Keep being an MA in Family Medicine (higher pay, easier job, but I feel like I've peaked/stagnated) or surgeon tech at a specialized surgery clinic?

[kimagureprince]

I've been an MA at a Family Medicine clinic for a year now and have come a long way. Pay went up from sub- to above-average, the physicians and providers there all like me now, and obviously I've gotten pretty good at my job so I'm not struggling as much as I was when I was still learning. On a whim, I went online and applied to a few jobs I only had to send a resume for. Long story short, I'm sitting on an offer for an MA/surgeon tech position at a clinic that exclusively treats a certain severe affliction through a certain procedure, and now I'm stuck between staying at my current job and taking the new job. For reference, I plan to apply in 2024. Honestly, I first applied because the head doctor is an instructor at a T50 school and I thought I could ask him for a rec letter when I apply and that alone would make anything worth it, but now that the time for decision has come I realize that there are a lot more things to consider.

New clinic:
++ Specialization would give me wider range of experience, and I figure that it being a surgical clinic would be great experience as well
+++ The head doctor is an instructor at a T50 school and I could ask him for a rec letter when I apply. I interviewed with him in-office and got to observe part of an operation and it seemed incredibly exciting. I felt really encouraged by his praise of me. It was kind of implied that he could be a little bit of a mentor for premeds but he’s a busy man so I’m not going to expect much
++ They open 4 days a week, so I'd have time to study for the MCAT eventually.
-- I'd start off getting paid $3/hr less than I currently do. I mentioned this and basically was told that based on how fast I improve I could earn more than my current pay, but the starting pay is final. Still waiting to hear back about when the "more" would actually come. (Admittedly, my parents support me/I live with them so this isn't exactly a life or death situation, but I think it's still worth considering as I've been saving up for med school expenses and such.)
-- Basically the fear of having to learn things from scratch again, learn a different EMR system, get integrated into the workplace again (I'm an introvert so I struggle with this). It's tough work! (But I know especially after my first experience that over time it gets better/I get better/I have to be comfortable with discomfort in med school/etc.)

Current job:
++ The pay is nice, and lunches are provided
++ Now that I'm fully trained, the job is easy and I get along with everybody. I feel confident in the workplace
-- I've heard from past premeds that the head doctor refuses to write rec letters himself (ie. You'd have to ghostwrite one under his name if you wanted one). I want to believe that we're close enough and he respects me well enough that I could convince him to actually write one, but I guess that's also a big "maybe" and I can't know the quality of a letter from him.
-- This might just be a mentality thing but I've gotten to a point where I feel like I want to be someplace where the practice really does things. It feels like every day is spent prescribing antibiotics or cholesterol meds and directing patients to other specialists. Every once in a while I do get to see some interesting patient histories, but we only get to hear about the treatment progress and such.
-- I have to work Saturdays

I'd really appreciate some advice on what might be a good option. And also if there are any pros/cons that I haven't considered. And can someone tell me if I'm just romanticizing this new job because I've gotten so used to the feeling that I have to be stressed/uncomfortable/actively learning to feel like I'm making progress?

Thanks!

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[GetAdmittedMD]

I've been an MA at a Family Medicine clinic for a year now and have come a long way. Pay went up from sub- to above-average, the physicians and providers there all like me now, and obviously I've gotten pretty good at my job so I'm not struggling as much as I was when I was still learning. On a whim, I went online and applied to a few jobs I only had to send a resume for. Long story short, I'm sitting on an offer for an MA/surgeon tech position at a clinic that exclusively treats a certain severe affliction through a certain procedure, and now I'm stuck between staying at my current job and taking the new job. For reference, I plan to apply in 2024. Honestly, I first applied because the head doctor is an instructor at a T50 school and I thought I could ask him for a rec letter when I apply and that alone would make anything worth it, but now that the time for decision has come I realize that there are a lot more things to consider.

New clinic:
++ Specialization would give me wider range of experience, and I figure that it being a surgical clinic would be great experience as well
+++ The head doctor is an instructor at a T50 school and I could ask him for a rec letter when I apply. I interviewed with him in-office and got to observe part of an operation and it seemed incredibly exciting. I felt really encouraged by his praise of me. It was kind of implied that he could be a little bit of a mentor for premeds but he’s a busy man so I’m not going to expect much
++ They open 4 days a week, so I'd have time to study for the MCAT eventually.
-- I'd start off getting paid $3/hr less than I currently do. I mentioned this and basically was told that based on how fast I improve I could earn more than my current pay, but the starting pay is final. Still waiting to hear back about when the "more" would actually come. (Admittedly, my parents support me/I live with them so this isn't exactly a life or death situation, but I think it's still worth considering as I've been saving up for med school expenses and such.)
-- Basically the fear of having to learn things from scratch again, learn a different EMR system, get integrated into the workplace again (I'm an introvert so I struggle with this). It's tough work! (But I know especially after my first experience that over time it gets better/I get better/I have to be comfortable with discomfort in med school/etc.)

Current job:
++ The pay is nice, and lunches are provided
++ Now that I'm fully trained, the job is easy and I get along with everybody. I feel confident in the workplace
-- I've heard from past premeds that the head doctor refuses to write rec letters himself (ie. You'd have to ghostwrite one under his name if you wanted one). I want to believe that we're close enough and he respects me well enough that I could convince him to actually write one, but I guess that's also a big "maybe" and I can't know the quality of a letter from him.
-- This might just be a mentality thing but I've gotten to a point where I feel like I want to be someplace where the practice really does things. It feels like every day is spent prescribing antibiotics or cholesterol meds and directing patients to other specialists. Every once in a while I do get to see some interesting patient histories, but we only get to hear about the treatment progress and such.
-- I have to work Saturdays

I'd really appreciate some advice on what might be a good option. And also if there are any pros/cons that I haven't considered. And can someone tell me if I'm just romanticizing this new job because I've gotten so used to the feeling that I have to be stressed/uncomfortable/actively learning to feel like I'm making progress?

Thanks!

That’s a tough dilemma but here are a few things I would think about.

1. Patient interaction: how much direct patient interaction do you get with each job? If the family medicine clinic offers more of that, I would strongly favor that. If the nature of the work at the surgeon’s clinic is less patient interaction or if the patients are sedated/under anesthesia for surgery, then this is another factor to consider.

2. Letters: do you have other letters that would satisfy the requirements for most schools? (2 science, 1 non-science professor, and 1-2 additional letters) If so, then the letter you referenced would be less important.

3. I understand how hard it can be to learn a new EMR/system however I would pose that you will be better off for it in the future. The more EMR’s you have experience with as a medical student, resident, and attending physician will make each transition to a new one less stressful.