Are low paying clinical jobs worth it?

[tackergirl]

Hello SDN,

I was recently offered an emergency department scribe position through ScribeAmerica. I am very excited, but I have some reservations regarding the job. With pay starting at minimum wage and increasing only slightly after the training period, it almost doesn’t seem worth it. It appears to be a fairly stressful position with extensive training and less than ideal hours for a full time student, including two overnight shifts a month, and I am beginning to wonder if it is worth it for the pay. I currently work as a server at a prestigious country club and make over $15/hour, and feel like I may be making a financial mistake to resign from this job and take a nearly 50% pay cut.

I do not love my current job and believe I would enjoy being a scribe much more. Additionally, clinical experience is currently the weakest aspect of my application (I will be applying in the 2020-2021 cycle) and I think this would be a great experience considering I want to be a doctor.

And yes, I known being a doctor, especially as a resident, involves low pay, stressful work, and horrible hours, but I just don’t know if it is worth it while already having the overloaded schedule of a full-time pre-med student.

So my question—is it worth it to take a 50% pay cut to accept a job that will get me clinical experience as a scribe? While I believe I will enjoy this job more than my current in the long run, I also know being a scribe is an extensive, stressful and involved training process. Would it be a complete mistake to let this opportunity pass me by, or should I maintain my current job and look for other clinical experiences?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

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[Tenk]

Being a scribe would increase your chances of getting into med school over working at a country club.

 

[Catsfordays]

In my opinion, it depends. If money is important to you and you can find clinical experience through shadowing or other avenues then you don’t necessarily need to scribe. Serving also has skills/experience that adcoms would value as well. I think you definitely have to consider when you’re applying too and other future expenditures because it’s definitely costly.
If you don’t think you can get other clinical experiences then it will be worth it because clinical experience are crucial to an application.

 

[Stellaartwa]

Cats gave you a great answer. If you can get enough clinical exposure without this job (shadowing and volunteering) and you need money, don't do it. That being said, most successful applicants I know easily had 1000+ clinical hours (=1 year PT working + shadowing + volunteer). I'm not sure what the avg is for matriculants. Either way, I'd hazard a guess that if the rest of your app is up to snuff, you'll be fine without scribing but it would be a nice plus.

 

[CharmCity94]

I've been scribing during my gap-year and it's been an incredible experience. However, I work in internal medicine at one of the best hospitals in the country, so it's definitely less stressful than the ED.

Pros: I'm very close with the physician I work for. She's a professor at the medical school and treats me like a student. I've learned so much and I talked a lot about my experiences during my interviews.

Cons: Pay is the most obvious one, but I save money by living at home. Another is the redundancy (may not be an issue in the ED) and lack of challenging myself.

You have to get clinical experience for med school, and I couldn't imagine a better clinical experience for a pre-med.

 

[IlDestriero]

This boils down to the question of if you have adequate clinical exposure or not.

 

[Mike Bagwell]

Clinical exposure is highly overrated. If you have the grades and MCAT scores, a summer of consistent shadowing + some a volunteer EC activity should be fine. Just be sure you are demonstrated commitment and excellent in your commitment. Random activities for the sake of doing them will not help your cause.

Keep your job, skip the scribing, and get a little bit of shadowing in there so you know what you are signing up for. Go for the scribing if that's what YOU want to do.

 

[Throwaway5129]

Just volunteer in a clinical setting consistently. Keep your job.

 

[907914]

Clinical exposure is highly overrated. If you have the grades and MCAT scores, a summer of consistent shadowing + some a volunteer EC activity should be fine. Just be sure you are demonstrated commitment and excellent in your commitment. Random activities for the sake of doing them will not help your cause.

Keep your job, skip the scribing, and get a little bit of shadowing in there so you know what you are signing up for. Go for the scribing if that's what YOU want to do.

I would agree here for the most part. While you will need to be able to demonstrate clinical exposure (ie You know what a doctor does before applying to be one) excessive amounts does not necessarily help your application. If you show long term commitment towards something, specifically your current, higher paying job, then that is all you need so long as your clinical exposure is sufficient.

Excessive clinical exposure really only serves to A) Establish a commitment to something or B) Can tie in with your application “story.” Doing an activity just for the sake of application building is nonsense.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

I was offered positions after graduating undergrad that paid FAR BETTER than the job that I ended up pursuing. I took a job as a PCA in the emergency room due to the fact that this job is a stepping stone and will give me a far better opportunity to get into medical school than the other non-clinical jobs that I had on the table. I believe it is important to understand that pursuing a career as a physician will leave you struggling economically for a long time. Accept this and embrace it, but know that this struggle will only be temporary. I think it would be wise to take the scribing job for clinical experience and networking opportunities.

 

[B4y 4RE4 N4Tiv3]

My perspective is a little different I would try to find another medical job that pays lower than $15 but higher than minimum wage. This is due to financial aid when you do get into med school (i.e the more money you made the previous year the less the financial help). looks into being a medical lab assistant or unlicensed med tech.