Medical Assistant or Research Tech?

[CarlyM]

Which job will improve my app more? I will be working for two years, applying in 2009 for entry in 2010. I would be training for MA on the job, and a research job would likely be scientific research, not clinical.

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[Pinkertinkle]

Research.

 

[Bond8204]

Agreed with above. Unless you'd absolutely despise research, you can always gain clinical experience on the side while working fulltime as a research tech. The reverse is not true as a medical assistant. The work would probably be more boring as an MA too, but that's just my opinion.

I recommend you take the research job and volunteer a couple hours a week or month at a free clinic.

 

[mfrizzo3]

Research
thumbup:

 

[87138]

Which job will improve my app more? I will be working for two years, applying in 2009 for entry in 2010. I would be training for MA on the job, and a research job would likely be scientific research, not clinical.

Without a doubt, MA. Unless you have your sights set on Stanford and have no research as of yet.

Trust me on this. I worked 2 years as an MA and nearly all my interviewers commended me on getting REAL clinical experience, and not just some stupid shadowing gig for a week.

You will have more (and deeper) patient contact than MANY of the applicants you're up against, besides those who worked as PA/NPs or nurses.

 

[CarlyM]

I did a summer research internship two years ago...it wasn't much so I don't know if that counts for a lot.

 

[Cegar]

MA.

Unless you want to do nothing but Gram stains and titrations.

 

[CarlyM]

Bump - anyone else with advice?

 

[sillydoc2230]

med assistant. it's way more interesting material during interviews than how many times you made buffer for your PI.

 

[MsJLewis]

I would only do research if you have a likely possibility of getting your own project/getting published.

I would vote for MA.

I worked as a medical assistant for a year and a half and nearly all of my interviewers were very impressed by the real clinical experiences I had. Plus I got a shining letter of rec from the doctor(s) I worked for as a medical assistant. I really doubt I would have gotten into as many schools I have without this significant medical experience on my app. My research experience would come in a close second.

 

[87138]

I worked as a medical assistant . . . and nearly all of my interviewers were very impressed by the real clinical experiences I had. Plus I got a shining letter of rec from the doctor(s) I worked for as a medical assistant. I really doubt I would have gotten into as many schools I have without this significant medical experience on my app.

Bingo. Everything you've said here applies to me as well.

 

[decafplease]

MA MA MA MA!!!!!!!!!! (looks like mama...hehe)

It was the best 3 years of my life. It made me passionate about medicine in a way that makes me want to cry. It is a HUGE personal plus, as well as a plus on the app. Research, Smesearch. You can get away with minimal research experience if you aren't set on Stanford. Unless you want to do MSTP, there's not a huge reason to have extensive research experience. You can get enough in a few hours per week during the school year or something over the summer. There is no way to get clinical experience as meaningful as hands-on, in the trenches medical assisting. It will give you great insights into your motivation for medicine. Do it. You won't regret it, I promise. (though be prepared for bitchy/resentful/jealous nurses)

 

[decafplease]

I would only do research if you have a likely possibility of getting your own project/getting published.

I would vote for MA.

I worked as a medical assistant for a year and a half and nearly all of my interviewers were very impressed by the real clinical experiences I had. Plus I got a shining letter of rec from the doctor(s) I worked for as a medical assistant. I really doubt I would have gotten into as many schools I have without this significant medical experience on my app. My research experience would come in a close second.

How many hours did you get?

 

[uscmk]

Someone I know is taking time off before medical school as well, so perhaps I can relay this to him. How does one become a medical assistant? Is there some kind of certification or training program? And how long is it? Thanks for the input guys!

 

[decafplease]

Someone I know is taking time off before medical school as well, so perhaps I can relay this to him. How does one become a medical assistant? Is there some kind of certification or training program? And how long is it? Thanks for the input guys!

It's not worth getting the certification. Tell him to find a place that will train him on-the-job. Inquire to offices looking for MA's about on-the-job training, many are willing to do so.

 

[not so calm now]

I work as a staff research associate (same thing as ra) and I basically do nothing but work for postdocs. Occasionally I'll present a paper in lab meeting. I do a volunteer medical assistant gig on Saturdays in a low cost clinic, and let me tell you, it's much more enjoyable. There's a real art to talking to patients and getting info out of them that you don't learn in the lab.

 

[87138]

(though be prepared for bitchy/resentful/jealous nurses)

Fortunately, with the exception of one LPN, I have not experienced this . . . and she just has a chip on her shoulder and is the kind of person who is not satisfied unless there's some sort of confrontation. But even so, the vast majority of the time she's still very nice to me.

The rest of the RNs/LPNs/MAs are nothing but supportive of me. Maybe it helps that I'm good at my job, and they feel that they are largely responsible for that. Anyway, they have been more excited/anxious than my own family when I was applying/interviewing for med school, and would get really excited with each acceptance I received.

I can only hope that you guys who do on-the-job-training to be an MA have coworkers as nice.

 

[MsJLewis]

How many hours did you get?

A lot. The first summer I worked part time, so 20 hours/week. I worked as an MA throughout the school year and average 12-15 hours/week. The following summer they hired me full-time so 40 hours/week. Loved it.

 

[wisguy]

I've done both on a full-time basis for extended periods - research for more than a year and I've been working as an MA for the past 7 months.

Research has been rewarding, both personally and professionally, but I've had some amazing opportunities that are certainly not typical for a post bac student. I was interested in the work, responsible for my own projects and had a chance to learn about publishing and presenting my work. However, I consider myself very lucky that my experiments, which had never been attempted before, worked out and yielded interesting results. One year really isn't that much time depending on the scope of the project and type of research.

During my time as an MA, I've learned a lot about the patient-provider relationship and how to interact with patients in a clinical setting. I've also picked up a bit of baisc medical knowledge along the way. The vast majority of my coworkers (I float between ~15 different clinics, so I end up working with a lot of different people) are supportive of my aspirations to study medicine. It's not too tough and generally fun.

If you have your sights set on a research-oriented school and have an interest in the work being done, a quality research experience with the chance to plan and carry out some experiments is important. Otherwise, you'll probably get more practical value from an MA position.

 

[maristella]

if all you're looking for is to improve your app, then the clinical experience from being an MA is ideal... but research with a bachelor's tends to pay better, i get $12.30/hour plus benefits, vs my friend that makes $9 as an phlebotomist! plus i volunteer on the weekends too, so it's not like i have NO clinical exposure...so that's always an option when you take money into account, as i'm sure you have to work pretty hard for both jobs

 

[decafplease]

Fortunately, with the exception of one LPN, I have not experienced this . . . and she just has a chip on her shoulder and is the kind of person who is not satisfied unless there's some sort of confrontation. But even so, the vast majority of the time she's still very nice to me.

The rest of the RNs/LPNs/MAs are nothing but supportive of me. Maybe it helps that I'm good at my job, and they feel that they are largely responsible for that. Anyway, they have been more excited/anxious than my own family when I was applying/interviewing for med school, and would get really excited with each acceptance I received.

I can only hope that you guys who do on-the-job-training to be an MA have coworkers as nice.

You are also male. You're supposed to be a doctor. She has no chip on her shoulder about you going to medical school. The older female nurses I dealt with were resentful because when they were in school, women didn't go to medical school, so they went to nursing school instead. They didn't like a young, bright-eyed woman with all the choices in the world choosing the one career they wish they could have had.

I'm am SO walking my future-doctor butt into that office with a framed acceptance letter when the time comes. Damn them for thinking I couldn't do it.

I'm a little bitter. I put up with a lot during my 6,000 hours there. *deep breath*

 

[decafplease]

if all you're looking for is to improve your app, then the clinical experience from being an MA is ideal... but research with a bachelor's tends to pay better, i get $12.30/hour plus benefits, vs my friend that makes $9 as an phlebotomist! plus i volunteer on the weekends too, so it's not like i have NO clinical exposure...so that's always an option when you take money into account, as i'm sure you have to work pretty hard for both jobs

I wouldn't generalize like that. I got paid way more than $12/hour as a MA in a metropolitan area.

 

[CarlyM]

Thanks, guys, I'm leaning towards the MA route.

 

[wisguy]

if all you're looking for is to improve your app, then the clinical experience from being an MA is ideal... but research with a bachelor's tends to pay better, i get $12.30/hour plus benefits, vs my friend that makes $9 as an phlebotomist! plus i volunteer on the weekends too, so it's not like i have NO clinical exposure...so that's always an option when you take money into account, as i'm sure you have to work pretty hard for both jobs

That's not my experinece either - as an MA, I make $14.50 plus time and a half over 40 with a nice benefit package. The research positions I was considering paid about the same or less with minimal benefits. It all depends on your region and field of research though.

 

[kami333]

One nice thing about research positions is that most labs, at least non-profit ones, tend to be more flexible with scheduling since your work usually isn't dependant on someone being there or vice versa.

Of course cell cultures and animals don't understand weekends and holidays so you might have to be a little flexible too...