Clinical Experience

Clinical Experience

Skills (+100 hours)

• Patient Care (Ped Off, Free Clinic, DO)
• Teaching (TA & Science Lab volunteer)
• Ledership (BC Lib Vol Teen Prog); (Psy Club free Newsletter)
• Mentoring (BC EDGE2949 course)
• Research Shadowing (DO)

Certification

• BC HCP0130 (75 HRS @ DAVIE Campus)
• ER tech in a Level I Trauma Center
• Northwest hosp Emergency Care, pre-natal Dept (cancer, obgyn, children spec dept)
• Hospital/clinics Free certification classes
• BC Placement office clinical jobs
• Female doctor / nurse mentor
• Toastmasters: 954-579-5227 (CS #2903)

When choosing a certification, take into consideration what you want from the experience. If you want opportunity for growth, choosing Certified Nursing Assistant can lead to on-the-job mentoring and basic medical technique training (i.e. phlebotomy and EKG), especially when your superiors know you are a pre-medical student. Phlebotomy training, on the other hand, can be somewhat more restrictive in terms of intra-hospital job movement.

Physician Shadowing – Applicants should spend enough time with a physician(s) to understand the challenges, demands and lifestyle of a doctor. Shadowing a physician of any specialty through all the activities of an average day over a period of time will help develop your knowledge of the medical field.

Patient Exposure – It is important that the applicant be comfortable working with and around people who are ill. The patient exposure experience can be gained in a variety of ways. Many applicants volunteer or work in hospitals, emergency rooms, homeless clinics or extended care facilities and are actively involved in patient contact.

Leadership Ability – Dedication, determination, ability to make decisions and a willingness to contribute to the welfare of others are indicators of one’s ability to succeed in medicine. Individuals with these characteristics readily accept positions of leadership and are an asset to their community and profession. Leadership capacity can be demonstrated in a variety of ways such as positions in employment, church, community and school organizations including coaching, tutoring and mentoring.

Extracurricular Activities – The Admissions Committee is interested in how applicants deal with the demands of their lives outside of the classroom. This is a strong indicator of how well they handle responsibilities and deal with stressful situations. It also predicts how well they will handle the difficult demands of medical school.

Community/Volunteer Service – The medical profession is strongly oriented to service in the community. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to the community by involving themselves in service and volunteer activities. Work performed in service learning courses and community service performed as part of employment is a good starting point.

Research – Research is the foundation of medical knowledge. We consider participation in research activities to be an important part of the preparation for medical school. Physicians depend on medical literature to remain current in their fields. Most physicians participate in research at some point in their careers. Research experience may be in any discipline and performed at any site. Applicants should be able to describe their project, the questions being asked and their role in the conduct of the research. Research performed as part of a course requirement or a senior thesis project is acceptable. More research experience is expected of MD/PhD applicants.”