Advice please! Job between now and applying..

[Dr_Keneth_Nohiswater]

Hi,

I am in desperate need of some advice.

I graduated last June with a 2.1 in Physiology and I am going to apply this year for entry into med. in 2008. I applied in my final year at uni. but failed at the final hurdle because I performed terribly at interview.

I need some advice as to what to do with my time between now and sept. 2008. I am currently working as a HCA for an agency. Although it is useful to my future career, the work for the agency is sporadic at best, and I am simply not receiving enough money to support myself. I believe I have two options; 1. Apply for a permanent position in a hospital. I recently saw an advert for an operating department porter. 2. Move into something different such as pharmaceutical sales.

What do you think? Will two years in a hospital look infinitely better than two years as a sales rep?

It should also be noted that I am continuing my voluntary activities in a hospice and hospital.

Thank you very much for any advice!

Rich

[aspirant doc]

Interesting question....I hope this comes across the right way...

If the reason you did not get a place is purely interview performance, then what you do job wise in between makes no difference at all. In which case you do not need to do paid work in either of those jobs, and paid work of any sort to get funds for uni should be your priority, but a voluntary job would show you are still committed and learning about it.

In general though, yes, clinical work looks better than being a sales rep, cos you learn more about healthcare/patients/doctors/yourself that way.

But interview practice would make all the difference.

Just out of interest, how do you know that your application was good enough in every way except interview? Are there any areas of your application you could brush up/improve?

Courses understand that grads earn money in many jobs that have nothing to do with healthcare prior to starting at uni, but in interview be prepared to explain the relevance when they say"It's a bit of an unusual step, going from dolphin trainer to doctor isn't it?", by focussing on you and your soft skills, rather than the job.

I wish you the very best of luck, and just want to reiterate that I hope this comes across the right way..

Nick

[blueberrypie]

By working as a porter in the operating theatres may not maximise the amount of clinical experience you would gain. Would it not be better to work as a Healthcare Assistant in a hospital? I used to work at St Georges and if you are employed as staff, you can also join the bank easily. So if you needed any extra money or fancied working in a different speciality, you could book yourself shifts on another ward or department. Money on the bank didn't used to be that bad. It was around £8 - £17/8 per hour. Long days were good (bank holidays better ) and there was a good opportunity to progress and be trained to learn (and practise) specialised skills.

Also by becoming a paid member of staff, you also increase your awareness of how the staff work, staff relationships (professional ones) and how things go, with real hands on work. Alot of voluntary work, you are restricted with what you are allowed to do, so it can have its benefits if you are employed by the trust. Also, if it is a hospital you want to train at, it is nice to know some of the people who work there, who will give you support and encouragement.

I hope I don't come across too negative, because it truly isn't meant that way. I loved working in the hospital, and learned so many things, I know it is only going to make my application stronger. It may also make professionals seem less daunting and make you more relaxed around people. Plus, all of your experience and qualifications, you would probably stand a brilliant chance of getting a job as a HCA in a hospital.

Good luck with all you choose to do.

[irovonne]

if u cant support urself on ur HCA and u r gonna earn more as a hosp porter (Wudnt have thot so?!?!?) then i suggest go for it. wen it gets down to ucas form, just write wat u've learnt from the experience, u still in a clinical setting and will be have some sort of patient contact, depending on wat area u wrking in. porters and domestic are considered part of healthcare system, so much so that they too have to do the KSFs (Knowlege and Skills Framework) a sort of personal dev toolkit.

[Dr_Keneth_Nohiswater]

Thanks everyone, some really interesting points there. In response to your question aspirant doc, I don't know my application was as strong as it could be..in fact I know it could be a lot stronger. I simply meant I got to the interview stage last time, so it was my performance there that let me down.

I just worry that I finished my first degree in 2006 and I won't be starting med until 2008..surely the admissions officers will expect me to make the best use of this time possible to maximise my chances of getting in. Hence why I question what form of employement would be best.

Another point about employment as a medical rep: If i work for the following two years as a HCA or porter, and I end up not getting into medicine, then those two years will be wasted time; two years not on a career ladder. However, if I work as a medical rep, and I don't get in to medicine, then those two years will not be wasted as I will already be on a career ladder.

[aspirant doc]

[QUOTE=Dr_Keneth_Nohiswater]surely the admissions officers will expect me to make the best use of this time possible to maximise my chances of getting in. Hence why I question what form of employement would be best.
[QUOTE]

yes and no. Ideally you'd spend those two years doing healthcare related full time paid work. But that isn't always possible and they are realistic enough to see that you need to earn some money (in whatever job) AND keep the healthcare side of it up and running too.

Another way of considering it is to try and work out why you were unsuccessful and focus on those areas, but of course you do need to make money over the next few years so can't realistically work exclusively on the healthcare side.

[Natalie C]

Have you considered using your physiology degree to get work (say in hospital labs or in scientific research). Expressing an interest in research may attract unis as they are desperate for people to go into academic medicine. If you can get a lab technician post in one of the medical schools that you are interested in it also gets you a 'foot in the door' so to speak (well worked for me anyway!).

Obviously continue with voluntary stuff- maybe stay with the agency for the odd weekend HCA shift here and there?