No idea what to do! Need some direction

[raekay]

Hello all! I'm glad I've found this board. Its been very helpful so far

Question for the people who know better than I (which is everyone! haha)... I'm currently an LVN and HATE the work I do. I have a strong passion for medicine, which is why I finally decided to pursue med school. I'm working at a nursing home right now, and am debating a few things...

I want to quit. I've wanted to quit since I started! But I know that having patient contact hours is important for med school. I can try to get other jobs that may have it, but with my limited work experience, I don't know if I will. Should I stick it out for a while? Or should I quit and start volunteering? I have probably over 1000 hours with my nursing school clinical experiences and the work experiences I have had up till now. I also have another part-time job coaching gymnastics. I'm working on starting up a program for them, and I'm sure the initiative and leadership it takes to do that will also be helpful for med school.

I also want to focus on school full-time. I'm not willing to part with the coaching job just yet, seeing how I actually like that one. But having two jobs, and working on finishing a bachelors and all my pre-reqs would be very stressful.

I also don't know what the best major to would be to choose. I figured I'd just start taking a whole bunch of classes that I'll need, and talk to an advisor and see which one is the best fit. I've read that it doesn't matter what your major is. But I'm still not entirely sure I believe that.

So, as you can see, I'm at a few crossroads. Any pointers?

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[Bleurberry]

Hello all! I'm glad I've found this board. Its been very helpful so far

Question for the people who know better than I (which is everyone! haha)... I'm currently an LVN and HATE the work I do. I have a strong passion for medicine, which is why I finally decided to pursue med school. I'm working at a nursing home right now, and am debating a few things...

I want to quit. I've wanted to quit since I started! But I know that having patient contact hours is important for med school. I can try to get other jobs that may have it, but with my limited work experience, I don't know if I will. Should I stick it out for a while? Or should I quit and start volunteering? I have probably over 1000 hours with my nursing school clinical experiences and the work experiences I have had up till now. I also have another part-time job coaching gymnastics. I'm working on starting up a program for them, and I'm sure the initiative and leadership it takes to do that will also be helpful for med school.

I also want to focus on school full-time. I'm not willing to part with the coaching job just yet, seeing how I actually like that one. But having two jobs, and working on finishing a bachelors and all my pre-reqs would be very stressful.

I also don't know what the best major to would be to choose. I figured I'd just start taking a whole bunch of classes that I'll need, and talk to an advisor and see which one is the best fit. I've read that it doesn't matter what your major is. But I'm still not entirely sure I believe that.

So, as you can see, I'm at a few crossroads. Any pointers?

Sounds like you're at the very beginning of your investigation.
What's your GPA as it stands? How many credits do you have until nearing completion of a bachelors? How financially solvent are you in respect to going full time, regardless of satisfaction of your current coaching job or disatisfaction of the nursing job?
It's a fallacy that you need 1000 hours of clinical work to apply to medical school, so you can get off that train at the next stop!
I'm a spanish literature major and had no clinical experience before doing a summer internship, and that was about the extent of it. But I started a med school club at my university, approached professors and physicians and inquired inquired inquired, and set up lectures and such for the student body. I also checked out local programs extensively and decided on one early on, giving me the opportunity to find out exactly what they were looking for in a candidate well before applying. Best of luck. Although I appreciate the fact that LVN is low on the totem, I don't think it bodes well that you "hate" the job, and I would certainly leave mention of it out of your application.

 

[darkosbunny]

Sounds like you're at the very beginning of your investigation.
What's your GPA as it stands? How many credits do you have until nearing completion of a bachelors? How financially solvent are you in respect to going full time, regardless of satisfaction of your current coaching job or disatisfaction of the nursing job?
It's a fallacy that you need 1000 hours of clinical work to apply to medical school, so you can get off that train at the next stop!
I'm a spanish literature major and had no clinical experience before doing a summer internship, and that was about the extent of it. But I started a med school club at my university, approached professors and physicians and inquired inquired inquired, and set up lectures and such for the student body. I also checked out local programs extensively and decided on one early on, giving me the opportunity to find out exactly what they were looking for in a candidate well before applying. Best of luck. Although I appreciate the fact that LVN is low on the totem, I don't think it bodes well that you "hate" the job, and I would certainly leave mention of it out of your application.

My ex-wife was a CNA at a nursing home and hated her job until she got a job at a hospital. Maybe a change of scenery will be good for you. Nursing homes are miserable places.

 

[raekay]

Sounds like you're at the very beginning of your investigation.
What's your GPA as it stands? How many credits do you have until nearing completion of a bachelors?

As of right now its between a 3.0-3.3. I still have a ways to go before I get my bachelors... I think I have a total of like 35 credits. But that'll be remedied quite soon I'm planning on taking a few summer courses, gen eds mostly, and any sciences I can get into. My goal is to finish my BA/BS by 2012ish

How financially solvent are you in respect to going full time, regardless of satisfaction of your current coaching job or disatisfaction of the nursing job?

I just moved in with my grandparents, to help them out around the house and whatnot. They're not charging me rent.. yay! My bills are very few, so I don't really need a second job as of now.

It's a fallacy that you need 1000 hours of clinical work to apply to medical school, so you can get off that train at the next stop!
I'm a spanish literature major and had no clinical experience before doing a summer internship, and that was about the extent of it. But I started a med school club at my university, approached professors and physicians and inquired inquired inquired, and set up lectures and such for the student body. I also checked out local programs extensively and decided on one early on, giving me the opportunity to find out exactly what they were looking for in a candidate well before applying. Best of luck. Although I appreciate the fact that LVN is low on the totem, I don't think it bodes well that you "hate" the job, and I would certainly leave mention of it out of your application.

Wow, sounds like you're busy! Which program did you decide on? I've been looking into some the past few weeks, deciding which looks best.
I'm looking into hospital jobs... even being a CNA at a hospital would be better than a nursing home lol. I don't really "hate" nursing. I respect the profession very much, I just hate LVN work. Its very limiting and you're looked down on. Its good to know that clinical experience isn't required, but I bet it sure looks nice on the app.

 

[Bleurberry]

As of right now its between a 3.0-3.3. I still have a ways to go before I get my bachelors... I think I have a total of like 35 credits. But that'll be remedied quite soon I'm planning on taking a few summer courses, gen eds mostly, and any sciences I can get into. My goal is to finish my BA/BS by 2012ish



I just moved in with my grandparents, to help them out around the house and whatnot. They're not charging me rent.. yay! My bills are very few, so I don't really need a second job as of now.



Wow, sounds like you're busy! Which program did you decide on? I've been looking into some the past few weeks, deciding which looks best.
I'm looking into hospital jobs... even being a CNA at a hospital would be better than a nursing home lol. I don't really "hate" nursing. I respect the profession very much, I just hate LVN work. Its very limiting and you're looked down on. Its good to know that clinical experience isn't required, but I bet it sure looks nice on the app.

It all sounds good. If you can, research how much aid you'll get now if you go full time at school. The more money you make, the less need based grants you'll receive. It's a cost-benefits analysis worth doing!!
I ended up at PCOM, a DO program here in Philly. It was my #1 choice and I'm thrilled to be attending in the fall. I highly recommend taking a closer look at the program, by the way. I don't know what your particulars are, if you want to stay local, but whatever the case, you sound ready to take the leap. I wish you the best, feel free to PM if you have any followup questions.

 

[MSmentor018]

I was an RN now in med school. sounds like the nursing home thing isn't the best, esp if you need a LOR. go to a hospital, get established somewhere that you enjoy. I did ER/ICU for many years. that'll give you a broader exposure to pt care, face time with docs for LOR's, money, and get some credentials. also some hospitals will pay for you to go to med school/adv degree if you choose to return there. from there either go full/part time in school while working (that's what I did) or drop your hours a bit. by getting established you're able to alter your schedule better than someone just walking in the door. either way make school your priority and work around it. good luck!

 

[CogitoA1]

Your grades will affect your admission far more than your current job. School should be the priority. It is VERY easy to acquire more clinical hours, if that's what you want, later in the process. It is NOT easy to repair poor grades.

Find a job that meets the following characteristics:

1) meets your financial needs;
2) is compatible and conducive to the achievement of your academic potential;
3) is conducive and encouraging of your long-term professional goals.

Those are key factors. Others are the obvious: is the work environment healthy, are your colleagues supportive and friendly, etc.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Agree that the top priority must be on academics and MCAT preparation. That will make the greatest impact on your chances.

 

[raekay]

Thanks everyone! I'm going into the nursing home tomorrow to talk to them about being only an on-call employee. I'm also working on finding a hospital to volunteer at and some doctors to shadow.

Time to focus on academics!