Im going to be a freshmen in college (pre-med) in the fall and Im looking to get some experience in the hospital setting. I’ve done a lot of research and was considering applying to be a part of the UCLA care extenders program but have seen some negative reviews that got me worried. Can anyone whose been in the program share their experiences or give me different ideas of where to gain that same type of experience in a different setting?
Thanks in advance!
If you’re a California resident, you should check out the COPE Health Scholar Program. I have been in the program for a year now, and I’ve gotten the chance to work with patients, nurses, and doctors. I’ve become familiar with the hospital, the routine within it, as well as the expectations and standards. I also have gotten to observe countless procedures and a few surgeries, and found a doctor in my specialty of interest to shadow.
I’m not sure if this is the same program you’re talking about (they changed their name from Clinical Care Extenders to Health Scholars a couple years ago), but once you graduate the program you receive a certificate from UCLA School of Public Health. It’s only one 4-hour shift per week, so it should be really do able and from my time within the program I have to say the experiences are unparalleled to any other program. You get the opportunity to rotate onto many different departments, so you get to experience different parts of the hospital. The link to the site is right here if you’re interested:
https://copehealthscholars.org/
You might want to act fast because most of the locations application deadline for the next rotation is 8/15. Good luck!