Patient Exposure

All med school have a list of things they look at outside of your GPA, MCAT and letters of recommendation. Most schools have a required minimum (or average) hours in categories like: extracurricular activities, community/volunteer service, leadership, research, physician shadowing and of course, patient exposure. The University of Utah webpage says the following to define the category of patient exposure:

Patient exposure is defined as direct interaction with patients and hands-on involvement in the care of conscious people in a health care related environment, attending to their health maintenance, progression or end of life needs. It is important that the applicant be comfortable working with and around people who are ill.

Direct patient exposure can be gained in a variety of ways. Patient contact must include patients other than family members and friends and does not include indirect patient care such as housekeeping (cleaning operating rooms or patient rooms) working at the hospital information desk, or working in a pharmacy.

• The minimum patient exposure requirement is 4 hours per week for a period of 2 months or the equivalent of 32 hours.
• The average applicant spends 4 hours per week in patient exposure for 3 months or the equivalent of 48 hours.

The U of U is somewhat particular about their patient exposure (as are a few other schools) but this is a big one to look out for and one that will often set you apart from other students as it is harder to obtain lots of hours. 

For us, these hours were really intimidating and we really didn't know where to start. Patient exposure, especially, concerned us as Danny didn't work in a hospital, have an EMT certificate or have any past experience with patients. So again, we turned to research. We contacted the BYU premed office for opportunities, looked at local community sites, called the local hospitals and then googled everything we could think of. We got a lot of dead ends but in the end found a perfect match for us. 

Danny connected with Harmony Home and Hospice. This was such a good experience! They are always looking for volunteers and there is no prior experience needed. D explained how many hours he needed to reach and they were great at working with his schedule and getting him multiple patients. If you are going to BYU and were in the same pickle as us, Harmony Home is a great option. Not only did it meet the requirements but Danny loved the people he met and it made his desire to be a doctor grow.

If you are working with patients as your job you are so lucky! If not, you have to think outside the box. We discovered lots of opportunities and then we set up a plan over a six month period of time to make sure he not only fulfilled this requirement, but went over hours. 

Currently, Danny works for the Utah State Developmental Center which is nothing but patient exposure. They are also a place that is always looking for volunteers so if you are in the Utah County area these are two great places to get your patient exposure!