Non Trad Employment Advice

[Mister Murke]

Ok, so here goes,

After finishing my non-traditional pre-med I moved in with my girlfriend a few states away. Unfortunately this has limited my options for med school. If an acceptance doesn't come this year I'll obviously have to do some additional work to make myself a more appealing candidate.

On the plus side, I also have to find I new job. This gives me a chance to find a job that'll help me if I need to reapply next year. So my question is: what are some entry level positions I should be looking for, preferably in hospital setting (though not a must)?

Feel free to ask any question that might help in your response.

Thanks for the help!

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[katiemaude]

There are a lot of entry-level jobs that can help you get more patient contact hours. At my hospital, there is a paid training program for what basically amounts to a CNA with some technical aspects such as phlebotomy and doing EKGs. We were paid about $11/hr during training and got about $1.50 more an hour after several months. The best parts of the job, besides the experience, are the health insurance with no employee contribution, a small deductible and good dental/prescription coverage; several thou a year for school; wellness credits for gym memberships and the like; and a chance to move around to other positions after six months.

There are some other jobs in the hospital that expose you to the ins and outs of various parts of medicine without getting yourself up to the elbows in bodily fluids every day (although I love my job, and I'm very at ease with patients thanks to it).

Most hospitals do their hiring online now. Check out the jobs open and look under nursing support for positions like "unit clerk" or "adminstrative" something-or-other for someone who does the paperwork at places that haven't gone over completely to electronic records. Then there are jobs like mine, called anything from "tech" to "patient care assistant" to "CNA" where you work under registered nurses and help people on medical-surgical floors and ICUs do their activities of daily living, get their vital signs, check their blood glucose, draw blood for labs, monitor intake and output etc. If you can't find a hospital with a training program, look for a CNA program offered by a community college and take the test to get certified. This will enable you to work in nursing homes and transitional units. You can also do a phlebotomist course in a couple months, get some practical experience and get licensed for a couple thousand dollars out of pocket. You open your chances to working at independent labs that way too. Another position I've seen people get without healthcare experience is a peri-op tech. It's not the same as a surgical assistant, which requires a year of school usually and certification. You do a lot of cleaning up after surgeries and prepping the OR, with some things like vital signs and transporting patients.

Of course, these jobs will only get you only $11-15 an hour in most places, so bear that in mind.