What would SDN do?

[TriTown1]

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Hello SDN, longtime lurker and first time poster.

I've been fortunate enough to be accepted to my universities SURF program where I'll be continuing with the lab that I have been with since August.

However, also during this past academic year I have been working as an ER Scribe and the contract for the SURF doesn't allow other employement.

So the way I see it I could either:

1.bring up my side job to my post doc and see if she would be acceptable of me still working as a scribe (while still putting in 40+ hours of research).

2. Quit scribing-I was planning on quitting in August due to my class schedule not allowing opportunity to work during the day, If i quit immediatly rather than later it will be about 6 months worth of experiance rather than 8.

3. Reject the SURF and see if I can get paid a wage.

I'm can't really decide inbetween 1 or 2. Some adittional information to take into consideration is that I have about 1 yr of ongoing clinical experiance volunteering in a clinic, plus about 50 hours shadowing, and I am not preparing for the MCAT this summer.

So I ask, what yould YOU do?
Thanks for your help!

 

[IlDestriero]

Quit both and get a new surfboard.
👍

 

[MalinaRana]

What year are you? Which EC do you have less experience doing? Does only the scribe job pay and do you need the money?

I think in an application and interview, you could explain why you quit the scribe job, but you can also explain why you didn't accept the research.

Personally, I'd take what offered the most money.

 

[Ohyeah]

Personally, I'd quit the scribe job early and do the SURF. From a med school admissions perspective, it would look better to have this research/presentation experience rather than 2 extra months of a job, especially given that you are getting strong clinical experience elsewhere.

In my research experience, pursuing these types of programs (I didn't do SURF though) demonstrated to my PI that I had an interest in research and desire to take on more responsibility. After the program ended, my PI continued to give me greater leadership and responsibility in the lab. I got to help with significant aspects of projects and am involved in writing several manuscripts destined for publication in the future.

But like the previous poster brought up -- I'm not familiar with the financials of SURF. If you need to work, then I think you should talk it over with your PI or consider keeping a job instead.

 

[TriTown1]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be a rising 3rd year and I anticipate applying during the 2015 cycle. In regards to clinical vs research experiance, I wouldn't say I'm deficient in either.

The SURF pays about 6k, scribing I would make about 600 a month. The SURF does include a poster presentation at the end of the summer and I'd keep on working in the lab through the fall.

 

[MalinaRana]

The SURF pays about 6k, scribing I would make about 600 a month. The SURF does include a poster presentation at the end of the summer and I'd keep on working in the lab through the fall.

Then I would take the SURF, hands down. Two or three more months of scribing isn't going to make that big of a difference with you already having decent clinical ECs.