I am an upcoming freshman at college who aspires to earn an MD. I am planning to work summers (starting next summer), and I figured that it would be a win-win situation if that job could be in the medicine industry. But it doesn’t seem that easy. Most, if not all of the jobs, require either experience or training/certification. I have neither. I am debating completing an EMT-basic course during my first semester. But even then, where I live, there seem to be virtually no openings for an EMT.
I’m assuming I’m not the only person to experience this problem. Is there a certain job that I should look for, or should I just constantly keep scouring everywhere looking for a job that I could potentially get?
A specific-area summer work can be tough to find, since many places don’t want to train someone just to have them leave when they have a good handle on the job. Have you tried doctor’s offices? I have two med students in my extended family and both worked in doctor’s offices while undergrads - one for her pediatrician, the other for a cardiologist. She went to a large medical building, walked from office to office dropping off her resume and a cover letter, and found one that was willing to hire/train her. Another option is lining up jobs in your university labs – since competition is often fierce for those jobs, it’s best to start months in advance, and hold onto these positions during the school year.
I would gander the bulk of the actual paying jobs are going to go towards more advanced students. Internships typically require senior status. Taking the EMT training course would be a good thing to do as well as have on your resume. Shadowing is also a good thing to do.
Get certified as a CNA. My bet is you will be able to find a job.
You can work in any job you can get but volunteer at a hospital over the summer.
i doubt without a certificate anyone would hire you or allow you to volunteer (probably you can volunteer as a caregiver but that’s only probably and do not think that’s what you want)…so yeah…get certified and then start applying for jobs…or you can do some research jobs like a freelancer…some websites like [url=<a href=“https://www.upwork.com/%5Dupwork%5B/url”>https://www.upwork.com/]upwork[/url], [url=<a href=“https://www.freelancer.com/%5Dfreelancer%5B/url”>https://www.freelancer.com/]freelancer[/url] or [url=<a href=“https://theessayservice.org/%5Dtheessayservice%5B/url”>https://theessayservice.org/]theessayservice[/url] are looking for writers or something like that…but that’s might be boring to you…still you can earn some cash…good luck
EMT basic may allow you to work concerts and sporting events at local venues, possibly including your campus stadium. It’s intermittent but worth checking out.
Other summer jobs that are useful for pre-med–
summer camp counselor at a camp for children with disabilities/adaptive PE assistant
life guard
CNA
supply stocker/office assistant at a medical facility or physician office
dietary assistant at nursing home
home healthcare worker
Most EMT-basic jobs are transport-only jobs.
EMT certificates are state specific. If you attend college in different state, you will likely need to undergo retraining in the new state. (Because legal liabilities and scope of practice vary from state to state.) Also EMT is a use-it-or-lose-it. If you don’t use your training (either volunteer or paid employment) within a designated time frame (state specific but 12 months is pretty common), your license may lapse or require that you take a skills refresher class.
Any public contact type job is useful: waitstaff, counter service, retail sales, customer service–because medicine is a public contact job and learning how to deal with difficult customers (patients) is a skill every doctors needs.