How To Become A Student/Clinical Rotation: What It Is and Career Path

What is a student/clinical rotation and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Amy Bruce

Clinical rotations are part of the curriculum for medical students. You will spend the last two years of med school on this job and what you receive in exchange for your efforts are credits and not coins.

During clinical rotations, students apply their theoretical knowledge to real life situations. They shadow doctors, residents, and nurses, interact with patients, and assist in resolving complex medical problems while gaining hands-on experience in the duties of a physician.

Clinical rotations are followed by residency positions and actually function as informal interviews to assess the competence of students. If you can get the health care professionals you work with to write you a nice recommendation, getting the residency placement to your heart's desire will be all the easier.

What general advice would you give to a student/clinical rotation?

Amy Bruce

Chair, Program Director, University of Charleston

Remember to exercise humility with your colleagues and peers in a healthy way. Know that you have a plethora of knowledge, but are still seeking understanding, support, and guidance from senior nurses in the field that have a lot to offer from years of practice and experience-partner with those who are willing to foster your professional growth and development. Do not seek out or stay in destructive peer-mentor relationships.

ScoreStudent/Clinical RotationUS Average

Salary

6.9

Avg. Salary $88,697

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 11.80%

Black or African American 10.42%

Hispanic or Latino 9.08%

Unknown 4.27%

White 63.99%

Gender

female 78.09%

male 21.91%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a student/clinical rotation

Explore student/clinical rotation education requirements

Most common student/clinical rotation degrees

Bachelor's

52.5 %

Associate

26.0 %

Master's

6.7 %

Start to develop specific student/clinical rotation skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	27.62%
Vital Signs	5.68%
Medication Administration	5.40%
IV	5.13%
Direct Patient Care	4.51%

Complete relevant student/clinical rotation training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New student/clinical rotations learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a student/clinical rotation based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real student/clinical rotation resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed student/clinical rotation usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed student/clinical rotation in most of states. 43 states require student/clinical rotations to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Registered Nurse (RN)
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Registered
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Registered Nurse (RN)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Registered
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Registered Nurse

Gain additional student/clinical rotation certifications

Student/clinical rotation certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific student/clinical rotation certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for student/clinical rotations include Physician Assistant - Certified (PA-C) and Certified Surgical Technologist (CST).

More About Certifications

Research student/clinical rotation duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, administering medications, performing procedures and managing emergencies
Perform physical assessments; 12 lead EKG; analyze cardiac strips; blood glucose monitoring via AccuCheck.
Assist with patient control analgesia pump, collaborate with nurse and rapid response team to have patients transfer to ICU.
Experience include various floors with multiple teams including cardiopulmonary, oncology, trauma, ICU, orthopedics, and pediatrics.

Prepare your student/clinical rotation resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student/clinical rotation resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a student/clinical rotation resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable student/clinical rotation resume templates

Build a professional student/clinical rotation resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your student/clinical rotation resume.