Phlebotomy considered a low aim by med schools?

[Bestofme]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

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[xffan624]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views. Thank you.

Opinions on medical school admissions are like a**holes, everyone's got one. I don't think that one is necessarily a universal one, but you can't please everyone when you're applying which is why you apply broadly.

 

[The Kraken]

Absolutely not looked down on. For me, I wish I would have done it instead of getting my emt, because there are no openings for emts for 45 miles. Plus, its not like a cna or emt does something extra special to be put on a pedestal.

 

[Doctor Bob]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

Lots of prospective med students do phlebotomy, or medical assisting, or medical transcriptioning, or some other entry level position. There's no assumption that whatever job you do prior to med school is your loftiest aspiration.

I was a telemarketer at one point; that was certainly not my goal in life.
I also did phlebotomy for a while; the only time it came up during interviews was when one of the interviewers said something to the effect of "well, you should have no problem with the IV and blood draw clinical skill".

 

[The Milkman]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

I really don't know where he gets his opinions from, I have been told by adcoms from various med schools that phlebotomy is a great experience to put on your app. What does he expect you to do during undergrad anyways, be a doctor?

 

[theseeker4]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

It makes no sense at all that paid clinical work that actually has some responsibility attached would be looked down upon compared to folding blankets and staying out of the way in some ER as a volunteer, which is the limit of many successful med school applicants' clinical exposure. The doctor you were talking to is not representative of the majority of adcoms, and his logic makes no sense at all. You could insert any activity you can think of and say "this makes it look like your aim isn't higher and you are happy where you are". Completely meaningless objection on his part. Go for the phlebotomy job and make some money while checking that clinical exp. box.

 

[bigdogrob4284]

No, med schools don't look down on phlebotomy. Don't over think the clinical aspect of your application. The goal is simply to gain an understanding of what the medical field is like. Hospital volunteering, EMT, cna, phlebotomy, and shadowing all accomplish that goal.

 

[Beargryllz]

I'm a phlebotomist

Nobody is happy being a phlebotomist

We all want to be moving up

Schools should recognize that kind of intense ambition, and I sure hope they do

I have a hell of a lot more clinical experience than most applicants in any case, I ain't even mad

 

[Cinclus]

Just sounds like good clinical experience to me.

 

[Geebeejay]

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

and that's why your primary isn't an AdCom member. Great clinical experience, patient interaction experience, and a good skill to practice for when you one day have a dry diabetic patient with hyper K and no one has yet been successful getting access

 

[Rocktapus]

and that's why your primary isn't an AdCom member. Great clinical experience, patient interaction experience, and a good skill to practice for when you one day have a dry diabetic patient with hyper K and no one has yet been successful getting access

👍 I've always heard that residents and attendings love med students who are good with setting up lines.

 

[Bestofme]

Thank you all. Will get my cert SOON!!

 

[Mornhavon]

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[Goro]

Your doc doesn't know what he's talking about. Having done phlebotomy, I know that it puts you right up front with the patient. Definitely shows us you have experience.

I want to get certified in Phlebotomy to make some money and thought it will help w/ clinical requirements for med schools. In hte meantime got an offer to volunteer/shadow w/ my primary care doctor and he told me doing Phlebotomy would be looked down by med schools. He said "if I were to interview you I would think your aim isn't higher and that your happy in that job." Does med schools really look down on a person who did Phlebotomy? I thought it was the other way around. I will stay miles away if thats how they look at Phlebs. Please give me your views.

Thank you.

 

[Gauss44]

Phlebotomy gives you experience calming or distracting people who are afraid of needles, and interacting with patients. Probably great experience for those who will be giving stitches, shots, and spinal taps some day.