Gaining Experience

Gaining Experience & Developing Your Portfolio

Clinical Experiences
Health professional schools expect students to have a solid grasp of the roles and responsibilities of medical professionals and an understanding of the healthcare environment. You are required to gain clinical experience by volunteering or working in a health care setting, such as a hospital, community clinic, or office, where you have the opportunity to actively engage with patients and health care professionals. Engaging in clinical work is critical for demonstrating your commitment and passion to pursue a health profession. It will also allow you to develop your medical interests. Start Early!

Research and/or Scholarly Work
You are encouraged to participate in basic science research, research within your major of study, or clinical research as it relates to your academic interests and professional goals. Conducting research will help to develop critical thinking, analytical, and communication skills. We encourage you to explore research in a field of interest to you. It does not have to be in the natural sciences. While research is not required for clinical graduate programs ((MD, DO, DDS), it is a key component for research-based programs (MD/Ph.D.).

Community Service & Engagement
We strongly encourage you to get involved in your community, whether it's on-campus or off-campus. Being connected to your community and demonstrating altruism, compassion, awareness and cultural sensitivity to the needs of your community are important qualities that admissions committees are seeking in applicants.

Additional Activities & Experiences
Health professional schools seek well-rounded applicants with a variety of interests and skillsets. We encourage you to explore all of your interests regardless of their specifically related to your career pursuits. Involvement in activities within your community will afford you opportunities to develop and strengthen your leadership skills, cultivate personal interests, and establish meaningful relationships.

Summer Opportunities

The summer is an ideal time to explore your interest in the health professions by gaining rich and meaningful clinical and research experience. Not only do we hope you have the opportunity to engage with wonderful people and patients, gain knowledge, and build new skills, but these opportunities allow you to continue developing and strengthening the Core Competencies that health professional graduate programs look for in their future students.

How To Get Started

Before diving into your search for your next opportunity, it can be helpful to first take a moment to answer some quick reflection questions to help guide your search!

What type of experience are you looking for?

There are a variety of settings in which you can engage in clinical work depending on your interests. When beginning to search for clinical experiences, it can be helpful to think about what type of clinical setting you wish to work in, such as a hospital, community medical clinic, private medical practice, etc. While hospital experience is not required, it is a fantastic way to gain exposure to the practice of medicine and all its components. Most hospitals have volunteer programs that allows students to gain valuable experience observing and actively engaging with patients and the healthcare team of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, etc. In addition, within the NY metropolitan area, there are also many medical clinics that accept student volunteers and service the community around them.

You may also be interested in exploring clinical research which provides the opportunity to both engage with patients as well as be an active member of the research team. We are fortunate to have many academic hospitals in the NY metropolitan area conducting first-class clinical research.

Or are you looking to gain experience in a research lab. Is there a particular type of research such as basic science or social science that interests you?

Many community organizations offer wonderful opportunities for students to engage and support the local community.

Do you wish to work with any specific populations or in any specific areas of healthcare?

As you begin your search, it can be helpful to think about if there is a particular patient population and/or area of medicine that peeks your interest. For example, are you very interested in working with children or with the underserved? Are you interested in exploring a specialty of medicine/healthcare such as Neurology or Sports Medicine? Are you unsure if you want to pursue medicine versus physical therapy? It is completely okay to not have a particular preference at this time, but this can help to narrow down your search.

Why are these experiences important?

Satisfy your genuine interest and desire to help better NYC and local communities.
Gain exposure and insight into the various types of clinicians and their roles in the healthcare system and how they function together
Demonstrate to health professional programs your sincere interest, knowledge, and commitment to the profession
Gain the *required clinical hours to apply to health professional graduate programs (*required for allied health programs e.g. Nursing, Physician Assistant).

Developing Your Portfolio

Understanding the 15 Core Competencies for Medical School

These 15 core competencies are used to demonstrate that the applicant has developed skills, knowledge, and capabilities in these 15 defined competency areas. The competency categories are as follows: Thinking & Reasoning Competencies, Science Competencies, Interpersonal Competencies, and Interpersonal Competencies. To further understand, please visit the AAMC page.

It is important to keep in mind that medical schools look at more than your grades and scores. They use the 15 Core Competencies to assess your preparedness for medical school. The AAMC highlights different medical students and their unique paths to medical schools on a page called Anatomy of An Applicant, click here to read more about other applicants!

A Breakdown of the Core Competencies {expander}

Thinking & Reasoning Competencies
- Critical thinking
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Scientific Inquiry
- Written Communication
Science Competencies
- Living systems
- Human Behavior
Interpersonal Competencies
- Service Orientation
- Social Skills
- Cultural Competence
- Teamwork
- Oral Communication
Intrapersonal Competencies
- Ethical Responsibilities to Self and Others
- Reliability and Dependability
- Resilience and Adaptability
- Capacity for Improvement

Academic Accomplishments, Co-Curricular Experiences, & Building & Strengthening Relationships

As a part of developing your portfolio, it is important to focus on the different categories and strengthen each one individually.

Continuing to Develop Your Portfolio{expander}

Academic Accomplishment
- Satisfy prerequisites
- Conference Work
- Q: Breadth and Depth?
Co-Curricular & Extra-Curricular Experiences:
- Focus Locally
  - Hospitals, Clinics, Research Labs, Community Organizations
- Volunteer Virtually
- Campus Offices & Initiatives
  - Community Partnerships
  - Career Services
  - SLC Connect
- Network with Local Health Professionals & Researchers
- Network with Faculty, Peers, Family & Friends
- Read, Listen & Watch about Healthcare
- Participate in Virtual Fairs, Seminars, and Info Sessions
Build & Strengthen Relationships
- Don
- Faculty
- Supervisors
- Mentors