Medical Students that work PRN as an MT?

[clinicallabguy]

Are there any medical students that work PRN as a medical technologist? If so, how does it work for you? I'll get my MT this may and start med school in August. I would like to try to work a Saturday a week (or something like that) but don't know if I could get hired with such limited availability.

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[sidalexis]

I'd like to know about this too. I work PRN as an MT now, but I think it depends on where you work as to how much they require. I work 48 hours a month, but I know people who work every few months...

 

[njbmd]

Are there any medical students that work PRN as a medical technologist? If so, how does it work for you? I'll get my MT this may and start med school in August. I would like to try to work a Saturday a week (or something like that) but don't know if I could get hired with such limited availability.

I was a pediatric-perinatal RRT before medical school. While I was in graduate school, I registered with a contract company and stayed with that company while I was a medical student. As a medical student, I could only manage to work holidays.

Now, I am not a very intelligent person and thus, I needed to devote plenty of time to my medical school studies. You may be much smarter than I am and may be able to handle medical school and work at the same time. For me, keeping my merit scholarship was worth more than allowing anything to encroach on my study time. For me, doing well was my first priority and my time was taken up by study because of the volume of material to be mastered. You might be much smarter and might not need as much study time as I did.

 

[clinicallabguy]

I was a pediatric-perinatal RRT before medical school. While I was in graduate school, I registered with a contract company and stayed with that company while I was a medical student. As a medical student, I could only manage to work holidays.

Now, I am not a very intelligent person and thus, I needed to devote plenty of time to my medical school studies. You may be much smarter than I am and may be able to handle medical school and work at the same time. For me, keeping my merit scholarship was worth more than allowing anything to encroach on my study time. For me, doing well was my first priority and my time was taken up by study because of the volume of material to be mastered. You might be much smarter and might not need as much study time as I did.

You sound intelligent enough to me, enough to get a merit based scholarship. That's awesome.

This is just something that I am considering. I realize that I am naive about what med school will really be like, but I could use a little extra change b/c I'm married w/ a kid and one on the way. However, if the PRN gig strained my studies it would be gone in a heartbeat. I just wanted to know if anyone was successfully pulling it off.

 

[HappyG0Lucky]

I'm currently an M1, I work PRN as an MT mainly on random Saturdays that I'm not busy for school and also over holidays. For me it's been extremely flexible because basically I tell them when I want to work and they schedule me. There are those people who may think I'm nuts for working while in med school but my schedule isn't bad and it's actually kind of nice to remember what normal life was like before I started school! It is doable depending on the situation, just make sure that whoever you are working for is flexible. (PS I have actually found my MT to help me somewhat in classes so that's always a plus as well!)

 

[Waywoe]

I am an MS1 and work every Friday and one weekend a month on the evening shift as a microbiology med tech. I had started picking up an extra day a week during light periods but that is going to have to stop, it is just too much. My outlook on working is this. I need at least 1/2 a day that is school-free, why not make $ while not studying? Plus, my coworkers are fun to be around.

 

[LabMonster]

It really depends on the lab at your institution. Our lab wasn't keen to give me "pool" hours wanting a minimum time commitment - which I couldn't provide (and I'm glad I didn't.)

The other factor is that you're just finishing your MT degree, and haven't gained any solo experience yet. I'm not bashing - but it's harder to step in and out of a lab with limited experience on a limited number of instruments. You could always read Diffs all night too

Anyway - what I figured out was that working wasn't worth it. The few extra bucks I would have made were easily recouped by spending less - and you will run out of time VERY quickly 3rd year. Enjoy the semi-laid back pace of 1st and 2nd year IMHO.

MT's rock BTW - Just wait for heme

 

[clinicallabguy]

I'm currently an M1, I work PRN as an MT mainly on random Saturdays that I'm not busy for school and also over holidays. For me it's been extremely flexible because basically I tell them when I want to work and they schedule me. There are those people who may think I'm nuts for working while in med school but my schedule isn't bad and it's actually kind of nice to remember what normal life was like before I started school! It is doable depending on the situation, just make sure that whoever you are working for is flexible. (PS I have actually found my MT to help me somewhat in classes so that's always a plus as well!)

Thanks. I would love to be in the situation you are in. We'll see what happens. Were you already employed before med school, or did they hire you knowing that you would work very little?

I am an MS1 and work every Friday and one weekend a month on the evening shift as a microbiology med tech. I had started picking up an extra day a week during light periods but that is going to have to stop, it is just too much. My outlook on working is this. I need at least 1/2 a day that is school-free, why not make $ while not studying? Plus, my coworkers are fun to be around.

That would be great. Same question to you: were you already working at this place when you started medical school, or did you get hired for the short shift you are working?

It really depends on the lab at your institution. Our lab wasn't keen to give me "pool" hours wanting a minimum time commitment - which I couldn't provide (and I'm glad I didn't.)

The other factor is that you're just finishing your MT degree, and haven't gained any solo experience yet. I'm not bashing - but it's harder to step in and out of a lab with limited experience on a limited number of instruments. You could always read Diffs all night too

Anyway - what I figured out was that working wasn't worth it. The few extra bucks I would have made were easily recouped by spending less - and you will run out of time VERY quickly 3rd year. Enjoy the semi-laid back pace of 1st and 2nd year IMHO.

MT's rock BTW - Just wait for heme

I have 2.5 years experience as an MLT in heme, UA, and chem. I haven't worked micro or BB. I would have been in the perfect situation if I would have been accepted to my state school. I already work in a lab and my manager was going to give me Saturdays each week, and not work me any other day. But, that didn't happen.

However, I'm really excited to be going where I'm going next year, and if this idea doesn't pan out then I'll be just fine. It would just be nice to pad the pocketbook b/c I will have 2 kids when I start, and the school I'm going to doesn't really expand the budget for married students. I'll have to take out private loans to make ends meet. That's life, I guess. Thanks for your help.

 

[Waywoe]

I had been working in the lab since 2001 with pretty much the same schedule. I think that our micro department is a little more flexible than chem/heme/blood bank etc. Now that NY has enacted licensure for MT's and MLT's, the labs are getting desparate for qualified warm bodies. If that is the case in the state where you will be going to school, you might find that the supervisors might be willing to work with your hours in order to get a dependable tech.

 

[lapelirroja]

Woohoo, MTs!! I graduated with a BS in MLS in 08 and worked per diem throughout the summer at the place where I did my clinical rotations. Because I went right into PA school, I didn't get ASCP cert but they decided to keep me on. They call me every week and ask me if I want some hours and if I do, great, but if I don't, no problem. My hospital is awesome too because late nights and weekends aren't busy at all, so I just sit there and do homework or surf the web.

I got lucky though, and my hospital is in the same city as my PA school....I do agree it might be frustrating to the lab to take the time to hire and train you, and then to drop right down to per diem with no set hours...

And being an MT DEFINITELY helps with PA school, so I would assume you guys are rockstars in some of your courses as well. We just started a class called "diagnostic studies..." yawn!

 

[HappyG0Lucky]

Thanks. I would love to be in the situation you are in. We'll see what happens. Were you already employed before med school, or did they hire you knowing that you would work very little?


I was already employed which I'm sure helped my case, however at the lab I work we have current MT students as well as part-time MT's hired to work PRN, so I don't see why a current medical student couldn't also be hired this way. I work mainly in heme right now where I can read diffs and UA's or fill in somewhere where they need someone. Being willing to work Saturdays helps a lot because a lot of departments tend to get low on personnel on the weekends and around holidays. If you have any connections to labs through your rotations or previous employment you should consider reaching out to them to see if they would be interested in you working a few shifts every so often. Or this summer before school starts you could work a more regular shift and get yourself somewhat established then see if they would be flexible with you when you need to start school. Best of luck to you, MT's rock!!!

 

[SugPlum]

Good luck with finding a MT position. (If you were at my school, you would be unlucky with the hiring freeze.)