Clinical Opportunities in NYC
Interested in a career in medicine? Often one of the first steps to deciding if medicine is right for you is getting some clinical experience. This hands-on, practical exposure to the healthcare field is usually gained through direct interaction with patients and healthcare professionals and is crucial to understanding what the medical field is really like.
Before discussing types of clinical opportunities available to Barnard students, I want to emphasize that being pre-health at Barnard is based around the classes and experiences you partake in, rather than studying a specific major. You can major in anything, as long as you take the necessary prerequisites! If you want to learn more, check out Beyond Barnard’s pre-health resources and support systems here.
To start, there are plenty of clubs at Columbia that can offer clinical experience. At Columbia, my friend Kaylee (BC ‘25) started a Project Sunshine chapter (@psbarnardcolumbia), which works with a larger non-profit organization to provide free activities for children and families living with medical challenges. One way they provide support to families is by taking regular trips to Harlem Hospital. Another example of a student-run volunteering program is “At Your Service” (IG: @columbia_ays_), works with rehab and nursing facilities with a focus on Huntington’s disease, geriatrics and hospice care. There’s so many more to talk about, so I’d encourage you to check out the website for a full listing of clubs at Barnard (here) and Columbia (here).
Another option (and the main path I took) to gain clinical experience is to become certified and work as an EMT. The most popular option for pre-med students is to volunteer with Columbia University EMS (their website & IG: @cu_ems), the 24/7 free ambulance service on campus that’s fully staffed by fellow students. In my opinion, CUEMS is a great way to gain experience as an actual medical provider while also balancing academics. Since we work on campus, we’re often found studying in the libraries or reviewing our skills when we aren’t actively responding to an emergency. Even further, if you’re interested in getting your EMT license, CUEMS offers a sponsorship option, meaning you can take a semester-long course and get your EMT certification for free! But as much as I've genuinely loved working as an EMT, this is not required by any means to gain clinical hours.
Outside of campus, there are more opportunities to volunteer directly with nearby hospitals. You can volunteer in the Emergency Department at Mount Sinai Morningside (5 minute walk from campus), at Columbia's hospital New York Presbyterian (about a 15-20 minute subway ride from campus), or even at Harlem Hospital (25-30 min bus or subway ride from campus). These volunteer opportunities often involve visiting patients, assisting staff, and helping create a more calm and welcoming environment. This can be a great way to gain experience in a hospital setting and meet staff you might want to shadow in the future. I’ve had friends volunteer at each of these, and they’ve all really enjoyed these programs. In my experience, I’ve volunteered with Mount Sinai (and other hospital systems) simply by filling out their online volunteer application.
The next option is clinical research. While it’s a bit more of a gray area, clinical research can count as clinical experience if it involves direct patient interaction. This could involve a variety of opportunities, but the extent to which it's classified as “clinical” depends on the specific duties performed, as well as medical school discretion. I also want to note that many undergraduate research positions are unpaid, although some paid positions do exist. Either way, it can be a fantastic way to familiarize yourself with research in the medical field. Personally, I volunteer as a research assistant with the music therapy department at Mount Sinai, and I love it! One of our current studies is based in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where I’ve worked directly with patients, families, and healthcare providers while collecting data.
Side note: Shadowing! While it’s not necessarily “clinical experience,” shadowing involves observing physicians to understand the day-to-day realities of a medical career. This exposure is critical to making sure medicine is the field for you, as well as learning what types of medicine interest you (for example, understanding the differences between emergency medicine and primary care). Clinical opportunities can help connect you with doctors and medical personnel that you might want to shadow. For instance, my NICU research led me to connect with a neonatologist that I later shadowed! (side note to my side note: neonatology is genuinely soooo cool)
As you might have noticed, most of these experiences have been volunteer options. If you are wanting paid clinical experience, I would recommend either going through the training to be a medical scribe (assist healthcare providers by documenting patient encounters) or an EMT (but working with a private agency, not Columbia University EMS). However, volunteering is typically the primary way that pre-med students on campus gain clinical hours.
While there is generally no specific number required by medical schools in the U.S., clinical hours are critical to ensuring that medicine is the field for you. This can sound a little scary, but remember that quality is significantly more important than quantity. It's much more valuable to have consistent, meaningful experiences that demonstrate your commitment and allow you to reflect on your patient interactions! Thankfully, being a student in NYC provides a plethora of opportunities to go about this.
Being a Barnard student often means balancing a variety of different commitments, but being a pre-med Barnard student adds a new layer of medical school admission requirements. However, the best part of being pre-med at Barnard is that you’re never doing it alone — community is everywhere! There are an abundance of pre-health clubs on campus where you can build support systems, like the Columbia Women In Medicine Society (IG: @columbiawims) and the Charles Drew Pre-Medical Society (IG: @cucharlesdrew). On top of that, many of my friends have come simply by navigating the pre-med courses together. It may seem like a lot, but the Barnard community is there to encourage and uplift you as you work to achieve your goals!