Transporting patients?

[deleted74029]

Would this look good on an app? I was hoping to get a job as a phlebotomists but thats not looking as if it will come to fruition. So would a job transporting patients look good on an app? Would that be considered as clinical experience?

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[HumidBeing]

As LizzyM says, "If you're close enough to smell patients, it's clinical experience."

As a transporter, you'll be able to get a good whiff.

 

[Bacchus]

If you volunteer at a large medical center you can volunteer and transport at the same time. If you have a good amount of volunteering you can always find a job as a transporter which will expose you to medicine (clinical experience).

However you look at this, you'll get a good experience out of it.

My favorite line, besides telling patients that I have a room for them, is "We're going to floor 14. Looks like you're getting the penthouse suite. The view of the city is phenomenal from there."

Patients love it and its the easiest way to make small talk.

I once transported a nurse that worked at an affiliate hospital that heard about the hospital's organization methods and I had to explain them to her. Well, I was sent all over the hospital by various staff members telling me the wrong location of her room. It was not just tell, but also show.

What I'm getting at is it is an enjoyable job and people usually open up to you outside of their room.

 

[ihatescience]

Would this look good on an app? I was hoping to get a job as a phlebotomists but thats not looking as if it will come to fruition. So would a job transporting patients look good on an app? Would that be considered as clinical experience?

I think so.

 

[Ki45toryu]

Yes, it qualifies as clinical experience. While 'the more the merrier' does apply in clinical experience for applying to school, Med schools don't expect every incoming student to be a practicing Paramedic or PA or anything. You will find many of your classmates(in the future) did the same thing you did.

 

[MrBurns10]

I'll be honest, and I admit that I've never done it myself so perhaps take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but I would personally find it a very mundane experience. If you enjoy it and it pays (which it seems like it would by your post), by all means do it. But I think by in large you won't get to see the clinical stuff that would be worth it (procedures, exams, etc.) and I wouldn't go into it expecting to do anything except transport patients.

 

[echidna]

I've been working as a patient transporter for 6 or 7 months and it's been mostly a good experience. The work itself is no fun- i.e., getting that 400 pound vented comatose ICU patient onto the CT gantry and then wheeling them back to the ICU gets old after a day. But, the peripheral experiences have been positive and the pay ain't bad ($20/hr to start at my hospital). I'm in and out of every department, have watched a few surgeries, followed MDs into the cath lab when it was slow, and generally seen a lot.

I'm also based in the radiology department so I'm getting to know a whole lot about radiologic procedures- what they look like, what to order, how to sort them for the radiologist, and even how to recognize a few basic diagnoses (kidney stones/masses on a CT, for example). There's not as much interaction with physicians as I might like and you're pretty much on the bottom of the totem pole, like same pay grade as cafeteria workers, but if it's only a for-now gig then sure, go for it. There's tons of patient interaction and you get to know the sicker ones pretty well (which can be tough when they die, though) so stress those points on an app. I've had my fill and have given notice in order to ramp up the volunteering but for paid work it's probably almost as good as an ER tech or CNA.

 

[LizzyM]

Ahaydt has the right idea. The job is about being of service to the sick. That counts for a lot. Med school is meant to teach you how to read X-rays, order tests, and all the rest but it is harder to teach people to be personable and to care for the patients. Having the experience of getting to know patients who later die is also an opportunity for growth that you don't necessarily get working in what might be considered more "clinical" jobs.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

I'm going to have to chip in on the side of "don't do it." The patient transporters at my institution are about like the janitors -- they are doing vital work but are not exactly considered part of the "team." Just working in a hospital doesn't qualify as "patient care experience."

I'm sure people will say I'm a jerk for pointing this out and "everyone does their part blah blah blah" but I'm just telling you it would be better to shadow a doc for a few hours a week and make money doing something else. No AdCom is going to look at a pt transport job and be particularly impressed.

If the money is good though ($20/hr!?!?) then go for it just as a good job.

 

[flip26]

Around here, these kinds of gigs are volunteer, only, and very tough to come by...I only wish I could get paid $20 an hour to do it...

 

[Ki45toryu]

Around here, these kinds of gigs are volunteer, only, and very tough to come by...I only wish I could get paid $20 an hour to do it...

tell me about, thats more than I was making as a grief counselor

 

[45408]

If it pays decently and you need the money, I'd say to take it. If the money isn't going to help, then I'd keep looking for something better. It seems like a fairly boring job, but I've never done it.