Premedical Clinical Experiences

Clinical experiences are an extremely important part of your medical school preparation. Clinical activities that expose the student to the real-world work of a physician gives the student a realistic understanding of the practice of medicine and demonstrates the student’s interest, desire and commitment to medicine.  Medical & dental schools seldom accept a student who has little or no clinical work.

Clinical experiences vary in the degree to which you might observe physicians first-hand. And while the very best experiences are those that provides students with opportunities to observe physicians at work first-hand, the most important thing is that you get involved in a clinical setting and work your way up the ladder, eventually interacting with patients, then eventually, if you are lucky, working alongside a physician.

While some students enter UMW with clinical experiences from high school, UMW premedical students should consider beginning their clinical work as early as the first semester of their sophomore year, or even their second semester of their freshman year, and continuing with those experiences throughout your undergraduate career. Do not limit yourself to clinical work during the semester, nor to semester breaks or over the summer. Students should consider engaging in clinical activities while school is in session and while at home during breaks in the school year and during the summer. In addition, students should seek to get clinical work at several venues in order to get a broad view of the practice of medicine.

Letters of Introduction

A letter of introduction from your premedical advisor can sometimes be very helpful in arranging a clinical experience. Such letters are available only to UMW premed & predental students who are in good standing with the premed program. To obtain a letter, make an appointment with Professor O’Dell.

Clinical Opportunities in the Fredericksburg Area

Below is a list of Fredericksburg-area organizations that offer clinical experiences to qualified UMW students.

  • 1.  Hospital Volunteer
    • Volunteering in a hospital is a good way for UMW freshmen who haven’t worked in a clinical setting to get their first taste of clinical work. General hospital volunteering should only serve as a beginning. After one or two semesters of general hospital volunteer work, you should look to progress to the other opportunities listed below.
    • Contact the volunteer office at any one of the area hospitals to apply.  At your first appointment, let them know you are UMW premed student.
    • Mary Washington Healthcare has two hospitals in our area. Mary Washington Hospital is located in Fredericksburg, VA, across U.S. Route 1 from the UMW Fredericksburg campus. Stafford Hospital is located along Route 1 in Stafford, VA., north of Feredericksburg.
    • Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center is located on Spotylvania Parkway, near Cosner’s Corner, just south of the 4-mile Fork area of Spotsylvania County.
  • 2.  Lloyd Moss Free Clinic.  Fredericksburg. 
    • Volunteering at the Moss Free Clinic is a great way to combine clinical work with community service. The clinic runs both a medical and a dental free clinic. The clinic is a volunteer-dependent organization with more than 600 dedicated volunteers. Over 60 local physicians, dentists and nurse practitioners rotate as on-site clinicians. More than 40 medical professionals including nurses, pharmacists, and emergency technicians provide on-site health care services.
    • As a premedical student, you will likely get direct access to patients, taking medical histories, vital signs, and perhaps blood tests. Moreover, you might get some limited exposure to the physician’s work. As a predental student, you may have the opportunity to assist dentists.
    • The clinic is located on the campus of Mary Washington Hospital. 1301 Sam Perry Boulevard, Suite 100
    • To volunteer at the medical clinic, call (540) 741-3590.
    • To volunteer at the dental clinic, call (540) 741- 2448.
    • Let them know you are an UMW premed or predent student.
  • 3.  Work as a Medical Scribe

Working as a medical scribe is an excellent clinical experience, offering the type of experience most medical schools require. Scribes shadow physicians during their shifts and assisting them by conducting patient interviews, recording procedures and reviewing charts. Scribes are exposed to every step in the patient care process and gain valuable insights into medicine and emergency department operations. Experience as a scribe is held in high regard by most medical schools, and medical scribe positions are usually in very high demand by premedical students. It is a usually a paid position and requires the commitment that any paid job requires.

There are several medical scribe opportunities in the Fredericksburg area:

  • Working as a Medical Scribe for the Fredericksburg Emergency Medical Alliance / Mary Washington Hospital.

The Fredericksburg Emergency Medical Alliance is an independent emergency physician group that staffs three facilities located in Central Virginia, including the Emergency Room at Mary Washington Hospital.

To learn more and to apply for a scribe position, go to the FEMA website When you apply, let them know you are a UMW premed student.

  • Working as a Medical Scribe at the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center

Scribe positions at the Spotylvania Regiional medical Center are administered by Elite Medical Scribes. Elite Medical Scribes is an organization out of Minneapolis, Minnesota that recruits students for medical scribe positions in a variety of locations across the country, including the Spotsylvania Regional medical Center.

To learn more and to apply for a position, go to their website, www.EliteMedicalScribes.com.

  • Working as a Medical Scribe at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital. Tappahannock, VA

Riverside Tappahannock Hospital is located in Tappahannock, VA, 51 miles from UMW. Scribe positions are managed by Practice Management Associates, 111 Bulifants Boulevard, Suite B, Williamsburg, VA 23188. Scribe positions at the Riverside are administered by eScribe Management Services. eScribe Management Services recruits students for medical scribe positions in a variety of locations across the country, including Riverside Tappahannock Hospital.

To learn more and to apply for a position, go to their website, MD-Scribes.com or email Ms. Kim Campbell or phone her at 757-941-0660.

  • Work as a medical scribe at Mid-Rivers Cancer Center, Montross, VA

These positions are similar to the scribe positions listed above, with a focus on cancer patients and cancer treatment. Mid-Rivers Cancer Center is located 42 miles east of UMW in Montross, VA. Applicants must be pre-med or pre-nursing, with a GPA of 3.5 or above and must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to document patient care as dictated by a physician in a concise and clear manner. If interested, contact Dr. Walsh at midriversscribe@gmail.com.

  • 4.  Fredericksburg / Spotysylvania County Rescue Squads. 
    • Working as an EMT with the Fredericksburg / Spotysylvania County Rescue Squads provides great training, hands-on experiences with patients, and limited interaction with physicians.  You will need to take an EMT course, which is provided by the rescue sqauds.  Call (540) 373-0249 or toll-free at 1-877-892-9465 for more information.
  • 5.  Physician Shadowing.
    • Shadowing a physician can be one of the best ways any student can gain the type of clinical experience medical schools are looking for. Shadowing experiences can vary tremendously, some are for a very short duration, such as one or two visits overs a few hours, while others can be extensive, with weekly visits over a period of a semester or more.  It is important the experience be arranged on your own, with your work being an expression of your dedication and commitment. You are encouraged to contact the office of a physician or physician’s group and inquire about opportunities. Many students visit the physician’s office in person to make the initial contact, and you can obtain a valuable letter of introduction from Professor Gallik to help with the process. If interested in obtaining letter, make an appointment with Professor Gallik.