Is Hearing Screener considered a medical related job?

[UCLAgrad888]

Hi guys! I just graduated and will be applying to med schools next year. I got offered a hearing screener position for new borns in a pediatrics center. Is this job considered medically related? If not, can you please suggest a job that is medically related I can do with my B.S degree? I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you in advance!!

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[_NM_]

Yes, I think that is medically related

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

You are working with patients in a clinical setting, so yep.

 

[Catalystik]

Hi guys! I just graduated and will be applying to med schools next year. I got offered a hearing screener position for new borns in a pediatrics center. Is this job considered medically related? If not, can you please suggest a job that is medically related I can do with my B.S degree? I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you in advance!!

It's medically-related and you will likely interact with the newborns' parents, as well as medical staff, and become accustomed to hospital policies, but as few of the babies will be "sick," I'd hope you aren't relying on this experience as your sole source of active clinical experience.

 

[LizzyM]

It's medically-related and you will likely interact with the newborns' parents, as well as medical staff, and become accustomed to hospital policies, but as few of the babies will be "sick," I'd hope you aren't relying on this experience as your sole source of active clinical experience.

Yes, but won't all the babies be "patients"? I'm picturing them in their little bassinets wearing little plastic ID bracelets... those are patients and OP is handling them and putting gear over their ears -- that's clinical in my book.

I don't think that one needs to be "sick" to be a patient. Many "patients" are in clinical settings for preventive services. Laboring and postpartum women in the hospital are seldom "sick" but they are patients.

 

[Catalystik]

Yes, but won't all the babies be "patients"? I'm picturing them in their little bassinets wearing little plastic ID bracelets... those are patients and OP is handling them and putting gear over their ears -- that's clinical in my book.

I don't think that one needs to be "sick" to be a patient. Many "patients" are in clinical settings for preventive services. Laboring and postpartum women in the hospital are seldom "sick" but they are patients.

I don't disagree with anything you've written. However, I do think that evaluating adorable newborns should not be an applicant's sole experience with patients as they explore whether they are suited for a career in medicine.

 

[LizzyM]

I don't disagree with anything you've written. However, I do think that evaluating adorable newborns should not be an applicant's sole experience with patients as they explore whether they are suited for a career in medicine.

I do concur. Other experiences which may include shadowing, volunteering and employment in settings other than newborn nursery would be expected of an applicant.

 

[curlzMD]

I know this thread is very old, but I started a position as a hearing screen tech 3 months ago. I was wondering if anyone else had done this as part of their clinical experience and Google led me here. I was wondering what @LizzyM and @Catalystik would think of the position if I gave a better description of what the job entails.

-Screening is done in the room with the mom/parents seldomly in the nursery.

-Testing and procedure must be thoroughly explained as we do need parental consent.

-Some babies are sick, NICU and PICU babies are screened as well which involves babies hooked up to feeding tubes, breathing tubes, Bili lights, EKGs, IVs, etc., and sometimes all at once.

-Working in the labor and delivery department means we work alongside OBGYNs, neonatologists, pediatricians, nurses and the rest of the usual healthcare team which allows us a front row seat to all of these doctor-patient interactions.

-Results are given and explained to the parents as soon as testing is completed. If the baby refers (fails the screening), the test is not considered a diagnosis (only an audiologist can do that after further testing) but we do have to explain, advise, and direct parents as to next steps. As with anything that has to do with pediatrics, the baby is truly not our only patient.

-While newborns are very much so adorable, hooking sensors to a baby and ear muffs and running these tests to obtain accurate results does have a learning curve, and babies aren't always the most cooperative. There's also the added pressure of parents and sometimes even more people watching your every move and knowing how to navigate whatever situation you walk into when you enter into a patient's room.

-Even though the screening is not a final diagnosis, it's not easy telling a parent that their newborn has not passed a test and this part of the job definitely introduces us to an aspect of medicine that not many premeds get to experience in other clinical positions.

So, @LizzyM and @Catalystik after a more thorough explanation, what are your thoughts on this clinical experience?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[cj_cregg]

I know this thread is very old, but I started a position as a hearing screen tech 3 months ago. I was wondering if anyone else had done this as part of their clinical experience and Google led me here. I was wondering what @LizzyM and @Catalystik would think of the position if I gave a better description of what the job entails.

-Screening is done in the room with the mom/parents seldomly in the nursery.

-Testing and procedure must be thoroughly explained as we do need parental consent.

-Some babies are sick, NICU and PICU babies are screened as well which involves babies hooked up to feeding tubes, breathing tubes, Bili lights, EKGs, IVs, etc., and sometimes all at once.

-Working in the labor and delivery department means we work alongside OBGYNs, neonatologists, pediatricians, nurses and the rest of the usual healthcare team which allows us a front row seat to all of these doctor-patient interactions.

-Results are given and explained to the parents as soon as testing is completed. If the baby refers (fails the screening), the test is not considered a diagnosis (only an audiologist can do that after further testing) but we do have to explain, advise, and direct parents as to next steps. As with anything that has to do with pediatrics, the baby is truly not our only patient.

-While newborns are very much so adorable, hooking sensors to a baby and ear muffs and running these tests to obtain accurate results does have a learning curve, and babies aren't always the most cooperative. There's also the added pressure of parents and sometimes even more people watching your every move and knowing how to navigate whatever situation you walk into when you enter into a patient's room.

-Even though the screening is not a final diagnosis, it's not easy telling a parent that their newborn has not passed a test and this part of the job definitely introduces us to an aspect of medicine that not many premeds get to experience in other clinical positions.

So, @LizzyM and @Catalystik after a more thorough explanation, what are your thoughts on this clinical experience?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

I agree with the above that it should not be your ONLY clinical experience. It is only a small, niche piece of medicine and patient care and you should be sure to at least shadow in other clinical settings as well, particularly outpatient primary care and something with adult patients as well. I would say the same to someone who only had experience working in an OR or as a rad tach or something along those lines. It behooves you to show that you know what you're getting into, and most doctors are not doing work adjacent to hearing screening.

 

[LizzyM]

Concur with @cj_cregg; it is a clinical experience but you should have some other activity (shadowing or volunteering or employment) with adult patients, perhaps in a different setting (ambulatory care, emergency department, etc).