Working while in Med School?

[CV2MD]

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Just wondering if any Med Students out there are managing some work time through Med School? Is it possible? First 2 years? All 4? (Even though there probably isnt enough time for that in 3rd & 4th year)

Anyways I would appreciate some feedback!

Thanks,
CV 🙂

 

[sirus_virus]

I know a guy that does but he works security and the only thing he does at work is study.

 

[bjackrian]

Short answer: yes, it's possible though not always desirable.

Long answer: search the forums--there have been several very good threads about this issue.

 

[Law2Doc]

Just wondering if any Med Students out there are managing some work time through Med School? Is it possible? First 2 years? All 4? (Even though there probably isnt enough time for that in 3rd & 4th year)

Anyways I would appreciate some feedback!

Thanks,
CV 🙂

If you haven't started med school yet, then you need to wait and see how you fare. Most people find med school itself to be enough of a full time job, and thus only a small minority work. Once you get through a few exams, if you find you are acing things and still have time to spare, then go ahead and get that job. There is really no way to have a job on top of third year. And fourth year, your full time job (on top of which you will squeeze in med school rotations) is to line up your residency.

 

[Cold Penguin]

I know several people who told me that they would be working as a MCAT instructor for Kaplan or TPR during their first year in med school. This was before they started med school, and they were yet to taste the difficulty of the med school curriculum. Working for Kaplan or TPR gives you a pretty good discount when you take their prep course for USMLE, and this was probably their main reason to work. I don't know whether or not they really managed to teach, but they weren't planning to spend any more than 5 hours of teaching every week. So, yes, it is possible to get a job in med school.

However, I do admit that working as a MS1 is a very rare thing, and spending any number of hours for working should be seriously considered before finalizing the decision.

 

[Anka]

I worked about 20 hours per week in a lab as an MS1 and MS2, and about 10 hours per week as an MS3 (more on lighter rotations). It paid great dividends in terms of mentorship, publications, and money. During my clinical rotations, going to work gave structure to my day, and forced me to be a lot more disciplined with regard to studying. I'm more efficient now than I would have imagined possible a few years ago.

When I started my clinical rotations, I already knew most of the people in the department I was interested in going into, so I didn't have to worry about the "first impression" effect -- I could just focus on learning. Also, since people had known me for years before I started the rotation, I got to do a whole lot more than most of my collegues. My grades didn't suffer either preclinical or clinical. All told, working really added to my medical school experience.

The downside, as you can imagine, is that when my classmates are on vacation, or enjoying a post exam weekend break, I'm usually in the lab. I don't get a good 8 hours sleep every night. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Best,
Anka

 

[45408]

I think you'd be crazy to do that. 😛 most of my free time goes towards my wife.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I'm a med tech and work about 20 hours/week at the teaching hospital across campus from my med school. I haven't had any problems, but I also refuse to be as obsessed with studying as my classmates.

 

[fakin' the funk]

I've heard of students doing on-call organ preservation for a liver/kidney transplant center.