Clinical Experience
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What is Clinical Experience?
Clinical experience refers to employment or volunteer work in a healthcare setting. Students should aim to gain experience related to their chosen field. Direct patient interaction is especially valuable and experiences in multiple settings can help you to gain a broad understanding of the profession.
Why is Clinical Experience Important?
Clinical experience is an opportunity to explore your field of interest and understand what it’s like to work as a healthcare professional. It also provides a chance to assess whether the career is a good fit, gain exposure to different healthcare settings, and work alongside other health professionals. Direct interaction with patients and families can help you to develop the interpersonal skills essential for patient care and offers a realistic view of the responsibilities involved in supporting others’ health and well-being. The clinical activities you select, and how you reflect on them in your application and interviews, allow admissions committees to evaluate your readiness for the profession and your ability to work effectively with patients.
Is Clinical Experience Required?
Clinical experience is an essential component of a strong professional school application. Although most fields do not require a specific number of hours (PA programs being the exception), applicants must gain meaningful experiences that provide a thorough understanding of the profession. You will need to be able to clearly articulate why you are pursuing this career and demonstrate, through your experiences, that you are a good fit for it.
Experiences involving patient interaction are most highly valued but other roles within healthcare such as administrative or support positions can also be beneficial learning experiences. What matters most is that you are learning, developing skills, and gaining insight into healthcare. If you find a particular position rewarding, maintaining consistency and long-term involvement can further strengthen your preparation and demonstrate commitment.
- PA: Direct Patient Care Hours: Students pursuing a career as a physician assistant (PA) should note that these programs do have very specific requirements for clinical experience. Pre-PA students must gain paid experience interacting directly with patients. Most PA programs do have a required number of direct patient care hours. Minimum hour requirements vary by school. Students should carefully review the expectations of each program where they plan to apply, including the types of experiences that qualify and what is considered competitive.
How to Find Clinical Experiences
Sign up through MSU’s CCEL to volunteer at Sparrow or McLaren Hospital. Both welcome college students to serve alongside their healthcare professionals and offer a variety of volunteer opportunities.
For paid positions, use job search engines (like Indeed or Handshake) or go directly to the websites for large hospitals or clinics to view their job postings. Search for job titles such as: Patient Care Technician, Patient Safety Attendant, Pharmacy Technician, Optometric Technician, Medical Scribe, etc.
Volunteer positions can be found by using the Idealist website which often has positions with hospice and other health-related causes. A simple Google search for “health care volunteering” can also help you find opportunities.
You can also find paid and volunteer positions in a variety of settings, including outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, hospice organizations, assisted living communities, private practices, and nonprofit organizations.
Many community colleges offer certification programs that will open more opportunities for paid clinical positions such as a Medical Assistant, Certified Nurse Assistant, Phlebotomist, or Emergency Medical Technician.
Some (e.g., pre-med clubs, pre-dental clubs, etc.) may offer short-term clinical volunteer opportunities to their members. Visit Involve@State to view a full list of student organizations available at MSU.