Having trouble choosing between two gap year positions in a time crunch

[simplybleb]

I was offered two positions and am having a hard time deciding what's best for me. I am applying next cycle, and plan to be in this role for 2 years.

1. A technician in an ophthalmology practice where I would mostly be working with the OD, but will occasionally be with the MD. The environment was super chill and the people really seemed to enjoy being there. I would be working up patients before the OD sees the patients, conduct eye exams, etc. About 30 hours/week

2. A medical assistant in a dermatology practice where I would be working with 3 doctors and would also be in the obviously more clinical setting. Some admin work, working up patients before the doctor, removing sutures, assisting in surgeries, etc. About 40 hours/week.

I know that the medical assistant position is more, well, medical. However, the office and the environment were a lot more laid back vs. with the derm, I felt it was more rushed/busy. I've also already scribed in the ER for 500 hours and also am EMT-certified. Pay and commute to work are close enough that it doesn't matter too much.

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[simplybleb]

I think the derm option would be better for your resume, but I’m not sure if it is so much better as to negate the more enjoyable work environment of the ophthalmology practice.

However, you also said that you already have 500 hours scribing, which is good experience. Do you also have a lot of experience volunteering with underserved communities? If not, it would probably be more advantageous to work with, say, AmeriCorps instead of working in more clinical settings. To keep up your clinical experience while you do this, you could volunteer once every 1-2 weekends in a clinical setting.

I'm actually unable to do that because I'm not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident... I wish there was another way to do something impactful like that because I would love to. However, almost anything like that always seems to have that one requirement.

Do I still need to continue volunteering on a full-time schedule? Because I could easily do this while working 30 hours a week, but 40-45 hrs a week and volunteering make me afraid of burnout.

 

[simplybleb]

I understand, sorry you have to deal with those inconveniences. Are you able to become a US citizen before you apply? I’m sure you’re aware, but in case you’re not, you should know that it is very, very difficult to gain admission to US medical schools as an international applicant.

You should continue to volunteer, even with a full-time work schedule. It doesn’t have to be much, but it does need to be consistent (maybe 4 hours every Saturday morning). I would recommend aiming for 200+ cumulative hours of non-clinical volunteering across one or two organizations by the time you apply. Of course, be sure that you can speak/write about these experiences passionately and that you can incorporate these volunteering experiences into whatever narrative you plan to construct with your application.

Yes, I'm aware of the US medical school dilemma ( I am taking a gap year and praying to receive my green card soon in time for the next application cycle. I have volunteered extensively and probably have around 200 non-clinical volunteering and around 150 clinical volunteering hours right now.

This is also another reason I'm sort of stuck between these two positions as well. I am supposed to volunteer at a hospice for about 6 hrs/week. I don't plan on doing much else for now, but I've been stressing out the past few days.