<p>My daughter is a freshman pre med. This summer she is planning to work the whole summer as a staff member on a service project she has volunteered on for a week each summer for 5 years. They repair housing for really needy people. As a staff member she has to assess requests and help decide whose house gets repaired, budget the repairs, help organise the volunteer groups who come from all over, trouble shoot etc. It is not medical related at all. She will live on site and is paid a small stipend (not even minimum wage) so it is not volunteer preciselybut nothing like she could earn in another job - I don't think she will be in the hole but will not pocket much. How will med school adcoms look at that? She is going to do it whatever because it is very important to her but I am curious (keep reading about how important medical type experience is) as to how the adcoms would view it.</p>
<p>It's excellent but not a replacement for medical-type experience. Especially if it's just one week.</p>
<p>It is not one week. It is almost the whole summer (12 weeks I think). She did it as a volunteer for a week each summer while in high school.</p>
<p>Then scratch the last part. It will be excellent, but it doesn't mean she doesn't need clinical work at some point down the line. Three hours a week for a couple years of college is what Duke usually recommends. Obviously more is better.</p>
<p>Thank you. 3 hours or more a week sounds doable. Does not sound like it is a problem that she has not done it her freshman year. She is planning to shadow a couple of local Doctors over spring break and possibly the summer before she leaves for her service work. Then she needs to figure out how to get involved in the town she goes to school in.</p>
<p>What exactly do they mean by clinical work? Just volunteering or helping out in a Doctors office or hospital or nursing home?</p>
<p>Actually the most important factor is clinical volunteering with patient contact, as well as doctor shadowing. Paperwork in a doctor's office isn't exactly what they have in mind.</p>
<p>^I have a kinder view of working as a receptionist in a doctor's office. Sure, being a CNA or an EMT is probably better. But, most premeds don't have that kind of license. You can volunteer at a hospital and put together charts or you can work in an doctor's office as an receptionist and learn how to interact with patients (and how to put up with their crap). Even if you deal with solely paperwork, it's also important to gain an appreciation for the vast bureaucracy that we have in our healthcare system. </p>
<p>I'm a huge fan of shadowing though. I find it more interesting than hospital volunteering. But, any activity that puts you within touching distance of a patient is probably counted as clinical experience.</p>
<p>Thank you both. I have to say I am a bit puzzled about what constitutes 'clinical' experience as, without having a medical qualification, I don't quite see how you get hands on clinical experience. Something her advisor will explain to her no doubt. This is just Mom trying to understand the process.</p>
<p>Quick question: would it be worth the $600 to become CNA certified? would it come in handy in terms of getting clinical experience and give me an advantage over someone who isn't?</p>
<p>certifications, whether CNA or EMT-B etc, aren't worth the paper they're printed on unless you then use them to get some experience as a nursing assistant or an EMT etc</p>