Switching jobs from consulting to scribing in the middle of the application cycle?

[chlbimaru]

Hi!

I'm a bit of a nontrad and have been working in healthcare consulting since graduating college, and I'm currently applying this cycle. Recently, I've been considering switching from my current job to a scribe or medical assistant position. I was wondering if anyone would know how changing jobs during the app cycle might look though. Is it seen as a red flag (since I did touch on my experiences at healthcare startups/consulting a good amount throughout my app, would it seem odd if I sent an update about changing jobs or spoke about this in interviews?), or could it potentially help since I'd be switching to a role in a more clinical setting?

I think I had "enough" clinical volunteering/shadowing hours on my app (~300 hrs volunteering/120 hrs shadowing, so nowhere close to the 1000s of hours that people on SDN tend to have, but definitely had a number of meaningful patient encounters), but I was thinking that scribing could be a good way to continue building my clinical experiences. I also think the job sounds interesting/is a neat way to be in a clinical setting on a daily basis and interact more with patients, which I enjoy. Also, with the wait for IIs, I keep thinking about "what ifs", like if I don't get an II/get in this cycle, in which case I feel like scribing could help me gain more meaningful patient experiences.

On the other hand, I would be taking a pretty steep pay cut, so wouldn't be able to save much for school in a scribe job. Plus, since my firm's working from home currently, it offers some flexibility with volunteer commitments, postbac classes, and (hopefully) interviews.

Basically I've been at a crossroads, and would appreciate any insights from people about how valuable they found scribing to be and/or opinions on whether switching might positive or negatively impact my app - thank you!!

Edit: not sure how relevant this is, but my clinical volunteer experiences/shadowing have been on pause due to the pandemic, and I've been volunteering in other settings, but not in a hospital/clinic setting, so I'm not sure what the potential impact of that might be on my app this cycle + if I have to reapply

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

Not worth it imo. Keep gaining clinical hours from volunteering and keep your job.

 

[DasNotRacist]

You’re going from consulting (one of the highest fields on the planet) to scribing (min wage or close to it)? Just get some clinical hours on the weekends. This is a no brainer.

 

[Screamapillar]

you don't need to be the cookie-cutter applicant with scribing experience. in my opinion, healthcare consulting is more impressive than scribing, and will give you a unique perspective as a doctor into how the medical field works and evolves. i'm also a non-trad who has thought about quitting a job to scribe, especially after seeing some of these people with 3000 clinical hours. i decided they may have that, but i have my own unique perspective as part of the medical device industry that others dont have. as long as you're getting clinical interactions some way, i wouldn't quit to scribe.

plus, applying to medical school is expensive, it'd be nice to afford it without racking up debt even before being accepted.

plus plus, mid-application switching jobs isn't going to turn any heads

 

[chlbimaru]

you don't need to be the cookie-cutter applicant with scribing experience. in my opinion, healthcare consulting is more impressive than scribing, and will give you a unique perspective as a doctor into how the medical field works and evolves. i'm also a non-trad who has thought about quitting a job to scribe, especially after seeing some of these people with 3000 clinical hours. i decided they may have that, but i have my own unique perspective as part of the medical device industry that others dont have. as long as you're getting clinical interactions some way, i wouldn't quit to scribe.

plus, applying to medical school is expensive, it'd be nice to afford it without racking up debt even before being accepted.

plus plus, mid-application switching jobs isn't going to turn any heads

This was v helpful to hear, especially from another non-trad - I think sometimes I get caught up in the numbers/comparison game and I'm very much an overanalyzer/planner, so the uncertainty/waiting process has definitely been getting to me. Your post reminded me that I should focus on owning the unique aspects of my journey, and hopefully adcoms will see how my experiences have helped me grow/will help me become a well-rounded physician - thank you!!