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Clinical Experience / Exposure

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What is clinical experience/exposure?

Clinical experience/exposure is any experience that involves the care and treatment of patients and ideally one in which you can observe the patient/healthcare professional relationship. Most pre-health students will engage in some form of clinical experience/exposure before enrolling in a health professions program.

Why should I engage in clinical experience/exposure?

Health professional schools want to be confident that you:
  • have a good understanding of the realities of healthcare
  • are service-minded and people-oriented
  • are committed to the practice of your chosen health profession

What do I gain from engaging in clinical experience/exposure?

Clinical experience/exposure allows pre-health students to get a firsthand look at what it’s like to work in a healthcare setting and to see the qualities and characteristics it takes to provide care. It also allows pre-health students to test and confirm that this is the right work setting and profession for them.

Do I need to volunteer, shadow, or do research as a first-year student?

There is no expectation that you engage in these kinds of experiences during your first year. Most Northwestern students choose to spend their first year focusing on the transition to college life. We encourage students to not feel rushed to dive into these activities and wait until you’re feeling comfortable on-campus and have time in your schedule. However, these are important experiences that you will need to account for, and your advisor can help you decide when the best time may be to begin these types of experiences.

How do I find volunteering opportunities?

Volunteer Resources include the following:

  • The Importance of Clinical Experience handout. Ask your health professions advisor about this
  • Our Service & Volunteering page (both clinical and non-clinical volunteering opportunities)
  • Volunteermatch.org, for volunteering opportunities anywhere
  • There are many student organizations on that have a volunteering/service component that pre-health students engage in

Will I have enough time to engage in these experiences in addition to my coursework?

Yes, absolutely! The key is to build your experience gradually, rather than trying to do everything at once. With thoughtful planning, you can take part in a wide range of meaningful opportunities over the course of three or more years.

How much volunteering do I need to do?

This varies greatly by health path with physician assistant programs requiring the most clinical experience/exposure hours. In general, health professional programs prefer to see a consistent record of service over an extended period of time.
  • All programs will value service in a medical/clinical setting
  • Most programs also appreciate service in a non-medical/clinical setting
  • Many schools will not have a required number of hours, but we recommend at least a year of volunteering before applying to a health professions program (one shift a week, ideally). Hours can vary depending on the pre-health path that you’re pursuing.

How do I find shadowing/mentoring opportunities?

Shadowing/mentoring resources include:

What are some student organizations that students can join?

Any student organizations that you like.  Being active in any type of club can demonstrate qualities of teamwork and leadership.

Visit the Student Leadership Committee page on our website to see some of the pre-health clubs at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ. However, this isn’t an exhaustive list, so is the best way to search Student Groups.

Where do I find a pre-health work study position?

Many pre-health students gravitate toward in research labs, but health professional programs haven’t indicated a preference for any specific type of job. Any position that interests you, develops transferable skills or allows you to demonstrate the is a good choice.

How do I find summer internship opportunities? What do I do over the summer?

Explore the following resources and summer opportunities provided by ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ and the Health Professions Advising office:

I want to volunteer abroad so I can get a lot of great hands-on medical experience. Do you recommend any programs?

We recommend that you review and follow the and only choose a program that adheres these guidelines.
  • Remember, if you are not qualified to do something in the U.S., you are not qualified to do it in another country.
  • From the above AAMC document: Many pre-health students believe that the more in-depth clinical experience/exposure they have, the stronger their applications will be. However, taking on tasks that are beyond your training could make you look unethical, unknowledgeable about the health professions, irresponsible to admission committees, and may diminish or eliminate your chance for acceptance into medical school.
  • You do not need to go abroad to engage in global communities, many cities have international populations in need of service.