Jobs as Pre-meds??? Any advice?

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Hi everyone, I'm a sophomore in my University and I was wondering what kind of jobs you did as a pre-Med. Or, if you are a pre-med, what kind of job do you currently have?
I really want to get a job in order to get some form of income for school and to get some experience. I've seen some pre-meds becoming a Scribe in the ER in the US but this job doesn't seem to exist here in Canada. There's nothing about it in my province!

I was thinking of applying to another college to get a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or a Health Care Aide. The only problem is that CNA is a 50weeks program (11 months) and health care aide is 20 weeks (4months). I also want to be able to keep my full time course load in my current university (I'm taking 5 classes this semester) while doing the CNA or Health Care Aide. There is also no "crash course" available that can teach me and give me a certificate for less than 2 months for this.
I've considered taking EMT but they are also more than 3 months to get a certificate...

Do you guys think this is a realistic approach? Or should I just stick with retail, cashier and maybe customers service as my job as a pre-med.

Any advice would be amazing!! Thank you!

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[impervious0ne]

You can do clinical research jobs.

 

[femmegoblue]

You can do clinical research jobs.

Agree with this. Scribes get paid poorly and there are other jobs where your time will be properly compensated while giving you experience. Clinical research is a great role, especially if you can get a cheap phleb. certificate and find a research position where you do vitals and draw blood. Then you get research exposure and direct patient care.

Alternatively, getting a phleb. certificate can also get you a job as a phlebotomist. The hours can be bad but it pays well and you get to actually DO something.

 

[raewants2beadoc]

Here in the US you can work as a patient care tech in the hospital (I recommend the ER). You don't need a special certification other than CPR and most hospitals will provide that during orientation. At the hospitals I've worked at the techs are trained to do phlebotomy, splints, and assist
the physicians during procedures (as in being the non-sterile person that ensures he/she has what ever they need). You get to participate, and see a lot. It's great experience.

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[Espressso]

Scribe part time and work another, more lucrative part time job. Volunteer during holiday breaks and summer vacation (shadow, hospital volunteer, food bank, etc). All bases are covered (clinical work, clinical/non clinical volunteer, and non-clinical work). Do this for over one year, this shows commitment to multiple obligations. PM if you want more details on scribing.

 

[Marrowist]

I got a job as a Lab Technologist, and that led to an even better job within the lab where I had daily patient contact and interaction with physicians.

 

[getfat]

CNA or in-patient transport are really good ideas.

A lot of bigger places will work with your school schedule.

 

[ld989]

I work as a CNA in a hospital per diem and it's worked quite well for me getting clinical hours. I have about 2000 from the hospital now. I can work whenever I want, as long as I work a certain number of hours a month. So, I essentially make my own schedule. Not a glamorous job, but it's good experience. There is definitely a lot of catty work place drama with some nursing staff and it really opens your eyes as to how a floor functions and the deficiencies in inpatient units.

It can be difficult to get a job at a hospital with no experience as a CNA. A lot of my coworkers had to get atleast 6 months experience at a skilled nursing facility/retirement home/home health first. Even then nursing managers will favor hiring nursing students, so it can be a little challenge, but do-able. I was able to get my license in a 2 week straight full time class during winter break. You can look into those, other wise, the class itself is not hard, and very much so do-able with full time classes. Hospitals in my state require a EMT license to work in the ED as a tech/pct/pca so it might be different where you live.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Surgical tech. Great gig with awesome experience. If you start now you will have a few thousand hours by the time you apply and that is really looked at highly. It's been talked about specifically in every interview.

*not a scrub tech, more like an orderly. Doesn't require anything but BLS.

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Scribe part time and work another, more lucrative part time job. Volunteer during holiday breaks and summer vacation (shadow, hospital volunteer, food bank, etc). All bases are covered (clinical work, clinical/non clinical volunteer, and non-clinical work). Do this for over one year, this shows commitment to multiple obligations. PM if you want more details on scribing.

I'll send you a PM now regarding scribing. Thank you!

 

[Medic741]

Paramedic, getting into part time consulting work now. Do what you love, get good at it, then make some time to define your brand and make a niche for yourself. It's all good after that!

Do what you love. If you're not excited about it, don't do it! Cause you'll end up doing enough things that you'll dread along the way to becoming a doc. If you get an EMT work commercial, you will have stories and experience come time for interviews. The 3 months is well worth it, plus if you decide to work in a hospital having an EMT cert will help get a PCT job in more interesting departments like the ED.

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and for replying back to me!! I've been quite busy as of late and I wasn't able to reply back to everyone individually but I did read everyone's comments. I really appreciate everyone's contributions and suggestions. I saw an opening in our school's pharmacy/post office as an assistant and I've decided to apply for that position. The time is quite flexible and its on campus!
I've worked with customers before in the fast food and I do believe in my capabilities as an employee and my ability to interact with customers. The only concern that I have is that I don't have the "Two years of post office experience is required."
But I'll apply anyways, hopefully I can get it! Wish me luck and Best wishes to everyone!!

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Consider looking into radiology! I was able to swing working back to back 12's on weekends for three years and do nothing but school during the week which was nice (although this kills your social life, admittedly...) Plus, for me, all you needed to applywas a BLS certification and have previously taken medical terminology (or enough classes to know how to pronounce medical jargon.)

I work as a Radiology Assistant, and I interact with every specialty of physician in the hospital ranging from Internal Medicine to any specialty of surgery you can think of, to Neurologists and Cardiologists. We also work very closely with Radiologists (including the interventionists!) and get a decent amount of patient contact. It's good pay, plus you can look at awesome imaging all day long (helps if you are taking anatomy; you can study at work!) Plus it's by no means a "messy" job (as can be a CNA, MA, or Nurse Tech.)

I highly recommend looking into radiology, OP! It's a very "comfy" job and checks off all of the "pre-med boxes " (clinical experience, working closely with physicians, patient contact, etc.) There are jobs like this at almost every "big" hospital in my area, so I'm sure they probably have something like this available wherever you may be from (maybe with a slightly different position title.)

 

[Blessthefall]

Not certain what state you live in but you could work as an uncertified Medical Assistant. That would afford you numerous different experiences with patients.


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[Sterling5.0]

I was a surgical tech and got promoted to anesthesia technician while in undergrad. It was a great experience interacting with patients in the perioperative setting. I lucked out with mine, but I got to do things like intubate, start IV's, suture, etc..

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[AlteredScale]

If you're a junior or senior in undergrad you can also try tutoring courses you've done well in. There are a multiple companies and I chose one that had a very good reputation and allowed for the most flexibility on both the tutee and tutor side. Best thing was that most of it was online tutoring because their online system is a very good program.

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Consider looking into radiology! I was able to swing working back to back 12's on weekends for three years and do nothing but school during the week which was nice (although this kills your social life, admittedly...) Plus, for me, all you needed to applywas a BLS certification and have previously taken medical terminology (or enough classes to know how to pronounce medical jargon.)

I work as a Radiology Assistant, and I interact with every specialty of physician in the hospital ranging from Internal Medicine to any specialty of surgery you can think of, to Neurologists and Cardiologists. We also work very closely with Radiologists (including the interventionists!) and get a decent amount of patient contact. It's good pay, plus you can look at awesome imaging all day long (helps if you are taking anatomy; you can study at work!) Plus it's by no means a "messy" job (as can be a CNA, MA, or Nurse Tech.)

I highly recommend looking into radiology, OP! It's a very "comfy" job and checks off all of the "pre-med boxes " (clinical experience, working closely with physicians, patient contact, etc.) There are jobs like this at almost every "big" hospital in my area, so I'm sure they probably have something like this available wherever you may be from (maybe with a slightly different position title.)

Hi there! Thank you for replying to my thread. I recently looked into my local job listing again and found an opening as a "Clerk 3 - Radiology Support Service". Which is essentially the same description that you have made. It's kinda like being a receptionist too! The only concern that I have is that in the description it says,
"All applicants may be required to complete a typing and Medical Terminology test."

The typing test is not too bad since its only 40WPM (I feel like I could learn how to improve my typing speed). My main concern is the Medical Terminology Test since we need at least a 75%. I haven't taken a proper Medical Terminology Course but I have taken human anatomy and physiology and I certainly am willing to learn medical terminologies if I can find one online.

My question for you is, is BLS (Basic Life Support) the same or equivalent to a CPR certificate course? Also what does "OP!" stand for when you mentioned that you highly recommend looking into radiology? And, have you taken a medical terminology course?
Thank you!!

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

Not certain what state you live in but you could work as an uncertified Medical Assistant. That would afford you numerous different experiences with patients.


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I am actually from Canada and someone has also mentioned this to me before...
And yeah, it seems that there are definitely some differences regarding finding health-care related jobs as an undergrad in the US and Canada. Here in Canada, you NEED to have a certificate as a minimum. A high school diploma often doesn't suffice... Without one, you are not even given a chance for an interview.
I remember seeing a job post about being a Medical Assistant where I live and as I was reading through the job description, I was definitely qualified to be one. Unfortunately, the ending of the job post says in bold lettering, "If you have no Medical Assistant certificate then do not bother applying since we will ignore your resume!"
I was heart broken!

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

I was a surgical tech and got promoted to anesthesia technician while in undergrad. It was a great experience interacting with patients in the perioperative setting. I lucked out with mine, but I got to do things like intubate, start IV's, suture, etc..

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That sounds absolutely amazing!! Congrats in the promotion too!
Unfortunately, surgical technicians are not very big where I reside. In fact, I haven't seen a single post about surgical tech anywhere... Canada is definitely a very different place when it comes to finding jobs compare to the US... But its okay!
I'll keep looking and I'll keep going!!

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Hi there! Thank you for replying to my thread. I recently looked into my local job listing again and found an opening as a "Clerk 3 - Radiology Support Service". Which is essentially the same description that you have made. It's kinda like being a receptionist too! The only concern that I have is that in the description it says,
"All applicants may be required to complete a typing and Medical Terminology test."

The typing test is not too bad since its only 40WPM (I feel like I could learn how to improve my typing speed). My main concern is the Medical Terminology Test since we need at least a 75%. I haven't taken a proper Medical Terminology Course but I have taken human anatomy and physiology and I certainly am willing to learn medical terminologies if I can find one online.

My question for you is, is BLS (Basic Life Support) the same or equivalent to a CPR certificate course? Also what does "OP!" stand for when you mentioned that you highly recommend looking into radiology? And, have you taken a medical terminology course?
Thank you!!

BLS covers CPR, no worries!

OP stands for "original poster."

When I was originally hired in, I hadn't taken medical terminology (yet), but they let it slide because I had taken other science classes. I would ask if there is a list they provide you of terms on the test and see how familiar you are with them/study up if you have to. It definitely helps knowing how to pronounce some of the jargon (diagnosis/bones/muscles/etc.) when you are reading radiology reports.

 

[FutureDoctorX-men]

BLS covers CPR, no worries!

OP stands for "original poster."

When I was originally hired in, I hadn't taken medical terminology (yet), but they let it slide because I had taken other science classes. I would ask if there is a list they provide you of terms on the test and see how familiar you are with them/study up if you have to. It definitely helps knowing how to pronounce some of the jargon (diagnosis/bones/muscles/etc.) when you are reading radiology reports.

Awesome!! Okay, I will now tailor my resume today to fit this job description and maybe I will look into a class to get my CPR-C certification. The classes for this CPR course only lasts one day and they give you the certificate on the spot and its something that I can register for anytime so that's cool!
Thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly and wish me luck! All the best and best wishes on your end there!

ps: I'm glad I asked what OP stands for, I though it stands for "Over Powered".

 

[austintr]

I was a surgical tech and got promoted to anesthesia technician while in undergrad. It was a great experience interacting with patients in the perioperative setting. I lucked out with mine, but I got to do things like intubate, start IV's, suture, etc..

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I'm glad you found something this interesting and unique. But at the risk of derailing this conversation, I would say this is extremely, EXTREMELY rare and no one should expect this kind of job to ever be available to them. I don't know what kind of hospital would allow people to intubate without extensive formal education. I've worked in EMS for five years and have done about 100 hours of additional training in airway management on top of paramedic training, and no hospital I've seen postings for included intubation in a job description. Not to be negative or marginalize your experiences, but from a strictly legal perspective this practice is extremely risky unless you were working in sub-Saharan Africa. And even then, it's not a standard of care.

 

[Sterling5.0]

I'm glad you found something this interesting and unique. But at the risk of derailing this conversation, I would say this is extremely, EXTREMELY rare and no one should expect this kind of job to ever be available to them. I don't know what kind of hospital would allow people to intubate without extensive formal education. I've worked in EMS for five years and have done about 100 hours of additional training in airway management on top of paramedic training, and no hospital I've seen postings for included intubation in a job description. Not to be negative or marginalize your experiences, but from a strictly legal perspective this practice is extremely risky unless you were working in sub-Saharan Africa. And even then, it's not a standard of care.

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[Medic741]

I was a surgical tech and got promoted to anesthesia technician while in undergrad. It was a great experience interacting with patients in the perioperative setting. I lucked out with mine, but I got to do things like intubate, start IV's, suture, etc..

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Ummm... what. I'm calling bs, 100% no way in *hell* that this is true, unless you're (like an above poster said) working in sub-saharan Africa.

If I were working as a tech... and someone taught a non-certificate bearing, not nationally/state accredited program claiming to 'teach' a skill that requires a medical license to perform, and then handed me a laryngoscope and was like 'go to town kid' I would walk right out the door of that institution so fast. That's really not cool... Seriously -- yikes. Would question the judgement of anyone who picked up those tools without adequate training under these circumstances...

An important part of judgement in medicine is knowing when to say no... Eg EMT-B who's seen me drill at least a dozen of times offers to place the IO on a complex arrest and 100% of the time the answer is 'no,' just not worth the risk/exposure to do things you're not trained/certified for.

Be cautious out there... it's too easy to get burned my friends

-7 years in EMS...