Medical Technology + Biology

[Chamahk]

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How do you guys think this will work out?? Majoring in Med Tech and Bio?? When I go for my med school interview (plan is to go right after college) wont they ask how come you got a B.S. in Med Tech and you're coming here?? Why don't you go work with that?? Is that same field of medicine.

I really only want to attach Med Tech as a back up for med school or let's say I need to work and make some cash when school's out, then rather than say Starbucks I can fall back on my Med Tech degree. The experienced residency and doctors are that I'd really love to hear your input on this.

 

[Tin Man]

How do you guys think this will work out?? Majoring in Med Tech and Bio?? When I go for my med school interview (plan is to go right after college) wont they ask how come you got a B.S. in Med Tech and you're coming here?? Why don't you go work with that?? Is that same field of medicine.

I really only want to attach Med Tech as a back up for med school or let's say I need to work and make some cash when school's out, then rather than say Starbucks I can fall back on my Med Tech degree. The experienced residency and doctors are that I'd really love to hear your input on this.

Since no one else answered this...

There is somewhat of a correlation between having training in some medical specialty and the chances of getting into medical school. Sometimes, that correlation is positive. For instance, getting CNA (certified nursing assistant) training is easy, short, and puts you at the very bottom of the medical totem pole, allowing you to get some first-hand experience with patient interaction. On the other hand, being a full-fledged nurse makes it a bit more difficult, as many medical schools are unwilling to pull someone who is a trained nurse from the nursing field when they have thousands of other applicants to choose from who would not detract from an already strained field.

As far as medical technology, I don't have any statistics, so I am not going to say whether or not it would help or hinder you. I will say that, in general, your degree is not going to affect your chances to get into medical school. While an RN degree is "advanced" type training, your degree is a regular 4 year degree (I'm assuming, since it's a BS), and therefore would probably be looked at in the same light as someone who got a degree in neuroscience.

I personally wouldn't sweat getting the med tech degree, although I would avoid making it look like too easy of a fall-back when asked about it in the interview. You want to ensure that people know your number one goal is medicine, and while it's stupid not to have a fall-back plan, having an alternative to being a doctor that seems too sweet may make it look like it's an either-or situation, which won't help you too much.

 

[Richardh]

I think doubl-majoring in med tech and bio is fine! you will stand out as an interesting applicant! one of the answers you can give to the admission committee if they inquire you why you majored in med tech is that you wanted an unique experience in the healthcare field! as a pre-med you will need some volunteer work so majoring and also working as a med tech gives you more benefits! also you might be able to receive a letter of recommendation from one of your superiors or co-workers while you're working as a med tech.

 

[vegetara83]

I have both a BS in bio and a BS in medical technology and am working as a med tech. The bio degree will cover the basic sciences and prepare you for the MCAT, while the med tech courses will give you a taste of the clinical sciences. Plus, as you mentioned, you will have something to fall back on just in case. However, I can't say how admissions committees will look upon this. There are severe shortages in clinical labs right now (more so than nursing shortages), and as Tin Man said, adcoms may not want to pull someone from a field that is already struggling.

 

[wholeheartedly]

This is what I've got (B.S. Biology and B.S. CLS) and quite a few of my classmates who did med tech first then went to med school said it was looked on favorably and really helped them. I've chosen to work for a few years first, but I know when the time comes for me to apply I'll have a lot more to draw on than I did when I just had the biology degree and a lot of that happened during the internship portion of the program. The courses you'll take for med tech are directly relevant to medicine and showing a strong interest and performance in courses like clinical chemistry, medical micro, hematology, and immunology will usually help. As long as you do well, I haven't heard of it hurting anyone that's tried to go that route. While there is a major shortage of med techs, most physicians aren't aware of this outside the pathology field so I don't see you having the same problem as nursing would with regards to pulling someone out of a field with a severe shortage.