Let's Clarify Some Things About Clinical Experience | Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A

What counts as clinical experience? How many hours should you have when applying to med school? And is it okay to keep working a non-clinical job as a premed? All those questions and more on today's Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A!

Today's student is applying to med school in 2021 to start in 2022. She's currently working as a server while doing a DIY postbac program to raise her science GPA. Her questions are about clinical experience.

She has thousands of hours of medically-related activities like being a physical therapy aid, being a pharmacy tech, helping out at a pediatric oncology summer camp, and doing clinical research. But how much of that actually counts as clinical experience that is relevant to becoming a physician?

She is also wondering if medical schools might frown at the fact that she's working as a server rather than working a clinical job right now. It's a great question and a common one that students have.

It IS a potential red flag to have all your clinical experience in the past and not continuing anything up to and through the application process. But that doesn't mean you need a full-time clinical job.

Listen to hear my advice to her on how to keep her "foot in the door" of the medical world, even if she doesn't switch fully to a clinical job!

[panfrick]

Fail-safe way: Become an MD, see patients and cure diseases, put clinical experiences on application. Solved!

[DailyStockPicks]

Clinical experience can include activities where an individual directly interacts with patients in a healthcare setting, such as volunteering or working as a medical assistant, nurse, EMT, or scribe. Other activities that may count as clinical experience can include counseling or crisis hotlines, being a caregiver, working as a pharmacy technician, conducting COVID-19 testing, or working as a patient sitter. In general, clinical experience should involve direct patient interaction and be under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

[chloerue]

I think it would he incredibly helpful if you made a video about how expectations will be about clinical experiences after this whole COVID-19 situation. I am a premed and I know that everyone keeps saying that we’re all in the same boat and everyone is losing those experiences, but I can’t help but feel like because I got kind of a late start that it won’t really be a valid excuse for me...

[eduardosantos-xpiw]

I think some of the best experience comes from being a CNA at a hospital, because as a CNA you are really dealing with patients needs, and helping them in different ways. Plus you get to see how nurses and doctors work

[BoxOfCurryos]

Bro just made her rethink her entire life choice 💀

[HeLovesMoi]

I called multiple medical schools personally and asked their admissions committee representative about inpatient pharmacy technician experience. Every single school told me that they count inpatient pharmacy technician hours as clinical experience and highly encouraged me to include it on my application under “clinical experience”.

A couple schools mentioned that they are definitely looking for clinical experience under the direction supervision of a physician, but they don’t discount pharmacy tech experience by any means. In a hospital setting especially, it is valuable clinical experience.

I would highly encourage other students, if you think your experience should count as clinical, literally just call and ask those schools that you’re interested in.

[richardouellette]

Would being a paraprofessional phone counselor on a crisis line or suicide hotline count as clinical experience? You are directly interacting with a patient and helping with their mental health, but you are not physically with them.

[suzlee]

What interactions with a patient are considered clinical experience???
What I know are non-clinical: admin work/data entry, stocking shelves, pharmacy tech, etc.

[T-lash]

Okay I read this on the internet and came to the video. Pharmacy tech literally would be good to utilize. There is so many things you learn that could 100 percent be used during medical school. Don't hate on pharmacy tech.

[zombieboy]

This is where the med school application process gets me. In her situation, as a non-traditional student, she works as a server while pursuing a DIY post-bac. Assuming that she doesn't have the luxuries and privileges of being in a traditional undergraduate experience, she is forced to be a server in order to make ends meet. I know that med school admission committees overall have a holistic approach. However, are these expectations for the amount and type of clinical experience applied to everyone? Not every school has the connections to make the clinical experience happen. Or first-generation and/or low-income students take on a campus job to sustain themselves, leaving less time for volunteer and clinical experience. Not everyone has the privilege to pursue clinical and volunteer experiences in the same capacity. This makes me question how accessible, just, and equitable becoming a physician actually is? This same framework can be applied to MCAT prep and shadowing experience.

[ExquisiteAshley]

Pharmacy tech is not clinical experience? A lot of people got accepted to medical school with that being one of there clinical experiences

[armiem.]

Good Evening Dr Gray, I've been working as an E.R Nurse now for 4 years, will hopefully finish my Post-Bac program Next year and plan on taking the MCAT next year as well. My question is with the clinical experience I have, do I need to volunteer and shadow a doctor? My dream is to be an Orthopedic Surgeon, I have Orthopedic Surgeons that come to my ER and are OK with me shadowing with them, is it a nesccesity or should I just invest that time in studying for my MCAT.

[jennifernettles]

I’ve heard conflicting views on this: I am, personally, testing people (patients?) for COVID, am packaging samples to be taken to labs for PCR processing, and am gathering and documenting questionnaire answers… Does that sound like clinical experience? If people count phlebotomy as clinical experience, I think this should count, too.

[gisellegutierrez]

I know you mentioned that being a pharm tech doesn't count as clinical experience but what about a pharm tech who also is administering COVID shots to hundreds of patients? Would that count then?

[fqproductions]

Does it cost money to do a Q&A with you? Where do i sign up?

[HardeepSingh-pwxk]

Is working in long term care home as personal support worker is considered as clinical experience?

[willneverdead]

How would surg tech experience be viewed? I deal with a lot of patients but the conversation is pretty minimal. But, it is certainly hands on.

[blaire]

I'm a lab service assistant- I go to hospitals, clinics, and rehab centers to collect samples and information from patients. Would you consider this clinical? I get a lot of patient interaction so I figured it was but I'm not doing anything that a doctor would normally do so I'm not sure.

[jitpersaud]

I’m sorry but I disagree with your opinion. For me doing a lot of clinical hours would not be as impactful on my decision to become a physician because I know that I want to be a physician from the about 200 hours that I have. For me I’m finding meaning doing extracurricular that are helping me develop skills that I would not otherwise develop if I continue to tons and tons of clinical hours. We’re going to be doing clinical for the rest of our lives, pre-med is the time to develop unique skills elsewhere that you can bring into medicine. I would stop recommending that everyone across the board just simply do “clinical hours” because it helps them prove to themselves why they want to medicine because that simply isn’t true for everyone. It’s obvious you found your purpose and drive to join medicine from your clinical hours but my drive for medicine and what I want to do with my M.D. is not driven by doing more clinical hours. I think as long as applicant can explain the purpose and meaning behind what they do, they should be ok on their application but that’s just my personal opinion.

[daniellachavez]

Hello Dr. Gray is phlebotomy a clinical experience, my responsibilities are drawing blood from patients, collecting urine samples, and collecting stool samples and transporting samples to the lab for testing?