Best Pre-med Jobs for patient exposure

[DavetheMD]

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I have a very busy schedule, as you all do. And I am considering options which are flexible for school, but also won't leave me in the poor house.

I would like to be an ER tech, but not sure how it's generall done. Otherwise, it's EMT vs. CNA vs. Phlebotomy (not a lot hiring in my area)

 

[45408]

When I was looking, ER tech jobs required 6+ months of prior experience (as a CNA or EMT), so it wasn't really an entry-level position.

 

[farrago]

In before apumic.

 

[Torr]

Exactly how much time are you going to have to train/work? Sounds like you're aiming a bit high but not sure what you have in mind as far as hours/week.

Also, someone is going to say ER scribe. It's flexible and it IS clinical experience but if you want real hands on patient contact then it's not going to do it for you IMO. My best clinical experience was at a student-run clinic but it wasn't paid. May not be an option where you are.

 

[SNV]

When I was looking, ER tech jobs required 6+ months of prior experience (as a CNA or EMT), so it wasn't really an entry-level position.

I had similar experiences. Actually, when I was looking in my area, most of the ER tech jobs seemed to be going to people with considerably more experience than just 6 months, and paramedics (not EMTs) were usually the preferred candidates. This may be different where you are, however.

If you have the time and money to get certified, some EMT jobs give extensive and rewarding patient exposure, so long as you aren't expecting to be on 911 calls immediately. The time I've spent in the back of ambulances transporting completely stable patients has actually been quite rewarding for me, if not always the most medically fascinating experience. And again, depending on the job, you may have a good amount of down time to study/work/whatever. That being said, the money isn't usually that great...

As for CNA and Phlebotomy jobs, I'm sure someone else on SDN can speak to their pros and cons much better than I can.

 

[UbuntuGM]

inb4apumic

 

[KING3]

I worked as a CNA for a year at an Alzheimers retirement center. I gt this job because when I volunteered at the community hospital in my area the docs saw that I would do anything as a volunteer. Meaning I would take stool samples and help people go to the bathroom, the gross stuff, anyways they suggested I get a CNA license. It was the easiest thing ever. I wanted to work at the hospital but I needed a year of experience hence why I worked at the retirement home. It was hard work but I loved it. When your changing diarrhea diapers every day it really helps you work on your bedside manner and patience. I longed to work in the hospital so I got a phlebotomy license and that was super easy too. To get the license you had to do an externship where you draw from 100 people over 1 weeks time. During my externship they liked me so much I got hired on the spot. It was a much better experience than CNA because your interactions were short but each patient was different. During all my med school interviews I was asked a lot about being a phlebotomist. I think that the clinical experience I got from it really helped out my app. Also you can do it at health fairs, and clinics, they love phlebotomists. Good luck

 

[StudyShy]

Yeah, so it took ~2 years to complete schooling, but being a medic was awesome.

Hey, in my area, you can be a mental health tech if you have an associate's degree. 15 bucks/hr with great patient interaction.

 

[Pose]

Depends on your location. In the Boston area, they hire a EMT-B or P, or CNA. Most facilities seem open to hiring newbies, but prefer one year of experience in a similar environment. If you do not have much experience, they require you to work full time (36-40 hrs/wk). If you want a per diem or below part time position, you must have two years of experience. They prefer nursing students, and did not seem impressed with any mention of medical school in the future as the turn over does not help them any.

It is a great patient experience, though it is a thankless ****ing job. I work 12 hour shifts, I never get a lunch break, and I am constantly dealing with psych patients/drunks/junkies. Nurses in the ED are generally bitter on my shift (11-11), and have no respect for the countless tasks you're asked to perform. Though they have assigned patients, you're assigned EVERY patient and nurse, at all times. However, you'll rapidly become comfortable (phlebotomy, Foleys, splinting, trauma/code involvement, and charting). Also, the attendings are all awesome in my ED, and techs here are the assistants for any procedure (routinely: LPs, central lines, suturing, chest tube...uhm..whatever else). You will get your hands dirty, moreso than nurses at my facility, which is really cool.

In my experience, neither nursing students nor CNAs perform nearly as well as those that have worked as an EMT beforehand. I may be biased, as I did the latter. But even just responding for a transport gets you in a better mindset for a busy ED than does working on a floor or nursing home as an aide.

 

[StudyShy]

In my experience, neither nursing students nor CNAs perform nearly as well as those that have worked as an EMT beforehand. I may be biased, as I did the latter. But even just responding for a transport gets you in a better mindset for a busy ED than does working on a floor or nursing home as an aide.

👍

 

[bucks2010]

Nursing aide is a great gig. could be less competitive to get than an ER tech. Also FWIW just the environment of working in a hospital can be fun. A lot of other aides will be pre-nursing/in nursing school & around your age.

 

[motomed]

ER tech at a non teaching hospital, you get to do a ton more than in the same job at a teaching hospital. work nights and you get to do all kinds of things you're not supposed to be doing... getting a medic license isn't going to be worth the time and effort unless you plan on using it for a number of years.

I worked NICU/Peds for a year and then moved to the ER. I enjoyed that too but it got to be fairly routine.

 

[Sesom]

👍

Your avatar is killing me 🙁

 

[sirsharif329]

Your avatar is killing me 🙁

HAHA! oh man, I was just thinking the same exact thing! xD

 

[StudyShy]

HAHA! oh man, I was just thinking the same exact thing! xD

I have that stupid song in my head. It's my husband's fault. He made me listen to it....then he showed me the heavy metal version. I smiled. 🙂

 

[The Undecider]

pm if you need any specific advice... but here is the big picture so to speak.

I was a CNA first. dont do that.

EMT-B a couple of years after that. dont do this either.

ER Tech for the last 7 years, in 5 different hospitals in 3 states. 1 community, 1 rural, 1 level 2 (only game in town gig), 2 teaching level 1s in the hood.

here is the thing I have learned. a LOT of the EDs across the country are moving towards the model where you are not hired as anything certified/licensed but rather as a titled "tech", that way they are not shackled to the state's protocol for whatever license/certificate it is you have (IE dont dare adjust o2 from 2L to 3L if you are a CNA). If you are hired as a tech, then they can let you do whatever they want you to do, within certain boundaries. my current job allows me to splint/cast, perform phlebo, start IVs, hang saline, sterile field setup (in the ED this generally means stuff for I&Ds, lac trays, etc, but can also mean I act as a gopher with central lines also), sterile dressing changes, initiate foleys and straight caths, interpret and measure out ECGs, and probably some more that I forgot. As you can imagine, with all that being written into my job description, and a good performance history and rapport with the docs that hang around the ED (residents, surgeons, EPs, etc etc) I end up doing a whole hell of a lot more than that.

I guess my point is, theoretically somebody with ZERO experience could get hired in my current job (and consistently do), and after a year or so be doing the same stuff I did earlier today. My suggestion? Call ANY hospital with an ER in your area, ask to be transferred to the E(R) manager (the hospital operator may not understand the department thing), and give them this line: "I am so-and-so and I am a ________ looking for LONG TERM experience in the ER. I am extremely reliable and am interested in a casual/per diem position."

Either they say there are certain requirements, and maybe you dont meet them, or if there is no set in stone requirements, you can be the next warm body to fill an empty space in the managers schedule book. Emphasize that you love to work and are very reliable. EDs tend to turn over pretty quickly and are consistently understaffed.

hope I didnt ramble. I just found a 12 pack of sessions at my local farmers market, a beer I have not had since I lived in Oregon a few years ago. Lets just say they are going down easy in this warm weather 😍

 

[compshateme85]

Yeah, so it took ~2 years to complete schooling, but being a medic was awesome.

Hey, in my area, you can be a mental health tech if you have an associate's degree. 15 bucks/hr with great patient interaction.

What up, medic buddy?

My medic school only took a year, but it was full schedule, couldn't do anything else during school. Great experiences, patient interactions, but you have to deal with firefighters, most of whom are obsessed with the fact that they are firefighters, and you're not.

 

[HBSlim]

As The Undecider wrote earlier, ER Tech can be a really good gig. Also, in college I worked as a lab assistant/phleb at a 300-bed community hospital. While it didn't have the same variety of procedures as a tech (I did almost all phlebotomy and a little bit of work in the lab), I got experience in all the departments of the hospital. I was able to spend a lot of time in the NICU, ICU, ER, cath lab, PACU (post anesthesia care unit), as well as the general hospital floors and outpatient draw station. Also, once the doctors got to know me and knew that I was planning on medical school, they started to explain procedures and answer any questions I had. It had great patient interaction and definitely gave me a good view of life in the hospital.

Also, while this isn't always the case, I got that job without any previous experience and it was all on-the-job training.

 

[KobeshouldbeaMD]

Please don't flame me for this, i just want an honest opinion..

Do you think working at a dentist's office counts as valid MEDICAL experience? I'm def. going to throw it in there when I apply, I just want to know how strong this will effect my prospective app.

 

[muhali3]

Please don't flame me for this, i just want an honest opinion..

Do you think working at a dentist's office counts as valid MEDICAL experience? I'm def. going to throw it in there when I apply, I just want to know how strong this will effect my prospective app.

No, it doesn't. Still good to put on though, because you can talk about how that experience allow you to exclude dentistry as a potential career option.

 

[StudyShy]

What up, medic buddy?

My medic school only took a year, but it was full schedule, couldn't do anything else during school. Great experiences, patient interactions, but you have to deal with firefighters, most of whom are obsessed with the fact that they are firefighters, and you're not.

I had to spend all of my ride time with firefighters. Some hated my guts. It was the only time that I have ever felt that being a girl was a disadvantage. They did not like having a girl in their "house." I actually spent a lot of time with this cool black dude because he understood my plight. I tried not to let it bother me. I was going to nursing school at the same time, and I told them that I was just going to paramedic school for fun (which was pretty much true).

Firefighters are great cooks...and they are way more girly than anyone truly knows.

I think that in my state, it turned into a 2-year program for EMT-P. I'm not sure if that includes basic. Most programs now are at the associate's level. I don't regret spending the time. I know EKGs better than a lot of my coworkers, and I have the insight of pre-hospital care. I would also have to say that I learned way more in medic school than in four years of nursing school since most of nursing is fluff (nursing theory, care plans, writing meaningless papers with perfection in APA and so forth). Medic training was awesome. What teenager can say that they've intubated patients, ran a code (with ER physician looking over), cardioverted, and so on? It definitely made an impression on me, and I really feel that it made me a way better nurse in the long run. Hopefully, it will make me a way better doctor in the long run!

 

[bucks2010]

Yea what Undecider said about certs is mostly right. In my state you don't have to have your CNA to work as a nursing aide in a hospital (though I think you do for a nursing home). Other states may differ. But it would take you many weeks working part-time to recoup the $500-600 that the CNA course costs. Bottom line: don't spend money to try and get a job.

 

[Renaissance Man]

I didn't read any of the above, so if this was discussed sorry. I was a "patient transporter" and loved it. Relatively no training, and everything about your job is patient exposure. I was able to work a lot of hours and make fairly decent money doing it for a summer+.