Applying to Med/PA School
Clinical Experience: The 5 Best Websites to Help you Get Started: One Pre-Med’s View
About Anne Marie
Anne Marie Conrad is a 2021 graduate of Purdue University’s College of Liberal Arts with degrees in Global Studies and Spanish along with a certificate in Medical Humanities. She has explored her passion for global healthcare by doing undergraduate research on best practices for provision of healthcare across language and cultural barriers. Anne Marie was an Atlantis Fellow to Valladolid, Spain during the Summer of 2019.
When it comes to important aspects of a medical school application, healthcare exposure is right up there with strong academics (read: GPA and MCAT scores) and AAMC competencies. Students seek this exposure in a variety of ways. I, personally, have been able to get clinical experiences as a medical service trip volunteer, a participant in the Atlantis 360 shadowing program, and as a volunteer at a hospital. Finding opportunities for clinical experience as an undergrad can be one of the most daunting parts of the pre-med journey, but leads to some of the most valuable experiences. I’ve gathered here some of the Internet’s most comprehensive resources to get you started:
- This article on the AAMC’s website highlights why clinical experience is important and what different options are for pre-med students. Shadowing physicians is included as a great way to gain healthcare exposure. This article also presents hospice volunteering; working as a CNA, EMT, or hospital scribe; and serving as a chronically ill individual’s caretaker.
- If you’re looking for a list of examples of clinical experiences, this article is for you. Not only does it give you tons of examples of clinical experiences you can seek as a pre-med, it also outlines what you should get out of these experiences. As an added bonus to readers, this article also includes similar information about research opportunities.
- This article on Inspira Advantage is probably the longest read, but it is full of information. It’s structured in several parts including: Why do you need clinical experience for medical school?; What is considered clinical experience for medical school?; Types of clinical experience; How to choose your clinical experience for medical school; How to find clinical experiences; and How many hours of clinical experience are required for medical school? If any of these questions are floating around in your mind, I’d recommend starting here. This article also includes a couple of helpful infographics, which I love.
- This article by the Princeton Review is a quick read and goes beyond clinical experience. It does detail specific methods of gaining clinical experience, but goes beyond that to demonstrate how to use this clinical experience well in a medical school application. This article is especially helpful in guiding students in how to use the experiences they’ve had as pre-meds to craft a great medical school application.
- Our final article from Admissions Helpers repeats much of the general information we’ve seen in the others but also offers some unique insights. This article suggests some dos and don’ts in the “Important Points” section that, while I can completely understand why they make sense, I don’t think I would have thought of on my own. They also emphasize international clinical experience as something medical school admissions committees see favorably. Something the article notes about international clinical experience is finding legitimate and well-established organizations with whom to travel abroad. I have had two international clinical experiences, and both organizations I’ve participated in, Timmy Global Health and Atlantis, were very organized and official.
After learning about what these websites have to say regarding clinical experience, I think a wise next step for pre-med students is to look at individual medical schools and find out what their specific clinical experience requirements are. By using the MSAR resource by AAMC, pre-med students are able to see what percentage of the particular medical schools’ matriculating classes had clinical experience upon applying and whether that experience was paid or volunteer work. This is helpful to gauge how important a variety of clinical experiences are to a specific medical school. You may also be able to find out what kind of clinical experience certain medical schools value the most. You have no doubt heard that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to applying for medical school. There’s not exactly a magic number of clinical hours or a particular method of gaining clinical hours that will be your ticket into medical school. Remember one of the most important parts of doing these clinical hours is being able to articulate what you learned through those experiences and how they encouraged you to seek a career in the medical field.
Our Alumni Enter Great Medical Schools
John Daines
- Atlantis '17
- Brigham Young University '19
- Washington U. in St. Louis MD '23
Zoey Petitt
- Atlantis '17
- U. of Arizona '18
- Duke MD '23
Zoey Petitt
Hungary ’17 || University of Arizona (undergraduate) ’18
Completed Atlantis Program Location and Date:
Hungary, Summer 2017
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
I believe it was very helpful.
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
For me, my Atlantis experience played a key role in confirming my decision to go into medicine. This was important for me to discuss during the admissions process.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews?
Yes
Yong-hun Kim
- Atlantis '17
- Stanford '19
- Mayo Clinic MD '24
Yong-Hun Kim
Budapest, Hungary ’17 || Stanford University
Program:
Budapest, Hungary – Winter 2017
Undergraduate:
Stanford University class of 2019
Major:
Computer Science
Honors:
Bio-X Grant (award for research)
Undergraduate Activities:
President and Founder of Stanford Undergraduate Hospice and Palliative Care, Volunteer for Pacific Free Clinic, Research Assistant in Wernig Pathology Lab, President of Hong Kong Student Association, violin performance
Describe Atlantis in three words:
Eye-opening. Spontaneous. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I chose the Atlantis program because it combines opportunities to shadow physicians and travel abroad, both of which I had little prior exposure to.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
My favorite experience as an Atlantis participant came in the stories exchanged over meals or excursions and the breadth of conversation that reflected the diversity of backgrounds within our cohort and site managers.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I appreciated the chance to speak with physicians in Budapest and hear their personal motivations for pursuing medicine because it really helped better contextualize and validate my own interest in medicine. The physicians were also just really welcoming, relatable, and down-to-earth people.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
The Atlantis program has equipped me with a better understanding of what a career in medicine looks like, which I think is an invaluable gift considering the long road ahead of those who aspire to be a physician.
How has Atlantis equipped you for active leadership in the medical field?
The ability to interact and empathize with patients of diverse backgrounds and communities is a necessity to be a leader in the medical field. I think the Atlantis program, through my interactions with mentors and their patients, has helped me take my first steps toward attaining the cultural vocabulary and literacy required of a physician.
Megan Branson
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Montana '19
- U. of Washington MD '24
Sarah Emerick
- Atlantis '19
- Eckerd College '20
- Indiana U. MD '25
Snow Nwankwo
- Atlantis '19
- Catholic U. of America '21
- Georgetown U. MD '26
Tiffany Hu
- Atlantis '16
- U. of Maryland '17
- U. of Michigan MD '22
Tiffany Hu
Tereul, Spain ’16 || U Michigan Medical School
Program:
Teruel, Spain – Summer 2016
Undergraduate:
University of Maryland class of 2017
Admitted medical student at:
University of Michigan Medical School
Major:
Neurobiology
Honors:
Honors Integrated Life Sciences Program, Banneker/Key Scholarship
Extracurricular Activities:
American Medical Student Association Co-President & Advocacy Day Liaison, Alternative Breaks Experience Leader, Health Professions Advising Office Student Advisory Board, Biology Teach Assistant, Health Leads, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, NIH Research Intern, Physicians for Social Responsibility Environment & Health Intern
Describe Atlantis in Three Words:
Educational. Eye-opening. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I wanted to expand my horizons and understand a culture of health different from the ones I am accustomed to. I had shadowed doctors in the United States and Taiwan prior to my Atlantis program experience, and being able to see first-hand the healthcare system in Spain allowed me to draw comparisons between the different complex healthcare systems.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
Bonding with the other participants and celebrating our time together along with the doctors we shadowed. We would discuss our interests, passions, and motivation for medicine, and it was an incredible experience to learn from and alongside them.
What was your experience with the doctors you were shadowing?
Because of the pre-established relationships with the hospitals in which we shadowed, all the doctors were very welcoming and accommodating. They were willing to translate for us and explain in detail all of their medical decisions. My doctors and I had wonderful conversations about the differences between life in Spain vs. the United States.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I was excited to scrub in on surgeries and watch as the doctor explained what he was doing throughout the operation. Before and after surgeries, as well as in my other rotations, I observed how the doctors reassured and communicated with their patients. I was able to glean insight into differences between the experience of health in Spain versus the United States through observation as well as conversations with the doctors.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
Besides the wealth of medical knowledge I gained from shadowing the doctors, I challenged myself to step outside of my cultural comfort zone and explore more than I thought I was capable of. Atlantis allowed me to make connections with people from all around the United States and abroad, and the friendships I gained helped me learn so much more than I would have on my own.
Lauren Cox
- Atlantis '18
- Louisiana Tech '20
- U. of Arkansas MD '24
Lauren Cox
Libson, Portugal ’18 || Louisiana Tech
Completed Atlantis Program Location(s):
Lisbon, Portugal
Year of most recent program:
Fall ’17 – Summer ’18
Season of most recent program:
Summer
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
Extremely helpful
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
It exposed me to shadowing that was hard to come by in the states. It also gave me a chance to see other systems of healthcare.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews? If so, how much relative to other topics?
Yes – they wanted to know about my experience, and specifically how the healthcare I saw in another country compared to what I had seen in the USA.
Kayla Riegler
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Kentucky '20
- U. of Kentucky MD '24
About Atlantis
Atlantis is the leader in pre-health shadowing and clinical experience, offering short-term programs (1-10 weeks) over academic breaks for U.S. pre-health undergraduates. Medical schools want 3 things: (1)healthcare exposure, (2)GPA/MCAT, and (3)certain competencies. Atlantis gives you a great version of (1), frees you to focus on (2), and cultivates/shows (3) to medical school admissions committees.
Watch Video: The Atlantis Shadowing Experience and How it Helps In Your Med/PA Admissions Future
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