Being a geriatric CNA should be a low-tier x-factor.

[Round786]

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Like seriously, the sheer amount of **** (both literally and figuratively) they go through is insane. Anyone capable of doing more then a year of that must be a saint.

 

[Lawpy]

Low-tier X factor? Are Reddit and powerscaling terminology seeping into preallo?

 

[Round786]

Low-tier X factor? Are Reddit and powerscaling terminology seeping into preallo?

I mean, I think it’s a pretty apt term for ECs that are above noncookie-cutter ECs but below things like publications in high-impact journals and Rhodes.

 

[Lawpy]

I mean, I think it’s a pretty apt term for ECs that are above noncookie-cutter ECs but below things like publications in high-impact journals and Rhodes.

It just looks like Reddit’s obsession with the powerscaling charts is getting into preallo. I won’t be surprised to see Sankey diagrams making an appearance here.

But your question really depends on the school. Some may like it, others don’t care. What’s cookie cutter to one school is viewed highly by others. I think CNA is a hard job and should be viewed positively but schools may disagree and view things like free clinic volunteering to be more positive. It’s hard to say.

 

[LizzyM]

It's closer to nursing than medicine which is why it may not get a lot of traction at some schools and/or with some adcom members. If you end up shooting for post-bac nursing program or a PA program, it could be seen very positively.

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

CNA jobs suck. I currently work in a trauma unit. It's been a little more than a year now. If you can look past the bad stuff of cleaning up incontinent patients and dealing with self-entitled patients, there is a lot to learn. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the different cases that come into the unit. I also have gotten a great perspective on nursing. I've been part of several codes. Some that the patients have lived and others that they haven't. One time I helped a nurse bandage a patient's testicles that had necrotizing fasciitis. I literally held a man's testicle who was awake in my hand.
Anyways my point is that a CNA job in a hospital is a great experience. You don't run out of things to talk about in an interview/application.

 

[Kameha01]

I'm a hospice CNA and it's probably the best part of my application because it got me up close to death and dying, which I would argue is the hardest part of medicine. I've sat down with families at times and have had to face them after their loved one passed. It wasn't easy at first, and it never gets easier. But you learn how to do it better, and it helps you emotionally growth and improve communication.

I think that the school itself is going to determine if this counts as an "X-Factor" based on their principles/mission.

 

[HuskyMD Emeritus]

When I review applications, I note whether the applicants have EC's such as patient care, volunteerism, advocacy, leadership, research, publications as these are parts of the application and while I do check those boxes off in my mind, I focus more on what you learned from those experiences (even if is cleaning an incontinent patient). How you describe the experience and your reflections on the experience tells a lot about your character and motivations to be a doctor. I often place more weight on the most meaningful experience sections than the generic LORs (those LORS all sound about the same, it's hard to believe every applicant is in the top 5% of the writers' teaching experience).

 

[LizzyM]

I'm a hospice CNA and it's probably the best part of my application because it got me up close to death and dying, which I would argue is the hardest part of medicine. I've sat down with families at times and have had to face them after their loved one passed. It wasn't easy at first, and it never gets easier. But you learn how to do it better, and it helps you emotionally growth and improve communication.

I think that the school itself is going to determine if this counts as an "X-Factor" based on their principles/mission.

This, in my mind, has greater value than geriatric CNA given that you have tough conversations with families which is closer to medicine whereas as necessary as hands on "nursing care" is essential for patients' well being, it isn't close to what physicians are called on to do.

 

[LizzyM]

We have a college student working part-time as a CNA at our hospital. He is applying this cycle. His PS was themed around his CNA work, He has completed 4 MD interviews so far.....his CNA work was brought up in every interview. Average stats btw.

What gets brought up in an interview is often due to how unusual it is rather than how important it is to the admission decision. Interviewers enjoy talking about something "different" rather than the same old-same old.

Of course, if it is the theme of his PS, it will be brought up because it is the theme of his PS, it doesn't mean it is a "low tier x-factor".