As a busy pre med you’ve undoubtedly got a lot to think about. Money is an obvious one and time is another.
What if I said you could have the best of both worlds? Combining clinical experience and a chance to make some extra cash…
The best paid jobs for pre med students that don’t require any experience or training?
But there are more too – especially positions that train you on the job and allow you to get certification later!
We’ll dive into all of these in this article.
You’ll learn:
- What each of the jobs above is (and why they’re great for pre meds)
- What other paid jobs you could do
- What the best clinical experience is
Being a med student myself, I know that landing any of these jobs could be a game-changer.
Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in.
Best Paid Jobs For Pre Med Students
Each of these jobs will usually give you on the job training and don’t require specific certification. Being enthusiastic to learn and coming across professional in an interview could easily overcome any lack of experience.
Although you most likely need a bachelors for these, it is possible to find part time positions while still in full-time study.
Clinical Research Coordinator/Research Assistant
Scoring a job as a clinical research coordinator means you’ll help get data for research projects via talking to patients, keeping records and reporting to research leads.
The job could be great on a couple of fronts:
- Opportunities for lots of patient contact (EKG’s, blood drawing and medical histories)
- Chance to contribute and get your name on research publications
Sure, the job can vary between departments and groups etc., but the fact it’s paid, and in a medical setting, can really help you stand out on an application.
But there is another benefit, as this pre-med Redditor points out…
Working as a research assistant enables you to get useful letters of reference if you are supervised by clinicians/professors.
So that’s another nice bonus (along with the money)!
Medical Scribe
Scribes record patient-physician encounters or work in data entry in hospital wards. Many pre-meds describe it as a “paid shadowing”, given that you get a lot of opportunity to watch doctors in action and learn how medicine works.
This article from the AAMC gives a good insight into the nature of the job (as well as what you may expect)…
As a scribe, I was responsible for taking notes during a patient interview, writing up the encounter on a medical chart, and assisting with the flow of patients through the emergency department.
Training is paid and occurs on the job via orientations and on-going instruction.
Phlebotomist
As of 2020, only four states require phlebotomists to be certified (source). That makes it another great option for pre-meds looking to learn useful clinical skills while still making a little money.
The role of a phlebotomist is to draw blood from a patient in order to help physicians diagnose and come up with treatment plans.
With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020) anticipating a 17 percent growth in this profession between 2019 and 2029, it promises plenty of clinical experience, patient interaction and healthcare responsibility.
Each of those can help make you a competitive candidate.
Which is the best clinical experience for pre med?
These jobs aside, what else can you do as a pre med looking to get quality clinical experience (while still getting paid)?
The following, although they incur training costs and (usually) certification, are other things to look at:
- EMT/Paramedic (requires 120-150 hours of training and can cost upwards of $1K)
- Pharmacy Technician (some hospital-based jobs require licencing)
- Medical Assistant (requires CMA certification or the like – training can be anything from 6 weeks to two years)
- Anesthesia Technican (requires two years training)
- Registered Nurse (RN) (training can take anything from two years or longer)
- Certified Nursing Assistance (CNA) (training is typically between 4-12 weeks)
Obviously the amount of clinical experience you can get in these jobs depends on varying factors.
To get the best possible experience try and find hospital-based positions that deliver a lot of patient interaction.
What is the best way to find paid clinical experience jobs?
The best way is to get yourself up and running on LinkedIn and start some outreach.
Target one job specifically and make a list of all the local clinics/hospitals you could find work at. Search for people in HR and shoot them an email or message on LinkedIn (a lot of the time these jobs aren’t advertised).
Also make sure you get your resume together with a clean mission statement that explains your long term objective of studying medicine and working in healthcare.
Make sure you lean on your existing networks too (college, family, friends etc.). You never know who they can help put you in touch with!
How else can you get clinical experience?
If you’re not fussy about being paid, further opportunities for clinical experience can open up to you.
A good first port of call is to look for hospital volunteer opportunities near you. Usually these programs run on a part-time basis but can help give you valuable exposure and networking contacts.
Summary
Paid jobs that offer clinical experience really are the holy grail. For a pre-med looking to put together the perfect med school application these can often be the final piece of the puzzle.
Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas on what best to look for.
If you enjoyed this article, you might find the following useful:
- Does Being A Pharmacy Technician Look Good For Medical School? (Explained)
- What’s The Easiest Pre Med Major? (Read This First!)
Image Credit: @Clem Onojeghuo at Unsplash
Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.