Most health professional schools will expect applicants to demonstrate knowledge of the field through volunteering or working in a healthcare setting and shadowing or observing a practitioner. The exact amount of experience and documentation specifications will vary by program, so it’s important to verify the requirements of your preferred schools as you prepare to build this experience.
For the vast majority of pre-health program applications, a certain amount of shadowing experience will be required. The number of hours varies from program to program; be sure to understand how many hours are necessary and complete them over a series of months or even years. Try to gain experience shadowing several different professionals working in a variety of fields. This will give you a good sense of the different types of medicine, approaches to patient care, and how offices and organizations of different size operate. Through your commitment to gaining significant shadowing experience you are demonstrating your dedication to the profession and increasing your understanding of the realities of the job. Finding a health care professional to shadow will require initiative on your part. There are some observation or experiential education programs within hospitals that you can apply to, which will help to connect you with a practitioner in their system. Also consider:
For every health professional area, you will be expected to have gained knowledge of your field of interest through relevant paid or unpaid experience. The most common way to get experience in a healthcare setting is through volunteering at a hospital or other medical organization. We've listed some local hospitals and free clinics below to help in your search, but also recommend volunteering at nursing homes or hospice care to get experience. For veterinary school preparation, consider volunteering at local animal shelters and sanctuaries, in addition to looking for internships at your local zoo.
Akron Children’s Hospital – Akron and Beeghly campuses
Aultman Hospital – Canton, OH
Cleveland Clinic Akron General – Akron, OH
Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital – Canton, OH
Open M – Akron, OH
Summa Health – Akron, OH
University Hospitals Portage Medical Center – Ravenna, OH