Which Job as a Pre-Med

I just finished an EMT Basic course and will get my license next month :D. I really need a job (been using savings so far) as I am supporting a family (wife, 2 kids, and one on the way :shock:), but am curious which type of job would be most beneficial for my medical school application (anticipating applying in 2017). I can either try working part time with an ambulance service or try working in a hospital.



I really enjoyed my ride times on the ambulance and would be paid pretty much the same, if not a little more, for doing “less work”. I hear the hospital setting is non-stop running the entire shift while the ambulance is not as busy. For example, during my clinical rotations on an ambulance there would sometimes be 4 hours straight of just sitting in the station waiting on a call, that could be precious paid-to-study time :sunglasses: while I am doing my pre-med. There were other days we ran calls non-stop, but that is not the norm. I really enjoy the unknown of going to someone’s house or wherever and seeing what happens before they get to the hospital. The downside is I would have less patient interaction than in the hospital and it would be harder to get to know any doctors to shadow and ask for letters of recommendation :|.



Any thoughts out there?

I think you should take the job that works out best for you and your family. You’re not expected to be anything that you don’t want to be before med school. If you like the ride and it frees you up to study for stuff on occasion, that sounds great! This is coming from a guy with zero medical experience outside of shadowing/mentoring prior to school. I don’t there is any “best for admissions.” If you are passionate about what you do and enjoy it, it’ll make for a much better essay and conversation than something you slogged through.

DavidA,



Kennymac is right (as usual).



I’m an EMT-P. While I personally recommend a hospital job for your listed reasons, I do understand the adrenaline rush appeal of running on 911 EMS calls. So, instead having one or the other, how about simultaneously having a part-time ambulance and a part-time hospital job (e. g. ER Tech)?

My recommendation would be to do what you enjoy. The passion you have would then show through when you talk about your experiences in your interviews.

Agree with others on taking the one you’d enjoy more and would bring you the most life benefits - which sounds like EMT, with the rush of calls, the varied experiences, the opportunities for a bit of downtime, the pay, etc. You will demonstrate grace under pressure, the necessity of immediate decision making, teamwork, working with patients from different backgrounds and more.



Plus, you’ll have time to shadow because it’s part-time. You can get a good letter, I’m assuming, from your boss, and then seek out doctors (ER docs?) to shadow and potentially seek a letter from them.

Thanks for the comments everybody! I am going to shoot for ambulance instead of in-hospital right now. Especially since I just finishing the EMT course and am all hyped up about it. I would like to work full-time but my course schedule will not allow that currently.



I like ihopetobeado3’s suggestion about doing part-time ambulance and hospital at the same time. There are a few part-time and PRN positions at hospitals near me. I may have found a really good shadowing opportunity today too. I will let everybody know how it turns out after I finish my national registry exam and am able to actually apply next month.

A podcast episode coming out in a couple weeks talks about the biggest mistakes students that don’t get an acceptance make. It’s lack of clinical experience. The former Dean of Admissions talks about how a scribe is one of the best jobs for experience. It’s a low paying job, but it’s a great one! P.S. - if you don’t know what podcast I’m talking about - it’s The Premed Years - https://medicalschoolhq.net/iTunes

I was in my pre-med advisor’s office four days ago and he said the same exact thing about scribing. He told me to sign up with company called PhysAssist Scribes at http://www.iamscribe.com. I have been wondering if there were better organizations out there or if they were all pretty much the same.



By the way, I am only four episodes away from having listened to them all! I will finally be caught up with the podcast.

Hi,



I am a premed on the fence between Med school and PA school. I am a volunteer EMT-B and I also work in the ER full-time as a Tech. I would say go with whatever works for you. The ER and the ambulance are two totally different animals and both have pros and cons:



With an ambulance service, there is plenty of downtime for studying, depending on where you work (unless you pick a busy, urban service). You also make great friends (EMS is one big family), and learn to think on your feet. You will gain amazing social skills and will be able to problem-solve like no other. With that being said, working on the ambulance is dangerous, incredibly stressful, and physically/emotionally demanding. You are often the first on the scene and it is never really safe.



In the ER, you will have networking opportunities that you won’t find anywhere else. Most of the doctors at my hospital love to teach and are super friendly and encouraging. Tell them that you’re a pre-med and they will take you under their wing! You get to understand how clinical judgement is played out, when it is time to consult other physicians, and if you choose a teaching hospital, you will work closely with medical students and residents and get a window into what their work lives are like. Personally, I have learned so much from working in the ER because there is a continuity of care from the ambulance all the way to floor transfers. I have a good understanding on how medicine works and how doctors think. The hospital is generally safer than the ambulance and interacting with patients is so much fun. However, again, there are some serious cons to working as a tech. For one, I bust my butt every single hour of every day, whether I want to or not, with absolutely no down time (most days I go entire shifts without eating–it’s hard to squeeze in my break). You will be doing a lot of nursing-delegated tasks–EKGs, phlebotomy (depending on the hospital), butt-wiping, geriatric care, babysitting ETOHers/drug users, charting, stripping beds and taking out dirty linens, and at my hospital, we transfer the patients upstairs ourselves. It is back-breaking labor and you are at the mercy of whatever nurses you have in your section. Get a tech-dependent one and you will be running around nonstop like a chicken with your head cut off. I make $18/hr and I work for every single penny of it. Most of the nurses are friendly, but some are God awful. You just have to get thick skin. Being a Tech is humbling, as you are the lower man on the totem pole. Have an undesirable task? Give it to the tech. Need a scapegoat? Blame the tech? Need to babysit a violent drunk? Throw the tech in the room. Got a dead body? Have the tech clean them up.You will be a jack of all trades, and often won’t have a say in any matter.



The decision is all about what you are willing to do, and where you want to end up. I think that if you can tolerate being a tech, it is worth the learning. I feel that I’ve learned more about disease processes in a hospital setting than on the ambulance. The ambulance definitely gives you more autonomy than in the ER, as you will be answering to RNs. Both will enhance your social skills and both will give you common sense. Neither are for the faint of heart, but you will come out better, stronger, and incredibly knowledgeable with both. If you have any questions, I’m here! Best of luck to you!

Don’t put your application above your family. Medical school admission is not contingent upon actual experience, so you need to find the highest paying salary you can to make your family comfortable while you pursue your dreams…after all this your dream that they will inevitably suffer for.

That seems like a rather condemning response, doesn’t it. There should have been a sound effect after I read the last line with a big gong or something. You make me out to seem to be a regular old narcissist. I found your introduction post from 2011 and one of the reasons you joined this site was that you were a part of a different pre-med forum and you disliked that it was “ripe with a very cynical, and for some reason jaded, younger crowd”.



I also see in your post from 2011 that you were (maybe still are?) in the military, I thank you for your service. I have wondered if having a family and being in the military was more time consuming than medical school - it certainly seems more time demanding if you are on tour. A medical student at least gets to go home at night, a person in the military does not while on tour. I have read several stories of military men meeting their children for the first time well after they were born. That would be extraordinarily difficult to be a woman going through a pregnancy completely without your husband, especially if it is your second or third child.



To let you know, my wife has been encouraging me to do this for a long time now. She is a nurse and has told me I think like the doctors she works with — not sure what that really means. The doctors I have gotten to know very well think I have the elements of what it takes to be a great physician as well. It is not only my dream to go to medical school, it is my wife’s dream too. We have several friends that had families while going through medical school and are now practicing physicians. They have given us real insight about the demands and tips for handling it and all that with children.



I do not believe that pursuing a career in medicine causes inevitable suffering upon one’s family. I have heard stories of people finding out that some medical schools have these fantastic established communities of married medical students. The non-med student spouses would organize group events for the kids so the med student spouses could study, the kids were entertained, and the spouses not in medical school could hang out. There are always options to make a situation work for the best if the person is willing.



I do not see much of a difference between the time necessary for a person in medical school with a family and a person that has to work multiple jobs to get by. My father had to work 80+ hours a week when I was growing up in order for us to get by. I remember one time he had to work two days straight, he had to pull over and take a nap in his car on the way home because he was so tired. It was difficult not seeing him much growing up, but on the days I did get to see him we had a lot of fun and I have a great relationship with my father. It was the only job he could do, so he didn’t really have a choice. I can say that I never suffered due to my father’s sacrifice. Which is how I viewed it, he was making the sacrifice for me.



I in fact had a job where I didn’t get to see my family much. I worked in IT for radiology PACS systems. I was sent on site throughout the United States for two weeks straight at a time. Was on call servicing 130 hospitals throughout the nation once every three weeks. I went three days straight without seeing my family while in town because of the demands of that job. I came home after everyone was asleep and had to leave before anyone woke up. I was one of the lucky ones, some of the people in the company traveled 65% of the year. I was only out of state about 25% of the year.



You are probably a fine fellow. I just don’t want the wrong idea out there that I am throwing my family in the trash or something if my original post conveyed that in some way.

I don’t think he meant anything negative about it, it’s a pretty realistic idea that the family “suffers” through med school as the whole family “serves” the military. I concur with his idea that you should make/save as much as you can now to prepare for the minuscule amount of money that is covered by federal loans that allow you to only get cost of attendance that basically covers a single person with no dependents and no outstanding debt.



Med school is a lot like working multiple jobs. You’re gone a lot (assuming you actually go to class), your mind is consistently on something other than your family, there’s added individual and familial stressors, and in this case your wife may have to pick up some responsibilities that you cover right now. The big difference: you’re paying for the pain versus getting extra cash.



As a former military, current med student with a wife and kids, my wife has had to assume the role of “wife of deployed spouse” for the most part. She takes care of the kid(s), a majority of the housework, and other random stuff that she probably wouldn’t be doing if I had a normal 9-5 job. I do get to come home every night, which sometimes makes it harder than just being gone. You have to cherish what little quality time you can share with your family, because even a lot of your weekends are taken up by the constant feeling/need to study. It’s really hard to turn med school off because there’s so much coming at you in a very short timeframe.



Suffer is a relative term. Your family won’t be taking tests with you, but there’s a certain amount of sacrifice/opportunity cost that goes with assuming large loans, making no money, and being ridiculously busy and stressed out with no immediate return on investment. I took a 70% cut in income to go to med school. That’s a major lifestyle change… If your family supports you, that’s a good thing. It still doesn’t mean that they won’t have to make adjustments (“suffer”) right along with you. Your family’s past experience shows that it can probably handle it. Trust me, you can’t do it alone.



And yes, there typically are spouse groups. Not all spouse groups are created equal. At least for my school, personal relationships far outweigh any support the spouse group can give.

Well said Kennymac. I may have misinterpreted the tone.

David

I worked as a teacher which paid quite well and offered excellent flexibility. I would look into any possibilities either formally teaching or tutoring. I don’t know what type of qualifications you have, but you can always try and find something along these lines.

I was able to teach during year 1 and 2 of med school which helped a lot financially (I also have two kids)…

Good luck to you.

Wow, really?! I have a M.A. in Theological Studies and a B.A. In Philosophy and Theology. I taught high school full time for four years and after the pre-med post-back I could definitely teach the sciences as well.



I looked for a teaching job in the city I am in now, but there were no positions available. I can’t teach public school - only private - because I specialized in theology.



I always heard that medical schools forbid their students from working and that there was no time for anything but studying. Is that not the case?

You have as much time as you want to have. If you wanted to, you could probably spend all day studying, but it’s not necessary, especially if you’re at a pass/fail school. During normal weeks, I probably spend 4-6 hours a day outside of the classroom studying, and I really aim to do no studying over the weekend (doesn’t always happen, but that’s the goal). Time spent with the books goes up before exams.



Most medical schools will advise strongly against working during med school, but they can’t forbid you from doing so. I work 10-15 hours a week, and I’ve got a wife and two kids that I have to make time for as well.

Schools strongly suggest that you not work so you can focus on school. That being said, you gotta do what you gotta do… I don’t know if any schools actually make you sign a non-work agreement.



One guy in my class works(ed) as a barista on weekends because he enjoys it. Other people in my class tutor and/or work for commercial prep companies teaching MCAT type stuff. I think all of them are single though. Our one married guy that works (no kids) has research grants through a lab.



I personally couldn’t handle school, family, AND work, but I guess some people can and succeed.

I have a classmate that would work weekends in the ICU. He was an ICU nurse before medical school so it wasn’t a big deal to continue on the weekends. Also due to his nursing experience a lot of med school wasn’t as difficult as it was for others. He stopped once clinicals started. Your clinical schedule is going to be variable, often in ways that make it impossible to plan your free time. Most people don’t work. I personally wouldn’t want to. I find it difficult enough to make sure I have time to go to the gym and do chores so I don’t look like a slob. I just want to point out that the more you study during preclinicals the easier board studying is. If you go to a pass/fail school and aren’t concerned about matching into a competitive residency do what you want.

@DavidA wrote:

That seems like a rather condemning response, doesn’t it. There should have been a sound effect after I read the last line with a big gong or something. You make me out to seem to be a regular old narcissist. I found your introduction post from 2011 and one of the reasons you joined this site was that you were a part of a different pre-med forum and you disliked that it was “ripe with a very cynical, and for some reason jaded, younger crowd”.



I also see in your post from 2011 that you were (maybe still are?) in the military, I thank you for your service. I have wondered if having a family and being in the military was more time consuming than medical school - it certainly seems more time demanding if you are on tour. A medical student at least gets to go home at night, a person in the military does not while on tour. I have read several stories of military men meeting their children for the first time well after they were born. That would be extraordinarily difficult to be a woman going through a pregnancy completely without your husband, especially if it is your second or third child.



To let you know, my wife has been encouraging me to do this for a long time now. She is a nurse and has told me I think like the doctors she works with — not sure what that really means. The doctors I have gotten to know very well think I have the elements of what it takes to be a great physician as well. It is not only my dream to go to medical school, it is my wife’s dream too. We have several friends that had families while going through medical school and are now practicing physicians. They have given us real insight about the demands and tips for handling it and all that with children.



I do not believe that pursuing a career in medicine causes inevitable suffering upon one’s family. I have heard stories of people finding out that some medical schools have these fantastic established communities of married medical students. The non-med student spouses would organize group events for the kids so the med student spouses could study, the kids were entertained, and the spouses not in medical school could hang out. There are always options to make a situation work for the best if the person is willing.



I do not see much of a difference between the time necessary for a person in medical school with a family and a person that has to work multiple jobs to get by. My father had to work 80+ hours a week when I was growing up in order for us to get by. I remember one time he had to work two days straight, he had to pull over and take a nap in his car on the way home because he was so tired. It was difficult not seeing him much growing up, but on the days I did get to see him we had a lot of fun and I have a great relationship with my father. It was the only job he could do, so he didn’t really have a choice. I can say that I never suffered due to my father’s sacrifice. Which is how I viewed it, he was making the sacrifice for me.



I in fact had a job where I didn’t get to see my family much. I worked in IT for radiology PACS systems. I was sent on site throughout the United States for two weeks straight at a time. Was on call servicing 130 hospitals throughout the nation once every three weeks. I went three days straight without seeing my family while in town because of the demands of that job. I came home after everyone was asleep and had to leave before anyone woke up. I was one of the lucky ones, some of the people in the company traveled 65% of the year. I was only out of state about 25% of the year.



You are probably a fine fellow. I just don’t want the wrong idea out there that I am throwing my family in the trash or something if my original post conveyed that in some way.




It is just a word of warning, I am not insinuating that you intend on making your family suffer. However, I’ve been through this journey, advised others through this journey, and work amongst people who have completed this journey, and from these experiences I can tell you that, as a family man, it would behoove you to remember:


  1. Ultimately, this is your goal and not your family’s goal. I mean that literally, even if your family supports you, it’s not their goal.


  2. The medical school journey eats families alive. It is a rite of passage designed for single students; families can endure through but the burden of ensuring your success as a family unit depends upon you and requires that you be 100% cognizant of what they need from you financially and emotionally. If you shirk this off and just take it as an insult then I can tell you, over the internet and with near certainty, that you are headed for rougher waters than need be.



    As for working, read the school’s policies. You can be dismissed for trying to work while in school, and the school can forbid this - it’s been a little while since I’ve been in the pre-med race and I don’t recall specifically which schools have policies like this. It is in the best interest of the medical school that you put 100% of your efforts into school and not trying to earn money - that’s what living allowance loans are for.

Lots of great comments coming in, thanks everybody.



I don’t think I would work during medical school, that would definitely cut into any extra time there may be for family. I was a high school teacher for a few years and had a crazy amount of paid time off. Being able to spend all summer, 4 weeks of vacation during Christmas, and other large breaks during the year with my family while getting paid was amazing.



It will definitely take some smart scheduling with strict adherence, but I plan on having dedicated family time throughout the week. We have also been building up our savings and looking at cost of living at different medical school locations.



As for the job search, there are no EMT positions in my area. Apparently, the ambulance services prefer paramedics and only have one or two EMTs on staff - and they are in paramedic training. I have found some hospitals that will hire an EMT as equivalent to a CNA. I am considering scrubbing as well. If it comes to it, I will go back to full time teaching, but we are doing fine financially and that is not necessary. I could go another year without a job and we would still be fine financially. My wife sells Arbonne from home and despite my skepticism with those types of jobs she actually has a lot of fun with it and makes a good bit of money.



If there was any doubt, taking care of my family is priority, then my career.



Jfowler85, you make a good point that medical school was designed with the single student in mind.