Clinical Experience vs Shadowing vs Volunteering | OldPreMeds Podcast Ep. 230

How do you tell if something counts as clinical experience? It's not about the title of the position. And it's not about being in a hospital. Let's talk about clinical experience on today's OldPreMeds Podcast!
As always on the OldPreMeds Podcast, our question this week is taken from our nontraditional premed forum. Ask your own questions at premedforums.com!
Today I'm answering a question from a nontraditional premed who has a potential opportunity to volunteer at a local free health clinic, working in the lab section. The message describes the position and asks whether this counts as clinical.
Here are some points I discuss:
• What is clinical experience vs shadowing vs volunteering?
• Do you need volunteer AND paid clinical experience?
• Why shadowing does not count as clinical experience.
• Why I can't always tell you whether an activity is clinical experience based on the title of the position.
• Why the phrase "limited patient interaction" tells me this is likely NOT clinical experience.
• Does scribing count as clinical experience or shadowing?
• What are some other examples of clinical experiences?
• Does being a pharmacy tech or E.R. registration person count as clinical experience?
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[@luigismedjourney9879]

I feel like as long as you get to interact with patients in a medical setting it should be “clinical”?

[@rezakian9829]

Awesome channel!

[@beatricesarpomaaosei459]

Is live in care a good experience? Assisted bathing, massaging, communication, companionship and domestic management

[@johnfish290]

I love the video! I work as an assistant to a well known basketball Trainner in my city. We work with high school, college, and pro athletes. The majority of the time I’ve been working has been with three athletes that are a few months post op and we are working on rehabbing them on the court. I directly work with them stretching them and doing drills. It’s mostly getting them past the mental block of being scared to jump or go full speed. Would this be considered clinical experience?

[@merveilleago8244]

Hello, I have been a care giver for my twin sister since age 5. I cared for her whenever we were left alone, gave here medicine she had to take at certain time and so on. Can that be considered clinical experience?

[@mushyfan1]

What about working as a dental assistant? It has a lot of patient interaction, assessment of patient, taking vitals, etc. ??

[@emmalanley952]

Of course

[@dragoflamer786]

hell yeah

[@alishalinet]

yes’

[@user-td5ch2jl2w]

many people say non clinical volunteering is as important as a clinical volunteering, but I am a nurse and every volunteering place I go if I tell them I am a nurse, then they always put me into a clinical volunteer position. Does nonclinical volunteering really matter?

[@jamie91995]

Yes, it does. Try a food pantry or somewhere along those lines.

[@baochulee1124]

Will being a PCA for my dad count as clinical? I’ve been told no because it’s my own family member and in order to be clinical, the patient needs to be someone not related to me

[@timsohn7057]

As a nontrad, nonscience major. It was next to impossible getting your typical health science major clinical jobs or even research during premed. After graduating, I taught at an anatomy course tutoring lab at my local college, but only because I really convinced the professor and aced the subject. I got to know my head of healthscience department there. She tried helping me getting research jobs through professors she did research with, but it was a no. They never told me, but told her, that they had priorities over actual science majors interested in getting PhD, or at the least premeds with science degrees. Getting a job doing clinical work was also pretty impossible to get as well. I ended up volunteering at a organization for alzheimers patients, sort of being their friends and companions because they had no family. But i dont think this is clinical work. Thankfully I had a 3 week, but insanely amazing shadow experience that was 14 hrs a day. Lets just say I pretty much was an literal shadow of a resident, and experienced so much hospital stuff most people will never get to do. I even got to experience the same sleep schedule, times to eat, etc. no weekends sometime.really experienced what it feels like to be a resident. But other than that, most of my experiences are social stuff (I am a sociology major afterall). I used to be super down about this, bur honestly I kind of changed my mind about it. You can argue I could have gotten an CNA or EMT license, but my circumstances did not allow the time and money at the period of my life sadly. Depending on your circumstances, the whole encouraging of majoring in diverse areas is kind of...well sucks haha. Advisors never tell you about potential difficulties you may have when you try to walk a “conventional” path. I am just hoping medical schools understand this when I apply.

[@nathanhung9057]

I believe some med schools value students from all diversity, if you can make a case of what you are doing impacted you to go for the physician route, then I think it can be validated.

[@stylewithme365]

CNA certificate takes 3 wks to get ...

[@timsohn7057]

@@stylewithme365 The one near my school required bit longer, but I said “time and money.” ENT is longer, and at the time I could barely scrape by, so I could not afford a CNA license. I did not have parents, or was a young student like most applicants. I am not complaining that my life sucks because I made it through. I wanted to point out that there are unconventional cases people have, and most advisors in school are not prepared to handle it. It doesn’t mean they are bad. I don’t blame them because people such as older nontrads, extremely poor etc. are not commonly seen in their offices. I definitely will try to help students trying to get into medical school or any programs with unusual circumstances in the future for this reason. Thanks for trying to help someone out btw.

[@XxKiDCuDiFTWxX]

Would providing health assessments at a homeless shelter count? I am doing this as a volunteer. We ask screening questions, take temp and triage the person if they have symptoms.

[@stylewithme365]

Yes

[@Ironf1st986]

Would doing the blood drawing as a phlebotomy technician at a plasma donation clinic be clinical? Yes it is a lot of interaction but the clients are generally in good health and not sick so I am not sure

[@aurorarising1945]

I was wondering the same.

[@alayz4330]

Definitely! I was a screener at a plasma center and I’m counting that as clinical. (Took vitals, hct, protein)

[@alishalinet]

yes i would believe this is clinical because you are taking care of patients in some way and getting personal with them!

[@bernadineguimary1062]

i am a research associate that interviews patients and people in the waiting room. would that count as clinical experience? It counts as shadowing already.

[@kionarandle710]

What if I do not directly work for hospice but say I help when i go visit my family member with giving baths or changing them every so often

[@emmalanley952]

Yes

[@matamix6008]

Does being histotech count as clinical experience?

[@worldsavior2543]

I wouldn't count pharm tech out just yet, because of this pandemic they allowed techs to become certified immunizers. That portion of the job, I consider clinical.

[@daniello5063]

Non trad here full time truck driver, home everyday with a mortgage, car payment and paying for my undergrad tuition out of pocket. Would love to work as a MA but I simply can’t afford to take that massive pay cut. I’m just barely starting this journey so I’m wanting to get some of the hard sciences out the way before I start my extracurriculars. But when the time comes what can I do for clinical experience maybe on the weekends?

[@ILoVeTheLioNKinG1]

Ive been a CNA for over 16years. Ive worked in nursing homes, private duty homes and now hospital. This is enough clinical experience right? My thing is do I still have to volunteer and shadow???? N how many hours do I need to do for both?

[@stylewithme365]

If 16yrs of CNA in snf/hospital isn't clinical experience idk wtf is!😒 That's the BEST direct patient care you can get. Get that GPA & MCAT and you're good girl👍

[@lopezjraul]

I'm looking at clinical experiences available to me in my area. There doesn't seem to be too many particularly on the weekends. I work full time during the week non trad here so trying to be creative with this. I looked up volunteer EMT, nothing in my area. Do you have a blog or more vids that directly answer what is clinical experience and where to find the opportunities?

[@stylewithme365]

Get a CNA certificate

[@Pete-da-peter]

What if someone can't afford your service Dr gray, what is other alternative.

[@grantgordon4378]

I’m no pro, but I think using the internet would be your best options. Forums on reddit or SDN can allow you to gauge your application and make adjustments. You will have many different responses but you can mentally average the consensus.

[@XxKiDCuDiFTWxX]

Lots of forums and FB groups.

[@funsize198]

what about being a dental hygienist, could that count as clinical experience to put in a medical school application?

[@itslash8493]

*no, but for dental school yes*

[@dragoflamer786]

hell yeah

[@thefenerbahcesk4156]

If I screened people at the hospital entrances during COVID19, is that clinical?

[@aabdi2001]

if you can "smell" the patient, it counts

[@alishalinet]

i don’t think so he said it in the video that’s more of administrative stuff but i’m not 100% sure

[@thefenerbahcesk4156]

@@alishalinet Thanks. As an update I put it on my primary and secondary applications as clinical and I was accepted into medical school, so it probably counted as clinical (at least for Iowa).

[@alishalinet]

@@thefenerbahcesk4156 congratulations !!

[@tariqsaleh6032]

Would this opportunity be considered a research/lab experience?

[@kevinfrazier7554]

I’m guessing lab experience

[@sarimkhatri2597]

What would a medical scribe fall under??

[@stylewithme365]

Most medical schools YES . PA school NO

[@sheenapatel6188]

I am a clinical researcher assistant is that considered as clinical experience

[@WasabiSniffer]

I had clinical experience but in 2010-2014, but 2015-2019 I got more admin work, very little clinical. Do I need some more “recent” volunteer/shadowing?

[@zenith12417]

Check out his application renovations videos! He usually suggests having recent long term clinical experience because it shows you didn't just check the boxes.

[@emlovespups4995]

Does working as a public health advisor/contact tracer for COVID-19 for a department of health count as clinical experience?

[@emmalanley952]

No

[@litojonny]

physical therapy technician is this clinical experience?

[@nathanhung9057]

I would say this counts. Assuming you have helped patients with the exercises. I was a tech as well.

[@shizz3907]

This is so weird and arbitrary. A scribe, who most times is not interacting with patients at all is still considered clinical experience. But a lab tech who is freaking running HIV tests possibly exposing themselves to one of the deadliest viruses known to man should they get exposed to a blood sample, and having to still abide by HIPAA as they’re going to be exposed to tests results of patients doesn’t get to count that as clinical experience? As if someone couldn’t want to be a pathologist who are DOCTORS with minimal patient interaction? I feel like if a scribe can be considered clinical experience then anything in which you are exposed to patient information and are bound by HIPAA should also be clinical experience, straight up. Either that, or scribing just isn’t clinical