Psychiatry Concerns

[NukeEmAllJeff]

I'm Jeff. I'm 21 and I'm starting college in about a week and I want to have a future plan. I want to go to Med school to be a psychiatrist. One of my concerns is, once i get my associate or bachleor degree, what kind of medical job could I get that would be beneficial to me for my career choice?

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[Decicco]

Hi Jeff. I think you will need a bachelor's degree (not associate's). Also, it may be best to work during school/summer rather than after you've graduated if you know you want to go to medical school. There are all kinds of things you can do: volunteer at a hospital, be an EMT, do research, etc.

 

[aznb0y129]

I'm Jeff. I'm 21 and I'm starting college in about a week and I want to have a future plan. I want to go to Med school to be a psychiatrist. One of my concerns is, once i get my associate or bachleor degree, what kind of medical job could I get that would be beneficial to me for my career choice?

Do you mean what kind of job you can get prior to beginning medical school? As a former psychology major, I did a bunch of research internships while I was in college, I spent a summer working with kids with ADHD and behavioral problems, and I had a full-time job as a research assistant before becoming a full-time research coordinator. I think any job that gives you access to patients or research would be beneficial for your career.

 

[Nemuri]

How long are you planning on working full-time with your bachelor's degree before heading to medical school? You're not getting any younger brah.

 

[Mobius1985]

You could consider volunteering for a suicide hotline, working in a home for mentally or psychologically challenged, or working/volunteering in a homeless shelter which would tend to have a high proportion of mentally-ill persons among its clients. You could do any of these (or lots of other choices) during your college years on a part-time basis to make a med school application better.

 

[NukeEmAllJeff]

How long are you planning on working full-time with your bachelor's degree before heading to medical school? You're not getting any younger brah.

I plan on heading to med school as soon as i possibly can after i get my bachelor's degree.

I just want to get a job to benefit my career and to make money to pay for everything. I don't want to really just volunteer because I need money lol.

 

[TheMagicCookie]

I know how it is to need money! lol. I started undergrad 2 years after graduating from HS and have lived on my own since then. I currently work full time and go to class full time. I was lucky enough to get a job within a hospital which is a very large part of the clinical experience for my application. It wasn't easy getting this job, though...took me 4 months of appyling to every hospital in my area.
You are smart to try and attain a position within the health field(two birds, one stone)...but it might be difficult with the current freezes in hiring and such. I hope you are able to find something that suits you and wish you luck in your journey to med school!

 

[NukeEmAllJeff]

I know how it is to need money! lol. I started undergrad 2 years after graduating from HS and have lived on my own since then. I currently work full time and go to class full time. I was lucky enough to get a job within a hospital which is a very large part of the clinical experience for my application. It wasn't easy getting this job, though...took me 4 months of appyling to every hospital in my area.
You are smart to try and attain a position within the health field(two birds, one stone)...but it might be difficult with the current freezes in hiring and such. I hope you are able to find something that suits you and wish you luck in your journey to med school!

I'm going to start applying to Hospitals in my area also. I just don't know what position I'd be qualified for or what position to even try to get hired for... Anyone have any suggestions as to what position to apply for?

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I'm going to start applying to Hospitals in my area also. I just don't know what position I'd be qualified for or what position to even try to get hired for... Anyone have any suggestions as to what position to apply for?

Senior year of high school I got a job as an admissions clerk in the ER, parlayed that into an ER and lab tech position (basically an orderly but learned phlebotomy, CPR, how to run various machines like EKG and sono), then briefly as a pharmacy assistant. I had almost 7000 hours hospital work experience and some cool basic clinical skills on my AMCAS app. The important thing is to get your foot in the door. After that it's much easier to laterally transfer to a better job within the hospital that you may not be technically qualified for according to whatever arbitrary stuff their HR dept decides to post. There are any number of sub-professional level positions in a hospital or clinic group besides the aforementioned: medical records, housekeeping, phone operator, rehab therapy assistant. Although it might be a little tougher in today's economy, just try to get anything then make contacts and keep your ears open.

 

[TheMagicCookie]

I'm going to start applying to Hospitals in my area also. I just don't know what position I'd be qualified for or what position to even try to get hired for... Anyone have any suggestions as to what position to apply for?

I started out as a "Surgical Nursing Assistant", basically the OR's equivalent to a CNA. I worked there 6 months, proved myself, and was offered a better position within the OR as an Anesthesia Tech. and I love it.

If you can snatch up any entry level position at a hospital and work hard, you'll most likely be able to transfer to a more desirable area after a few months.

 

[NukeEmAllJeff]

I started out as a "Surgical Nursing Assistant", basically the OR's equivalent to a CNA. I worked there 6 months, proved myself, and was offered a better position within the OR as an Anesthesia Tech. and I love it.

If you can snatch up any entry level position at a hospital and work hard, you'll most likely be able to transfer to a more desirable area after a few months.

The thing is that I've never worked in a hospital. The closest thing I've even done was worked at a Pharmaceutical company as a machine operator making flip off tops and I worked at a record management company pulling medical files and x-rays for delivery to hospitals.

 

[TheMagicCookie]

Neither had I...I trained and showed horses for the 2 years after high school. It is possible to get a job in a hospital without prior experience, a lot of these positions are "on the job" training. I did take the CNA class, but haven't taken the state test yet so I'm not "state certified"(lost my social security card and couldn't take the test without one).