Summer Job question

[On3H34rT]

I am sorry if something similar has been answered before, but I cannot seem to find where. I am an upcoming college sophomore. This summer I needed to find a job and since extracurriculars are obviously important, I tried to find something in a hospital or medical related. I found a full time summer job at a hospital here in the HIM Medical Records department. They needed a clerk to help out. Is this considered a good extracurricular to put on an application? Even though it isn't clinical, I still believe that I had a glimpse of what the healthcare business is. After all, there are other workers that are not doctors. Did I make the right choice in accepting the job in terms of medical school?

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[premedmind]

I am sorry if something similar has been answered before, but I cannot seem to find where. I am an upcoming college sophomore. This summer I needed to find a job and since extracurriculars are obviously important, I tried to find something in a hospital or medical related. I found a full time summer job at a hospital here in the HIM Medical Records department. They needed a clerk to help out. Is this considered a good extracurricular to put on an application? Even though it isn't clinical, I still believe that I had a glimpse of what the healthcare business is. After all, there are other workers that are not doctors. Did I make the right choice in accepting the job in terms of medical school?

I, personally, worked (well, volunteered) in the medical records department at a hospital...they had me alphabetizing the records and that was it.

If you are getting paid, I guess it's alright, but really, you should get something that REALLY has to do with what YOU want to do....if you enjoy filing records, by all means....but seriously, do what you enjoy/and what you feel will give you the most experience towards your future career.

In all honesty, the medical records dept. does not have to do with much of the healthcare field at all, in my opinion and in my experience. It is definetly heavily clerical, and heavily office based.

I don't want to discourage you, however. If you feel you will gain experience in the career you are pursuing through this job, then do it. But I am not sure if you will.

I am currently doing research that isn't medically related (arabidopsis genes), but I like research in general and find it fun.

 

[foreverLaur]

I am sorry if something similar has been answered before, but I cannot seem to find where. I am an upcoming college sophomore. This summer I needed to find a job and since extracurriculars are obviously important, I tried to find something in a hospital or medical related. I found a full time summer job at a hospital here in the HIM Medical Records department. They needed a clerk to help out. Is this considered a good extracurricular to put on an application? Even though it isn't clinical, I still believe that I had a glimpse of what the healthcare business is. After all, there are other workers that are not doctors. Did I make the right choice in accepting the job in terms of medical school?

You still have time go to so you'll be fine. I think it is fantastic to see what goes on behind the scenes. Business plays a large part in health care. That is why I am doing auditing for Ernst & Young this summer. Then during the school year I am working in a genetics lab and being a "babysitter" for patients in the hospital and will eventually move up to be doing more. That way I get it all - the business aspect, patient interaction, research, and clinical experience. You still have three more years of school plus two more summers. Plenty of time to keep adding on. Just make sure you enjoy what you are doing.

 

[On3H34rT]

If the medical records department isn't a part of the healthcare field.. well I want to see the healthcare field without people handling the thousands of medical records that seem to overflow the hospitals.

;/

Would have to respectfully disagree with you....

 

[foreverLaur]

I got a lot of positive feedback from my pre-med committee and the adcoms at the medical school @ OSU for having worked in business outside of the health care field.