Would this be considered Clinical Experience

Hello everyone,

Dr. Grey says patient interaction is important for this topic. As a non-traditional student, I’ve reached an age where I need to be wise with my time and money.

I am currently a Test Site Specialist for a COVID-19 company. Besides setting up in the mornings for operations and creating walk-up appointments. I do Instruct patients how to properly self-administer an Oral or Shallow Nasal PCR exam. I find myself assisting them most of the time, sometimes performing the exam on adults, teenagers, and children for more quality control purposes. Many patients arrive nervous not knowing what to expect but I’ve been able to utilize my charismatic approach from owning a fitness studio to ease their tension resulting in a more positive experience.

Thank you ahead!

I think the purpose of clinical experience is to get a better understanding of what a doctor does. So while yes you are working with patients, from this experience have you learned more about the role of a physician? According to the AAMC website, "When you apply to medical school, admissions committees look to see that…[you have] an awareness of what a career as a practicing physician entails, " That’s from here https://students-residents.aamc.org/aspiring-docs-fact-sheets-get-experience/five-ways-gain-experience-without-shadowing
If it were my application, I would characterize this as clinical experience, but not the only clinical experience. This is just my opinion, I don’t know how accurate it is. But if you need paid clinical work, I was able to get a job as a medical assistant without any certification or experience. Some places will train you.

Since the OP references Dr. Gray, here a link to a question similar to this one around clinical experience: Ep. 136: Does Contact Tracing Count as Clinical Experience?

Aside from that, slight difference of opinion. I personally tend to view clinical experience as answering the question of, “Do I even like being around patients?” To answer this question, clinical experience would need to be in a medical setting and would need to put you in direct contact with patients or “close enough to smell the patient” (as I’ve heard some people phrase it).

EJS references the AAMC’s emphasis on having “an awareness of what a career as a practicing physician entails.” I agree that this is important, although I tend to view shadowing a doctor as addressing this component, rather than clinical experience. Still, (as EJS noted) I also think it would be useful to have multiple different activities listed under your clinical experience section.

Best of Luck!