Medical School Headquarters

Join us live on Premed Office Hours—Wednesdays at 1pm ET Join Here

<

Highlight & Takeaways

Session 220

This premed has 4 years of clinical experience as a CMA, but do they still need volunteer experience prior to applying to med school?

Your questions answered here are taken directly from PremedForums.com. If you haven’t yet, sign up for a free account and ask away!

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

[00:50] OldPreMeds Question of the Week

“Hi my name is John and I am new to the forum. I just recently started my journey as a premed and I listen to the podcast often, It has already answered many questions I had before setting down this road but I can’t recall if this has been covered or not.

Will I need volunteering hours in the future if I have been working as a CMA for the past 4 years?

I currently work in a Cardiologist office for a DO and he’s one of the coolest doctors I have ever worked for. In my 4 years as a CMA I have worked in Internal Medicine, Neuro and now Cardiology.

Just curious if me working in the field close enough to “Smell” the patient will suffice or do I NEED to volunteer at a doctor’s office or hospital. I would have no problem doing this as I am in very good standing with the owners of the office I previously worked at and am currently employed by one of the largest hospital systems in the state (South Carolina). Thank you for all you do, I really enjoying listening to all the podcast.”

[02:16] CMA as Clinical Experience

Let’s assume here that CMA stands for Certified Medical Assistant. Interestingly, every state uses different language and terms for different roles.

So if you are a certified medical assistant, that’s a great experience! You’re doing vitals and you’re helping out. You’re checking the patients and doing all that kind of stuff where you’re getting close enough to smell the patients.

What you don’t want to do is to stop doing clinical experience. But you can stop being a CMA and go to hospice work if it’s more flexible with your time so you can take classes, etc.

'You don't have to keep doing the same thing. Just keep your foot in the door in the clinical world to help with your experiences.'Click To Tweet

Links:

Meded Media

PremedForums.com

You might also like

loading

Why MCAT Scores & GPAs Won’t Make You a Great Doctor

Session 592 Join us for an engaging conversation with Dr. David Winchester, a distinguished cardiologist...

From High School to MD: Inside the BSMD Experience

Session 591 (00:01) Path to Medicine (11:22) Leadership, Time Management, and Transition (19:09) Medical School...

MCAT Anxiety, Gap Years, and the Journey to Medical School

Session 590 How does a budding interest in healthcare transform into a steadfast commitment to...

No Plan B: The Grit and Grind of a First-Gen Premed

Session 589 Growing up in a small town with dreams that seemed larger than life,...

Never miss an episode!

Watch this video to learn how to subscribe to our Meded Podcasts.

What our listeners are saying

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit

Advisor Preference

Thank you for the info! Knowing if you have advisor preferences and who they are helps us make sure we have the proper resources to take care of every student who wants to work with us! This is not your official selection. After you sign up, you'll be sent a form to fill out!

Every one of our advisors were hand-picked by Dr. Gray and are all experts dedicated to helping you get into medical school. When you sign up, you'll receive an email to complete your official request about who you prefer and who might be a good fit. After you fill out that form, we'll get you set up!

Right now, Carlos Tapia, former Director of Admissions at TCU and former Director of Student Affairs at Icahn Mount Sinai, and Courtney Lewis, former Director of Admissions at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine are the two advisor who have remaining availability. Both are experts at helping their students get into great medical schools across the country, both MD and DO! Dr. Crispen and Deana Golini are available on a case-by-case basis for 20-hour package students. Remember, we're a small team and everyone on the team has amazing admissions experience and a proven track record of getting students into med schools across the country!