Looking for a successful career in medicine? Your journey begins with a medical school application having an impressive medical school personal statement. Medical schools are interested in applicants who have significant clinical training. Exposure to clinical care not only increases your chances of getting selected but also makes you aware of the challenges you have to face in the school and during your practice. As a premedical student, when you are looking for clinical experience, it has to be worthwhile. A medical school admission committee wants to know that you have an understanding of the profession. The better clinical experience reflects better understanding. The following are the five ways you can ensure that you get worthwhile clinical experiences.
Primary care
If you want an almost all-inclusive perspective of being a physician, look for experience in primary care. You will get to work with patients suffering from a range of diseases from diabetes to heart problems to fractures. You will get experience in family medicine, internal medicine or emergency medicine. You are going to see patients with all these health conditions during your practice. So, primary care experiences provide you with a holistic sense of the profession.
Moreover, this also gives you an opportunity to serve society as there is a shortage of primary care physicians in the US healthcare system. This is the reason why medical schools are interested in students who demonstrate commitment to primary health care.
Both in and outpatient clinical experience
Your medical school personal statement must demonstrate that you have a comprehensive understanding of being a physician. You can develop this understanding by getting both hospital or inpatient and clinic or outpatient experience. In different clinical settings, you work with patients with different diseases. You also learn different approaches to patient care. After medical school, you will be in the field. You may have to work in both settings. Therefore, having patient care experience in both settings makes you an ideal candidate.
Serve the undeserved
You can be a favorable candidate if your medical school personal statement demonstrates your patient care experience with underserved communities. Get medical school personal statement help to ensure that the personal statement reflects your experience. Underrepresented communities face unique healthcare challenges. This may happen due to economic and social factors. When you work with underserved communities, you get a clear picture of the challenges they face. Working with the underserved communities demonstrates your compassion. Physicians work for those who are in need. Medical schools also want to produce compassionate professionals. Serve the underserved and gain an advantage.
Spend time with physicians
You may get many interesting clinical possibilities. You may not be able to spend time with a physician in all those opportunities. You need to understand the work of a physician. Look for opportunities to shadow or assist physicians. Displaying empathy and earning the trust of the patient is an important part of a physician’s job. When you are shadowing or assisting a physician, you learn these important skills. You get to see how a physician communicates with patients. You also learn about the physicians’ stepwise approach to work with patients sharing their medical problems. Scheduling allows you to understand the thought process of a physician. You can see how a physician goes through the medical history of a patient, performs a physical examination, orders diagnostic tests and makes appropriate treatment course related decisions. If the physician is impressed with your work, you may also get a letter of recommendation for your medical school application.
Go beyond observations
When you will be practicing, you will take responsibility for the health of patients. Their well being will depend on the decisions you will make. Therefore, when you are gaining clinical experience, go beyond observations. Assume the roles allowing you to work with patients in a small capacity.
Look for a position in which you will be more than a spectator. Whether you are a medical assistant, an interpreter or a medical scribe, don’t just observe. You are getting an opportunity to explore the breadth and depth of the medical field. You are gaining clinical experience for a purpose. Acquiring medical knowledge is not the purpose of clinical experience. The purpose is to cultivate genuine interest and curiosity.
After you have gained clinical experience, the next step is writing an impressive medical school personal statement. If you cannot write a personal statement on your own, the option of medical school personal statement help is also available.