The Ultimate Guide to Clinical Experience for Pre-Health Students (2025)

Gaining clinical experience is one of the most important steps you can take as a pre-health student. Whether you’re on the path to becoming a physician, nurse, physician assistant, dentist, or mental health provider, meaningful patient interaction and real-world healthcare exposure are essential for building confidence, skill, and a competitive application.

In this ultimate guide, we break down what clinical experience is, why it matters, how to get it (both locally and abroad), and how to make the most of every hour you spend in scrubs.

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What is clinical experience?

Clinical experience refers to any hands-on or observational activity where you’re directly exposed to patient care or medical practice in a healthcare setting. It helps you understand what it's really like to work in healthcare — the pace, the pressure, the patients, and the team dynamics.

Common clinical experience types:

Shadowing:

Observing licensed professionals (e.g., doctors, nurses, PAs) during their routine

Patient care experience:

Assisting with vital signs, hygiene, mobility, or documentation

Internships abroad:

Participating in structured hospital-based programs, often in low-resource settings

Scribing or clinical assistant roles:

Recording patient notes and supporting physicians

Volunteering in clinics or hospitals:

Providing logistical or non-medical support in healthcare environments

Why is clinical experience essential for pre-health students?

Admission committees at medical, PA, dental, and nursing schools expect applicants to demonstrate that they’ve explored healthcare meaningfully. Clinical experience shows that:

You understand what working in healthcare entails
You’re committed to your career path
You’ve built early communication and critical thinking skills
You can thrive in diverse, often high-stakes environments

Even more importantly, clinical exposure can help you confirm that the career you’re pursuing is the right fit before you invest years of education and training.

How many clinical hours do you need?

There’s no universal minimum, but competitive applicants typically accumulate:

Medical school applicants: 100–300 hours (shadowing + hands-on)
PA school applicants: 1,000–2,000 direct patient care hours (varies by program)
Nursing and pre-nursing students: 100–500 hours during undergrad or volunteer work
Pre-dental students: 100+ shadowing and dental-specific hours

Always check individual school websites. For example, CASPA has strict definitions for clinical hours for PA programs.

How to get clinical experience as a pre-health student

Whether you're early in your journey or already building a strong application, here are effective ways to gain clinical experience:

Join a clinical internship abroad

One of the fastest and most immersive ways to build quality experience is through an international internship. Programs like Go Elective place students in busy public hospitals in Kenya and Tanzania, where you’ll:

Shadow doctors, nurses, and clinical officers across departments
Assist in daily patient rounds, procedures, and health education
Learn to navigate healthcare in under-resourced environments
Gain cultural competence and adaptability — key soft skills in medicine

Internships are available for pre-med, pre-PA, nursing, dental, and public health students.

Shadow local healthcare professionals

Start by reaching out to physicians, dentists, PAs, or nurses in your local community. Look for professionals in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, or specialties you're considering. When shadowing:

Dress professionally and arrive early
Observe quietly unless prompted to ask questions
Take notes (outside patient care areas) to reflect later

Work as a CNA, EMT, MA, or scribe

These roles are great for building direct patient care hours, particularly for PA school or advanced nursing programs. They also demonstrate your ability to function within a healthcare team.

CNA: Certified Nurse Assistant
EMT: Emergency Medical Technician
MA: Medical Assistant
Scribe: Real-time documentation of patient encounters

Volunteer at hospitals and free clinics

Many hospitals accept volunteers for patient transport, front desk roles, or inpatient unit support. While not all volunteering is considered "clinical," it still builds familiarity with healthcare systems and team dynamics.

Clinical experience abroad: Is it worth it?

Yes — but it depends on how the program is structured. When done ethically and responsibly, clinical internships abroad offer:

Intensive, high-volume learning environments
Exposure to rare or late-stage pathologies
Mentorship from diverse clinical teams
Cultural humility and global awareness
Meaningful reflection for personal statements and interviews

At Go Elective, all programs are coordinated with partner hospitals, and students are supported by in-country staff to ensure ethical involvement and licensing compliance. You’ll never be asked to perform outside your scope — instead, you’ll gain depth through close observation, case discussions, and participation in real hospital systems.

How to reflect on and document your experience

It’s not enough to just log your hours. Schools want to know what you learned, how you grew, and how the experience shaped your goals.

Tips for documenting:

Keep a journal with dates, departments, and observations
Record 1–2 specific cases that challenged or inspired you
Reflect on how the experience influenced your empathy, decision-making, or understanding of health systems
Use these reflections in your personal statement, interviews, or applications (AMCAS, CASPA, etc.)

Clinical experience vs patient care experience: What’s the difference?

Clinical experience is broader — includes shadowing, volunteering, or observing
Patient care experience means direct, hands-on involvement like bathing, feeding, drawing blood, or charting

If you're applying to PA school or nursing programs, focus heavily on direct patient care roles. For medical and dental school, shadowing + exposure is often sufficient if it’s reflective and substantive.

Final thoughts

Clinical experience is your gateway into medicine — not just to impress admissions committees, but to genuinely understand what your future might look like. Whether it’s shadowing a cardiologist in your hometown or assisting in a maternity ward in Mombasa, every hour helps shape your identity as a future healthcare provider.

With structured, ethical, and immersive options like Go Elective’s global health internships, you can combine clinical learning with cultural exploration — all while strengthening your application and perspective.

> Apply or reach out to our advisors for more info via hello@goelective.com