I’m curious to see what others think about clinical experience that occurs virtually. I’ve volunteered with Crisis Textline for some time (even before I decided to go to med school). Basically, it is a non-profit service that handles crisis through text. I’ve helped people avoid suicide and discover resources that could change their entire situation. The experience can be quite personal, even from a distance.
Is this clinical experience? Should we still focus on the in person format for getting clinical experience? (Phlebotomy tech, for example) I plan to, but I have to admit that helping people virtually for a couple hours a week has benefits for a non-trad.
I’m new around here so take this all with a grain of salt but I have a lot of experience with Virtual/Tele health from my time in the Army at the Virtual MEDCEN.
To me your work experience doesn’t quite sound “clinical” in terms of are you close enough to see and smell a patient but you also certainly have experience working with patients. From my understanding what they are looking for with clinical experience is more in line with working in a brick and mortar clinic alongside doctors and nurses with patients. That being said if you worked with providers Crisis Textline you may be able to chalk that up to shadowing time. More likely it would be an awesome community service/volunteerism entry.
Once again I am still new to all this as well so don’t just take my word for it but from what I have seen that is where I think it all fits in.
I was actually looking into signing up for the Crisis Textline too. I know there is not face to face interactions but having someone to talk to makes a huge difference in the lives of all those people seeking help and I thought that was great. I’d have to agree with BarkMedic though, I don’t think this would fall under the clinical category. With COVID it is almost impossible to shadow or volunteer at hospitals/clinics so I figured I’d try becoming a CNA in the mean time (only takes a semester). I am a non-traditional student as well so I too have to figure out ways to gain experience.
In times of world pandemic like this, everything becomes possible in virtual, even in terms of Health. If it is possible, then make it. There is no limit in helping especially if that is your calling and it is for the good of everyone.
Have you tried any of these courses, maybe they could help you get your clinical credits? https://nhcps.com/all-products - I recently took the CPR and BLS class and loved it.
I actually have experienced many such virtual clinical experience as we have developed many virtual care or telemedicine apps or platforms that enable virtual delivery of care. Using the telemedicine solutions, healthcare providers and patients talk to each other using chat, voice call or video call. However, telemedicine is not about just communication, it is about enagement and outcome. For instance, the healthcare provider should be able to write the ePrescription, sick note, medical note, access medical history of patients. Without such flexibilties, the healthcare providers cannot provide quality care to users virtually. Thus, we can conclude that the awful or great - the type of virtual clinical experience depends on the telemedicine app they are using. Our dedicated resouce on telemedicine app development may help you to get more details.