Clinical experience includes both shadowing and direct patient care (DPC) and both are key to preparing for a healthcare career and strengthening your application.
There’s no perfect time to start, but many students begin exploring during their first year and start gaining hands-on experience the summer after.
Pre-Health Tip:
As you participate in work, volunteer, or activity experiences, take time to reflect on them as you go. These reflections will be valuable when it’s time to apply to your health professional program. We recommend using tools like Mappd or Handshake to track your experiences and document your insights along the way.
Over time, aim to collect both types of experience.
Also, build strong relationships with providers and supervisors—they may become valuable letter writers later on.
Shadowing
Shadowing refers to observing a healthcare provider in their daily work. This is a perfect first step to explore the field.
- Helps you understand provider-patient interactions and healthcare team dynamics.
- Aim for 50–75 hours (for pre-med and pre-dental), ideally across different specialties or providers.
- DO applicants should try to shadow a DO physician.
Reflect on what you learn—what inspired you, how they connected with patients, what the work environment was like.
How to Find Shadowing Opportunities:
- Ask your own healthcare providers.
- Use family connections to find leads (but avoid shadowing family members directly).
- Explore virtual shadowing if in-person isn’t available.
Direct Patient Care/Clinical Experience
Direct Patient Care (DPC) is hands-on experience where you interact directly with patients or provide care.
- Expectation: At least 100 hours (3-4,000 hours for PA programs).
- Helps demonstrate your comfort and capability in real healthcare settings.
- Reflect actively—what did you learn, how did you grow, what populations did you connect with?
We often are asked: what counts as direct patient care or clinical experience? The short answer is: any experience gained caring for another person.
However, there are roles that students pursuing health professions often pursue. We listed some of them in the table below.
For more, make sure to sign up for Pre-Health Connect, our Brightspace page, to find an ongoing list of opportunities.
| Role | Job Role | Certification Needed | How to Get It |
| EMT | Provide immediate medical care and transportation for patients in emergency situations, stabilizing them at the scene and during transport to hospitals. | State EMT certification | Complete a state-approved EMT course (about 3–6 months), then pass the NREMT exam |
| CNA | Provides direct patient care, assisting with daily living activities like bathing, eating, and mobility, while also observing and reporting on patient conditions under the supervision of nurses | CNA license | Enroll in a certified CNA program (often 4–12 weeks), then pass a state exam |
| Medical Assistant (MA) | Provides support to healthcare professionals and patients by performing both clinical and administrative tasks to ensure efficient and effective medical operations. | Optional but recommended | Complete an MA training program and take a certifying exam (CMA or RMA) |
| Medical Scribe | Transcribe patient appointments into electronic medical records | No certification required | Get trained on-the-job or through a scribe training program |
| Personal Care Aide | Helps patients with daily living tasks—bathing, dressing, eating, mobility, and medication reminders—often in home or assisted living settings. | Often requires basic training | Requirements vary by state; short training programs are often available |
| PT Aide | Work under the direct supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant, keeping the treatment area clean and organized, and preparing for each patient’s therapy. | No license required | Most are trained on-site, but courses are available |
| Pharmacy Technician II | This is considered indirect clinical experience, but it may count as direct patient care if you’re regularly interacting with patients (e.g., discussing medications or administering vaccines in some roles). | Complete a training program (work to earn through Walgreens apprenticeship program) | Pass certification exam (PTCB) |