Moonlighting during medical school

[BrianD123]

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I'm currently interested in working a little during medical school both for experience and to make some extra side cash (I'm an MSI at a UC school who is doing fairly well in class). I want to do one or two 8 hour shifts a week. Do you think this will be feasible or is it a bad idea? Btw, I'll probably be scribing in the ED as EM is what my interest is in.

 

[Psai]

Feasible and may be good for getting in with the docs for a nice letter in your app. Once a week sounds fine but you might get overwhelmed in second year. Nothing trumps your education at the moment but you may pick up some good tips and tricks

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

Not sure how your school is set up, but at mine, our class schedules would change fairly frequently as some blocks would have more required group activities, more necessary time spent reading, etc - if yours is similar, hopefully you can find a scribing gig that gives you some flexibility with your shifts.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Certainly possible to fit work into your schedule. I tutored all through medical school, couple people bartended.

 

[Jabbed]

I've been scribing off and on for a few months (<20 hours a week). The cash doesn't make it worth it and I'm considering scaling back. There are better uses of time.

 

[Rocher]

I've got a job as a 4th year, I don't think I would've had time before now though school is too unpredictable.

 

[BrianD123]

I've been scribing off and on for a few months (<20 hours a week). The cash doesn't make it worth it and I'm considering scaling back. There are better uses of time.

do you work during the week or on weekends? the way our schedules are set up its tough to take 8-10 hours off during a weekday, at least in M1. fridays are usually not time intensive though and then I obviously have the weekends which is where the majority of my hours i'm thinking will come from. but i also want a life so idk if it's completely worth it.

 

[qw098]

moonlighting in what way? also what do you mean by scribing?

 

[seminoma]

Do not recommend. I don't know how much scribes get paid, but personally my study hours are worth a lot more than even $30/hr.

 

[Mad Jack]

If you've got a set schedule, it's totally possible. My school has every weekend off in first and second year, so I could easily pick up a couple 8s without a problem.

 

[Jabbed]

do you work during the week or on weekends? the way our schedules are set up its tough to take 8-10 hours off during a weekday, at least in M1. fridays are usually not time intensive though and then I obviously have the weekends which is where the majority of my hours i'm thinking will come from. but i also want a life so idk if it's completely worth it.

True moonlighting-- mostly weeknights. I don't think that it's affected my academic standing negatively, but the scheduling can be quite a pain. I'm pretty organized, but there's no way for me to give schedule availability a month in advance as (a) I have no idea how busy I'll be on any given night and (b) half the time my academic calendar doesn't have the next block's class schedule published. Unless you already have a good working relationship with your company, they might just let you go if it becomes to difficult to schedule you.

There aren't very many benefits that I can think of. I doubt any PD will be impressed by the fact that you worked through medical school.

If you're just looking for cash, tutor M1s as an M2. At least there you'll have the benefit of forcing yourself to keep up to date with the pre-clinical information for step.

What are your specific reasons for wanting to do this?

 

[operaman]

I also worked part time all through med school and it didn't impact my schoolwork at all. This has to be a very individual decision though and you should always err on the side of your studies. The last think you want is to get behind and wish you had spent more time studying. So, if you've found your stride and your Step 1 prep is right on track for your goals, then by all means add in some extra stuff. I would go easy at first and see how it goes time-wise, and don't hesitate to drop it if there's any hint your grades/boards may suffer.

 

[seminoma]

I also worked part time all through med school and it didn't impact my schoolwork at all. This has to be a very individual decision though and you should always err on the side of your studies. The last think you want is to get behind and wish you had spent more time studying. So, if you've found your stride and your Step 1 prep is right on track for your goals, then by all means add in some extra stuff. I would go easy at first and see how it goes time-wise, and don't hesitate to drop it if there's any hint your grades/boards may suffer.

How do you know it didn't impact your schoolwork? Unless you got 100s on everything you might have (probably would have) done better!

 

[operaman]

How do you know it didn't impact your schoolwork? Unless you got 100s on everything you might have (probably would have) done better!

True! Was never too far from that though, so I can't complain.

 

[Psai]

True! Was never too far from that though, so I can't complain.

 

[seminoma]

True! Was never too far from that though, so I can't complain.

Yeah same here. Med school is just so easy ya know?

 

[touchpause13]

I hate all of you

 

[Señor S]

True! Was never too far from that though, so I can't complain.

So cool.

 

[NickNaylor]

I taught a couple of MCAT prep courses during M2. Since I taught the same material each week it probably took 2-3 hours to prep with 8 hours of teaching time. Pretty good gig all things considered... I don't remember how much I was paid but it was roughy $1500 for 8 weeks of work. Not too shabby considering the minimal time involved.

 

[Señor S]

I taught a couple of MCAT prep courses during M2. Since I taught the same material each week it probably took 2-3 hours to prep with 8 hours of teaching time. Pretty good gig all things considered... I don't remember how much I was paid but it was roughy $1500 for 8 weeks of work. Not too shabby considering the minimal time involved.

This is the type of thing I would do if I'd already done it before; as you said, once you have the beats worked out it's pretty easy. But working as a hospital scribe just seems like a hassle, and a low-skilled, poorly-compensated one at that. And tutoring or test prep are to me at least slightly impressive on a resume (he's smart enough to do well on tests, he can talk to groups and communicate ideas effectively) whereas some low-level hospital job is not.

 

[LoveIR]

I taught/tutored MCAT prep throughout med school. Mostly when things were slower or when we had a week or two off (spring break, summers, research time, etc). Not at all during 3rd year. My school is pass/fail the first 2 years which removed any pressure/incentive to score 100, haha.

$30/hour, it was fun, and I feel VERY comfortable giving lectures after so much experience.

 

[Kaustikos]

Certainly possible to fit work into your schedule. I tutored all through medical school, couple people bartended.

I was going to ask HOW you bar tend considering their schedule. You have to work nights during weekends for horrible hours that make you a night owl and incapable of functioning during the day. I only bartended for friends or social events... because it was easy. Props

If you're just looking for cash, tutor M1s as an M2. At least there you'll have the benefit of forcing yourself to keep up to date with the pre-clinical information for step.

What are your specific reasons for wanting to do this?

I agree

Yeah same here. Med school is just so easy ya know?

I had so much time on my hands, I took up World of Warcraft and a Heroin addiction.

I taught a couple of MCAT prep courses during M2. Since I taught the same material each week it probably took 2-3 hours to prep with 8 hours of teaching time. Pretty good gig all things considered... I don't remember how much I was paid but it was roughy $1500 for 8 weeks of work. Not too shabby considering the minimal time involved.

So you essentially were in Pre-Allo? lol

 

[seminoma]

I had so much time on my hands, I took up World of Warcraft and a Heroin addiction.

I couldn't afford heroin so here I am with my glue and computer duster.

 

[NickNaylor]

So you essentially were in Pre-Allo? lol

It was pretty much IRL pre-allo, except instead of getting harassed by annoying pre-meds I got paid to teach and talk about medical school.

 

[pd1112]

This is the type of thing I would do if I'd already done it before; as you said, once you have the beats worked out it's pretty easy. But working as a hospital scribe just seems like a hassle, and a low-skilled, poorly-compensated one at that. And tutoring or test prep are to me at least slightly impressive on a resume (he's smart enough to do well on tests, he can talk to groups and communicate ideas effectively) whereas some low-level hospital job is not.

Disagree.
1. It might seem like an unskilled position to a medical student because it comes easier, but there typically is a pretty significant learning curve, particularly for undergrads.
2. It is fairly poorly compensated, but can have a lot of down time depending on the setting, so it's not much of a hassle when you can study during this time. It still typically pays as well as or better than federally-funded work study.
3. It might not look as impressive directly on a résumé, but the medical decision making and clinical knowledge gained, proficiency with H&Ps, lab values, imaging interpretations, drug indications and dosages, etc. make it overwhelmingly more beneficial than MCAT tutoring and sufficiently more beneficial than M1 tutoring (depending on curriculum) for board and clerkship prep. Logically, since boards > clerkship grades >>>>> ECs, scribing is a much better option.

Not just blowing smoke - This is coming from my experience scribing for 2.5 years, 1.5 full-time before med school and 1 part-time during M1, and 3 years of tutoring, 2 in UG and 1 during M2.

Caveat: the extent of the benefits of scribing can be largely dependent on the providers and personal effort. Work fast and act like you want to be there to learn, and most providers will not stop teaching.

 

[Jabbed]

Disagree.
1. It might seem like an unskilled position to a medical student because it comes easier, but there typically is a pretty significant learning curve, particularly for undergrads.
2. It is fairly poorly compensated, but can have a lot of down time depending on the setting, so it's not much of a hassle when you can study during this time. It still typically pays as well as or better than federally-funded work study.
3. It might not look as impressive directly on a résumé, but the medical decision making and clinical knowledge gained, proficiency with H&Ps, lab values, imaging interpretations, drug indications and dosages, etc. make it overwhelmingly more beneficial than MCAT tutoring and sufficiently more beneficial than M1 tutoring (depending on curriculum) for board and clerkship prep. Logically, since boards > clerkship grades >>>>> ECs, scribing is a much better option.

Not just blowing smoke - This is coming from my experience scribing for 2.5 years, 1.5 full-time before med school and 1 part-time during M1, and 3 years of tutoring, 2 in UG and 1 during M2.

Caveat: the extent of the benefits of scribing can be largely dependent on the providers and personal effort. Work fast and act like you want to be there to learn, and most providers will not stop teaching.

1. It's basically unskilled labor. Technically the only requirement for employment is basic technology proficiency and a willingness for minimum wage labor. Everything else is taught on the job
2. This varies significantly from place to place.
3. This is really the only thing of value. The caveat is though that if you've spent a few years scribing before medical school, you've likely already reached your saturation point. Also, I would completely disagree that scribing translates into step 1 board prep. Maybe step 2 prep, but that's a stretch.

 

[Kahreek]

Bartending seems the most appropriate, relax and farm your poon in a very nice fashion.
Are you a party person though?

 

[qw098]

Bartending seems the most appropriate, relax and farm your poon in a very nice fashion.
Are you a party person though?

farm your poon.. LOL

 

[Mass Effect]

It's not called moonlighting if you're in med school. It's called working, which you're already doing. You gauge the idea by your ability to keep up, which no one here can tell you.

 

[pd1112]

1. It's basically unskilled labor. Technically the only requirement for employment is basic technology proficiency and a willingness for minimum wage labor. Everything else is taught on the job
2. This varies significantly from place to place.
3. This is really the only thing of value. The caveat is though that if you've spent a few years scribing before medical school, you've likely already reached your saturation point. Also, I would completely disagree that scribing translates into step 1 board prep. Maybe step 2 prep, but that's a stretch.

You're right, I misspoke, it is unskilled. I was going more for the idea that it takes some intelligence to be good at. We had a high turnover rate with undergrads where I worked previously, because they lacked it or were generally disinterested and just doing it to pad a resume. It's still medically-related with physician and patient interaction, so you can't just toss it aside as if it's equivalent to working at Starbucks or Subway. As far as board prep, I wasn't saying it's the same as reading FA. But it can absolutely help reinforce the concepts I mentioned and clinically correlates to what is read in a book. Maybe it's easy for some to just memorize presentation/dx/tx of a disease from text, but I found it much easier to remember when I could physically see the patients, exams, labs, imaging, and tx. There might be a saturation point if you get bored and stop trying to learn, but otherwise that's like saying there's a saturation point for the preclinical years. There is always more to learn/understand/reinforce. Like I said, and like you repeated as if I said the opposite, the entire experience is location dependent. At the very least it's more worthwhile than tutoring for the mcat ffs.

 

[Doctor Bob]

I had so much time on my hands, I took up World of Warcraft and a Heroin addiction.

Don't forget to list that in ERAS

 

[BrianD123]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I was a little busy, hence the late reply. To be honest, I'm thinking about picking up the scribe job because I'm about to join a crossfit gym and I'd rather my loan money NOT go towards that (~$90 a month). I've had some friends that scribed in undergraduate and said it was a pretty easy job. With tutoring, I would have to put in some work outside of 'actual work'. With scribing, I just show up. And I get some facetime with ED docs in an academic setting. It doesn't seem too bad. Once again, I really just want to provide for my crossfit expenses - that was really my number one reason to do this in the first place.
Also, someone mentioned bartending but that's not really my cup of tea. I'd rather be on the other side of the bar.

 

[BrianD123]

Just a little update for you guys. I started ED scribing to have some extra cash flow coming in during school. Huge mistake on my part. I fell behind on school work so fast b/c of this job. Gonna quit ASAP b/c I was doing really well prior to this.

 

[22031 Alum]

I only know a couple of people who worked in medical school. It is an extraordinarily bad idea for most people.

 

[Jabbed]

Just a little update for you guys. I started ED scribing to have some extra cash flow coming in during school. Huge mistake on my part. I fell behind on school work so fast b/c of this job. Gonna quit ASAP b/c I was doing really well prior to this.

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out.