Anyone else afraid to let their employer know they are pre-med

Started by LabRat86
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LabRat86

LabRat86

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Hello I am currently working as a medical technologist at a major hospital and I want to apply to medical school next year. I am afraid to let my employer know that I want to go to medical school, the management is not very friendly to workers that want to go to graduate school. Is anyone else in the same situation I am in and how do you deal with it? 🙁
 
LabRat86 said:
Hello I am currently working as a medical technologist at a major hospital and I want to apply to medical school next year. I am afraid to let my employer know that I want to go to medical school, the management is not very friendly to workers that want to go to graduate school. Is anyone else in the same situation I am in and how do you deal with it? 🙁
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Ultimately, I don't have any good advice to offer you because you're in a very difficult situation. At my last job, I was really worried that people would be mad at me for wanting to go to medical school, and I kept it on the down-low. I was on probation because of being recently hired (annoying company policy) and would have been fired in all likelihood if they knew. Eventually, for fairly complicated reasons, I decided to quit and come clean, and people ended up being pretty supportive about my career interests and deciding to move forward. I still think I would have gotten fired though if I hadn't told them after I decided to quit 😛 I am sick of hiding things at work, so I'm trying to find a job that is understanding/accommodating about it.

The problem, as I'm sure you've realized, is that regardless of whether or not you want to tell your employer, eventually you will HAVE to, because you'll need time off for interviews. So you probably either need to quit (which obviously isn't an option), or 'fess up to the employer. I'd advise waiting until you are sending your applications off to ask them. It sounds to me like you are applying a year from now, in order to matriculate two years from now. If that's the case, and you have kept this job for all of that time, then I do feel like your employer will be more understanding and feel like you have "paid your dues" in your current job. Because if they have to choose between a skilled, reliable worker who needs a day or two off every couple of weeks, and hiring a new one who has no idea about that hospital and how things work there, any sane person would choose to stay with you.
 
I know exactly what you mean. I am also a pre-med and I am scared of letting my supervisor know since I work at the same university I study and as it is, he is making it hard for me to take the classes I need. Unfortunately it is hard to find employers that want you to succeed beyond what your work entails, since ofcourse they are trying to ensure they have employees that will stay with them for many years. to be honest I dont have any good advise but I agree with Evergrey at one point we will have to let them know because we will need time off, otherwise, we will have to quit (which is hard because we need our jobs). Personally I have chosen the quitting route since I will need the time for school and MCAT studying, but I am sure that if you confront your boss with the truth he/she will be smart enough to allow a good employee a day off here and there than to lose someone who is an asset to the hospital. As we know there is quite a bit of time between submitting applications and acceptance.
 
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I guess I should say from the start that I'm a nurse, so telling my manager and supervisor may be a hit or miss situation. Some nurses are pretty supportive (I have a friend who told EVERYONE and their mother who is also a nurse working on my unit) and some (including some nurse practitioners) are outright mean and rude. So I chose not to tell anyone for about 1 year when I made my decision to pursue med school. I finally had to tell my manager because I needed some time off before my MCAT. I got no help and no time off, but she did smile and told me "good luck." I ended up having to tell my supervisor, too, because I had to do some switching around for scheduling to accommodate my MCAT recently and she ended up finding out. She didn't seem to care one way or another.

On the other hand, a very good (former) friend of mine, took it very personally when I shared my dreams with her. Of ALL people, I thought she would be on board and she wasn't. In fact, she kind of stopped hanging out with me all together and kind of hinted that I was trying to be better than everyone else.

The nurse who told everyone about her med school goals is getting frequent remarks from her fellow peers that she "should know that, she's going to be a doctor" when it comes to patient care at work. This taught me that not everyone knows the "ins" and "outs" of getting into med school, how tough MCAT is and how time-consuming and complex studying can be.

So, it's a hit or miss, so since it's such a mixed bag - I only share on a need-to-know basis. 🙂 Once I get in, it will be a different story probably.
 
I guess every job is different. My boss is going out of her way to help me flex my schedule to take all my classes and have enough time to study.
 
I think it's a very touchy subject. I applied last year and at the time I was working for a university that has a medical school. I was upfront with my boss and though he disagreed with me wanting to go to med school he was very accommodating when it came to studying for the MCAT or going to interviews. Around March last year he convinced himself that I was getting in before I even had an acceptance and hired someone to replace me. I ended up not getting in, and though I wasn't fired it was a really awkward situation. I ended up leaving and getting another job. I'm reapplying this year and I am not telling them until I absolutely have to.
 
Bad idea... I brought it up with the company I work with indirectly.

They said if you're not dedicated to us, we don't want you.

I currently work at an engineering firm, so medicine is pretty far off from their business strategy.
 
I guess I can give my $0.02...I am an RT and I when I got the job to cover evening shifts, they made accomodations so that my work schedule wouldnt interfere with my school schedule. This gave me enough confidence to tell them that "i planned to hopefully get into med school in the future or explore.." which usually makes them think that they will have you for at least a year or longer.
 
I suppose I'm in a similar situation, if slightly different because of the working context. I'm afraid to tell my adviser that I'm planning on med school after I finish my Ph.D. Although he is not technically my employer (the graduate school is), I really don't want him to know because I know he would not be very supportive. Luckily, by the time I will have to request time off for interviews (HOPEFULLY) or studying for the MCAT I will no longer be his lab minion. Since I still have quite a bit of time till my application process this is really a non-issue in the lab. However, if I were closer to the application process I still don't think I would tell him much. Instead, I would use whatever paid time off or vacation time to go on interviews, without revealing much (again, this is because I know he would be really unhappy with me going into a separate field).
 
Thankfully, my employer is being really supportive. Of course, I'm not the only paramedic wanting to further my education, so that's helpful. The owner of the company has personally expressed his support...

My question is: If you don't think they are going to be supportive, why do they even need to know? There are awesome options with afternoon and evening classes at most colleges...assuming you can work your schedule around classes, seems like it might be best to keep it a secret as long as possible.
 
Thanks everyone for their support and advice. Because of my major, I actually finished all my pre-req, I am only missing my MCAT. I have all the LORs from my professor in the pre-med office but my pre-med advisor told me that since I have been working for them (lab) for a year already, it's be good to get a LOR from them, but I am really afraid that they will give me the kiss of death.

Also, do you think I can study for the MCAT while working 40hr/wk?

Unfortunately, I can't quit my job because I am basically supporting myself 🙁
 
Easily. Just go to the public library every day after work and then use one day of your weekend to take a practice test and the next day to review it.

I took o-chem while working 70+ hrs a week and traveling. I'll be taking physics, g-chem II and starting MCAT prep this fall and then physics II with the remaining MCAT prep in the spring.

It might depend where you are starting from, but if you are starting with above a 5 on each section, you should not have any problem working and studying.


LabRat86 said:
Also, do you think I can study for the MCAT while working 40hr/wk?
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To answer your original question, my boss talked me into taking the pre-med pre-reqs that I had remaining.

I was scared to death to tell my the management at my company I was taking classes and for a while I think only my boss knew, but she accidentally mentioned it to someone and then the whole company knew.

So far, every one has been rather supportive despite the fact at my interview I had said [accurately], "I have absolutely no intention on leaving this company for medical school. I would like to build a career here."

My boss then told me my role wasn't a great for someone with a lot of potential, tough it pays well, and that I should seriously evaluate other careers. Did some research and medicine it is. Looking forward to treating the kids in my neighborhood.
 
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TriagePreMed said:
I guess every job is different. My boss is going out of her way to help me flex my schedule to take all my classes and have enough time to study.
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so not what I expected, but I am very thankful and happy about how supportive my boss is.

CW 2010 said:
I am not telling my employer 😛
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I originally planned that. Right from the get go (the interview), my boss asked me if I was a pre-med. I was like wtf?! how did she know? did I have it stamped on my forehead?
 
Yeah I suppose it depends on the job. I work full-time and have not told my employer, not because I don't think they'd be supportive, I'm sure they would be very happy for me...as they are giving me the pink slip! I can't afford to not work. Last May I took the MCAT and worked 40 hours a week, volunteered with a hospice, and shadowed a doctor. I was difficult, I got up at 5:30 and studied for an hour before I went to work, got home from work and studied till I went to bed, then volunteered and shadowed in between. You can do it, just study efficiently.

As far as time off for interviews, I had an interview in July and took a personal day, used my PTO and just said I needed a personal day, no questions were asked. Fortunately, I was accepted to that school and will be attending next fall, although I will not tell my employer until about 6 weeks before I quit next spring. It is very hard not to tell people at work that I have been accepted to medical school though!
 
I don't understand why you feel it's any of your employer's business. It's a dog eat dog world. The second your employer feels that they can get someone cheaper than you, or the second they realize they're saving money without you, make no mistake about it - they will get rid of you. They don't care if you have kids. They don't care if you have a family to feed. They can't care less about how you feel. Everyone is looking our for themselves. Don't think for a second that anyone out there has your best interest in mind. Therefore, your employer is on a "need to know basis, and they do not need to know" (The Rock 😀). Besides, you might not get into medical school. You might become interested in something else. Hell, anything's possible. Obviously, you should still follow the basic guidelines (2 weeks or two months notice, or whatever it is that you signed on when you were first hired).

I worked in the corporate world for almost 5 years before starting medical school, so I might be a little too pessimistic.
 
I couldn't agree more with the last post. It is so true - at least in the corporate world or for people that have real careers and not just a job.

There is no way in hell that I would tell my employer about my future plans. If I were to switch companies and was actually actively interviewing, would I inform my manager before I left for the interview? Heck, NO. Interviewing for medical school would be no different.

I have been taking part time classes (8 - 12 sems credits) at the local Cal State and UC for the past 3 years and have never told my employeer. When I apply to medical school next year, I plan to tap into my vacation time or sick time or whatever time off I will be able to lay my hands on, but definitely not tell my employer before I actually resign.

I am a people manager too and I can say that if one of my direct reports told me that they were applying to medical school or law school or looking for a new job, I would look for a replacement. I would think that the employee would not be dedicated enough for the job. We don't work by the hour in the corporate world. I am in engineering and there are times when we have to work well over 12 - 14 hour days (there is no concept of overtime) and being involved in other activities would definitely impact that.
 
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I kind of disagree with the previous posters saying the boss doesn't need to know. It is need to know, but when you have to take time off for interviews and whatnot that can make things complicated. Plus these people can be valuable people to get a letter from in addition to the academic recs.

I really think this is entirely dependent on where you work. I work as a medical technologist at a major medical center and while I was hesitant at first to let them know my goals I eventually did discuss them with my supervisor in the lab manager. First in a general sort of I'm thinking about it way, then saying that I was certain that's what I wanted to do. They've been extremely supportive. I had agreed to stick around for at least 2 years and will exceed that by the time I apply. When I thought about it though, it shouldn't have surprised me much because the hospital is very pro-employee development. I've been allowed to change my work schedule to take some extra classes and been encouraged to take some leadership roles to gain that experience while I'm here. As long as I continue to take my job seriously and work hard, I expect this to continue. We've had two people go to med school since I've been here and at least 2 more in the two years prior. So I think you just have to read your environment.

It really could go either way.
 
This is ur life and ur business they don't need to know. If u take time off just tell them for personal reasons.

Just put ur self in their situation.
 
Hello LabRat!!!

I remember working with 2 other labrats that were premed. We worked at a teaching hospital and all the other labrats where supportive. The head labrats (pathologists) allowed one girl who was premed to shadow them (on the clock) when they did autopsies, etc.

I dared not to tell anyone I was premed. It did slip when I was talking to a few people and was encouraged by the doctors who knew.

Me and another premed labrat just observed everything. We were phlebotomists so we had to respond to every code and was allowed to observed procedures that occured in ICU/NICU/CSICU. He made it to medschool (well, his dad was a doctor there so that was no surprise).

Med school did not happen for me. Right now I'm back in school and will be applying for a MT position at my lab. They are more afraid that I'll get trained and leave, lol.
 
Hmm... interesting. I've been pretty upfront about aiming for medical school and my employers (incl. in the hospitals where I've worked) have all been extremely supportive. Sometimes I think it goes a bit far, though, when coaching ends up coming in the form of "so that you'll be a better doctor in a few years..." lol.... But yeah, my clinical mgr, all the charge nurses, the dept and medical directors... as of today, the one of the Senior VPs of the entire hospital system.... I've gotten a lot of support and they are pretty phenomenal about working with me in terms of hours. I couldn't have asked for better!

I think being upfront about it is your best bet. Of course...being premed at an interview is difficult to make sound good. Somehow I've consistently spun it in such a way that hiring managers see it as a positive instead of a huge negative, but I am well aware of the dangers of saying you're premed in an interview and typically would not suggest it to most premed students.
 
Thanks for all the advice. If my hospital were unionized, then I would feel more comfortable telling them I am pre-med, their "termination at will" policy scares me. I am sure that my coworkers will be supportive, it's the management I am worry about 😛
 
I was a little worried because I've been teaching 2 years and I'm not contracted until the end of my 3rd year. This means when my principal found out last year he could have simply let me go at the end of the year. I ended up telling him anyway, because he wanted me to teach AP chemistry this year, meaning they had to lay down about half a grand or so for my training.

I couldn't live with myself making the school pay while thinking they were going to get years of service.

Strangely enough he still wanted me to teach it and sent me to training anyway. I guess chem teachers are hard to find, LoL.
 
eablackwell said:
I was a little worried because I've been teaching 2 years and I'm not contracted until the end of my 3rd year. This means when my principal found out last year he could have simply let me go at the end of the year. I ended up telling him anyway, because he wanted me to teach AP chemistry this year, meaning they had to lay down about half a grand or so for my training.

I couldn't live with myself making the school pay while thinking they were going to get years of service.

Strangely enough he still wanted me to teach it and sent me to training anyway. I guess chem teachers are hard to find, LoL.
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Nah, schools have specific funding for specific purpose, if the money is given to school for training, then it has to be spent on staff training. A lot of times there is also a time restriction on when the money has to be spent.

So don't think your principle wouldn't replace you if she/he can, lots of times they just have their hands tied by various factors.
 
DrTroll said:
Nah, schools have specific funding for specific purpose, if the money is given to school for training, then it has to be spent on staff training. A lot of times there is also a time restriction on when the money has to be spent.

So don't think your principle wouldn't replace you if she/he can, lots of times they just have their hands tied by various factors.
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LoL, too late to replace me now, unless they want to cancel AP chem. They still haven't even found anyone to take my old chem position yet and school starts in 2 weeks.
 
"Don't ask, don't tell"

If they don't ask, you don't have to tell them it's none of their business.

Needless to say, my employer really doesn't care. It is going to be interesting to see how they react when I give them notice at the start of med school. More than likely, they'll be very supportive. Pretty cool company, to be honest.
 
I also could not tell anyone I was applying to medical school. First of all, the allied medical profession that I was involved in hates, as in will not even speak to me, it when one of "their own" has the nerve to want more for themselves. (they don't like doctors, in general)

If I mentioned my aspirations, I would not have been offered a job, and was not ultimately because word got out... And now I had to keep my mouth shut until recently when I told my two docs I work with because I wanted to shadow them and be on their radar. They understand that my manager can't be part of the game. It is SOOOO stupid in my opinion but people can be very petty and resentful. I have faced that a lot. It has hindered my efforts to get jobs and be in positions that allow me to learn from the physicians I work with.

This is not typically a problem faced by those right out of college. It makes it very difficult for us. I was told that the committee was "suspicious" because I did not have a letter of recommendation from my supervisor at my current job. I told the man who met with me (post rejection) that if I had asked for a letter I would not longer have the job. I also explained to him that it is very difficult for those of us in professional positions applying to medical school to get on-the-job support and letters even from physicians we work with since too much contact with the physicians makes others suspicious. That's what happened to me, my boss found out and it cost me getting a full-time staff position where I am currently only PRN. Apparently I will remain that way, AND try to pay the thousands of dollars in application fees and travel since my PARENTS income is being also considered for fee assistance.

I don't think the medical schools get it yet - how many roadblocks there are for us. And Im not even that OLD.

So you work full time, or try, study and get straight A's, a 30+ MCAT, shadowing, clinical experience, LOR's (in secret so you don't get fired) and then are told you are not accepted because your application does notshow your level of focus on medicine? I wanted to THROW UP ALL OVER HIM!!!!!
 
Upfront schmupfront. Everyone is out to get you. Right about that. You're safe. Wrong about that. You're safe. Tell the people you need help from. Lor's from. Ask them to keep it between the two of you.

Don't tell nurses. Don't tell PI's. The former will plant claws in you're eyeballs. The latter will replace you if they don't depend on your work until you can be effectively replaced.

Both are vengeful and adroit player-hating wizards.

Corporate bosses? If you need advice with that. Hug the nearest tree. Compression for your hemmorhaging heart.
 
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Yea, my main worry is not having a LORs from the lab, I would have been working for them for 2 years when I am applying. I am afraid that the med school will wonder why I did not get a LORs from my work. Any advice on that? I work nightshift at the hospital so I have no supervisor or lead tech when I am working.
 
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Premed will become my dirty little secret. 🙂

People treat me differently now because I am working on my masters degree and will not always be one of them. There is no way that I'm telling anyone IRL my plans.
 
Nasrudin said:
Upfront schmupfront. Everyone is out to get you. Right about that. You're safe. Wrong about that. You're safe. Tell the people you need help from. Lor's from. Ask them to keep it between the two of you.

Don't tell nurses. Don't tell PI's. The former will plant claws in you're eyeballs. The latter will replace you if they don't depend on your work until you can be effectively replaced.

Both are vengeful and adroit player-hating wizards.

Corporate bosses? If you need advice with that. Hug the nearest tree. Compression for your hemmorhaging heart.
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Yes, it was the nurses who clawed my eyes out. And are still my biggest concern. Evil wenches they are.
 
You would definitely have to understand the culture and politics of your individual workplace before coming out with this. I could see some employers not being supportive. I am pretty lucky since I work in academic research. I suppose that makes my bosses more supportive of education and career goals. My boss knows about my med school apps and has been very gracious in allowing me to work out a flex schedule to take classes and even to take a class during the day last fall. Plus, my boss and the two PIs I work for wrote me nice LORs. I have already been accepted for med school to start in July 2011 and everyone knows at my workplace.
 
Nasrudin said:
Don't tell nurses. ... The former will plant claws in you're eyeballs.
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sugaree said:
Yes, it was the nurses who clawed my eyes out. And are still my biggest concern. Evil wenches they are.
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I have no doubt that everyone has run into a hater type at SOME point--be they nurse, ED tech, coworker or boss. But I do feel compelled to say that I've met some incredibly cool nurses too.

When I worked in the ED on clinical research, my desk directly faced that of a veteran nurse in her 60's. She could be pretty short with a lot of people, but after watching her work for a while, I could tell she really knew her stuff. We started to make conversation during slow periods and became great buddies. She taught me a ton of useful clinical stuff, kept me up to date on all the gossip, and watched my back. And best of all, she tipped me off whenever there was a really interesting patient or procedure I might want to see. I occasionally helped her out with minor errands such as fetching supplies, and in return she sometimes "rewarded" me by calling me in to help on a case. (This was really for my benefit, not for hers.)

Clearly, this lady was anything but a hater. I think she took a liking to me because she saw that I was really interested in learning about what was going on in the ED, that I didn't look down on nurses, and that I was smart and worked my butt off. I think she also liked the fact that I was much older than the average premed (we used to make "old lady" jokes together). Maybe she was trying to help me out because she saw a little bit of herself in me.

The general point of all this is simply that you can't make a BLANKET generalization about who will or won't mess with you if you reveal your premed status--it is very much a function of the environment and the specific people involved. But I do agree that it's wise to be cautious and tell very few people until you have a good feeling for who is trustworthy and who's not.
 
Yea, my main worry is not having a LORs from the lab, I would have been working for them for 2 years when I am applying. I am afraid that the med school will wonder why I did not get a LORs from my work. Any advice on that? I work nightshift at the hospital so I have no supervisor or lead tech when I am working.
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I am in the exact same situation, night shift and all. I have a contract with my current lab for 3 years that just started in May (I'm a *******...) so I have quite some time before applying and whatnot. Unfortunately, I believe I'm already on the lab manager's bad side. 🙁 I guess there's no point in worrying about it now though. I'd like to think I could talk about it to them, but who knows.
 
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