Depressed after job rejection..

[premed21]

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I just heard back from the Scribe program that I interviewed for, and it turns out that I got rejected. I feel so bad right now, I think my interviewing skills totally suck or something. I am taking a year off, and was hoping that I would be able to do this program in that year.

I don't know what I should do right now. I feel like everything I have done is so weak, and that if I can't even get into a scribe position (they accept 1 out of 3 people), then how will I get into medical school?

My current options right now are:
1) Take EMT course in the summer and do EMT job in year off
2) Defer my graduation and continue going to school for another year taking a bunch of science courses (I am non-science major).
3) Trying to find a job at a Doctor's office near my house
4) ??????

I am really lost right now, and I still have to take the MCAT and I will be applying kind of late because I am taking June 18 test date. I just want to succeed, but I feel so bad right now T_T

 

[Bcblazer]

I just heard back from the Scribe program that I interviewed for, and it turns out that I got rejected. I feel so bad right now, I think my interviewing skills totally suck or something. I am taking a year off, and was hoping that I would be able to do this program in that year.

I don't know what I should do right now. I feel like everything I have done is so weak, and that if I can't even get into a scribe position (they accept 1 out of 3 people), then how will I get into medical school?

My current options right now are:
1) Take EMT course in the summer and do EMT job in year off
2) Defer my graduation and continue going to school for another year taking a bunch of science courses (I am non-science major).
3) Trying to find a job at a Doctor's office near my house
4) ??????

I am really lost right now, and I still have to take the MCAT and I will be applying kind of late because I am taking June 18 test date. I just want to succeed, but I feel so bad right now T_T

Keep your head up. Every job is looking for a different type of person, and you shouldn't get down just because one employer didn't hire you. You'll probably end up having the opportunity to do something much better. The options you listed are great, and don't fall prey to the thinking that you can't get into medical school because you can't get a particular job. They're unrelated.

However, if you know your interviewing skills need work, practice and practice more. They are hugely important in the application cycle, and many people are not naturally good at interviewing. Work at it, get feedback from others, etc. Keep pursuing your goals!

 

[witness23]

getting a job is not easy AT ALL. i think people underestimate

 

[horo1988]

You have not even finished your B.S degree man, so I don't think u should stress so much. There are a lot of students out there who already completed their B.S still cannot get in med school. To me, it is not the matter of HOW LONG it takes me to get in med school, but it is the matter of HOW READY I am for it.

I have a friend, and he is actually my TA. His mom is nearly 50 years old and she is still quitting her career and trying to pursue her goal of obtaining a PhD.

Don't give up. Persistence is the KEY.

 

[slick27]

The EMT job might be hard to get too. Since you'll have no experience. CNA would be a better option. But, the job isn't as great as being a EMT.

 

[witness23]

I just heard back from the Scribe program that I interviewed for, and it turns out that I got rejected. I feel so bad right now, I think my interviewing skills totally suck or something. I am taking a year off, and was hoping that I would be able to do this program in that year.

I don't know what I should do right now. I feel like everything I have done is so weak, and that if I can't even get into a scribe position (they accept 1 out of 3 people), then how will I get into medical school?

My current options right now are:
1) Take EMT course in the summer and do EMT job in year off
2) Defer my graduation and continue going to school for another year taking a bunch of science courses (I am non-science major).
3) Trying to find a job at a Doctor's office near my house
4) ??????

I am really lost right now, and I still have to take the MCAT and I will be applying kind of late because I am taking June 18 test date. I just want to succeed, but I feel so bad right now T_T

hold on. have ur schoold send ur transcript ASAP in May. Fill out your Amcas. select your state school. send it June 1st and have it verified. your mcat score will be uploaded automatically.


why dont you try to find a volunteer research position in the summer so you can study. if u show promise your PI *might* pay you. if not you can use the mcat score and the experience to get a job.

 

[premed21]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm doing research in a biochemistry lab right now, and I would like to get a job as a research assistant, but I'm a non-science major.

I'm in the socal region, and I didn't know that it was so hard to get an EMT job. What do the majority of people who have EMT training do if they don't get accepted as an EMT? I just feel like total crap after failing at the Scribe program.

 

[rHinO1]

I also live in socal. I have worked full time as an Emt and as a tech in a hospital. In socal finding an EMT job is not hard at all (if you will work full time, part time is impossible). Getting a tech job in a hospital is very competitive, but after a year of emt work, it is very doable. Good luck.

 

[bellakk]

I would suggest trying to go for being a CNA or AUA (step above CNA and you get to do cool stuff in the ER). I live in a large city and not a single one of the hospitals is hiring EMTs, but they are all have about 20 postings for CNA. You can pretty much pick your hours as a CNA while its practically impossible to be a part time EMT. I am a part time CNA on the oncology floor of a big med center here and absolutely love it! EMTs have "excitement" in their jobs but dont really get extended patient care contact. On my floor some of the patents have been there for 2 or 3 months so you get to know them well, I've talked to a couple admissions people (I'll be applying this summer) and the all like the fact that I get a lot of extended patient contact.

Most doctors offices require a Medical Assistant certification to work there as well (that would be great too instead of CNA!).

I think you should defer and go for a minor in biology, zoology, microbiology, chemistry or something similar. I wouldnt take a year off from school, med schools want to see continuous course work.

Ok summary: defer graduation (or just take courses as a post-bac student, but then you wont get to call it a minor), get a part time job in healthcare EMT, CNA, MA, something like that. Dont worry about your late MCAT date! You can still submit your application june 1st, theres a place where you put your expected MCAT date, I know schools that have even offered interviews for late mcaters(although they cant officially interview w/o the mcat score)

Being a scribe and being a doctor arent the same thing. You might want to send your interviewer a quick email, just say you have some other interviews lined up (even if you dont) and you want their feedback on any interview weaknesses you have so you can do better the next time.

 

[chuckanderson]

Honestly I think most interviews for jobs are completely random. They likely have a certain quota they have to fill, and this could be the only reason you're even there at the interview. I've been told many times by neutral individuals that my interview skills are 'excellent', but when I was applying for a summer job I got turned down twice as much as I got an offer.

Just remember how much red tape most of these (especially large) companies have to go through in their hiring process.

 

[premed21]

I also live in socal. I have worked full time as an Emt and as a tech in a hospital. In socal finding an EMT job is not hard at all (if you will work full time, part time is impossible). Getting a tech job in a hospital is very competitive, but after a year of emt work, it is very doable. Good luck.

My initial plan was to do EMT before I heard about the scribe program. Hopefully, this will come through for me. I don't mind working full time because I will be taking a year off. Thanks for the input.

I would suggest trying to go for being a CNA or AUA (step above CNA and you get to do cool stuff in the ER). I live in a large city and not a single one of the hospitals is hiring EMTs, but they are all have about 20 postings for CNA. You can pretty much pick your hours as a CNA while its practically impossible to be a part time EMT. I am a part time CNA on the oncology floor of a big med center here and absolutely love it! EMTs have "excitement" in their jobs but dont really get extended patient care contact. On my floor some of the patents have been there for 2 or 3 months so you get to know them well, I've talked to a couple admissions people (I'll be applying this summer) and the all like the fact that I get a lot of extended patient contact.

Most doctors offices require a Medical Assistant certification to work there as well (that would be great too instead of CNA!).

I think you should defer and go for a minor in biology, zoology, microbiology, chemistry or something similar. I wouldnt take a year off from school, med schools want to see continuous course work.

Ok summary: defer graduation (or just take courses as a post-bac student, but then you wont get to call it a minor), get a part time job in healthcare EMT, CNA, MA, something like that. Dont worry about your late MCAT date! You can still submit your application june 1st, theres a place where you put your expected MCAT date, I know schools that have even offered interviews for late mcaters(although they cant officially interview w/o the mcat score)

Being a scribe and being a doctor arent the same thing. You might want to send your interviewer a quick email, just say you have some other interviews lined up (even if you dont) and you want their feedback on any interview weaknesses you have so you can do better the next time.

Thanks for the great response, I feel better after listening to the many other options available (but still feeling pretty worthless). I already have a minor in Chemistry, and don't really want to defer my graduation. I just want to gain some work experience in a health care setting. That would be great if I could be a Medical Assistant, but do I have the qualification (BA degree)? Also, how do I find out if the offices have openings or not? Just call them and ask them if they are looking for a medical assistant? Thanks again.

 

[bellakk]

A medical assistant is basaically the same as a nurse aid, you just learn a little more about office paperwork. You'd do stuff like take vitals, take down patient history, escort the patient to the exam room, help with physician with procedures, draw blood or give injections and sometimes work in the front office. The typical program is only a couple months (sometimes a semester), the length depends on whether the program is full time or part time. The program is usually offered at community colleges and vo-tech/technology type schools. The only negative thing is that it is sometimes difficult to find out all the schools in your area that offer the program (I'm a CNA and it took me a while to find a school where the class fit w/ my schedule). It just takes a lot of internet searching and phone calling. You won't get paid super great, about 11 an hr (thats for here in Tulsa, OK), but you will get to know 1 or more physicians very well from working in their office and will truely understand what its like to be a clinic physician. I think this kind of job would lead to an excellent physician LoR after a couple months of work! It would also give you time to take a class on the side or if you wanted or to volunteer on the weekends.

As for finding a job, usually the school where you take the class will help you find a job. Another way to find them is to go to the website of a large Medical Center in your area. For example, here in Tulsa, St. Johns Health Systems is a huge complex with a large hospital and about 4 buildings nearby as well as about 20 smaller buildings spread out through tulsa that contain nothing but doctors offices that are all contracted under St. Johns health systems. If I went to the "jobs" section of st johns hospital website, I can look through hospital jobs as well as all jobs for any of the doctors offices associated with the health system.

good luck! I really think that a year of health care work, (whether EMT, CNA, whatever) would help set your application apart from the kids who did nothing but shadow or volunteer.

 

[physcigirl27]

Hey, I live in So Cal too and I wonder if we interviewed at the same scribe place, since I heard back from mine too.
Don't worry that interview hardly felt like an interview, if it's the same one. It seemed like they knew who they wanted from the get go.

 

[horo1988]

Quick question, "Would it be better to find a job related to your major or work on the CNA thing in a year off?

 

[mic2377]

Unless you have a local rescue squad to join as a volunteer EMT... you will have a tough time entering the field. There are intangible elements necessary to be good in EMS that are impossible to teach in class, and also impossible to tell if someone has before they are tested in the field. Hence, agencies don't hire people with zero experience.

Also of note is that the job market is tough for EMT-B's....but the total opposite for EMT-I/P's. That is one reason I became an EMT-I, ALS providers are in short supply. The responsibility of an ALS provider is many times higher than that of a EMT-B, though.

So, with that said, CNA is probably the better choice. It is significantly less glamorous and exciting but will afford you enough patient contact.

Oh, plan on difficulty with finding ANY job, especially an entry level one. Who knows, you could be competing against some former CEO for that CNA position... 🙁

 

[fried rice]

I just heard back from the Scribe program that I interviewed for, and it turns out that I got rejected. I feel so bad right now, I think my interviewing skills totally suck or something. I am taking a year off, and was hoping that I would be able to do this program in that year.

I don't know what I should do right now. I feel like everything I have done is so weak, and that if I can't even get into a scribe position (they accept 1 out of 3 people), then how will I get into medical school?

My current options right now are:
1) Take EMT course in the summer and do EMT job in year off
2) Defer my graduation and continue going to school for another year taking a bunch of science courses (I am non-science major).
3) Trying to find a job at a Doctor's office near my house
4) ??????

I am really lost right now, and I still have to take the MCAT and I will be applying kind of late because I am taking June 18 test date. I just want to succeed, but I feel so bad right now T_T

That sucks. Good thing my scribe program was accepting everyone they interviewed. I interviewed at Target once to be a cart attendant prior to the holiday season and they turned me down.

Not being accepted to a scribe program isn't going to break you.

 

[Forbes]

I just heard back from the Scribe program that I interviewed for, and it turns out that I got rejected. I feel so bad right now, I think my interviewing skills totally suck or something. I am taking a year off, and was hoping that I would be able to do this program in that year.

I don't know what I should do right now. I feel like everything I have done is so weak, and that if I can't even get into a scribe position (they accept 1 out of 3 people), then how will I get into medical school?

My current options right now are:
1) Take EMT course in the summer and do EMT job in year off
2) Defer my graduation and continue going to school for another year taking a bunch of science courses (I am non-science major).
3) Trying to find a job at a Doctor's office near my house
4) ??????

I am really lost right now, and I still have to take the MCAT and I will be applying kind of late because I am taking June 18 test date. I just want to succeed, but I feel so bad right now T_T

I applied to SMDEP, which is 3 programs at once. I didn't get a spot, and my odds were better than yours, from what other applicants have told me. I got the news when I was on a Habitat trip, and now I am interning with them for the summer. There is an opportunity out there, it may just not be clear.

 

[Conky]

I would suggest trying to go for being a CNA or AUA (step above CNA and you get to do cool stuff in the ER). I live in a large city and not a single one of the hospitals is hiring EMTs, but they are all have about 20 postings for CNA. You can pretty much pick your hours as a CNA while its practically impossible to be a part time EMT. I am a part time CNA on the oncology floor of a big med center here and absolutely love it! EMTs have "excitement" in their jobs but dont really get extended patient care contact. On my floor some of the patents have been there for 2 or 3 months so you get to know them well, I've talked to a couple admissions people (I'll be applying this summer) and the all like the fact that I get a lot of extended patient contact.

Yes, do this. You will be amazed at the amount of patient contact you get. I am full time on a surgical/ trauma floor and it came up a lot in my interviews. Here, they call them PCA's and PCT's (patient care associates/techs). It's all on the job, paid training by the way.

Basically, you take vitals, help patients toilet, draw blood, empty drains, answer call bells. You see the patient as much as anyone, and they really appreciate you for it. My experience has been invaluable and although I have been accepted, I don't plan on quitting soon. Many young people do this job on the road to becoming nurses (more often) and doctors.

 

[Conky]

As for finding a job, usually the school where you take the class will help you find a job. Another way to find them is to go to the website of a large Medical Center in your area. For example, here in Tulsa, St. Johns Health Systems is a huge complex with a large hospital and about 4 buildings nearby as well as about 20 smaller buildings spread out through tulsa that contain nothing but doctors offices that are all contracted under St. Johns health systems. If I went to the "jobs" section of st johns hospital website, I can look through hospital jobs as well as all jobs for any of the doctors offices associated with the health system.

good luck! I really think that a year of health care work, (whether EMT, CNA, whatever) would .

You can work in patient too, it will probably be easier to find a job in that setting and you'll see sicker patients and become more accustomed to the hospital setting. Though, you won't get a lor out of it. I hardly see any doctors or procedures except for the random chest tube every now and again.

 

[rHinO1]

Unless you have a local rescue squad to join as a volunteer EMT... you will have a tough time entering the field. There are intangible elements necessary to be good in EMS that are impossible to teach in class, and also impossible to tell if someone has before they are tested in the field. Hence, agencies don't hire people with zero experience.

Also of note is that the job market is tough for EMT-B's....but the total opposite for EMT-I/P's. That is one reason I became an EMT-I, ALS providers are in short supply. The responsibility of an ALS provider is many times higher than that of a EMT-B, though.

So, with that said, CNA is probably the better choice. It is significantly less glamorous and exciting but will afford you enough patient contact.

Oh, plan on difficulty with finding ANY job, especially an entry level one. Who knows, you could be competing against some former CEO for that CNA position... 🙁

Just to clarify a few points for the OP... California does not employ Emt-I's. Also, to qualify for a paramedic program in Socal you will need 1 year of full time experience as an EMT-b first. Also, there are plenty of bls ambulence agency's here, and they all have a high employee turn over rate and are always hiring. There are volunteer fire agency's here, but they operate in very rural areas only and generally don't have a prehospital care focus.