Scribing vs Research

[tansky]

I have been offered two full time, paid training jobs as I continue to develop my resume. The first is a scribing position, and the second is a research position at a genetics lab. What would be a better time investment/ be more appealing to med school admissions?

I have worked as a supervisor at a group home for several years, was a student athlete, have a full year of research with published poster, and recently just graduated.

Thank you!

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[Goofy Goober]

Honestly depends on your weak points and where you'll be applying. Are you anticipating doing research in your future or wanting to get into a top 20/30 program?

 

[DNAJB6]

Could you scribe part time (e.g. 20 hours a week) and do research for 30-40 hrs a week?

 

[DNAJB6]

How do your clinical hours look? What does each job pay?

 

[tansky]

How do your clinical hours look? What does each job pay?

They are both full time positions M-F . I am hesitant to work the weekends as well because I will be retaking a 506 on MCAT (bombed CARS). I have thousands of direct patient care hours in a group home if that counts as clinical hours. The pay for both positions is almost identical 17/hr. Thanks for the reply!

 

[tansky]

Honestly depends on your weak points and where you'll be applying. Are you anticipating doing research in your future or wanting to get into a top 20/30 program?

Not necessarily no. I think I am a good applicant for mid tier MD schools just have to get my CARS score up on MCAT. I have thousands of patient care hours in a group home so I was really stuck on the fence between these two positions. Thanks for the reply!

 

[DNAJB6]

As long as you have enough clinical hours independently and the pay is similar, do the one you enjoy the most. If you can rack up some publications along the way, that's even better. That's a plus on the research side. With scribing you'll learn how to write SOAP notes and gain experience watching patient interaction. That's a plus on the scribing side. My experience is that after 500 hours or so of scribing, it becomes mundane and you'll have absorbed as much as you're going to get from it.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

As long as you have enough clinical hours independently and the pay is similar, do the one you enjoy the most. If you can rack up some publications along the way, that's even better. That's a plus on the research side. With scribing you'll learn how to write SOAP notes and gain experience watching patient interaction. That's a plus on the scribing side. My experience is that after 500 hours or so of scribing, it becomes mundane and you'll have absorbed as much as you're going to get from it.

Yeah, pretty much this. the research probably would fill out your application a little bit more from the sounds of it, but it won't make or break things unless you're attempting to do mdphd or have your heart set on a high ranking research school. Otherwise, do what makes you happy and big crooked numbers on clinical hours is never a bad thing.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
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