Neuromonitoring technologist - okay for 2 gap years?

[DiamondBar]

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Hi everyone
I was wondering if it would be ideal to try to be a certified neuromonitoring tech. The training program is free if I am accepted and I have to take a board certification which costs 750. Any advice or opinion on this route for my two gap years? I am financially disadvantaged as well so I think I should also keep that In mind

Thank you

 

[DiamondBar]

Sorry for the double post,

I believe that other names for the title are IOM Technologist or IONM Technologist.
Please let me know if anyone has any experience or know of anyone who has experience. Thank you!

 

[image187]

what exactly will you be doing in this job?

 

[shezadeh]

I know this is an old thread, but I was looking into this as well. Any thoughts on this? From my understanding, the tech is in the OR and monitors various machines for the doctors/tells them what the machines say (https://www.utdallas.edu/~golden/ionm/) Correct me if I am wrong though.

Any insight would be appreciated!

 

[NeuResurgens]

Sounds like a good opportunity for clinical experience.

 

[GrapesofRath]

This is a fantastic job with compensation way beyond most other jobs of pre-meds. You'll get all kinds 0f opportunities and great patient contact. This is a great way to spend 2 gap years and you'll have a lot to talk about from this experience and you will learn a TON from this field overall.

 

[Grace184]

I was actually looking into this opportunity as it was offered in my city and I'm very interested in neuro. Frankly, they told me I would be bored. But the hrs were crazy page you, get there in an hr for surgery, etc, and you basically hand the surgeon his tools, he reads the ECGs (you don't- ever). They told me they had a lot of upper level practitioners quit bc they were treated like slaves and idiots. I mean, you go there, show up, go home. The make it sound like more than it is. Did you shadow a tech/student? I recommend it before you sign on for 2 years...that's a long gap year(s). Just see what you're getting yourself into. A lot of people do it as a career, not a gap, bc good money can be made in that field in the right geography.

 

[shezadeh]

How do I go about shadowing a tech? It seems that shadowing anybody (docs included) is somewhat difficult to do...people claim HIPAA issues, etc.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Neuromonitoring is used very frequently in my field. I only have experience watching them in the OR and have never really shadowed them, per se, so this is my somewhat limited opinion. They go to the patient after they have been anaesthetised and place the monitoring leads on the patient according to whatever the surgeon orders (what specifically is being monitored depends on the type/location of surgery being done). After that, the tech watches the readings and tells the surgeon when there is changes in the signals. Changes in the signaling can be a sign of nerve/spinal cord damage. The surgeon changes what he/she is doing if the signaling changes indicate nerve injury is occurring.

The job requires looking at a screen for hours on end. A tech has to be covering the monitoring until the surgeon says monitoring is no longer needed, so a tech might need to be there in the early hours of the morning if the surgery is taking that long. I could see this being tedious and the hours make it unpredictable at times.

From a pre-med perspective this would be an excellent gap year job. There is ample opportunity for patient and physician interaction and you have a pretty important job. If you can do the fees and the training I say go for it.

 

[TaroBubbleTea]

If you were already planning on taking those two gap years, I would say go for it. However, if you are taking the gap years just for the job, I would say you should reconsider putting your life on hold for two years just for a dead end job.

 

[tiedyeddog]

If you were already planning on taking those two gap years, I would say go for it. However, if you are taking the gap years just for the job, I would say you should reconsider putting your life on hold for two years just for a dead end job.

I would also agree with this. Do not take 2 gap years to do this. It is interesting but won't drastically change your desirability to schools. Do it because you were going to take the 2 years off anyway.

 

[Grace184]

Again, it's career training, not a short time gig. They page you at whatever time and send you to whatever hospital they're contracted with. In between, you're doing their classes, etc. there not really time for you to build your gap year for med school resume material, like volunteering, shadowing, etc. you will burn out quickly on their training alone. They expect after the 2 yrs you are ready to be sent out of their center to a new town and get a job. Your patients are antesthetised. Sleeping. You can try to interact if you want. But you literally, until you sit for your boards a year in, cannot read the ecgs and turn them over to a doctor or another tech. Please don't take 2 gap years for this unless you were need the money.