Clinical Experience Question

[WhiteTigerWizard99]

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I have been working as a dental assistant for several months now since I moved to a new city due to life events and financial situations. I was wondering how this would be perceived by the admissions (given that I already have a lot of relevant clinical experiences from the past few years) and if there would be any negative impact on my application. Would being a dental assistant be considered clinical or nonclinical?

 

[Dorota911]

I have been working as a dental assistant for several months now since I moved to a new city due to life events and financial situations. I was wondering how this would be perceived by the admissions (given that I already have a lot of relevant clinical experiences from the past few years) and if there would be any negative impact on my application. Would being a dental assistant be considered clinical or nonclinical?

Are you planning to put this as “meaningful experience” ? You can pick 3.
Is this what you are planning to do until you matriculate into medical school?

 

[LizzyM]

You should be prepared to answer "why not dentistry?" You should be prepared to explain why you took that job (maybe it was all that was available in the place you needed to relocate to) and you can always volunteer the ways it has helped you connect what you and the dentist do to what you hope to do as a physician (reassuring, educating, motivating, delivering bad news, eliciting information, assessing, empowering patients through sharing decision-making, I could go on and on).

There might be non-patient facing stuff I forgot about like record keeping, instrument sterilization, safety precautions and that sort of thing that is also relevant to medicine.

The people in the chair are "patients". They are seeking clinical services from a licensed provider. I would count it as clinical all.day.long.

 

[chilly_md]

If you already have a lot of clinical experience and other activities to list on AMCAS, you can always choose to omit this as well.

 

[LizzyM]

Omitting a full-time job on the AMCAS application is rarely a good idea.

If you already have a lot of clinical experience and other activities to list on AMCAS, you can always choose to omit this as well

 

[chilly_md]

Omitting a full-time job on the AMCAS application is rarely a good idea.

I'm assuming they have had multiple past jobs for the last few years as a CNA, scribe, EMT etc with that suggestion. That certainly may not be the case here though.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hard to work from a hypothetical, but I don't lay harsh criticism on decisions that result from a need to earn money. I agree it's curious that you couldn't get an MA position, but if you get some interesting certifications as a DA (like radiology/imaging tech)... that might be an interesting point of conversation.

There's a lot of medicine (or medical awareness) that dentists should have when treating patients, but they are limited. Not all dental offices perform BP checks on patients, for example. (You'd think... or maybe the readings are artificially higher because of being in pain.)

 

[LizzyM]

I'm assuming they have had multiple past jobs for the last few years as a CNA, scribe, EMT etc with that suggestion. That certainly may not be the case here though

It is not so much about showing that you have had clinical experience (and that is important) as it is accounting for your time after graduation. If you are in a gap year(s) and there is nothing substantial in the W&A section, it looks like a gap in the resume.

 

[WhiteTigerWizard99]

Are you planning to put this as “meaningful experience” ? You can pick 3.
Is this what you are planning to do until you matriculate into medical school?

I have been trying to find clinical research jobs and such, but did not have success since I moved to my new city. I am planning to find a tutoring job and try to gain actual medical exposure again by finding volunteering until I get into medical school.

 

[WhiteTigerWizard99]

Hard to work from a hypothetical, but I don't lay harsh criticism on decisions that result from a need to earn money. I agree it's curious that you couldn't get an MA position, but if you get some interesting certifications as a DA (like radiology/imaging tech)... that might be an interesting point of conversation.

There's a lot of medicine (or medical awareness) that dentists should have when treating patients, but they are limited. Not all dental offices perform BP checks on patients, for example. (You'd think... or maybe the readings are artificially higher because of being in pain.)

I have been taking x-rays, as well as have been taking BP of patients before certain procedures (which I was happy about, because I could put use to my skills when I used to be an EMT). Do you think this is something I could potentially bring up if brought up?

 

[WhiteTigerWizard99]

I'm assuming they have had multiple past jobs for the last few years as a CNA, scribe, EMT etc with that suggestion. That certainly may not be the case here though.

You are correct that I have already worked as an EMT for nearly 2 years prior to doing a master's degree. I have been told by a different advisor that it might be confusing for the admissions, because I did work very briefly as a PT aide (to gain clinical hours) before I became an EMT. Do you think this would also be questioned? Would it be bad to omit my current full time-job as a dental assistant from my application given that I have other experiences that are strongly relevant to medical school admissions?

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

You are correct that I have already worked as an EMT for nearly 2 years prior to doing a master's degree. I have been told by a different advisor that it might be confusing for the admissions, because I did work very briefly as a PT aide (to gain clinical hours) before I became an EMT. Do you think this would also be questioned? Would it be bad to omit my current full time-job as a dental assistant from my application given that I have other experiences that are strongly relevant to medical school admissions?

You should not omit a full-time job. If you get to an interview and they ask "are you currently working?" and you're still a dental assistant and that's not on your W&A, it could be a red flag.

ADCOMs are not going to be confused by the jobs someone has worked. They'll want to see how you're planning to use those experiences towards an MD.