My child is in a Bs/md program and thinking of applying to SURF programs but most of the programs expecting students that have MD/PhD interest. As she’s already in a bs/md programs, that becomes disadvantaged in her case. As she’s in an OOS program, she can’t continue her current research in Summer. That becomes too expensive for her as there’s housing. What are best options back home for her during the Summer to work that are medical related. She doesn’t have any medical related certifications.
What kind of opportunities are near her “back home”? Do you live near any universities? If so, do any of them have REU programs? Do you live near any hospitals?
Thank you! we’re close to universities but she is already working in a research during school year so she wants to earn some money and save for her medical school if possible.
REU positions are paid, and students often do an REU at a school that is not the one they normally attend. You can see if your local universities host them by looking at this site:
But if she’s already doing research at her school, she might want some different experiences. She should search for medical scribe jobs near you, and will likely find something. Also, go to the websites of your local hospitals/clinics and look for their job openings. There are bound to be some that don’t require any special training.
Has you daughter asked her PI about the availability of a summer stipend to continuing working in the lab over the summer?
D2’s PI paid her to work during the summer. Granted the stipend wasn’t huge, but it was enough to pay her share of the rent for a summer sublet which she shared with 3-4 other students. D2 bought a cheap $35 bike off craigslist and rode to campus or she took local bus service (it was free with her student ID).
RE: REUs. These are very competitive to competitive, especially if you live near major metro areas. And most REU positions go to students who are rising juniors and seniors.
Her PI is not available during Summer.
Life guard can be good pre-med job. Hourly pay starts in the $16-22/hour range.
Camp counselor at a camp for children with disabilities is another possibility.
But frankly, any job that is customer-facing is good practice for future doctors, It teaches customer service skills which are vital to being a successful physician.
Are there any community colleges near your daughter’s college? Would she be willing to enroll in a CNA/MA/EMT-B class there? There are often Saturday-only or night classes for these certificate programs. She could be done with certification by the time the semester ends. She would still need to work on getting her credentials transferred to her home state, or she could find a job near her college campus and stay there in a summer sublet.
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@WayOutWestMom , is online MA programs worth doing? I am not sure if she has enough time during the school year to do MA in-person? Same with scribe? Is it ok to do online scribing just during Summer?
Online scribing is fine–if she can find a short term position; it just won’t offer her any in-person clinical contact hours. Which is why most people work as scribes. The pay is pretty terrible.
Two issues with an online MA she needs to be aware of:
- the program must grant a certificate that is acceptable to whatever state she plans to work in. Each state sets its own qualifications and requirements. Certificates are state-specific and often not transferrable between states. Beware of any program that claims to be valid anywhere in the US. Those don’t exist.
I am very skeptical of online programs because it hard-to-impossible to learn hands on clinical skills (like how to check BP, do CPR, draw blood, etc) online without actual practice on a live human or a realistic sim
- I doubt she is going to find any medical office willing to hire her for just the summer. Clinics and physician offices are looking for full time, permanent employees, not someone they’ll have to train in their office policies and procedures and who will then leave a few weeks later.
@WayOutWestMom , thank you! I know that’s a big issue being an OOS student. She is also looking to gain some skills that gets her a job during the gap year as she is completing her undergrad in 3 years and cannot graduate to medical till their assigned year. D you still recommend the same activities?
Certifications have an expiration date. She will probably need to re-certify if she wants to work in a health career 2 years from now. I don’t know if the recertification course is shorter than regular certification class. That would be something she needs to research.
BLS (basic life support)–which is part of MA certification-- is only valid for 2 years from date of class completion.
Both Ds have to recertify in ALS and pediatric ALS every 2 years–and they’re doctors!
It’s really up to your D to decide how she wants to spend her gap year. Most entry level healthcare jobs are pretty low wage unless she has some very specialized training/certification. (Two of D2’s friends went to work for EPIC, a company that designs and sells EMRs, and they made a very nice salary–in the mid $60K their first year. But both had math or CS related majors and/or computer software sales experience. One did go to med school after 2 gap yearsl; the other stayed at EPIC is making $$$$$.)
Research lab work also doesn’t pay particularly well. D2 worked as full time research lab coordinator (which was a promotion up from research assistant/associate) and only made in the mid-$30Ks. $18/hour is pretty standard pay for research lab assistants.
@WayOutWestMom , Thanks for your help! I totally understand, the pay is very low. What do you mean by specialized training/certifications? Do you know anything that adds value to her profile to land in a better paid job? I think it would be good for her to get ready by the time she graduates.
Specialized certification are things like:
clinical laboratory science/medical technology
ultrasonography technician
respiratory therapy
radiation therapy
food safety technician
These require either a specialized bachelor’s or master’s degree to get certification.
it’s tough to add value to a undergrad bio degree without doing some sort of additional/advanced training unless she is interested into going into industry.
If she wants to improve her employability in industry post BS, she needs to learn some computer programming, advanced stats, probability.
The best field for making a good salary with a bachelor’s level Bio degree is medical equipment and pharmaceutical sales. But it’s a job that is competitive to get and requires tons of travel.
Thank you @WayOutWestMom! That really helps.