Dilemma

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Epi Geek
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So.... I still really want to go to med school, but a potential opportunity came up at work to be an education specialist II which is the one promotion track I could see myself enjoying if I stick around here or don't get into medical school. I'd have to apply for it, it's not guaranteed or anything and because its a pretty desirable group and two steps above my role, there's a good chance I wouldn't get it. I would still apply to medschool it would just push my application cycle back a year as they require a two year commitment.

Pluses
Good group of people to work with
I like teaching (and hate my current position a lot of the time)
Pay increase
Day shift ( and though I'm on the roster to move to evenings where I am now, there's no timeline for when it'll happen as they have to replace me this Ed position would get me on days within a month or so of being hired)
Delaying a year would give me time to complete my degree before applyin
It would give me time to get the rest of my house in order (literally the house fixed up to sell, get myself back in good shape, get my financial situation squared away, and get to study for the MCAT while just working and doing ECs, not working and doing grad school, and ECs)

I'd apply with another year of ECs.

Minuses
Delaying another year will suck and I'm anxious to move on and incorporate the grad degree I've been busting my tail for while commuting and working nights.

I'll still be able to finish my masters but it'll make things a bit more challenging and I won't be able to take one of the courses I really want to take on clinical trials which is important for my future clinician researcher ambitions.

I'll be older, lol

If I don't get in to med school, I won't be using the masters I've been working for either which is a very strong area of interest for me.

If I stay on nights for another 4 months I can probably fit in my MCAT review while having a slightly lighter work school schedule from now til Jan.

Any other potential issues ppl can think of?

:p

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Take it. (Or I mean, apply)

One year won't make that much of a difference in terms of your application, but it definitely could in terms of your state of mind and health. Mo money, better friends, better hours, spending those hours doing something you like... your downsides hardly exist in comparison (imo)

If there's a way of *not* suffering -- even living well -- for this prep period, you should definitely, definitely do that :)

And if at the end of it, you still want to go to med school, you ought to.

Also: you can't predict whether/when the masters you're working on now might be important.

Your anxiety re commuting and working nights will be significantly diminished by working days :)

Also: med school will be more of the same thing you're doing now. A break from all that intensity might be a good thing
 
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I won't be able to take one of the courses I really want to take on clinical trials which is important for my future clinician researcher ambitions.

This is negligible. I understand wanting to take a course, but you can learn the material on your own & there is nothing about clinical trials that you can learn in a single course (prior to having your MD nonetheless) that is really that important for your career as a clinical researcher.
 
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What does your heart tell you to do? Medicine is a calling, like being a priest or a fireman.

So.... I still really want to go to med school, but a potential opportunity came up at work to be an education specialist II which is the one promotion track I could see myself enjoying if I stick around here or don't get into medical school. I'd have to apply for it, it's not guaranteed or anything and because its a pretty desirable group and two steps above my role, there's a good chance I wouldn't get it. I would still apply to medschool it would just push my application cycle back a year as they require a two year commitment.

Pluses
Good group of people to work with
I like teaching (and hate my current position a lot of the time)
Pay increase
Day shift ( and though I'm on the roster to move to evenings where I am now, there's no timeline for when it'll happen as they have to replace me this Ed position would get me on days within a month or so of being hired)
Delaying a year would give me time to complete my degree before applyin
It would give me time to get the rest of my house in order (literally the house fixed up to sell, get myself back in good shape, get my financial situation squared away, and get to study for the MCAT while just working and doing ECs, not working and doing grad school, and ECs)

I'd apply with another year of ECs.

Minuses
Delaying another year will suck and I'm anxious to move on and incorporate the grad degree I've been busting my tail for while commuting and working nights.

I'll still be able to finish my masters but it'll make things a bit more challenging and I won't be able to take one of the courses I really want to take on clinical trials which is important for my future clinician researcher ambitions.

I'll be older, lol

If I don't get in to med school, I won't be using the masters I've been working for either which is a very strong area of interest for me.

If I stay on nights for another 4 months I can probably fit in my MCAT review while having a slightly lighter work school schedule from now til Jan.

Any other potential issues ppl can think of?

:p
 
Please elaborate on what they mean by "two year commitment"? Can they fire you if things like financials/forecasts change?

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It means they'd like whoever they hire to commit to two years in that position. From an institutional enforcement standpoint you would need a release from that supervisor to take a different position in the institution before that 2 years is up. If you left the institution they generally won't hire you back if you violate that two year commitment to go elsewhere and then decide to try and come back. It generally takes awhile to train people so they want a good return on their investment. Can't blame then.

So if I got the position and decided to apply to medical school in June after all, they'd be pissed and I suppose they could fire me, but that's about it for damage they could do. It would make it difficult to get rec letters from the boss though. My current supervisor said she'd write me a good one and really doesn't want me to transfer to a different position.
 
Thanks for the feedback folks, I don't think I'm going to do it though.

First, I'll have a good rec letter from the current boss staying where I am. Second, when they are able to replace me on nights, I'll go to evenings and get an income boost as I move from 30 hrs a week to 40. The evening shift differential will just about balance out the pay raise for the promotion position.

Third, it'll let me maintain flexibility with grad school and my masters project. And while the clinical trials course isn't critical, it's not just one class on the side for clinical research. My background and whole grad degree is in epidemiology and geared towards population studies and the instructor happens to be a renowned leader in clinical trials. Plus the class has come highly recommended by several physician friends.

4th it'll let me maintain flexibility for my EC's.

Finally, I want to apply to VC7777's school while he's still there so he can take me out for the drink he promised me. :smuggrin:

The biggest suck is that I really love teaching and really hate what I'm doing now, coupled with the knowledge that I could be off nights in a month if I got it, or some unknown time far in the future if I stay where I am. I also don't think having a role teaching undergrads, med students, and residents transfusion medicine content and lab testing would look bad on an application.
 
Why can't you try for both and see which pans out? If you actually get the offer then you can really seriously consider taking that step. It seems to me that the biggest thing stopping you is the chance you won't get it to begin with?

Besides if you do apply to med school and get accepted, then you have two very good opportunities. Frankly, if they are pissed so what. After four years only a few people will remember, and you wouldn't be going back to that place anyways...unless you flunk out :p
 
. Frankly, if they are pissed so what. After four years only a few people will remember, and you wouldn't be going back to that place anyways...unless you flunk out :p

Actually I work at a pretty big teaching hospital close to my family and the odds are good I'd try to apply here for residency, along with not insignificant odds that the supervisor of the promotion position could be the associate program director of a residency I'd be interested in. So.....
 
Actually I work at a pretty big teaching hospital close to my family and the odds are good I'd try to apply here for residency, along with not insignificant odds that the supervisor of the promotion position could be the associate program director of a residency I'd be interested in. So.....

I understand. If someone is willing to go that far after five years for petty revenge I am not so sure you want to be part of that institution in the first place?

Fear of reprisal from another person is not a reason to give up your chosen path in life. There is more than one place to do residency. I think you are restricting yourself in many different ways which is causing you unnecessary grief.
 
I appreciate the encouragement Shjanzey.

I don't know if grief is the right word. I might be coming across as more stressed than I actually am. Mostly, after 4 years of nights, I'm just sick of screwed up sleep schedules and having a grumpy week with the uncertainty of when I'd get to change shifts etc. If I have crazy med school and residency schedules to look forward to in the future, I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from it for a year or two in the meantime. It was more of a think aloud and see if you guys come up with anything else I didn't consider, which of course you did.

You are right that that'd be pretty petty for them to hold a grudge that long. I wouldn't expect any kind of revenge honestly. But if someone asks if you'll be able to make the two year commitment and you say yes, knowing full well you probably won't, then you can't blame them for viewing you a bit differently in the future. I would anyway.

Knowing what it takes to train people in here and the impact that high turnover has on patient care, I also just don't feel right lying that I'll be around 2 years when I can't make that promise. I'm just not wired that way. I've managed to get far and do well being honest and upfront about my plans so far and I'd rather not change that if possible. People seem to respect me for that and I've earned some unexpected support in the process.

I did talk to some people I know in the work unit and got some good intel. It seems a lot has changed over there and it's not quite the job it used to be when I worked there or what I'm going for in an education role. So that's good to know.

But a position did come up in my current work area and my boss said that she'd be ok with me not quite making the two year commitment if it was for career advancement and something like getting into medical school and I was encouraged to apply for it. So I'm going to apply for that position.

If it works out it'll be a kind of a win/win. Something more enjoyable than what I'm doing now, a promotion, but with a good management team, and not having to delay my application cycle or lie and feel guilty about it.

Anyway, wish me luck. Maybe I'll get the new gig. Pretty happy with this development.
 
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