<p>Other than hospital volunteering, what else does "clinical experience" entail? Does doctor shadowing count?</p>
<p>Speaking of which, does it have to be a doctor in a hospital, or can you shadow a doctor in private practice? I'm thinking of shadowing my family medical doctor who runs her own clinic and possibly my family's pediatric ophthalmologist who also has his own office.</p>
<p>Would you advise that I even shadow 2 doctors of different specialties, or would one suffice?</p>
<p>Your AMCAS application will ask you to differentiate between shadowing experiences and clinical experiences
They are 2 different activity categories on the application.</p>
<p>You could list a shadowing as a clinical experience, but it would be considered a very weak clinical experience. (And you wouldn’t have anything to list as shadowing.)</p>
<p>Shadowing can be done in any type of healthcare setting. You should shadow a variety of specialties, if possible, not just one or two. </p>
<p>Clinical experience is any activity that brings you into direct contact with patients. Besides hospitals, you can volunteer at rehab centers, stand alone clinics (Planned Parenthood, Healthcare for the Homeless, etc), the local blood bank, a cancer center, a hospice, a nursing or group home. You can also volunteer on an EMT squad.</p>
<p>One more possible place to gain clinical experience-- clinical research.</p>
<p>I’m a counselor for a camper with muscular dystrophy in the summer, and I’m in direct contact with him almost 24/7. Does that count? Or does it have to be in a more “clinical” setting, in the conventional sense? (There are doctors in the camp who administer medicine to the campers every day, if that helps fit the camp into the “clinical” category).</p>
<p>Possibly. It will depend on the type of activities you do with the camper. If they are largely recreational activities–it’s “volunteering, non-clinical”. If you engage the camper in therapy activities–then it might be considered “volunteering, clinical”. Therapy activities = anything prescribed by a OT, PT, physician, mental health counselor, or other healthcare professional and carried out under their supervision and direction.</p>
<p>You really do need to get some experience in more conventional medical settings. </p>
<p>Noted. Thanks</p>