Gap Year: Opthalmic Technician or Medical Assistant (allergy clinic)

[sparky7189]

Hi, I'm currently trying to decide between two jobs: an ophthalmic technician or medical assistant. I already have 300 clinical hours from volunteering at hospitals.
Both locations are roughly the same distance from me (and roughly same pay - pay is not super big issue for me).

Ophthalmic technician: Fast paced clinic with lots of patient interaction. I think maybe because it is fast paced and bigger so it seemed slightly disorganized (waiting room was packed that day so maybe that's why).
Medical assistant: it's at a smaller allergy clinic and most of the staff are actually pre health students. I would be alternating between front and back office (they mentioned it would have "excellent patient-facing experience"). The physician interviewing me is pretty chill and knows I'm premed (mentioned she'd be willing to write letter of rec down the line and flexible work arrangement in case I ever need to take time off).

I also already have 100 hours of shadowing with other physicians.

Does one look better than the other. I'm slightly drawn to the medical assistant position just because of the work environment but I think the ophthalmic technician one might have more patient interaction. I will be continuing one of my hospital volunteering positions + non clinical volunteering on the side.

*I already applied this cycle, so this is for my potential reapp

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[ecobio]

I think both sound like great options. Its now a matter of 1) what interests you more and 2) how you can reflect on these experiences. No wrong answer IMO.

 

[AJS59]

Either is fine as both are clinical. Pick whichever interests you more, and all else equal, pays better/has better benefits

 

[LizzyM]

Filp a coin. If you are unhappy with the outcome, choose the one you really want and forget about the coin toss.

 

[Dr.S at Princeton Review]

There is no bad option with either of those choices particularly since this is for your possible reapplication. I would go with the position that is of greater to interest to you and if needed where you could get a possible letter of recommendation. Best of luck this cycle!