Experience in medical offices not valid?

[Chanandler Bong]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello, all; I've been lurking for a few months and have an application question.

(Here's a bit of background info: I graduated in 2010 with a major in English and a minor in art, and instead of getting a MFA like my classmates, I've decided to do a 180 and study medicine. I've been taking community college math classes for the past year and a half, and in the fall I'll start taking science classes at a four-year school.)

I have some experience working in an ophthalmologist's office. For three months or so, I did filing, some scribing, confirmed appointments, took histories, administered simple vision tests, learned to use a lensometer, and learned to adjust frames. I even watched a surgery on a chalazion. Great stuff. Couldn't ask for better. Here are the problems:

1) This was a very long time ago. I was 19, and now I'm 25. Though I enjoyed the work, I was unable to get another job like this when I moved out of state, and didn't try very hard because I didn't think I wanted to go into medicine.
2) The ophthalmologist was my mom, so I'm not sure whether the experience holds more or less weight for that.

Since we're at it, here's another thing: Both of my parents are doctors and run their own businesses. I grew up around this stuff and feel I have an extremely solid understanding of the necessary etiquette, responsibility, and business-related demands of owning a private practice (which is why I spent most of my life adamantly against going into medicine). When it comes to interviewing and whatnot, I don't know if this is a topic I should avoid. Is bringing up life experience like that useless or taboo or good or what?

Thanks, guys. And yes, I ask my parents this sort of thing, but... they aren't always right about stuff. 🙄

 

[akinetopsia]

I'm not sure why it wouldn't be valid. It's not like one or both of your parents is writing you a letter of recommendation concerning your clinical acumen and prowess at 19, right?

Some people (not me!) may think ophthalmology is a "soft" kind of exposure to medicine simply because it's similar to optometry, especially if you're in a practice that is predominantly refracting and dispensing glasses and contacts, but it's different as well since the practice is doing refractive surgeries like LASIK/LASEK/PRK and churn-and-burn phaco's for cataracts while referring out all the corneal, glaucoma-related, retinal, and oculoplastics issues.

You're still around patients, and any patient exposure is a good thing, IMO, because it'll help you be able to talk about why you want to pursue medicine. You like being around patients, right? Even the grumpy, complaining ones?

 

[cnhampton]

I would imagine that the experience, while valid, might be seen as too long ago to do your application much good. There appears to be a consensus that there is a "use by" date stamped to most of our experiences, and things that were more than, say, 3-4 years ago are essentially no longer application worthy (with some glaring examples, naturally). And, given that this is for a professional school, I wouldn't be particularly comfortable if that was your only exposure. I have no doubt that you worked hard, and were treated equally as an employee while there, but that may not be the expectation of the people that have to sift through the thousands of well-qualified applicants looking for a reason to not extend an invitation for interviews or admittance.

Not trying to be the buzzkill - honest opinion here. At this point, you probably need to get a ton of volunteering and shadowing hours in. Those will likely carry more weight than a 6 year old job that you didn't pursue or continue while in college or after.

 

[NightGod]

I'd say it would be safe to use those experiences (and the fact that both of your parents are doctors) as evidence that you understand what you're getting yourself into and why you want to get into medicine, but I would still look for some direct patient exposure on a volunteer basis to show the altruism that adcoms love to see on apps.

 

[Chanandler Bong]

Well, I have other volunteer experiences (starting in the ER, long-term environmental stuff, Toastmasters) and 2+ years before my science prereqs are done -- so it certainly won't be my only experience, just wondering if it'd help or hurt anything. It's sounding like it's fair game to talk about, but I shouldn't go out of my way to bring it up, more or less..?

 

[NightGod]

Yeah, I'd probably make it a line or two in your PS "Being raised by two doctors and working in their medical offices has given me an appreciation of the hard work and dedication blah blah blah" but I wouldn't bother with listing it as an EC or anything.

 

[Chanandler Bong]

Sounds fair -- thanks for the advice!