I often tell students that they need to have patient care experience but they often don’t really understand why.
Volunteering in general is important to show that you care about others. All colleges like to see students that care about some one else. But even more important for BS/MD programs is health care related volunteering. This shows BS/MD programs not only that you care about others but that your focus is on the health care side of helping others.
But why patient care experience specifically? Many students volunteer in hospitals because they believe that this is the only type, or at least the best type of health care volunteering. And many of those students end up volunteering at the hospital gift shop or the information desk, directing people where to go.
Is that health care related volunteering? Yes it is. But is that the type of volunteering BS/MD programs really want to see? No. They want to see students that have had some exposure to actual patients. As a physician you will be working with patients in some capacity. Having early exposure to patients not only shows your caring nature but also helps communicate that you have some understanding of what being a physician is all about.
What sort of patient care experience do the BS/MD programs like to see? Almost anything that gets you exposure to actual patients. It might be working on a floor helping answer patient lights. It might be working in an emergency room providing whatever help the physician or nurse might need. It might be working in a nursing home reading to residents or helping feed them.
Patient care experience is not limited just to hospitals. In fact, it is often easier to get patient care experience in a nursing home or other type of facilities caring for those with health needs.
What you are doing with the patients is not as important as just having that contact with the patients.
Having this experience with patient care is also good because it will often generate one or more stories that you can talk about in your why doctor essay. And some programs like the University of Miami have a specific question asking about a student’s experience with patients.
My experience has been that students will little or no patient care experience typically are not that competitive a candidate for a BS/MD program even with top grades and test scores. So keep those grades up but also make sure you are getting some patient care experience if you want to have a BS/MD program in your future. On other promotions, if you need reliable plumbing service company, go to silverwaterplumbing.com.au
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