So who here works full time?

[Marthea007]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm just wondering how everyone else is handling working full time and trying to apply and shadow physicians and what not. I've saved up all of my vacation time and personal days and I still don't have enough. Looks like I'm heading for unpaid time off... 👎

 

[MJB]

Yup....about 50 hrs./week.

 

[Packamylase]

Yup....about 50 hrs./week.

I work full-time. When I shadowed doctors, I would typically shadow on Saturday mornings when they would work a half-day.

 

[Marthea007]

I work full-time. When I shadowed doctors, I would typically shadow on Saturday mornings when they would work a half-day.

That would be lovely but the only DO that I could find to let me shadow her just opened her own practice in October. Therefore, no weekend or evening hours. Oh well, it's not like I really enjoy my job anyways, so it's not like taking half days will really bother me. 😀


It's just the money I'll miss... 🙁

 

[KeyLime]

I work full-time and had to use vacation time to shadow. Thus, I only shadowed for two days in the last year. Its is a good thing that I did volunteering and some shadowing while I was still in undergrad as I have zero time now.

 

[docem]

I have worked 40-60 hour weeks since I got my BA in 03. Luckily I only had to take physics post-bac (that sucked...going to class, lab, studying and working 8-10 hours a day). The hardest part for me was studying for the MCAT. I had no life for 4 months...work, study, sleep, repeat. I work for a hospital in a large department and my job requires me to work with faculty and residents which has been great. For the first three years...I didn't take vacations I used the time to work and travel with an international health organization which has allowed me to have some pretty amazing clinical experiences and now I will be working for them part time till I start school...I guess my point is hang in there...it is rough to work and try to do the extras...if you don't already have one, look for a job in the health care arena...more opportunities to connect with people...also look into volunteering in an Emergency Department...often you can shadow/volunteer 24hrs a day so it is easier to schedule.

 

[MJB]

I took vacation time to do my shadowing, and any afternoon labs I had to take (last semester, it was 2 afternoons/week for Org. II lab).

This semester just taking Physics II while working will feel like a vacation after taking Org. I last Spring, MCAT prep all summer, and Org. II last Fall...

 

[jkhamlin]

I work the weekend option at a hospital, which means that I work two twelve hour shifts Saturday and Sunday and I get paid for 30 hours. I get the rest of the week off for classes, research, shadowing, etc because of this. I recommend it for anyone who doesn't mind not having a life on the weekends.

 

[Marthea007]

I have worked 40-60 hour weeks since I got my BA in 03. Luckily I only had to take physics post-bac (that sucked...going to class, lab, studying and working 8-10 hours a day). The hardest part for me was studying for the MCAT. I had no life for 4 months...work, study, sleep, repeat. I work for a hospital in a large department and my job requires me to work with faculty and residents which has been great. For the first three years...I didn't take vacations I used the time to work and travel with an international health organization which has allowed me to have some pretty amazing clinical experiences and now I will be working for them part time till I start school...I guess my point is hang in there...it is rough to work and try to do the extras...if you don't already have one, look for a job in the health care arena...more opportunities to connect with people...also look into volunteering in an Emergency Department...often you can shadow/volunteer 24hrs a day so it is easier to schedule.

I volunteer in an ER right now but I haven't seen one doctor that's a DO and the Nurse in Charge doesn't like to return my calls. From what I've seen there's only about 5 DO's in my area that are in my area of interest so I've been having some trouble but like you say, I'm just going to have to make sacrifices.

 

[djacobs583]

i've worked at least 40 hours a week since high school, while going to school fulltime in college, volunteering, and shadowing different doctors, which covers the last 15 years

 

[Playmakur42]

X

 

[amathew]

Full-time employee, taking classes, and volunteering my time otherwise (I shadowed my DO the summer I graduated from undergrad (summer 05) for a whole summer and before I started my work. Gave me plenty of time to get to know her, and actually do things alongside of her such as patient history and vitals n such.

How do I handle it? The fact that I don't want to spend another year going through this torurous process is a great motivation. I've done better in my post bac classes than i ever did in any science courses during my undergrad.

 

[arsenewenger]

Full-time employee, taking classes, and volunteering my time otherwise (I shadowed my DO the summer I graduated from undergrad (summer 05) for a whole summer and before I started my work. Gave me plenty of time to get to know her, and actually do things alongside of her such as patient history and vitals n such.

How do I handle it? The fact that I don't want to spend another year going through this torurous process is a great motivation. I've done better in my post bac classes than i ever did in any science courses during my undergrad.

Post bac classes are easier and open book?

 

[Dr.Inviz]

Try this:

MWF: 8-10:45am I shadow a DO; 11-3:50 classes; 4-rest of nite im an RA on call (officially on duty till 3am)

Tu/Th: 7-12 shadow a surgeon in OR; 12-6 another job; 6-6:45 dinner, 7-8:15 class

Sat/Sun: On call all day (starting at 8am)

Sleep? heh ...

 

[noshie]

I have worked full time since I was in 11th grade. The key for me is to work at places with flexible hours, like nights, overnights and weekends. It is really not that hard once you get used to it. When I worked nights I would just shadow from 8am-1pm and then go to work at 3pm-11pm. When I had classes I would just work later or overnight. Sleep is overrated.

 

[jkhamlin]

All right, it is getting kinda deep in here.

I've worked full time since I was in kindergarten; I walked there, up hill both ways. 😛

 

[iwilldlvr]

All right, it is getting kinda deep in here.

I've worked full time since I was in kindergarten; I walked there, up hill both ways. 😛

I worked fulltime for the first year or two. Then, I was married and raising someone else's barely teen daughter while he worked out of town all week, every week. That took the place of my job. Then, I was divorced and have been working off and on fulltime/parttime as I can around my freakish fulltime+ class schedule. I can't wait to have a "normal" class schedule. 🙂

We all manage. You make sacrifices and find a way to do it all. Doesn't doctor mean multi-tasking control freak who never gets enough sleep anyway? This is just practice.

 

[DrMom]

From what I've seen there's only about 5 DO's in my area that are in my area of interest

do shadowing in other areas. Not only is it a very good idea for experience & exposure, you need LORs so it is silly to limit yourself.

 

[xTinaBna]

I'm just wondering how everyone else is handling working full time and trying to apply and shadow physicians and what not. I've saved up all of my vacation time and personal days and I still don't have enough. Looks like I'm heading for unpaid time off... 👎

i'm a full-timer! although i am done with the pre-med process so i'm not filling apps or shadowing anymore (well i observe the doctors at work all the time anyway but nothing that's out of my work hours). i give props tho to any full-timers still taking classes, raising families, and just beinga pre-med! 🙂

 

[DoctorMom78]

All right, it is getting kinda deep in here.

I've worked full time since I was in kindergarten; I walked there, up hill both ways. 😛

LMAO!!!

Hmmm...ok, my sob story!😉
I have only worked part-time while in school, but that was while I was doing an internship, suffering from untreated Lyme disease, taking anywhere from 15 to 21 credits a semester, raising my children, and cleaning my house. Oh, and I was pregnant with two of those children during all of that and didn't take time off for them. My two year old was born on the last day of classes in my fall semester and so he had to come back to school with me a week later to take my finals. My advisor let me into someone's office who was on sabbatical so I could nurse him. My youngest was born several days before the spring semester started, so I started school a week late. I didn't work that semester, but I was home all day with the kids and going to school at night. That was also the semester I took the MCAT!😱 I have to tell you that when I was younger I had no respect for stay-at-home moms, but after experiencing it myself....OMG!!! It is absolutely the hardest job in the world. It is also the most rewarding, but I have to say that I am REALLY looking forward to medical school after all of this!!!

Just had to add to the pile! LOL!

BTW, to address the OP: My part-time work was for my father who is a neurologist. I have worked in his office for about ten years now, so that counted as my clinical and shadowing experience. As for time for everything else, a lot of people on here do lots of things at once. We all have to know how to multi-task. It is really just a balancing act. I am sure you will work it out.

 

[Hera182]

Full-time employee, taking classes, and volunteering my time otherwise (I shadowed my DO the summer I graduated from undergrad (summer 05) for a whole summer and before I started my work. Gave me plenty of time to get to know her, and actually do things alongside of her such as patient history and vitals n such.

How do I handle it? The fact that I don't want to spend another year going through this torurous process is a great motivation. I've done better in my post bac classes than i ever did in any science courses during my undergrad.

Almost the same exact story here. I am lucky enough to have a boss that understands, and allows me to make the hours up later in the evening or on weekends. But, I'm almost done with postbac classes. Almost. Then I'll enjoy my last free (albeit I work) summer.

 

[TerraMedicX]

First off...I think DocMom wins this one!!

Personally, I worked about 20-30 hours/week for the first two and a half years of undergrad, but it was at the medical clinic on campus and my boss was great about working around class schedules. I also was volunteering for a fire department, an ambulance company and teaching EMT classes durring evenings. I took six months off from everything else when I got my paramedic, which was actually something of a nice break...and by break I mean cramming what some areas of the country teach in a two-year associates degree program into six months! 😱
After that, I returned to school full-time and also worked full time on the ambulance working an average of 60 hours/week. But since we work 24 hour shifts, it actually worked out ok. I continued to volunteer for the FD and teach as well. So work got me plenty of clinical experience. I've been studying for the MCATs both with my down-time at work and at home. After MCATs are done Jan 29th, I'm working on shadowing a DO in the ED that I used to work with. My girlfriend is awsome...don't know too many girls that would not only put up with NEVER seeing their boyfriend and the possibilty of not really seeing him much for ten years...but when offered an out actually told me to stop being an idiot and trying to break-up with myself! Damn I'm lucky!

So like everyone else is saying...you kinda just have to make this stuff a priority and downgrade things like..sleep and a social life! Oh well...there's time for that later...right?

 

[amathew]

Post bac classes are easier and open book?

nope. Not easy nor open book. I think you're just in these classes with a different mind set. For example, anything below an 85 for a test is unacceptable to me now. During undergrad, I used to party when I got an 85. The material is much harder, but the fact that there are fewer students (less than 30 most of the time) helps when it comes to asking questions and having a better relationship with your professor. I doubt any of my science professors from undergrad remember me. I was just a face among 200-300 students. Most of the times, I didn't even go to the lecture just because there were so many people and I felt I wouldn't learn properly in that environment.

 

[amathew]

And I agree, DoctorMom takes the cake on this one. Man, I can't imagine how you had a family throughout this entire process. My future progeny is going to have to wait until I'm done with residency. I don't think I could handle family and med school. Atleast not yet.🙄

 

[Sarikate]

I've worked full-time as a social worker for the past four years. In 2004 I was preparing my applications at the same time I was studying for and taking the MCAT. This past summer I was working 50 hours a week, taking 12 credits, and applying to schools. It was hardcore! But I felt like a machine. It wasn't too bad.

 

[TaliesinDO]

Yup....about 50 hrs./week.

Same goes for me. It's nice working for the university as they give enough flexible vacation to allow for interviews; still at UW-Madison.

DoctorMom, you had to take finals a week after labor? I'm astounded... wow.

 

[LuLuBelleDO]

I might run a close second, working full time nights, attending class 15 credits, including genetics, physics 1, gen chem 2 and trig, plus raising two kids 8 and 6, one with AUTISM. All the while, trying to schedule my schedule around my daughter's school, therapy, and worse of all....behaviors.... it can be overwhelming at times, but thank heavens for my husband... I think once your a mom, you can do anything...😛 😀

 

[Hera182]

I am really in awe of the moms, here. Mine worked full-time as a single parent to four children. I'm the first to go to college, and the only doctor(in the future sense). I respect being a parent and having a career. It's hard, and you don't get enough credit for it! Good luck with everything!

 

[DoctorMom78]

Same goes for me. It's nice working for the university as they give enough flexible vacation to allow for interviews; still at UW-Madison.

DoctorMom, you had to take finals a week after labor? I'm astounded... wow.

My advisor pushed me to take incompletes, but I wouldn't do it. It was only a five hour labor and I had an epidural. Piece of cake!!! Plus, it was my third child. I totally agree that once you are a mom, you can do anything. I do have to give my husband some credit too. He has been a wonderful source of support for me and has helped me along the way. Thank you all! I have no doubt that if I can do it, anyone can do it. My advice to everyone: Don't think about everything you have to do at once because it will overwhelm you. Just take it one step at a time and accomplish it in pieces. Be organized and focused and confident and you will be okay. 😉

 

[DoctorMom78]

I might run a close second, working full time nights, attending class 15 credits, including genetics, physics 1, gen chem 2 and trig, plus raising two kids 8 and 6, one with AUTISM. All the while, trying to schedule my schedule around my daughter's school, therapy, and worse of all....behaviors.... it can be overwhelming at times, but thank heavens for my husband... I think once your a mom, you can do anything...😛 😀

WOW! My two-year old son has what I believe (and now finally I have found a doctor to agree with me) is congenital Lyme Disease. I became sick in my pregnancy with him and was not treated until this past summer. Idiot doctors!!!😡 Anyway, he is not autistic, but has global developmental delays and is in PT, speech therapy, and special ed. Some of his behaviors fit in the autism spectrum, but other do not. I have gone through a lot with his behaviors and arranging his therapies and doctor's visits. Fortunately, he just started on an antibiotic and I have noticed a change already. Anyway, I totally respect and admire you too, because I know how difficult all of this is. It is hard enough to be a mother, but it is even harder when you have a child that has special needs. Good luck to you!

 

[Beau Geste]

I feel for you Lulu and Doctor Mom. I'm a speech therapist and work with children in early intervention (0-3) and at any given time I have at least 2 on my caseload who are suspected of having an autistic spectral disorder. Thank God for parents who are willing to help give their kids top-notch care!

At any rate, I work full-time. I see about 15 clients a week plus Tuesday afternoons I do evals. I do about another 15 hours of paperwork/billing since I have a private practice. I'm also a full-time student (well, 11 hours this semester since I have to study for the MCAT too).

My mom's an FP and my dad a CRNA, and i've shadowed them since I was little (sometimes for lack of daycare!) and I've seen tons of family medicine and OR/ER stuff over the years (I'm 30 now). I am going to shadow a surgeon over spring break to get an objective LOR. What a way to spend a vacation week 😉.

I'm just glad classes will be over this summer and the application process can finally begin. I don't mind being in school full-time, or working full-time, but doing both for years has really drained me!

 

[DoctorMom78]

I feel for you Lulu and Doctor Mom. I'm a speech therapist and work with children in early intervention (0-3) and at any given time I have at least 2 on my caseload who are suspected of having an autistic spectral disorder. Thank God for parents who are willing to help give their kids top-notch care!

At any rate, I work full-time. I see about 15 clients a week plus Tuesday afternoons I do evals. I do about another 15 hours of paperwork/billing since I have a private practice. I'm also a full-time student (well, 11 hours this semester since I have to study for the MCAT too).

My mom's an FP and my dad a CRNA, and i've shadowed them since I was little (sometimes for lack of daycare!) and I've seen tons of family medicine and OR/ER stuff over the years (I'm 30 now). I am going to shadow a surgeon over spring break to get an objective LOR. What a way to spend a vacation week 😉.

I'm just glad classes will be over this summer and the application process can finally begin. I don't mind being in school full-time, or working full-time, but doing both for years has really drained me!

You certainly have some great experience. My son is in the early intervention program where I live, and it is really wonderful. I am so glad that there are caring people like you to help him. While we all are capable of multi-tasking, it certainly is exhausting! Good luck with your applications. I am sure that you will get in somewhere you love.

I just clicked into your profile and see that you love Albany. It is a good school and it is about five minutes from where I live. The people are really great there and Albany is a great place to live. I love it in upstate NY, but we are getting ready to pack up and move to Tennessee. I hope you get in there if that is what you want. 🙂

 

[Beau Geste]

😉 My first choice will always be in Illinois. But, my brother was stationed in Ballston Spa while he was in the Navy nuke program and I fell in love with that whole area when I visited him. That's why I put Albany on there - I could see myself living there 🙂

I'm glad you have your child in EI - I'm amazed how many parents didn't know it was available until it was too late. AND how many physicians are unaware of these programs! That was one of the many reasons to push me into medicine - clueless doctors I deal with! I got tired of explaining things and decided it would be easier if *I* was a doctor instead LOL

to you, too. You may not realize it, but having a child with special needs is a medical experience in it's own right. You have to wear many different hats with your role and it's not easy at all!

 

[LuLuBelleDO]

Hi Guys, sorry it took so long for me to respond. Hannah is almost 6, and has been diagnosed for several years, she is my hero.... so cute, sweetest little thing.. but can be a devil at times.. She too had EI, and now is in pre k, I really can't say too many good things about the school system, and their intregrated classroooms. I just feel like they don't even care about Hannah.. because regardless, the "No child left behind" act, will just keep her moving through the grades, so to them, it doesn't matter. I really have seen how inconvienced teachers are, when they have to deal with special needs children, it has been disappointing and I often feel very sad for my daughter🙁 ... but guess what..... she hasn't got a clue, and could care less about other people stares, comments, and ignorant, because that comes with her diagnose, in some ways that lack of empathy, or inability to relate to others is good😳 ....
LuLu

She is the reason, why after 10 years of being a RN, I am going to be a DO, so I have the means to support her, and give her the opportunity for a better life.. 🙂

 

[DoctorMom78]

LuLu: I hope that everything works out for you. There is nothing more heart-breaking than to have to watch your child go through something like that. While my son has global delays, he does not have the social delays which are indicative of Autism. As a mother, that must be the hardest part for you. You still have a long road ahead of you, but you are obviously strong so I am sure you can do it. My heart is with you. I wish you lots of love and luck. 😍 😀