What is the best way to get clinical hours?
Started by ayreeona
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Depends on your reasons for turning down an MA or EMT opportunity. A lot of clinical jobs have similar qualities.
I am in school currently and working a full time job. Many programs I have found you have to go to in-person classes for MA and EMT and that means interrupting my current schooling. I graduate June 2027 with my bachelors, so I just didn't see how that would work for me. I am open to suggestions and advice.
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Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.
Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.
Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.
You do not need to attend any particular program to practice as an MA in most states, and many private practices are willing to train an undergraduate pre-med. If you can, I would just directly apply to MA jobs and go from there, though I will admit that many practices are going to be less accommodating than you would probably want.
I worked at a lot of places that pay you for a 9-5 but expect you to be there at 7 and leave at 6, to prep prior to patients and assist even when patients are late and the clinic runs past time. I would have to apologize profusely to leave at 5:30 and drive 45 minutes to the nearest community college, where I would take a lecture and lab that would run to 10. I hated that, and I wouldn't want it for you, so be aware and negotiate your time before you take the job.
While I agree with Goro that there are other, lighter volunteering experiences that involve less responsibility and direct patient care, your application will benefit from an EMT or MA role in a lot of ways. Of course, just being able to say you were an MA, for instance, will make you come across as having tested your aspirations more seriously.
Beyond that, the application asks you to write a whole lot of oddly specific essays. You will want to claim that you understand what you are getting yourself into, and though you can write the words, if your experiences do not support that claim, they will not be read as commitments, they will be read as cheap talk.
Of course, it's your application and your life (this is just my opinion). Working as an MA or EMT is not necessary.
But I do think it helps, a lot... in ways that might not be apparent to you until after you've done it.
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Wow, thank you for this information. I have started to gather places to apply like shelters for women and feeding the homeless. I really appreciate this feedback.
Thank you! I appreciate this and will start applying to MA roles. I recently had an interview for a Neurosurgery admin assistant, however I would be doing more clinical work then admin work. Which would be amazing if I get the position for patient-facing experience and shadowing a neurosurgeon all in one. Hoping I get it. Thank you again!
