ideas for how to get feet wet in medical field

[chemie02]

Hi All!

I've posted before but since then I've done some heavy reflection and wondered if anybody had some suggestions as to how to get one's feet wet in medicine? There is the traditional route of volunteering at a hospital, which is something I'm considering. My main concern is just that it's only a feel of what being a doctor actually is like.

The thing is I'm also wondering if anybody knows if there are clinical research jobs available at a technician level, and if that is an effective way to check out medicine.

I'm working now at a chem database company but realized that i need more human interaction! I enjoy science but in order to figure out what aspect of health i'd be interested in since there are so many different roles in the healthcare system, I'd like to test the waters.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also good luck to everyone out there who is also exploring!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[sunnyjohn]

How about trying to get a job as an ER tech? You'll see a bit of everything...

Or becoming an EMT. Even if you don't work on a rig, you could still work as a clinical tech in hospital...

Agape

 

[SallyFlo]

I'm disappointed that this thread hasn't created more interested since I, too, could use some advice in this area.

I started volunteering at my local hospital, but have realized after the first couple weeks, that I am working at a glorified information desk with little patient and no physician contact. I'd like to ask about trying something different but am not sure what to suggest that would give me more relevant experience, be flexible enough fit in with my full-time work schedule and still be useful to the hospital.

What types of hospital volunteer work have other people done?

 

[sunnyjohn]

Volunteer work, well that is tough...

In my experience, they only let volunteers do paperwork. Tha may be for liability reasons and because they have no idea what you can do.

Even patient care techs on the floors usually have basic CNA training.

If you ask though, they might let you into some clinical areas.

Why not go the EMT route? You may be able to find a 30-60 day training program for a small fee in your community. Tha would open a ton of doors. You don't have to work on an ambulance. You could use EMT training as a springboard to an ER tech position.

Or you could try short term phlebotomy training. It gets routine after a while, but it might be a good palce to start.

Even CNA training would open up clinical doors, if you are persistant.

I don't know how it is where you live, but most clinical positions, even the low- level one may require short term training. The good news is that this training is usually less than 30 days and relatively inexpensive.

 

[Trismegistus4]

I'm disappointed that this thread hasn't created more interested since I, too, could use some advice in this area.

I started volunteering at my local hospital, but have realized after the first couple weeks, that I am working at a glorified information desk with little patient and no physician contact. I'd like to ask about trying something different but am not sure what to suggest that would give me more relevant experience, be flexible enough fit in with my full-time work schedule and still be useful to the hospital.

What types of hospital volunteer work have other people done?

You say you get little patient contact... what kind of patient contact do you have? I'm currently volunteering in an ER, and while it's true I have no physician contact, I have plenty of patient contact: I'm often the first person to see and interact with them when they walk in the door, I take their name, birth date, and chief complaint, get them into a wheelchair if they need one, or get them a basin or an ice pack if they need those things, show them in when we're ready to triage them, escort them back to a treatment room, get them gowns, pillows, and adjust the bed for them, etc. Do you get to do anything like that? I really enjoy it, and it's frustrating to think that these experiences might be considered worthless just because I'm not "seeing what doctors really do." (I've always thought that's kind of a bogus requirement--don't we already know pretty much what doctors do? Are there really people who believe that TV medical dramas are realistic?)

That said, I would like to be able to pick up some part-time work in a clinical setting while I take the classes. sunnyjohn, I've considered trying to become a patient care tech, phlebotomist, or something similar, but as you've said, in my area these positions all require prior certification. Anyone know how to find short certification classes? The only phlebotomy course I was able to find by searching the web is a full-time 2-year associate's degree at the local community college.

 

[MollyMalone]

The community colleges in my state (WI) offer 6-week certified nursing assistant training programs. Many nursing homes offer in-house training that leads to state certification in exchange for working there (it doesn't have to be very long or very much, generally).

Being a CNA is quite possibly the least sexy job in medicine but you can learn an amazing amount about your patients, yourself, and medicine in general. Work schedules are generally relatively flexible (there are never enough CNAs) and most of the jobs, while not offering the best compensation, do have bennies. Weekend programs are generally available.

A cool thing about getting your foot in the door as a CNA in most hospitals is that you can then work your way into other positions (unit clerk, telemetry tech, medical records, admitting, EKG tech, phlebotomy, etc.) that you might not technically be "qualified" for, but the hospital will pay for or otherwise provide the training. (I speak with the voice of experience here.)

Becoming an EMT is another excellent option as well, but I have no experience in that realm so I really can't speak to it.

If anybody has any questions about CNAs please feel free to PM me.

 

[KLeigh]

"The thing is I'm also wondering if anybody knows if there are clinical research jobs available at a technician level, and if that is an effective way to check out medicine. "


Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that there are definitely positions in the clinical research field, at the tech level. I am an RN working in a General Clinical Research Center, of which I believe there are about 75 in the US, and there are several "hospital assistants" (pt. care technicians, nurses' aides, the name differs per specific institution...) working with me. I don't know where you live, but in Southern CA there are many openings in clinical research for techs, and I'll bet it's similar in other parts of the country, just based on the general shortage of nurses and techs.

The only downside to clinical research is that it can become redundant (performing the same studies over and over and over), and, although it is absolutely a tremendous learning experience in terms of the process of research, it is not what I consider to be representative of medicine in general. That is, I learned a whole lot more about different illnesses and injuries and about the fast-paced world of medicine and the health-care environment working as a nurse on medical-surgical unit (and floating to the ICU, ER, and various hospital floors) than I did in clinical research. If you have already been exposed to other hospital units, and want to learn specifically about research, then clinical research is an excellent place to be--you will learn what goes in to making a new medication or procedures available to patients, which is very interesting, but it is also quite different from any other typical hospital unit. So, I guess it is a matter of what specifically you want to learn from the experience.

I am definitely not trying to discourage you from entering a job in clinical research--I enjoy what I do very much--but I would simply suggest having some experience in other units before entering the field (in fact, I think that was required of me before I could get the job as a research nurse). If you'd like information on specific research facilities, try searching online for the General Clinical Research Centers (GCRC). I hope this was somewhat helpful for you! Good luck!

 

[SallyFlo]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I'm going to speak with the volunteer office at the hospital first - see if I can get some better exposure there.

Although, some of the other options sound great, I can't afford to quite my current job at the moment. Or, at least not until I have exhausted all the other possibilities first.

 

[blankguy]

Some hospitals may have special volunteer program for premeds. I remember reading about one here in Boston.

 

[bmcgilligan]

For the past 2.5 years I have worked as a surgical recovery tech for an eye bank. We harvest corneas and whole globes for research and transplant. I was trained on the job. At my organization, they try to hire students and premeds, because we are so used to learning large quantities of information quickly. The national organization for eye banks is the Eye Bank Association of America. You could google that, or google "eye bank". Another idea is to work for a tissue bank. They surgically remove all sorts of various tissues from donors for research and transplant.

If any of you live in northern Florida, I can hook you up. Otherwise, try a search engine if you are interested.

 

[chemie02]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!!!

 

[jaylily]

What types of hospital volunteer work have other people done?

I was volunteering in a nursing ward for a few months at a local hospital. Basically I visited each patient in the ward and would play cards, talk, get them food. It was ok, but I really didn't get much exposure to anything. I enjoyed talking to the patients, and because I was in the same ward week after week, I developed bonds with some of them.

Now I'm a volunteer in the emergency department. I generally tidy up. Transfer patients to the different areas of the department, and help the nursing staff if they need it. I like work in the ER better than the nursing ward. Everyone there is there for a different reason, and things are always moving. It's more exciting.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

I volunteer at a Cancer Center. I help the nurses, visit patients, etc. and I also offer a patient activity every other week. I dont interact with doctors which is fine with me. I get that kind of exposure when I shadow. The volunteering gives me a feel for working in a hospital, for being around very sick people ( a lot of them are mean!), etc. And it's good to show medical schools you have the committment to spend at least 100 hours at a volunteering position. I think shadowing is the best way to get to know what being a doctor is actually like. I'm a stay-at-home mom and cannot beome a nurse's assistant or EMT, so this combo works for me.

 

[IUgrad]

I volunteer with a hospice. I really enjoy it because it's not office work; we actually do "patient care," which amounts to spending time with patient, helping them with daily living activities. Also, they really need volunteers, and it's a VERY worthwhile endeavor. You might check around with local hospices in your area.

 

[DrCara]

The community colleges in my state (WI) offer 6-week certified nursing assistant training programs. Many nursing homes offer in-house training that leads to state certification in exchange for working there (it doesn't have to be very long or very much, generally).

Being a CNA is quite possibly the least sexy job in medicine but you can learn an amazing amount about your patients, yourself, and medicine in general. Work schedules are generally relatively flexible (there are never enough CNAs) and most of the jobs, while not offering the best compensation, do have bennies. Weekend programs are generally available.

A cool thing about getting your foot in the door as a CNA in most hospitals is that you can then work your way into other positions (unit clerk, telemetry tech, medical records, admitting, EKG tech, phlebotomy, etc.) that you might not technically be "qualified" for, but the hospital will pay for or otherwise provide the training. (I speak with the voice of experience here.)

Agreed 100%. I worked for 9 years as a CNA/ HHA (home health aide) - and my experience here really solidified my desire to persue medicine. It's dirty work, but you get to work with sick people on a one-on-one basis, and it will help you figure out if health care is something you really want to do. Also, it's great when you're interviewing, and the interviewer says "whoa. you have a ton of clinical experience." Oh, and makes for some great personal statment material.

 

[brotherbloat]

I'm a non-trad pre-med whose job this year (paid) has been as a clinical research assistant at an academic medical center. I was paid $13 per hour, which isn't that bad, considering most of my job was pretty blow-off. I worked in the surgery dept. The way I got the job was to cold call on my own, I found that applying through the hospital web site got my nowhwere. It was more or less a menial job, meaning a monkey could have done it and you wouldn't need a college degree, but it did provide many interesting looks at different hospital environments, and my direct supervisors were physicians--usually screaming surgeons!

 

[chemie02]

Hey Brother Bloat - did you cold call a doctor? Did he have an open position when you did that?
I'm considering doing that to a couple of physicians who work in interesting sounding areas. I'm not having much luck applying online through the hospital websites!

 

[brotherbloat]

yes, i cold called doctors (cold emailed with my cover letter and resume), asking if they had any open positions. it works if you cast a wide enough net.