Updated October 31, 2026
Clinical and volunteer hours tracker
Log each shift under the experience type your application uses, and the tracker adds up your hours. AMCAS lists 19 experience types, including Paid Employment and Community Service/Volunteer, each with a Medical/Clinical version, and Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation, and asks for total hours per experience. CASPA splits Patient Care Experience, where you are directly responsible for a patient's care, from Healthcare Experience, and asks for average weekly hours. Volunteer hours get their own total, split into medical/clinical and other on AMCAS. Your log stays in this browser, with a CSV download.
Saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Interviewers will ask about these hours.
Practice talking about your clinical workExperience types from the 2027 AMCAS Application Workbook and the CASPA help center: Experiences, checked October 31, 2026. Nothing you type leaves this page. Confetto is not affiliated with the AAMC, AACOM, PAEA, Liaison or TMDSAS.
Which hours count as clinical?
AMCAS and CASPA sort the same work differently. The middle column is the AMCAS type, the last the CASPA type. Our mapping, from each service's own definitions:
| Work | AMCAS | CASPA |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on care (EMT, CNA, phlebotomist) | Paid Employment or Community Service/Volunteer, Medical/Clinical | Patient Care Experience |
| Scribe, medical assistant, clerical work | Paid Employment or Community Service/Volunteer, Medical/Clinical | Healthcare Experience (a CNA can be either, by job) |
| Following a clinician | Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation | Shadowing |
| Non-medical volunteering | Community Service/Volunteer, Not Medical/Clinical | Volunteer |
| Lab or research job | Research/Lab | Research |
AMCAS doesn't define its types. The AAMC says the information is self-identified, so you decide which type fits. CASPA defines each one, and says it isn't guaranteed that every program will accept an experience the way you categorize it.
Patient care vs healthcare experience on CASPA
- Patient Care Experience: experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care. CASPA's examples include working on patients as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, CNA, phlebotomist, physical therapist or dental hygienist.
- Healthcare Experience: paid or unpaid work in a health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care but may still interact with patients, such as filling prescriptions, clerical work, taking vitals or working as a scribe or medical assistant.
- Shadowing: time spent officially following and observing a health care professional at work, preferably a PA.
- Volunteer: volunteer work outside of health care. Unpaid clinical work goes under Patient Care or Healthcare Experience.
Tracking volunteer hours
- AMCAS: two volunteer types, Community Service/Volunteer, Medical/Clinical and Community Service/Volunteer, Not Medical/Clinical. The tracker adds both into one volunteer total and shows the split, and the medical/clinical part also counts toward your clinical hours.
- CASPA: Volunteer is volunteer work done outside of health care, such as Habitat for Humanity, tutoring or a blood drive. Volunteering in a clinic goes under Patient Care or Healthcare Experience, so log it there.
How each application asks for your hours
- AMCAS: up to 15 experiences, each with a date range and the total number of hours you completed in it. You can list up to three more date ranges for a repeated experience, and the 2027 Work and Activities Guide for Applicants lets you add anticipated hours for experiences that continue after you submit.
- CASPA: a date range and the average weekly number of hours for each experience. You can't repeat hours between experience types, so split a mixed job between types. CASPA suggests focusing on the last 10 years at the college level and up. List current and in-progress experiences, and not planned ones.
The tracker gives you both: total hours and the first and last date for each experience, and the average hours a week over that range.
Logging habits that save you later (ours)
- Log the same day, from your schedule or timesheet, not from memory months later.
- Name each experience the way it will appear on your application, so one role stays one row.
- Use the note for the patient moment or skill you'd want in a description or an interview answer.
- Download the CSV every month. Clearing your browser data deletes the log.
When you write the entries up, see our AMCAS Work and Activities guide or the CASPA application guide, and count each description with the application character counter. Still looking for hours? Our guide to shadowing a doctor has an email you can send today.
All experience types
AMCAS (19) and CASPA (9)
AMCAS: Artistic Endeavors. Community Health Advocacy. Community Service/Volunteer, Medical/Clinical. Community Service/Volunteer, Not Medical/Clinical. Conferences Attended. Extracurricular Activities. Hobbies. Honors/Awards/Recognition. Intercollegiate Athletics. Leadership, Not Listed Elsewhere. Military Service. Other. Paid Employment, Medical/Clinical. Paid Employment, Not Medical/Clinical. Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation. Presentations/Posters. Publications. Research/Lab. Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant.
CASPA: Patient Care Experience. Healthcare Experience. Shadowing. Research. Volunteer. Leadership Experience. Teaching Experience. Extracurricular Activities. Non-Healthcare Employment.
Questions people ask
What counts as patient care experience for CASPA?
CASPA defines it as experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care, and its examples include working on patients as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, CNA, phlebotomist or dental hygienist. Programs set their own rules, so check how each one counts your role.
Is scribing patient care or healthcare experience?
CASPA lists working as a scribe under Healthcare Experience, along with a medical assistant and a CNA depending on the job description. Healthcare Experience is health-related work where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care.
Which AMCAS experience types are clinical?
AMCAS has Medical/Clinical versions of Paid Employment and Community Service/Volunteer, and a separate Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation type. The AAMC says the information is self-identified, so you decide which type fits each experience. This tracker totals the two Medical/Clinical types as clinical and keeps shadowing apart.
Can one job count under two CASPA types?
Yes, but not the same hours. CASPA says you cannot repeat hours between experience types. Enter the position under both and split the hours, for example 30 hours a week of patient care and 10 of research. Log the two parts under their own types here.
How do I track volunteer hours for medical or PA school?
Log each volunteer shift under the type your application uses. AMCAS has two: Community Service/Volunteer, Medical/Clinical and Community Service/Volunteer, Not Medical/Clinical, and the tracker totals both and shows the split. CASPA's Volunteer type is volunteer work done outside of health care, so unpaid clinical work goes under Patient Care or Healthcare Experience instead.
Where is my log saved?
Only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to Confetto or anyone else, and clearing your browser data deletes it, so download the CSV now and then.