Georgia

How to Get Clinical Hours in Georgia

Georgia has some of the best clinical training environments in the country — starting with Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, one of the busiest Level 1 Trauma Centers in the Southeast. Here is where to find meaningful patient contact hours and how to document them correctly for AMCAS and AACOMAS.

How many clinical hours do you need?

Most competitive Georgia MD applicants have 150–300+ hours of direct patient contact. Georgia schools — especially Morehouse, Emory, and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University — value clinical experience in underserved settings. Quality and reflection matter as much as raw hours. A student with 200 hours and a compelling narrative will outperform a student with 500 hours and nothing meaningful to say about them.

Dr. Tomei's Perspective

Georgia pre-meds have an enormous advantage when it comes to clinical hours — Grady Memorial Hospital alone has more clinical training opportunities than most entire states. The challenge is not finding opportunities; it is choosing the right ones and building a coherent clinical narrative. Every experience should teach you something about medicine, about patients, or about yourself. If you cannot articulate what you learned, the hours are not working for you.

Major Georgia Hospital Systems for Pre-Med Volunteers

Grady Memorial Hospital — Atlanta

Atlanta

Grady is the primary public hospital for Atlanta and one of the busiest Level 1 Trauma Centers in the Southeast. It is the primary teaching hospital for Emory University School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine. The diversity of patients and conditions at Grady is unmatched in Georgia.

Tip: Grady has a formal volunteer program through their volunteer services office. Emory and Morehouse pre-med students have a natural pipeline here. The trauma and emergency medicine exposure at Grady is exceptional for pre-med students.

Emory University Hospital — Atlanta

Atlanta

Emory University Hospital is one of the top academic medical centers in the Southeast, affiliated with Emory University School of Medicine. Strong programs in oncology, transplant, neurology, and cardiovascular care.

Tip: Emory has structured volunteer and research programs for pre-med students. Emory pre-meds have a natural advantage for volunteer positions here. The research environment at Emory is exceptional for students interested in academic medicine.

Augusta University Medical Center — Augusta

Augusta

Augusta University Medical Center is the primary academic medical center for the Augusta region and a Level 1 Trauma Center. It is the teaching hospital for the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University — the state's flagship public medical school.

Tip: Augusta University Medical Center has a volunteer program through their volunteer services office. Students in the Augusta area have a natural pipeline here. Strong exposure to trauma, burn care, and rural medicine.

Navicent Health (Atrium Health Navicent) — Macon

Macon

Atrium Health Navicent is the primary academic medical center for Central Georgia and a Level 1 Trauma Center. Affiliated with Mercer University School of Medicine, which has a strong primary care and rural medicine mission.

Tip: Navicent has a volunteer program and is an excellent option for pre-med students in the Macon area, especially those interested in Mercer or programs with community health missions.

Memorial Health University Medical Center — Savannah

Savannah

Memorial Health is the primary academic medical center for Savannah and Southeast Georgia, and a Level 1 Trauma Center. Affiliated with Mercer University School of Medicine's Savannah campus.

Tip: Memorial Health has a structured volunteer program. Savannah-area pre-med students have a natural advantage for volunteer positions here. Strong exposure to trauma, emergency medicine, and coastal community health.

Free Clinics and Underserved Health Programs

Free clinic experience is highly valued by Georgia medical schools — especially Morehouse School of Medicine and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, which have explicit missions around underserved care. These experiences also give you the most meaningful patient contact stories for your personal statement and AMCAS essays.

Morehouse Healthcare Free Clinic — Atlanta

A student-run free clinic affiliated with Morehouse School of Medicine providing primary care to Atlanta's uninsured population. One of the most competitive and rewarding clinical volunteer experiences for Atlanta pre-meds. Strong mentorship from Morehouse faculty.

Grady Health System Community Clinics — Atlanta

Grady operates a network of neighborhood health centers across Atlanta serving uninsured and underinsured patients. Multiple locations with volunteer opportunities in patient intake, health education, and clinical support.

Good Samaritan Health Center — Atlanta

A federally qualified health center serving Atlanta's underserved communities. Volunteer and scribe opportunities available. Strong fit for students applying to programs with explicit community health missions.

Augusta University Student Health Clinic — Augusta

A student-run clinic affiliated with Augusta University providing care to underserved patients in the Augusta area. Excellent clinical volunteer experience with direct mentorship from Medical College of Georgia faculty.

Mercer Medicine Community Health Centers — Macon

A network of community health centers affiliated with Mercer University School of Medicine serving Central Georgia's underserved population. Volunteer opportunities in primary care and preventive medicine.

EMT Certification and Medical Scribing in Georgia

EMT Certification in Georgia

Georgia has a robust EMS system and multiple pathways to EMT certification. Programs are available through community colleges (Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Atlanta Technical College, Augusta Technical College, Savannah Technical College) and typically take 3–6 months. EMT work provides some of the highest-quality clinical hours available to pre-med students — direct patient contact, real emergencies, and a clear demonstration of commitment to medicine. Georgia EMS certification is governed by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Medical Scribing in Georgia

Medical scribing is widely available in Georgia through companies like ScribeAmerica and Aquity Solutions, as well as directly through major Georgia health systems including Emory, Grady, and Augusta University Medical Center. Scribing gives you direct exposure to physician decision-making and clinical documentation. It counts as clinical experience in both AMCAS and AACOMAS and often leads to shadowing opportunities with the physicians you work with. Atlanta is one of the best places in the country to find scribing positions across multiple specialties.

How to Document Clinical Hours in AMCAS and AMCAS

Log every clinical experience separately in AMCAS and AMCAS — do not combine hospital volunteering and free clinic work into one entry.

For each experience, record the organization name, supervisor name and contact, start/end dates, and total hours.

AMCAS has a different experience entry format than AMCAS — you will need to enter your experiences in both systems separately.

AMCAS gives you 700 characters per experience description. AMCAS has similar limits. Use them to describe what you did, what you observed, and what you learned.

One experience can be designated as "Most Meaningful" in AMCAS — you get 1,325 characters for that one. Choose the experience where your reflection is deepest.

Clinical hours and volunteer hours are separate categories. Make sure you categorize correctly in both AMCAS and AMCAS.

Do not inflate hours. Admissions committees verify, and inconsistencies raise red flags — especially at Georgia schools where committee members may know the institutions personally.

Georgia schools value underserved medicine experience. If you have free clinic or public hospital hours, make sure they are prominently featured in your application.

Need Help Building Your Clinical Profile?

Clinical hours are only as valuable as how you write about them. Dr. Tomei can help you build a clinical narrative that Georgia medical schools — and AMCAS reviewers — find compelling.

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