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Direct Patient Care?


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Hey guys, I'm sorry I know there are probably 8 million different threads for this but I'm completely new here and haven't learned my way around. Anyway most of the schools I am applying to such as: Quinnipiac U, Cornell, University of Florida and SBU require around 2000 hours of patient care. I know most of these hours can come easily by having a certification but I'm on a time crunch and don't really think I can get certified in anything right now. (Almost in my senior year of my bachelor's)

 

Would being a hospital attendent count as patient care? This is the description from the hospital:

  • As a priority, transport patients, equipment and materials/computer printouts/specimens to all areas of the hospital in the most timely and efficient manner in a way that exhibits a courteous customer service attitude.
  • Locate equipment during retrieval runs to replenish our inventory.
  • Transport the deceased to the hospital morgue.
  • Wash equipment in the equipment washing area of Transport Services.
  • Monitor the dispatching responsibility by answering phones, logging calls and dispatching Transport Services Personnel.
  • Perform daily scheduled runs for the delivery of computerized reports, supplies and Medical Records.
  • Responsible to ensure that all services are being performed efficiently and acts as the responsible party to respond to service issues and take appropriate remedial action.

It's not much hands-on, but many of the schools accept pharmacy tech as HCE and I don't see how thats direct patient care either.

Sorry again for this long post.

Any help would be appreciated :;-D:

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Hey guys, I'm sorry I know there are probably 8 million different threads for this but I'm completely new here and haven't learned my way around. Anyway most of the schools I am applying to such as: Quinnipiac U, Cornell, University of Florida and SBU require around 2000 hours of patient care. I know most of these hours can come easily by having a certification but I'm on a time crunch and don't really think I can get certified in anything right now. (Almost in my senior year of my bachelor's)

 

Would being a hospital attendent count as patient care? This is the description from the hospital:

  • As a priority, transport patients, equipment and materials/computer printouts/specimens to all areas of the hospital in the most timely and efficient manner in a way that exhibits a courteous customer service attitude.
  • Locate equipment during retrieval runs to replenish our inventory.
  • Transport the deceased to the hospital morgue.
  • Wash equipment in the equipment washing area of Transport Services.
  • Monitor the dispatching responsibility by answering phones, logging calls and dispatching Transport Services Personnel.
  • Perform daily scheduled runs for the delivery of computerized reports, supplies and Medical Records.
  • Responsible to ensure that all services are being performed efficiently and acts as the responsible party to respond to service issues and take appropriate remedial action.

It's not much hands-on, but many of the schools accept pharmacy tech as HCE and I don't see how thats direct patient care either.

Sorry again for this long post.

Any help would be appreciated :;-D:

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You could always call the admissions office of the schools where you want to apply. I've noticed through research that some schools are much pickier about direct hands on (live) patient care than others. I don't think Cornell has a minimum number of hours that they require either. If you're in a time crunch, you could look into becoming a CNA and then earning hours that way. Medical assistants in private practices are also able to earn patient care hours without having any special certification. The same goes for ER techs in some hospitals. Best of luck!

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You could always call the admissions office of the schools where you want to apply. I've noticed through research that some schools are much pickier about direct hands on (live) patient care than others. I don't think Cornell has a minimum number of hours that they require either. If you're in a time crunch, you could look into becoming a CNA and then earning hours that way. Medical assistants in private practices are also able to earn patient care hours without having any special certification. The same goes for ER techs in some hospitals. Best of luck!

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Nope, that would likely not be accepted. As you said, there is basically no direct patient contact. Take the time to get certified in something, its really the only certain way that you will be able to get a position with direct patient contact. There are certain positions that may qualify without a certification (certain types of clinical research assistants, for example) but these positions are far less numerous than those requiring a certification. Because you haven't started amassing hours yet, and you are still in undergrad, you probably will not be able to get 2,000 hours if you plan to apply soon. I would recommend either applying to programs that have no HCE requirement (even for these you should have at least some patient contact and shadowing), or take a year off to get the required hours to be a competitive applicant at the schools with 2000 hour minimum requirements.

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Nope, that would likely not be accepted. As you said, there is basically no direct patient contact. Take the time to get certified in something, its really the only certain way that you will be able to get a position with direct patient contact. There are certain positions that may qualify without a certification (certain types of clinical research assistants, for example) but these positions are far less numerous than those requiring a certification. Because you haven't started amassing hours yet, and you are still in undergrad, you probably will not be able to get 2,000 hours if you plan to apply soon. I would recommend either applying to programs that have no HCE requirement (even for these you should have at least some patient contact and shadowing), or take a year off to get the required hours to be a competitive applicant at the schools with 2000 hour minimum requirements.

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