinical exposure is via another type of experience, you'd need something additional to show your service-minded mentality; consider Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, soup kitchen, homeless shelter.

Additionally, you'll need a leadership experience. This might be teaching or mentoring (provided you are guiding, directing, inspiring and not just regurgitating information), officership in an organization (if you lead meetings, organize the accomplishment of tasks, provide direction), starting a business, military, directing a show, leading a successful charitable fund drive, among many others.

Research: Is desirable, but not required. If you have it, more schools will seriously consider your application. The minimum is 3 months over a summer, the average seems to be about a year. Some have 3+ years and several publications. Research includes any scholarly investigation that adds to human knowledge, so it need not be bench (basic science) or clinical in nature.

 

[drelizabeth292]

working as a phlebotomist in a hospital/clinic would count as clinical experience. (emt, medical associate, cna, etc) as long as you are interacting with patients it should be good but like others have said there is a lot of overlap between the two.