Disclaimer: This article consists of opinions based on personal experience and not necessarily fact.
Nearly all applicants to medical school have to have clinical exposure or involvement on their application; this ensures that they know what they are getting into and why they want to be a doctor in the first place. But for students just starting on their path to medicine, finding a good way to get involved in the medical field can be a daunting task. So, I’ve compiled a short list of some ways to get clinical experience and some information and opinions about each:
Clinical Volunteering
Many students do some form of clinical volunteering. This can include anything from volunteering in a hospital to doing international work. In my experience, volunteering in a hospital can be a very valuable experience, but it sometimes ends up being more of an administrative position than a clinical one. Tasks usually include answering phones, shredding confidential papers, and directing visitors to patient rooms, rather than talking with patients, helping nurses move and feed patients, or watching various procedures. Therefore, volunteering in a hospital does not always guarantee a lot of clinical exposure or insight into what it is like to be a doctor.
If you are in the San Diego area, a hospital volunteering program that is hands-on is the Pathmaker Internship. This internship allows volunteers “to participate in basic patient care tasks such as bathing, changing and feeding patients as they rotate among the different departments within the district.” Volunteers are also able to watch certain procedures when appropriate. Volunteers rotate through different departments, seeing a variety of different healthcare specialties. The type of shift a volunteer has depends on the department he or she is in. For example, a shift in the Emergency Department (ED) can be divided into two parts: two hours in triage, taking the vitals of every patient who comes in, and two hours with the patients who have been admitted to the ED. This means making sure each room is stocked, wiping down beds, running errands for nurses, and watching minor procedures, such as the suturing of a cut on a child’s hand.
Other clinical volunteering opportunities include international experiences, such as Flying Samaritans, or working at a free clinic. In my experience, Flying Samaritans is a relatively hands-on clinical experience: we were able to take vitals and provide medications to patients in Mexico. For pre-meds looking to improve their Spanish, Flying Samaritans is great way to get some practice. There is, inevitably, a fair amount of administrative preparation that occurs before the actual trip to Mexico, such as taking inventory of all the medications being taken to the clinic and making sure everyone has what they need for the trip. For free clinics, many undergraduate campuses affiliated with a medical school have some type of free clinic that may allow undergraduates to volunteer there. Again, for those in the San Diego area, UCSD’s medical school has a free clinic that welcomes student volunteers.
Image Source: Simon Jarratt/Corbis/VCG
Scribing
In my opinion, being a scribe is the best way to get clinical experience. Scribes usually, but not always, work in Emergency Departments, following physicians and charting for them as they see their patients. Obviously, this paid job requires more training than the typical volunteer experience, and most of these opportunities require scribes to work at least 16 hours a week, 8 eight-hour shifts a month, or some equivalent. As a scribe, you have to know a fair amount of medical terminology and abbreviations. This position not only gives scribes a head start in the knowledge they’ll be learning in medical school, but it also gives them the opportunity to see the inner workings of a physician’s decision-making process. For those looking for more information on being a scribe, some scribe companies include Scribe America, CEP America, and Elite Medical Scribes.
Working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
I’ve met a number of pre-meds who are interested in becoming or have become EMTs. EMTs care for the injured and sick in emergency situations. They are typically the first medical responders to an emergency; they respond to emergency calls, perform medical services (such as CPR) and transport patients to medical facilities. While this may seem like a great clinical experience—and I’m sure EMTs see some amazing cases and help many people—I have heard a medical school admissions committee member from one of the top medical schools in America point out that EMTs do not do the same work as doctors. So for a student interested in going to medical school, becoming an EMT doesn’t make the most sense—there are better ways to see what it is like to be a doctor. EMTs work in areas that doctors typically don’t: in the ambulance and out in the field. Of course, it is still a great way to get exposure to the healthcare field, but just keep in mind that some admissions committees may have the opinion that it does not actually give the student insight into what it is like to be a doctor.
Wherever you are at on your path to medicine, there are many clinical experiences out there for you to consider. Finding the most valuable one or the one that’s right for you can be difficult, but worth the effort in the long run. Good luck!
