So, I haven't posted in awhile, mostly since nothing has happened. I've been waiting on hearing back in regards to that interview and, until today, was having no luck. I was getting pretty close to giving up on that job working out even, which had me feeling like I'd undergone a large setback. I haven't been studying much for my MCAT either, because while it's rescheduled in September I'm supposed to have a shoulder surgery in Late July now, and am skeptical I'll be able to study well at all around that time because of the painkillers that will no doubt follow the operation. That in itself isn't a huge deal, since I'm not able to apply until next summer regardless of when I take my exam, but it got me feeling like I'd suffered a second setback as well.
At any rate, today I finally did get in touch with the HR people. It seems certain my interview is still on, to be scheduled at some point in July. I should have a more specific date in July within a few weeks. So it may have taken awhile, but good news has finally come through. Better news is that it looks like I can start the job part-time, and then opt to turn it into a full time job if I ever get the desire. I probably won't, especially since my theoretical site of work is so far away, but it's something I might want to think about after I take the MCAT.
I'm going on a few short trips in the near future as well, so probably not too much is going to go up here until I'm back. With any luck though, once I'm back and through my surgery, I'll have some interesting things to talk about again.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
I'm Hired! (Sort Of)
I'm not actually hired, but I just got a message that there's an opening or two at one of the hospitals I applied to (the one furthest away - go figure), and my application/resume was apparently decent enough that I got invited out for an interview. So suddenly, the odds of me getting work as a medical scribe have shot up from fairly dim to pretty high, as long as I show for the interview in a respectable manner.
I'm actually not sure /how/ to show up though. If it was an interview back in law school, I'd certainly show up in one of my suits. But for some reason it doesn't feel as natural to be showing up for an interview for a fairly bottom tier hospital position in a fancy suit. I'll have to think a bit about what I want to wear... For now though, I think I should just be happy enough I made it this far. We'll see what happens from here.
As far as actual MCAT studying, that's going a bit behind schedule. No need to panic yet, since there's plenty of time to correct it, but it is something I should get to work on correcting. If I get the job, that should help focus me some as I won't get to be sleeping in anymore. If I don't get it, I'll just have to start setting my alarm for the sake of setting my alarm.
I'm actually not sure /how/ to show up though. If it was an interview back in law school, I'd certainly show up in one of my suits. But for some reason it doesn't feel as natural to be showing up for an interview for a fairly bottom tier hospital position in a fancy suit. I'll have to think a bit about what I want to wear... For now though, I think I should just be happy enough I made it this far. We'll see what happens from here.
As far as actual MCAT studying, that's going a bit behind schedule. No need to panic yet, since there's plenty of time to correct it, but it is something I should get to work on correcting. If I get the job, that should help focus me some as I won't get to be sleeping in anymore. If I don't get it, I'll just have to start setting my alarm for the sake of setting my alarm.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Medical Scribe, Take Two
All right then. I spent the last three days working on my application for the job as a medical scribe, which is a bit more time than I spent working on it last year when I tried. Of interest I calculated my post-grad science GPA for the application, and its a 3.63. Not great, but not awful if I can do ok on the MCAT.
I've offered to work at almost every available hospital they have, up to and including the ones with 60 minute commutes. I'll probably hate myself if I get the job and end up there.... (one of those far away hospitals looks very nice and new though, from its website).
It seems like an interesting job at any rate. And I can manage the commute if it stays part time. I enjoy driving, so I have that going for me. My only concern is putting too many miles on my car and having it start to break down early. I could always possibly get lucky and manage to get a job at one of the closer hospitals. Then again, it's always possible I won't get a job at any of the hospitals just like last time. We'll just have to wait and see.
And it looks like we have a bit of a wait, since nothing is supposed to open up until June or July. So until beginning tomorrow morning, I'm officially in full MCAT mode with no other commitments to distract me. Physics, here we come. (Bet you can't keep me down twice!)
I've offered to work at almost every available hospital they have, up to and including the ones with 60 minute commutes. I'll probably hate myself if I get the job and end up there.... (one of those far away hospitals looks very nice and new though, from its website).
It seems like an interesting job at any rate. And I can manage the commute if it stays part time. I enjoy driving, so I have that going for me. My only concern is putting too many miles on my car and having it start to break down early. I could always possibly get lucky and manage to get a job at one of the closer hospitals. Then again, it's always possible I won't get a job at any of the hospitals just like last time. We'll just have to wait and see.
And it looks like we have a bit of a wait, since nothing is supposed to open up until June or July. So until beginning tomorrow morning, I'm officially in full MCAT mode with no other commitments to distract me. Physics, here we come. (Bet you can't keep me down twice!)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
MCAT Date Change 2.0
Ok. The MCAT is definitively schedule for September 10th now, at the same spot and time as it was previously. That gives me just over four months, which should be just enough time to get a hold of physics, as well as brush up on everything else (knocks on wood).
I'm also giving serious consideration to taking a prep course for the exam now. The biggest problem there is that I'd have to sign up for it soon, and I don't know if I'll get my job yet (or what it's schedule would be if I did.)
Speaking of my job, I called the people in charge of hiring medical scribes at a set of local hospitals to ask a few questions. It sounds like a /few/ positions will be opening up in June/July, and I should apply now for a shot at one of those. If they like my app I'll have a little phone interview, and if they think I'm a decent person there then I'll have a set of panel interviews at the hospital.
I wish it were occurring a bit sooner than June/July, largely because of MCAT prep course scheduling issues. Also, a lot of other things I'm looking at take 2 year commitments as well, and if I spend my time waiting on this, I'm pushing the window shut on those other possibilities.
But still, it seems like a really neat job I'd enjoy having for 18 to 24 months, and I plan on still giving it a try as my first choice. Besides. June's not /that/ far off.
I'm also giving serious consideration to taking a prep course for the exam now. The biggest problem there is that I'd have to sign up for it soon, and I don't know if I'll get my job yet (or what it's schedule would be if I did.)
Speaking of my job, I called the people in charge of hiring medical scribes at a set of local hospitals to ask a few questions. It sounds like a /few/ positions will be opening up in June/July, and I should apply now for a shot at one of those. If they like my app I'll have a little phone interview, and if they think I'm a decent person there then I'll have a set of panel interviews at the hospital.
I wish it were occurring a bit sooner than June/July, largely because of MCAT prep course scheduling issues. Also, a lot of other things I'm looking at take 2 year commitments as well, and if I spend my time waiting on this, I'm pushing the window shut on those other possibilities.
But still, it seems like a really neat job I'd enjoy having for 18 to 24 months, and I plan on still giving it a try as my first choice. Besides. June's not /that/ far off.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Good News; Bad News
Well, it looks like I'm going to get to drag out my premed adventure after all, for better or worse.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with myself now, and have had a chance to talk to my advisers to get their thoughts as well. The good news is that based on my GPA alone, they think I have a reasonable shot at getting into a medical school somewhere. So based on that it doesn't seem to make much sense for me to up and quit.
The bad news is that medical schools (in general) won't look at only my highest MCAT score. Different schools have different ways of dealing with applicants who have multiple MCAT scores, but the most common is to take an average of the scores. So if I take the MCAT now as scheduled and do badly, it becomes something that's very hard (perhaps impossible) to really fix.
Further bad news, obviously, is that if I don't take the MCAT now I'm applying next year, and not this one. More postponement makes for a frustrating situation.
Further good news though - I'm able to take the MCAT in September or so if I want, I don't have to wait a whole year to take it. I'll still not get to apply this year, but at least that would give me a solid score much much sooner, and would let me have a good idea of if I could get into a school much much sooner (once I have my combined GPA and MCAT score, it largely turns into a statistical exercise; interviews and essays are important too, but I think I have a pretty good motivation/story and am convinced those would only help me).
Taking the exam in September gives me a respectable four to five months to study. If that's not enough time, it's a safe bet that spending a whole year wouldn't get the job done either. Plus, if it was in a year it would be easier to procrastinate. It's harder for me to get concerned about events that distant.
So I'm going to think another day or so, but it looks like this is the current plan. I'll try to get an interesting/medically relevant job as well, to boost my resume some more too. Hopefully a paying job. My first shot is to try working as a medical scribe somewhere again. It seems like a really neat job, and pays, and is different from what I've been doing to date. It didn't work last time, but this time I have a bit of a better resume, and I can commit a solid amount of time to it if I know I'm not running off to medical school next year. Other choices are less interesting to me, or unpaid, or seem difficult to get without knowing people. I'll give this a shot first and see what happens.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with myself now, and have had a chance to talk to my advisers to get their thoughts as well. The good news is that based on my GPA alone, they think I have a reasonable shot at getting into a medical school somewhere. So based on that it doesn't seem to make much sense for me to up and quit.
The bad news is that medical schools (in general) won't look at only my highest MCAT score. Different schools have different ways of dealing with applicants who have multiple MCAT scores, but the most common is to take an average of the scores. So if I take the MCAT now as scheduled and do badly, it becomes something that's very hard (perhaps impossible) to really fix.
Further bad news, obviously, is that if I don't take the MCAT now I'm applying next year, and not this one. More postponement makes for a frustrating situation.
Further good news though - I'm able to take the MCAT in September or so if I want, I don't have to wait a whole year to take it. I'll still not get to apply this year, but at least that would give me a solid score much much sooner, and would let me have a good idea of if I could get into a school much much sooner (once I have my combined GPA and MCAT score, it largely turns into a statistical exercise; interviews and essays are important too, but I think I have a pretty good motivation/story and am convinced those would only help me).
Taking the exam in September gives me a respectable four to five months to study. If that's not enough time, it's a safe bet that spending a whole year wouldn't get the job done either. Plus, if it was in a year it would be easier to procrastinate. It's harder for me to get concerned about events that distant.
So I'm going to think another day or so, but it looks like this is the current plan. I'll try to get an interesting/medically relevant job as well, to boost my resume some more too. Hopefully a paying job. My first shot is to try working as a medical scribe somewhere again. It seems like a really neat job, and pays, and is different from what I've been doing to date. It didn't work last time, but this time I have a bit of a better resume, and I can commit a solid amount of time to it if I know I'm not running off to medical school next year. Other choices are less interesting to me, or unpaid, or seem difficult to get without knowing people. I'll give this a shot first and see what happens.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
What's To Do With a B+
Status update~ we got our last exam back. It went better for me than the first, although I still just got a C+. Which was pretty much the average score. I wouldn't call it good, cause it's not, but.... a lot of people apparently did worse so I shouldn't complain. By some mystical magic and vodoo invoked to keep the paying students (customers) of a university happy, my average grade for the semester is now a B+ between this exam and the last one.
On the surface it's good news. My grade is definitely high enough to go to nursing school if I'm so inclined (although I'll have to take a few more prereqs, etc). Options are nice. Options are also cruel.
I have a really borderline set of grades for getting into medical school. I did well in /most/ everything, and there's a very reasonable chance that I can place as worst of the best and make it in somewhere. If I do that, I have to apply. If apply I have to choose between taking the MCAT now (and almost certainly doing badly.... 1 month isn't enough prep time for basically relearning physics), taking the MCAT a year from now (ok if it worked out.... if it doesn't work out... another extra year wasted.... I think I'd break), or taking it both times (and letting schools see my bad first score, on the 5% chance I manage to get an acceptable first score instead).
If I just give up and go with nursing I'll actually end up with a career sooner despite needing a few more undergrad courses, but I'll always be a bit bitter about just giving up probably ... the million dollar question is whether I'd be more bitter than I would be spending another year studying for the MCAT and ending up nowhere.
Not that I wouldn't enjoy nursing. I think I really would. But I'd be second guessing myself for a long time.
In some ways I'd hoped more for an A- or a flat F. That would have made choosing what to do easier.
Well, I've scheduled (or am trying to, more specifically) an appointment with the premed advisor here. I might try to call my old one from Vanderbilt again as well and see what his thoughts on the matter are, the more informed opinions the better. I have an instinct to take the "wait one year, study for the MCAT, work as a paramedic or something, and then apply" approach, but part of me is worried that that's just me procrastinating. Maybe I would have a chance if I spend the next month studying, but I just don't want to admit it to myself for some weird reason.
... that's probably unlikely.
On the surface it's good news. My grade is definitely high enough to go to nursing school if I'm so inclined (although I'll have to take a few more prereqs, etc). Options are nice. Options are also cruel.
I have a really borderline set of grades for getting into medical school. I did well in /most/ everything, and there's a very reasonable chance that I can place as worst of the best and make it in somewhere. If I do that, I have to apply. If apply I have to choose between taking the MCAT now (and almost certainly doing badly.... 1 month isn't enough prep time for basically relearning physics), taking the MCAT a year from now (ok if it worked out.... if it doesn't work out... another extra year wasted.... I think I'd break), or taking it both times (and letting schools see my bad first score, on the 5% chance I manage to get an acceptable first score instead).
If I just give up and go with nursing I'll actually end up with a career sooner despite needing a few more undergrad courses, but I'll always be a bit bitter about just giving up probably ... the million dollar question is whether I'd be more bitter than I would be spending another year studying for the MCAT and ending up nowhere.
Not that I wouldn't enjoy nursing. I think I really would. But I'd be second guessing myself for a long time.
In some ways I'd hoped more for an A- or a flat F. That would have made choosing what to do easier.
Well, I've scheduled (or am trying to, more specifically) an appointment with the premed advisor here. I might try to call my old one from Vanderbilt again as well and see what his thoughts on the matter are, the more informed opinions the better. I have an instinct to take the "wait one year, study for the MCAT, work as a paramedic or something, and then apply" approach, but part of me is worried that that's just me procrastinating. Maybe I would have a chance if I spend the next month studying, but I just don't want to admit it to myself for some weird reason.
... that's probably unlikely.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Realistic Assessments
So. Things look bad. Very. The second organic test is tomorrow and I have every reason to believe I won't get above a 60 on this one either. I'll quite possibly do worse, in fact. So... my best grade possible for the course (non curved) - working on the absolutely unrealistic assumption that I take the cumulative final in two weeks which would have about three times as much material as this test and manage to get a perfect score - is about a C. Which can be bumped up to a B by the curve. But, like I said, that's a completely unrealistic assumption.
It's annoying to have on class throw off my whole plan. It's tragic that it happened to be the very last semester of the very last course though. I'd even gone out of my way to make the course I thought would throw things off (Calculus) get taken first, so I could just change things up after a few months rather than a few years of classes. Here I am though and.... well.... tough luck.
I don't know what I'll do next.
If I take the optional final and manage to work my way out of this course with a C, then maybe the option of going to nursing school will be open since that doesn't require a year of organic chemistry. If I take the final and it lowers my grade (quite possible, since it would be harder), then I'm not so sure I'll find a nursing school willing to let me in with D's (or worse, an F..... which would be a pretty shocking turn around from the A I got first semester. Go figure).
I can go back to law school always. The problem is finding a job after though, since I won't have had any of the internships, and I'll have tough luck getting a second year internship after having quit law school for 2 years. That will be tough to explain away in an interview.
Other jobs I have some interest in, like working with the State Department, generally have requirements I should have been busy fulfilling over the last 6 years instead of going to law school and medical school. Experience in "X,Y,Z required, along with a degree in political science or...". I have the degree, but I never got that experience since I was doing completely different things. So it looks like it'll be hard to get hired for a spot like this too. At least, for any meaningful position.
Well, that's it for now. I'll see if I can go find a new background for the blog, although it looks like it might be coming to a premature end.
It's annoying to have on class throw off my whole plan. It's tragic that it happened to be the very last semester of the very last course though. I'd even gone out of my way to make the course I thought would throw things off (Calculus) get taken first, so I could just change things up after a few months rather than a few years of classes. Here I am though and.... well.... tough luck.
I don't know what I'll do next.
If I take the optional final and manage to work my way out of this course with a C, then maybe the option of going to nursing school will be open since that doesn't require a year of organic chemistry. If I take the final and it lowers my grade (quite possible, since it would be harder), then I'm not so sure I'll find a nursing school willing to let me in with D's (or worse, an F..... which would be a pretty shocking turn around from the A I got first semester. Go figure).
I can go back to law school always. The problem is finding a job after though, since I won't have had any of the internships, and I'll have tough luck getting a second year internship after having quit law school for 2 years. That will be tough to explain away in an interview.
Other jobs I have some interest in, like working with the State Department, generally have requirements I should have been busy fulfilling over the last 6 years instead of going to law school and medical school. Experience in "X,Y,Z required, along with a degree in political science or...". I have the degree, but I never got that experience since I was doing completely different things. So it looks like it'll be hard to get hired for a spot like this too. At least, for any meaningful position.
Well, that's it for now. I'll see if I can go find a new background for the blog, although it looks like it might be coming to a premature end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)