Student/clinical rotation vs clinical externship

The differences between student/clinical rotations and clinical externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a student/clinical rotation, becoming a clinical externship takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a student/clinical rotation has an average salary of $88,697, which is higher than the $35,831 average annual salary of a clinical externship.

The top three skills for a student/clinical rotation include patients, vital signs and medication administration. The most important skills for a clinical externship are patients, mental health, and patient care.

Student/clinical rotation vs clinical externship overview

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Clinical Externship
Yearly salary	$88,697	$35,831
Hourly rate	$42.64	$17.23
Growth rate	6%	9%
Number of jobs	87,950	63,061
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	45
Years of experience	2	4

What does a student/clinical rotation do?

Clinical rotation is the stage wherein medical students spend their last two years of study as medical team members. During this period, medical students learn to apply their knowledge from the classroom to real-life medical situations. They follow physicians and residents at teaching hospitals and gain relevant practical experience. During the training, they rotate through different medical specialties. They obtain a patient's history, complete physical examinations, and write progress notes. Also, they assist in medical surgeries and procedures with the guidance of physicians. Diagnosis and treatment of patients are two other medical activities that they actively involved in with attending residents' supervision.

What does a clinical externship do?

A clinical externship is a short medical student program directly mentored by professionals within their chosen career path in healthcare. Clinical externs work in various settings such as hospitals, a doctor's office, or clinics and work directly with patients to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in the classroom. They will be graded and must pass the program to be able to graduate from medical school. Externs must request a letter of recommendation from their site supervisor when applying for jobs.

Student/clinical rotation vs clinical externship salary

Student/clinical rotations and clinical externships have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Clinical Externship
Average salary	$88,697	$35,831
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $220,000	Between $25,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Alameda, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Genentech
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between student/clinical rotation and clinical externship education

There are a few differences between a student/clinical rotation and a clinical externship in terms of educational background:

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Clinical Externship
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Nursing	Psychology
Most common college	Duke University	California State University - Long Beach

Student/clinical rotation vs clinical externship demographics

Here are the differences between student/clinical rotations' and clinical externships' demographics:

	Student/Clinical Rotation	Clinical Externship
Average age	44	45
Gender ratio	Male, 21.9% Female, 78.1%	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 11.8% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	15%

Differences between student/clinical rotation and clinical externship duties and responsibilities

Student/clinical rotation example 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.
Provide catheter care and a variety of injections for patients with autoimmune metabolic illnesses and urinary dysfunction.
Travele to multiple ICU/ CCU.

Clinical externship example responsibilities.

Set up and manage new medical transcription department.
Manage large scale TMF inventory/file cleanup projects in preparation for FDA and EMA inspections.
Manage difficult or emotional patient situations, with compassion and professionalism.
Participate in multiple studies managing CTM activities for various therapeutic areas simultaneously including oncology, urology, transplant, and immunology.
Monitor EKG's, assess blood pressure, palpate heart rates, safely progress patients in exercise.
Perform manual data entry in CTMS, TMF, CRF imaging and various departmental databases.

Student/clinical rotation vs clinical externship skills

Common student/clinical rotation skills

Patients, 28%
Vital Signs, 6%
Medication Administration, 5%
IV, 5%
Direct Patient Care, 5%
Clinical Rotations, 4%

Common clinical externship skills

Patients, 32%
Mental Health, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

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Student/Clinical Rotation
Student/Clinical Rotation vs Clinical Externship

Updated January 8, 2025

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