Working as registrar

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Joe Jewel

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Hey SDN community,

Would working as a patient registrar be a good idea as a part-time job in order to stay exposed to the healthcare field while prepping to apply to med school?

Thank you much.
 
osamine said:
Scribe
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Thank you @osamine. I did a little bit of scribing but it is mostly concentrated out-of-town which needs long commuting. The registrar position is really close to our house and at the best/biggest local hospital.
 
It won't count as clinical experience, but if you already have enough clinical experience then it shouldn't make a difference. You are allowed to do things just for money to pay the bills.
 
Really appreciate your input @Cornfed101. To put a little more context. I am what might be called a career changer. I have had a little clinical experience but I'm currently enrolled in an online postbacc program, working in banking part-time, and prepping for the MCAT. I have been volunteering at the hospital for a little over a year but with my busy schedule it would work better for me to commit to a part-time position in the same hospital and the only one available presumably until the end of this year is the registrar job that I've been offered.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Really appreciate your input @Cornfed101. To put a little more context. I am what might be called a career changer. I have had a little clinical experience but I'm currently enrolled in an online postbacc program, working in banking part-time, and prepping for the MCAT. I have been volunteering at the hospital for a little over a year but with my busy schedule it would work better for me to commit to a part-time position in the same hospital and the only one available presumably until the end of this year is the registrar job that I've been offered.
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None of what you're doing is conducive to getting into med school. Most schools will not accept online classes. There may be a couple of online SMPs that may be acceptable, but by and large online classes do not count for anything. If your hospital volunteering position was like most hospital volunteering positions where you have very little patient contact, that will also not help you. You need to find clinical work.
 
curbsideconsult said:
None of what you're doing is conducive to getting into med school. Most schools will not accept online classes. There may be a couple of online SMPs that may be acceptable, but by and large online classes do not count for anything. If your hospital volunteering position was like most hospital volunteering positions where you have very little patient contact, that will also not help you. You need to find clinical work.
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That has been my major dilemma @curbsideconsult when it comes to what to do. The program is in fact an SMP that is delivered online. My volunteering involves a good amount of patient contact, mostly in the form of transporting patients between different departments (obviously no hands on since that requires certification/licensing). Finding clinical work is great but seems to be difficult considering my bachelors is in biology and I have an MBA which lead me to find a job in the banking field. I want to transition into the medical field without having to give up my current part-time job and by building on my academic background, studying for the MCAT, and perhaps benefiting from working (albeit as a registrar) at the urgent care clinic at the hospital.
 
Joe Jewel said:
My volunteering involves a good amount of patient contact, mostly in the form of transporting patients between different departments (obviously no hands on since that requires certification/licensing). Finding clinical work is great but seems to be difficult...
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If you really want to get clinical paid work, do the CNA certification through Red Cross or a similar company. You can then get per diem or part time positions with direct clinical care. It will not be paid well at all, but it would get you a lot closer to patients than registrar.
 
I recommend looking for jobs in an outpatient clinic. It pays a lot better and there is, typically, a lot less red tape. I work as an ophthalmic tech and had no previous training or education in the field. I make double what the typical scribe makes. I recommend looking for something like this before doing CNA or another type of certification. You might be surprised, especially with your business background.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Hey SDN community,

Would working as a patient registrar be a good idea as a part-time job in order to stay exposed to the healthcare field while prepping to apply to med school?

Thank you much.
Click to expand...
Employment is always good, but this is not clinical experience. You need to interact with the patients.
 
If you are a patient registrar, you will be working with individuals as an administrator and they will not be considered your patients. This could be a job that might be able to put you in a position to shadow physicians at the practice. A scribe, EMT/ER tech, MA, or other kind of tech will be best if you want to stay connected to healthcare.
 
Cornfed101 said:
I recommend looking for jobs in an outpatient clinic. It pays a lot better and there is, typically, a lot less red tape. I work as an ophthalmic tech and had no previous training or education in the field. I make double what the typical scribe makes. I recommend looking for something like this before doing CNA or another type of certification. You might be surprised, especially with your business background.
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Thank you @Cornfed101 for your feedback. I will see if there are some options such as the ophthalmic tech that you mentioned.
 
Joe Jewel said:
That has been my major dilemma @curbsideconsult when it comes to what to do. The program is in fact an SMP that is delivered online. My volunteering involves a good amount of patient contact, mostly in the form of transporting patients between different departments (obviously no hands on since that requires certification/licensing). Finding clinical work is great but seems to be difficult considering my bachelors is in biology and I have an MBA which lead me to find a job in the banking field. I want to transition into the medical field without having to give up my current part-time job and by building on my academic background, studying for the MCAT, and perhaps benefiting from working (albeit as a registrar) at the urgent care clinic at the hospital.
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Online SMP? Will adcoms see this as competitive? @Goro
 
nli53 said:
If you are a patient registrar, you will be working with individuals as an administrator and they will not be considered your patients. This could be a job that might be able to put you in a position to shadow physicians at the practice. A scribe, EMT/ER tech, MA, or other kind of tech will be best if you want to stay connected to healthcare.
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Thanks @nli53 for your thoughts. I will be exploring some additional options along the way for sure.
 
Goro said:
No way.
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Thanks for the input @Goro. I am in a dilemma when it comes to both school and work. SDN members have been helpful with the feedback, however, I can only go so far when it comes to adjusting my schedule. Taking science classes and part-time work at the local hospital is currently the most feasible option for me in order to switch focus to healthcare in my pursuit of getting into medical school.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Thanks for the input @Goro. I am in a dilemma when it comes to both school and work. SDN members have been helpful with the feedback, however, I can only go so far when it comes to adjusting my schedule. Taking science classes and part-time work at the local hospital is currently the most feasible option for me in order to switch focus to healthcare in my pursuit of getting into medical school.
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What was your undergraduate science and cumulative GPA?
 
Joe Jewel said:
Thanks for the input @Goro. I am in a dilemma when it comes to both school and work. SDN members have been helpful with the feedback, however, I can only go so far when it comes to adjusting my schedule. Taking science classes and part-time work at the local hospital is currently the most feasible option for me in order to switch focus to healthcare in my pursuit of getting into medical school.
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Marathon now, not sprint. You're in this for the long haul.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Thanks for the input @Goro. I am in a dilemma when it comes to both school and work. SDN members have been helpful with the feedback, however, I can only go so far when it comes to adjusting my schedule. Taking science classes and part-time work at the local hospital is currently the most feasible option for me in order to switch focus to healthcare in my pursuit of getting into medical school.
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Just don’t do the prereqs online and you should be fine. If you gotta work you gotta work
 
Joe Jewel said:
Hey @Sheeshtopher, my undergrad is in biology and cGPA was about 3.8.
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You’re fine. Just need a good MCAT, Take upper level bio classes, clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Research is a plus. Get 515+ on MCAT and 4.0 in upper level classes, good to go.
 
Cornfed101 said:
Just don’t do the prereqs online and you should be fine. If you gotta work you gotta work
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Yeah @Cornfed101 the online courses are grad level. I have taken all the basic pre-reqs (no additional recommended ones like A & P).
 
Sheeshtopher said:
You’re fine. Just need a good MCAT, Take upper level bio classes, clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Research is a plus. Get 515+ on MCAT and 4.0 in upper level classes, good to go.
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@Sheeshtopher I hope I can get enough preparation to get that high of a score. Considering that I have been out of school for a couple of years, I really do not have a great grasp of the non-biological subjects on the MCAT. Getting a 4.0 on upper level courses is no easy task either, especially with working and MCAT prep...
 
Joe Jewel said:
@Sheeshtopher I hope I can get enough preparation to get that high of a score. Considering that I have been out of school for a couple of years, I really do not have a great grasp of the non-biological subjects on the MCAT. Getting a 4.0 on upper level courses is no easy task either, especially with working and MCAT prep...
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Take your time and take it when ready. As goro said, marathon not a sprint. Take as long as you need to and once you’re hitting your target scores with mcat prep, take it. Anything above a 508 w3.8+ whatever classes you’re taking good for DO and low/mid tier MD. Anything below 508 but above 500 good for DO. If you want it, you gotta perform 😉 Even with a worse GPA and mediocre MCAT you will be fine for DO. But strive for the MD. Best or luck.
 
Goro said:
No
Sheeshtopher said:
Online SMP? Will adcoms see this as competitive? @Goro
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@Goro - Just wondering how across the board this is. At my school, online sections watch the same lecture from home rather than in person. You just watch the recorded version. All tests are proctored in a testing center and identical to the "attendance required" section. Next semester, for example, my U has opted to offer our Ecology and Evolution classes only online, so there are no other options.
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Thank you for the encouraging outlook @Sheeshtopher. I am impressed by your stats and wish you all the best. My case is what some might consider a little curious. I have an undergrad in bio and an MBA. I have been working in finance for a couple of years. I have always wanted to apply and go back to medical school. I kinda missed taking the MCAT prior to 2015. My goal is to apply next cycle (2020-21) since my family circumstances should be changing to accommodate a potential move to professional school.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Thank you for the encouraging outlook @Sheeshtopher. I am impressed by your stats and wish you all the best. My case is what some might consider a little curious. I have an undergrad in bio and an MBA. I have been working in finance for a couple of years. I have always wanted to apply and go back to medical school. I kinda missed taking the MCAT prior to 2015. My goal is to apply next cycle (2020-21) since my family circumstances should be changing to accommodate a potential move to professional school.
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My stats suck. Lol. I would suggest not rushing. Last thing you want is to apply with sub-par stats and ECs and become a reapplicant or take the MCAT twice for MD schools. Don’t go for the caribbean.
 
Why are you taking SMP classes when you already have all the prerequisites and you have a 3.8 GPA? It doesn’t seem like you need to be. Your case isn’t that curious (at least for SDN). There are tons of non trads here.
 
@Cornfed101 there are a few reasons for me to be doing so. I have not been in touch with school for a few years now and after researching, it seems that a recent show of coursework makes sense (I even spoke to a couple of pre-med advisors and adcoms who strongly recommended either taking upper/grad. level science or retaking most of the prerequisites). To give a little more background; my brother is starting his residency in medicine next year and I was a solid influencer for him to carry through med school (abroad). I have had multiple instances to prepare and apply to med school but circumstances haven't been opportune (living all over the country/world). In short, the program I am in has a lot of non-trads yet none of them, according to the advisors, have as unique of a situation as I have had. Regardless, I just want to improve my chances of getting accepted despite all that and the MCAT may not be as simple of an answer to the current question.
 
Sheeshtopher said:
My stats suck. Lol. I would suggest not rushing. Last thing you want is to apply with sub-par stats and ECs and become a reapplicant or take the MCAT twice for MD schools. Don’t go for the caribbean.
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@Sheeshtopher your stats are just fine and would be very good in my case. I would prefer to go to MD but DO might be more reasonable at this point.
 
Thank you very much @gonnif for the elaborate and genuine dose of reality. It's actually Geisinger that I ended up deciding to attend. What happened is that I received a handful of offers to go to an SMP and thought that I need one that is attached to a medical school, allow me to work during a gap year, and is convenient not to move to for one or two years programs. My record is decent academically (3.5+ GPA), and I have had an ok amount of exposure to healthcare (~ 2 years). Not sure how to go about getting ready for the next cycle otherwise. Thanks.
 
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1) How much face-to-face patient interaction will you have as a patient registrar? Will you be mostly on the back end processing paperwork, dealing with insurance companies and collecting payment, or will you be mostly on the front lines talking with patients and their families to do their intake, gather insurance information, explaining forms, etc. when they are often at their sickest? Both roles are important and will demonstrate qualities looked for in admissions; however, the latter will have a clinical bent if you are essentially also playing the role of a hospital volunteer by getting blankets, drinks, etc while putting them at ease before beginning the intake.

2) I personally am skeptical of the quality of online courses (as are many of my colleagues), though understand somewhat that this may be someone's only option if they are limited geographically or by their day careers. Did you do your undergrad work and pre-reqs at a traditional 4-year institution? If so, your graduating with a good GPA works in your favor and narrative, especially if you continue to do well in the online upper division coursework and MCAT.

3) I'm not familiar with the Geisinger program, but from their website, it seems that the top 20% of the MBS class are guaranteed interviews provided some other criteria are met. Does this guarantee also apply to the online cohort as well? If so, then your best chance for admissions will likely be at Geisinger. The website doesn't seem to specify this on my cursory review, and would be worth clarifying. I wouldn't see you as the typical SMP student given your strong undergrad performance.
 
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Hello @Moko and I really appreciate your detailed input. As for the job it will be a little of both, whereby I will be the front desk person seeing people to sign them in for their visit including some of the documents, insurance, and similar requirements. The schedule is for the weekend at a moderately busy urgent care facility. I'm actually having a little issue with my current job which is part time at a bank working around the schedule. I have to make a decision on which job to choose from? Regarding Geisinger, the online program has the same stipulations as the in person. Also, I have had all my pre-reqs done in person at my undergraduate school. I want to broaden my options when I apply and consider DO along with MD depending on my MCAT performance.
 
Joe Jewel said:
Hello @Moko and I really appreciate your detailed input. As for the job it will be a little of both, whereby I will be the front desk person seeing people to sign them in for their visit including some of the documents, insurance, and similar requirements. The schedule is for the weekend at a moderately busy urgent care facility. I'm actually having a little issue with my current job which is part time at a bank working around the schedule. I have to make a decision on which job to choose from? Regarding Geisinger, the online program has the same stipulations as the in person. Also, I have had all my pre-reqs done in person at my undergraduate school. I want to broaden my options when I apply and consider DO along with MD depending on my MCAT performance.
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In light of this, I would also not be as concerned about the online coursework unless you were to do poorly in the program. With a 3.8 from a traditional undergrad institution, you will be competitive for MD admissions provided that you do well enough on the MCAT.

If you are committed to pursuing medicine, choose the job that will best help you get into medical school while also keeping a roof over your head. This can be accomplished through a clinical job, or continuing your current banking work with clinical volunteering on the side. I'm not completely convinced that this patient registrar job will be seen as clinical if it's only a "little of both". It will be worth clarifying the exact amount of time that you personally will spend interacting with patients face-to-face, and whether job responsibilities go beyond simply collecting and scanning documents when you do talk to them, etc. Depending on how many clinical hours you've already accrued, this may not be an issue if you simply needed something to prevent large gaps in clinical experience (though one can argue that simply volunteering on the side can accomplish this just as well). Just my thoughts.
 
Moko said:
In light of this, I would also not be as concerned about the online coursework unless you were to do poorly in the program. With a 3.8 from a traditional undergrad institution, you will be competitive for MD admissions provided that you do well enough on the MCAT.

If you are committed to pursuing medicine, choose the job that will best help you get into medical school while also keeping a roof over your head. This can be accomplished through a clinical job, or continuing your current banking work with clinical volunteering on the side. I'm not completely convinced that this patient registrar job will be seen as clinical if it's only a "little of both". It will be worth clarifying the exact amount of time that you personally will spend interacting with patients face-to-face, and whether job responsibilities go beyond simply collecting and scanning documents when you do talk to them, etc. Depending on how many clinical hours you've already accrued, this may not be an issue if you simply needed something to prevent large gaps in clinical experience (though one can argue that simply volunteering on the side can accomplish this just as well). Just my thoughts.
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Thanks again @Moko. That's the issue when it comes to work. I have a few hundred volunteer hours over the past couple of years. I thought becoming a registrar with multiple hours of patient facing transactions will help solidify my resume. I'm torn between that and the bank since I have very little available time to volunteer with the bank.
 
LizzyM said:
If you are seeing patients face-to-face then I'd call it clinical and it is fine with me but, as you can see, it can be polarizing.
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That should be the case @LizzyM. It is patient facing as far as I know. My issue is that I want to be working in something healthcare related while doing online school and studying for the MCAT...
 
LizzyM said:
Go for it. It is better than working in a bank if you want to apply to medical school.
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Sounds good @LizzyM. I think that is what I am going to do. I wanted to compromise and do a couple of part-time jobs. However, schedules are kind of overlapping and neither the bank nor the hospital are being flexible about it. It will be up to me to choose. Therefore, as you mentioned I think I will be going with the hospital position since it would at least have me working in a healthcare facility.
 
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