Volunteering & Experience

photos of volunteer settings

What is it?

How many hours do I need?

Why do it?

What are the benefits?

Types of Clinical Experiences

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Unpaid Hospital or Clinical Volunteer

Volunteering in a clinical setting like hospital, clinic, nursing home, veterinary clinic, hospice setting, dental office, etc. 

Most hospitals have a formal process for signing up to be a volunteer at their site. This may involves steps such as: completing HIPAA training, a background check, completing certain immunizations, and more. 

More information about hospital volunteering can be found on this page

Paid Clinical Experience

This includes experiences working for pay in a health care or similar setting, such as working as a medical scribe, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Pharmacy Technician, Personal Care Attendant (PCA), and assorted other positions.

Some of these positions require some training, which could take a few hours or a few months. 

Included here is a list of organizations in the Twin Cities that hire or train these types of positions.

This list is not meant to be inclusive of all paid clinical experience opportunities. We recommend checking Handshake or starting with an internet search of the type of experience you are looking for. 

Shadowing a Health Professional

Shadowing a health professional involves following a professional around as they do their typical work duties in their place of work (hospital, clinic, pharmacy, etc.). 

We have an entire page dedicated to talking more about shadowing, including strategies to finding a professional to shadow. 

Learn More About Shadowing

non-clinical volunteering

What is it?

How many hours do I need?

Why do it?

What are the benefits?