Does Patient Service Representative count as clinical experience? Also, is that looked down upon by Med School Admissions? PLEASE READ

[TheCerebralAssassin]

So I was offered a job today with one of the top medical institutions in the country to be a Patient Service Representative for an Internal Medicine clinic with the opportunity to transition to a medical assistant in the near future. This position pays more but is farther from my house. However, I have another job opportunity to be a medical assistant for an orthopedic practice (I have prior experience as a medical assistant for another orthopedic practice). This job pays less but is closer to my house. So I’m in a bit of a debacle on which one to take. I am a reapplication as well so I want to demonstrate growth from my previous application

Ultimately, I have three quesitons
1) In your guys opinion, which one should I take?
2) Does Patient Service Representative count as clinical experience?
3) Is a Patient Service Representative that looked down upon by Med School Admissions?

I attached a list of responsibilities associated with the Patient Service Representative job.

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[deleted1169403]

Idk about how adcoms would see this, it seems more clerical/administrative to me. But personally I’d rather be an MA than sit at a desk and process payments. You’d learn a ton about the insurance/billing side of medicine though.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

Idk about how adcoms would see this, it seems more clerical/administrative to me. But personally I’d rather be an MA than sit at a desk and process payments. You’d learn a ton about the insurance/billing side of medicine though.

That’s the thing though, if I took the other MA role, I already was a MA for an orthopedic surgeon, so how would that demonstrate growth if I was in the same position?

 

[deleted1169403]

That’s the thing though, if I took the other MA role, I already was a MA for an orthopedic surgeon, so how would that demonstrate growth if I was in the same position?

You could demonstrate growth by reflecting on the experience differently, and that will show up in your writing. At the end of the day the name of the experience doesn’t really matter, it’s more about what you take away from it and how it connects to your motivation to pursue medicine.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

You could demonstrate growth by reflecting on the experience differently, and that will show up in your writing. At the end of the day the name of the experience doesn’t really matter, it’s more about what you take away from it and how it connects to your motivation to pursue medicine.

Ultimately, if it was you, what would you go with?

 

[deleted1169403]

Ultimately, if it was you, what would you go with?

It depends on the rest of my app tbh. Do you have other clinical experiences? If it was me I would have stayed with the original orthopedic clinic to show a commitment over an extended period of time (is that an option?). I’d probably move to this new one and combine them into one and make it an MME.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

It depends on the rest of my app tbh. Do you have other clinical experiences? If it was me I would have stayed with the original orthopedic clinic to show a commitment over an extended period of time (is that an option?). I’d probably move to this new one and combine them into one and make it an MME.

I have other clinical experiences. The other orthopedic clinic was a disaster, overworked, seeing 70 patients a day bymyself, it’s a no go

 

[deleted1169403]

I have other clinical experiences. The other orthopedic clinic was a disaster, overworked, seeing 70 patients a day bymyself, it’s a no go

Since there’s a pipeline to MA at the PSP, you might be able to get the best of both worlds with it.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

Since there’s a pipeline to MA at the PSP, you might be able to get the best of both worlds with it.

Perfect, I’ll go with that one then

 

[Hollow Knight]

Just one more vote that I would stay away from the patient service representative position- that’s secretarial work.

Nothing wrong with that kind of work, but that does not equal clinical experience, even if it’s in a doctors office

 

[candbgirl]

Another vote for NOT doing the PSR. Strictly secretarial. No chance to see doctor/patient interaction at all.
Question: how did you see 70 patients each day by yourself and what in the world did you do with/for them?

 

[HuskyMD Emeritus]

I would not write this opportunity off. While clinical experience in taking care of the patient is important, many of us who have been in medicine for a while don't get to see the other side of the patient care experience, i.e., the receiving end. There are mundane and tedious aspects of the clinic appointment patients and families have to face. Checking into clinic, the pages and pages of paper work one has to fill out, the long waits for the doctor, coordinating appointments with the family members' work schedule, arranging for medical equipment deliveries, etc. Seeing this perspective can be insightful. Some of the best most meaningful experience essays I have read come from applicants performing these duties.
Having recent personal experience with this in taking a family member to multiple doctor appointments was certainly eye opening for me.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

Just one more vote that I would stay away from the patient service representative position- that’s secretarial work.

Nothing wrong with that kind of work, but that does not equal clinical experience, even if it’s in a doctors office

The thing is, if I were to take the new Orthopedic MA position, how would that demonstrate growth from my previous MA position if I’m just going to the exact same position with a different company?

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

Another vote for NOT doing the PSR. Strictly secretarial. No chance to see doctor/patient interaction at all.
Question: how did you see 70 patients each day by yourself and what in the world did you do with/for them?

The thing is, if I were to take the new Orthopedic MA position, how would that demonstrate growth from my previous MA position if I’m just going to the exact same position with a different company?

 

[Hollow Knight]

The thing is, if I were to take the new Orthopedic MA position, how would that demonstrate growth from my previous MA position if I’m just going to the exact same position with a different company?

Clinical experience is clinical experience. Stuff like this really doesn’t have an impact. Do whatever pays more/is better for your schedule

 

[candbgirl]

The thing is, if I were to take the new Orthopedic MA position, how would that demonstrate growth from my previous MA position if I’m just going to the exact same position with a different company?

I’m not sure what growth you expect to show. You’re a MA. There are only certain things you can do. You aren’t diagnosing, you aren’t treating , you are a MA. But you obviously want to do the PSR job so go for it. Do what makes you happy.

 

[TheCerebralAssassin]

Clinical experience is clinical experience. Stuff like this really doesn’t have an impact. Do whatever pays more/is better for your schedule

I also forgot to mention I have 4K+ hours in clinical experience between the MA job and previous caretaker roles

 

[Hollow Knight]

I also forgot to mention I have 4K+ hours in clinical experience between the MA job and previous caretaker roles

Well in that case do what you want. You have plenty of clinical experience already.

Maybe do the front office thing to get new experiences. But from an admissions standpoint I don’t think it actually matters

 

[GoSpursGo]

Well in that case do what you want. You have plenty of clinical experience already.

Maybe do the front office thing to get new experiences. But from an admissions standpoint I don’t think it actually matters

This. It doesn't sound like clinical experience is why you didn't get in this cycle, so neither of these positions is likely to move the needle for you. I would take whichever position allows you the flexibility to focus on whatever part of your application that you perceive is your weakness, or at least whichever one provides you the greatest amount of financial stability.

The name of the institution does not matter.