Clinical Experience vs MCAT

[snoopiewoo]

So...hi guys. After lurking on this page for quite some time I finally find myself needing to post for some advice on MCAT vs. clinical experience. For some background, I just graduated this past May 2021 with a cGPA of 3.78 and started working as a clinical assistant at a dermatology practice the month after in June. Now to date I have roughly 950+ hours of direct patient care hours (rooming patients and getting their HPI's, helping with biopsies and excisions, suture removal, urine pregnancy tests etc.) The issue is that my job is very fully time, generally working 42+ hours a week at a very fast pace so I find myself constantly exhausted before and after work and no time/motivation to study. I just recently started somewhat studying for the MCAT under these conditions (signed up to take it April 8 2022) and am completely overwhelmed with just HOW much info I forgot and have yet to really master. When I took this job on, I agreed to a year minimum (non-binding) with a promised 1 month fully off before my test date, but feel that even with that time going my MCAT is going to suffer greatly without more time dedicated to studying. I guess my question is this: Is it better to just quit and take these next 3-4 months to study full time for the MCAT, or take the risk that I can study enough in my free time and continue gaining the clinical experience? I should note I will attempt to volunteer when on weekends if I quit if theres a chance to, not sure with Covid though.

TLR; Will ADCOMS care if I quit my clinical job after 6 months to focus solely on studying for the MCAT?

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[Princeton Medical Student]

950 hrs of clinical experience won’t keep you out of anywhere. Having a bad MCAT score will. You can always get another clinical job after the exam and before applying

 

[KnightDoc]

950 hrs of clinical experience won’t keep you out of anywhere. Having a bad MCAT score will. You can always get another clinical job after the exam and before applying

This^^^ is definitely true. OTOH, demonstrating an inability to walk and chew gum at the same time is not going to help your application. Pretty much everyone studying for the MCAT juggles that with school or work, with occasional breaks, like the one you tentatively scheduled, just before the exam.

Your clinical hours are fine, but, since you are in a gap year, you will be expected to account for around 2,000 hours. Telling an adcom you needed to block off a quarter of that time to do nothing but study will call into question your ability to juggle multiple tasks and manage your time, both of which are necessary skills for success in med school and as a doctor. As a result, you will want to avoid that.

My advice would be to try to find something where you can work less hours (either at your current practice or somewhere else), so that you have the energy necessary to effectively prepare for the exam while continuing to build your application. If your current employer likes you, allowing you to cut back hours for 3 months before your already agreed to one month break should not be the end of the world.

If it is, I'd quit but try to find something else. The key is to try to be able to blend the time you are spending studying into your work time, and show you can do more than one thing at a time. Good luck!!!

 

[Goro]

So...hi guys. After lurking on this page for quite some time I finally find myself needing to post for some advice on MCAT vs. clinical experience. For some background, I just graduated this past May 2021 with a cGPA of 3.78 and started working as a clinical assistant at a dermatology practice the month after in June. Now to date I have roughly 950+ hours of direct patient care hours (rooming patients and getting their HPI's, helping with biopsies and excisions, suture removal, urine pregnancy tests etc.) The issue is that my job is very fully time, generally working 42+ hours a week at a very fast pace so I find myself constantly exhausted before and after work and no time/motivation to study. I just recently started somewhat studying for the MCAT under these conditions (signed up to take it April 8 2022) and am completely overwhelmed with just HOW much info I forgot and have yet to really master. When I took this job on, I agreed to a year minimum (non-binding) with a promised 1 month fully off before my test date, but feel that even with that time going my MCAT is going to suffer greatly without more time dedicated to studying. I guess my question is this: Is it better to just quit and take these next 3-4 months to study full time for the MCAT, or take the risk that I can study enough in my free time and continue gaining the clinical experience? I should note I will attempt to volunteer when on weekends if I quit if theres a chance to, not sure with Covid though.

TLR; Will ADCOMS care if I quit my clinical job after 6 months to focus solely on studying for the MCAT?

No, but you can't study 24/7. You should still do SOMETHING while you're studying.

Med schools do expect you to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

 

[LindaAccepted]

So...hi guys. After lurking on this page for quite some time I finally find myself needing to post for some advice on MCAT vs. clinical experience. For some background, I just graduated this past May 2021 with a cGPA of 3.78 and started working as a clinical assistant at a dermatology practice the month after in June. Now to date I have roughly 950+ hours of direct patient care hours (rooming patients and getting their HPI's, helping with biopsies and excisions, suture removal, urine pregnancy tests etc.) The issue is that my job is very fully time, generally working 42+ hours a week at a very fast pace so I find myself constantly exhausted before and after work and no time/motivation to study. I just recently started somewhat studying for the MCAT under these conditions (signed up to take it April 8 2022) and am completely overwhelmed with just HOW much info I forgot and have yet to really master. When I took this job on, I agreed to a year minimum (non-binding) with a promised 1 month fully off before my test date, but feel that even with that time going my MCAT is going to suffer greatly without more time dedicated to studying. I guess my question is this: Is it better to just quit and take these next 3-4 months to study full time for the MCAT, or take the risk that I can study enough in my free time and continue gaining the clinical experience? I should note I will attempt to volunteer when on weekends if I quit if theres a chance to, not sure with Covid though.

TLR; Will ADCOMS care if I quit my clinical job after 6 months to focus solely on studying for the MCAT?

Would your employer allow you to cut back to half time for an additional 2-3 months before the exam?

 

[Bwesternn]

Would you employer allow you to cut back to half time for an additional 2-3 months before the exam?

This. As someone who also worked full time and volunteered for COVID vaccine clinics on weekends while studying for the MCAT, I feel your pain. I asked my employer if I could work part-time 3 months prior to my exam, which they graciously granted. In fairness, I work for a large hospital system, so they were able to deal with my absence for the 2/5 days of the week. I'm assuming you work in private practice, so while it may be more difficult, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Ultimate, the MCAT is more important. You can do it!

 

[Talldoctor96]

You also don’t have to rush, can take another year off and pull off everything comfortably

 

[snoopiewoo]

This^^^ is definitely true. OTOH, demonstrating an inability to walk and chew gum at the same time is not going to help your application. Pretty much everyone studying for the MCAT juggles that with school or work, with occasional breaks, like the one you tentatively scheduled, just before the exam.

Your clinical hours are fine, but, since you are in a gap year, you will be expected to account for around 2,000 hours. Telling an adcom you needed to block off a quarter of that time to do nothing but study will call into question your ability to juggle multiple tasks and manage your time, both of which are necessary skills for success in med school and as a doctor. As a result, you will want to avoid that.

My advice would be to try to find something where you can work less hours (either at your current practice or somewhere else), so that you have the energy necessary to effectively prepare for the exam while continuing to build your application. If your current employer likes you, allowing you to cut back hours for 3 months before your already agreed to one month break should not be the end of the world.

If it is, I'd quit but try to find something else. The key is to try to be able to blend the time you are spending studying into your work time, and show you can do more than one thing at a time. Good luck!!!

I definitely think I am going to try and negotiate down to part-time, 2-3 days a week. As it is we are very understaffed and there is quite a learning curve to this job, so I would assume they would not want to lose someone who is trained and good at what they do. Could be wrong, but as you said if that's the case I will look elsewhere to work/volunteer. I really appreciate the feedback, thank you so much!!

 

[snoopiewoo]

Would you employer allow you to cut back to half time for an additional 2-3 months before the exam?

I'm hoping so. To be blunt, the nurse manager at the practice is extremely catty and not very forgiving of taking time off due to school reasons despite knowing medical school is my end goal (we are understaffed and they are picky in the hiring process). This past July, she verbally lambasted me for requesting 1-2 days off for the last 2 weeks of my accelerated Orgo 2 course, even though it was okay-ed by the office manager during my interview to ask for time if I need it for that same course. I am extremely anxious to broach the subject, but ultimately I know it needs to be done.

 

[Bwesternn]

At this point that seems to be the overwhelming consensus that I need to ask for part time. I do work at a private practice, yes, one that so happens to be understaffed at the moment with an extremely high turnover rate (nurse cattiness, some providers being down-right verbally abusive at times) and so me leaving would be very much felt in the office, sadly. Too add, and I'm not sure if this is me overthinking this connection, but I was made aware of the job from my dad who has been a long-time patient of the practice. So even though I had to interview, they made it known that it was essentially just a formality and that they wanted me because they "knew I was from good stock." I struggle with the idea that they feel like they went out on a limb for me to have this job, asking for that 1-year full time commitment, and that I am now walking back on that promise. :/

Things change, but your priority is to crush the MCAT and get into medical school. You're not quitting (yet), but asking for your employer to meet you halfway. You gotta do what you gotta do, however, from your last couple of posts it seems as though you already know what they're going to say. If what you're saying about the current status of your clinic is true, they should be willing to have a conversation about how to best accommodate.

If not, and you think working full-time will be detrimental to your MCAT results, quit.

 

[GoSpursGo]

TLR; Will ADCOMS care if I quit my clinical job after 6 months to focus solely on studying for the MCAT?

No

 

[sasukeuchiha33]

So...hi guys. After lurking on this page for quite some time I finally find myself needing to post for some advice on MCAT vs. clinical experience. For some background, I just graduated this past May 2021 with a cGPA of 3.78 and started working as a clinical assistant at a dermatology practice the month after in June. Now to date I have roughly 950+ hours of direct patient care hours (rooming patients and getting their HPI's, helping with biopsies and excisions, suture removal, urine pregnancy tests etc.) The issue is that my job is very fully time, generally working 42+ hours a week at a very fast pace so I find myself constantly exhausted before and after work and no time/motivation to study. I just recently started somewhat studying for the MCAT under these conditions (signed up to take it April 8 2022) and am completely overwhelmed with just HOW much info I forgot and have yet to really master. When I took this job on, I agreed to a year minimum (non-binding) with a promised 1 month fully off before my test date, but feel that even with that time going my MCAT is going to suffer greatly without more time dedicated to studying. I guess my question is this: Is it better to just quit and take these next 3-4 months to study full time for the MCAT, or take the risk that I can study enough in my free time and continue gaining the clinical experience? I should note I will attempt to volunteer when on weekends if I quit if theres a chance to, not sure with Covid though.

TLR; Will ADCOMS care if I quit my clinical job after 6 months to focus solely on studying for the MCAT?

Hi Abby- as a reapplicant who had slightly fewer patient care hours than you when I first applied last year, I can tell you that the MCAT is certainly more important than patient care hours. People on here sometimes giving me a hard time for saying that the MCAT is the single most important factor (even more than GPA) in determining what gets you into medical school, but it's true. When I spoke to an adcom at my state MD school after being rejected last year, I was told this exact thing- MCAT is king. Do whatever you can to secure the highest MCAT score possible, even if that means quitting your clinical job. That being said, as people mentioned above, having something on the side to do other than studying is super crucial and key to doing well, so maybe your patient care hours can do that for you.