Perhaps the most important W&A entries are about clinical experiences. Admissions committees need to know: Does this candidate have enough clinical experience to know what they're getting into? The roles that we highlight throughout this week will demonstrate that you have seen medical care in action and gained experience with patients.
Medical Scribe: This is one of our favorite types of clinical experience. Working as a scribe allows you to see doctor patient interactions up close; you'll expand your medical vocabulary, read about things touched on in appointments (there's that intellectual curiosity!), and be a valuable part of a medical team. You can scribe at a top hospital or a CityMD clinic. What matters is exposure. Don't just describe the job to the school (they know what it is); share a meaningful story. One client, a head scribe, witnessed a death in the ER. It threw him—and he decided to create a guide for scribing in traumatic situations for the scribes he supervised. We've also had several clients discover a new field of interest through scribe work.
EMT: You'll learn basic life support (BLS) and work in high-pressure scenarios. We had a client who worked as an EMT, and on his second day, he arrived at the home of his third-grade teacher, who had taken a bad fall. He kept her calm while his superiors carefully moved her. What he did was not medical, but it prepared her to receive medical attention. Another client performed CPR on a patient, tag teaming with an experienced colleague so neither would become too fatigued and lag in compressions. Their persistence paid off; their patient survived. As an EMT, you'll have opportunities to help people and maybe even save lives. You can learn a lot from your colleagues, too. They've seen it all.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): This job will require a 4-to-16-week state-approved training program at a local community college or through the Red Cross. It will also involve major grunt work. And guess what you need to get used to? You'll be responsible for multiple patients, taking their vitals, making sure they're moving, eating, and drinking water. You'll work closely with a medical team. You don't have to work full-time, and the hours are flexible. It's also a paid gig, and actual clinical jobs can look more impressive than volunteering. We've never had a client who was a CNA. And it's no wonder—it involves taking a test, it's low-paying, and it's hard. But that's why we'd like to see an applicant write about this role.