Hello,
I am a prospective pre-med student. I wanted to learn more about clinical hours. Does it have to be in a hospital? Can it be at a private doctor’s office?
Thank you,
Hi Susan!
Fellow pre-med here (I’m in my 4th year of college and am currently applying to med schools). To answer your question, NO, your clinical hours absolutely do NOT have to be in a hospital environment. For ex, most of my clinical hours came from hospice volunteering (a 2 bedroom house for end-of-life patients). Just make sure that the work you are doing is meaningful and is putting you in direct contact with actual patients, ideally in a way that you are somehow contributing to the direct care they are receiving. That is what is important - not that it was done in a hospital. I hope that was helpful and best wishes to you if you decide to go down the pre-med path!
Nicholas
Thank you so much for your help!!!