Medical Is it okay to work in non-medical field during gap years?

[Catalystik]

Just graduated with a BS in math and completed all prerequisites for medical school. Also taking the MCAT in a couple months. I've accepted a job in consulting (specifically consulting for pharma companies). I know at this point, if I want to do med school, I'm looking at two gap years, at least. My resume definitely needs more clinical experiences on it. Everything else should be fine - good GPA, some solid research experiences, volunteering. The job I've accepted isn't really a classic gap year(s) activity, but I think I can use the relation to the medical field to my advantage, and it will certainly pay more than a clinical experience (e.g. scribing). My loose plan right now is to squeeze in some clinical experiences while I work - does this seem like a decent plan? Or should I work for a while and then switch altogether to something purely clinical, like scribing?

It's understood that you need to make a decent living to pay the bills. There is no expectation that you would take a medically-relevant job during gap years. Adding to your clinical experience via volunteer positions and shadowing will cover the need for added patient experience. Don't forget to also engage in nonmedical volunteer service in your local community, too.

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[tantacles]

While doing this kind of work for pharma companies isn't clinical (and as @Catalystik mentioned, clinical experience doesn't have to be through work), I would not go out of your way to change this job you got. If nothing else, it sounds interesting, and being interesting is a very good thing for a medical school application.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Your clinical experiences dont need to be paid. Take the job and make some cash so you can eat and then do some clinical volunteering to get those numbers up.