Most medical schools require some form of clinical experience before you apply to medical school. They want to know that you have at least interacted with patients and are ok with being around people who are ill. They also want to know that you have some grasp of the work that physicians do. Here are a few ways you can accomplish this requirement. You may want to consider doing more than one of these.
1. Shadow a physician at a local hospital. The easiest way to find shadowing opportunities is to talk to your premed advisor, your fellow premedical students, or local medical students. Doctors that frequently have students shadow them are internal medicine, surgery, and emergency medicine.
2. Volunteer at a hospital. This is the most common course for undergraduates. This experience allows you to interact with people who are sick and to spend time helping others.
3. Volunteer at a hospice. This was one of the most important experiences that I had as an undergraduate. I volunteered at an AIDS hospice called MAITRI in San Francisco. It was a 2 year commitment, and I thoroughly loved it and learned from the amazing residents that lived and died there. I would highly recommend this if you want more one on one time with those at the end of life. It puts life and mortality in perspective.
4. Volunteer at a clinic. There are countless clinics for you to volunteer. There are women's clinics, homeless clinics and shelters, etc. Find one that has a relationship with your school and volunteer.
5. Most other activities where you are interacting with patients or people who are sick in a helpful form will fit the bill.
Good luck in finding clinical experiences that work for you and that give you insight into what it means to be a caring physician. In all of these experiences, I guarantee that you will end up learning more than you ever intended, and benefiting from the people you meet.
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