Radiology assistant or Clinical research coordinator?

[Jack Swift]

I have the opportunity to decide between two jobs, a radiology assistant and a Clinical Research Coordinator position. I like the idea of being a radiology assistant because I get the opportunity to work with doctors, nurses and patients on a regular basis. But it seems that the clinical research job is just all paper work, but it might look better on my med school app (I’m applying this year). Any advice?

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[cubbbie]

Go for the research. It will look better. Some schools specifically ask about what research you've done, and you should be able to say something. If you already have a lot of research experience, then just do what you're interested in doing.

 

[shblay]

Are you interested in research or working with patients? If your goal is to do research or MD/PhD then go for the clinical research position. If not, the other way. I don't think you will lose out either way. Both will look good. Schools will ask about your research if you put it down and are actually interested in research. But not everyone wants to do research. Having clinical patient experience is equally important as research.

 

[genyfer]

I am currently working as a clinical research coordinator and yes, there is a lot of paper work involved. Depending on the type of trial(s) you will be working on, however, you may actually have a lot of patient contact. I do vitals, EKGs, histories, etc. with patients on a daily basis and have to deal with physicians and nurses too. And the reality is that the study coordinator is the one who does most of the research involved (not the PI) so there is a lot of clinical research to gain from the experience. 🙂

 

[HailMary]

I'm also a coordinator and there is significant patient contact. I'm not all that familiar with radiology, but with clinical research you build a relationship with your patients over the course of the study, rather than see a huge volume of patients that you'll never see again. Another bonus is that with the right PI's, you may have the opportunity to do your own independent research. Go with whatever job interests you more, and if you take the coordinator position, just be really proactive about seeing patients and doing more than just the paperwork. Good luck!

 

[Jack Swift]

thanks for the relys. with the Clinical Coordinator job, I just get the feeling that I will not see patients but just coordinate the flow of paperwork and work out epidemiology statistics and crap like that. If I do get some med school interviews I think they would rather see more patient contact experience as opposed to plotting staistics in Excel. Am I wrong?

 

[cubbbie]

thanks for the relys. with the Clinical Coordinator job, I just get the feeling that I will not see patients but just coordinate the flow of paperwork and work out epidemiology statistics and crap like that. If I do get some med school interviews I think they would rather see more patient contact experience as opposed to plotting staistics in Excel. Am I wrong?

mmmmmmaybe. are you saying you don't have experiences with patient contact either (i.e. volunteering, shadowing)? i say do whatever your application is weakest in, and also what's most interesting to you. but remember in this era, applying to med school with absolutely no research experience is getting to be an anomaly. even if it's just a little bit, and even if it's just paper pushing, you'll learn something from the process and you'll be able to chalk it up to something interesting for the application and interviews. plus, if you have ANY interest in doing clinical research as a doctor, you'll get a lot from the clinical job.

then again, if you don't have a lot of patient contact under your belt, and you don't have any interest in research, then go ahead and take the other job.

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

Go for the clinical research job. Radiology = 6 fingered progeny

(source: The House of God by Sam Shem)

 

[Missterious1]

I currently work in clinical research (started a few months ago) and right now it's a TON of paperwork... but that's really because I came at a time when the grants for one of the biggest studies is up for renewal so there was a lot of editing, budget calculating, paperwork assembling involved. I have yet to see any patients. Once this is submitted though, I'm going to make a concerted effort to get myself involved in doing work involving patients because that's why I took the job in the first place.

I think this kind of position is really what you make of it... if you get stuck in paperwork, try to ask the PI if you can get involved in more clinical aspects of it too.

And as previous posters said, take a look at what's weakest on your application and try to work on that... if it's research and you think the research you'll be working on is interesting, then go for it!

 

[kenmc3]

I think that admission committees will view both of these jobs equally. So pick whichever one you will enjoy more. Because the more you enjoy your job the harder you will work, the more you will learn, you’ll impress your supervisors more, and get great LOR’s. You shouldn’t have to do much in life you don’t enjoy.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

im a clinical research coordinator right now and a large part of my job is simply talking to patients. i consent them, take them through the protocol, and conduct the follow-ups. there's a lot of paperwork since your goal is collecting data, but its all worth it. PM me if you want some advice.