Type of Patient Care Hours

[pastudent587]

I am looking for a new job and I am wondering if it matters what speciality your job is. For example, is it better to be a medical assistant in an urgent care or family practice because you see a range of patient complaints? Or does it only really matter if you are making patient contact? I was offered a position in a fertility clinic as a medical assistant/phlebotomist but I am wondering if schools will look down on it since it is such a narrow specialty. I will have a lot of patient contact and blood draws but I don't know if I should look for a position in a wider speciality. 

[DiggySRNA]

I work as a medical assistant in an urgent care and I love my scope. One of my former coworkers resigned because she became a LPN and moved to a FM practice and she is not allowed to do anything that she used to do at our clinic in her new position. Her scope is limited and she's a nurse. For those reason I would say to seek out a MA position at an urgent care (especially if they do not employ nurses) or become an ED Tech.

Take the position as a MA at the fertility clinic. Work for a few months, gain the experience, and if you feel like you want to do more procedural/skills wise, seek out those opportunities. As for PA schools evaluating your patient care experience, it is highly dependent on how your experiences prepare you for the next step of your professional life. This is where your personal statement comes in handy.

[pastudentw]

My opinion to do something with as much direct patient contact/responsibility as possible while in an area that actually interests you. You are more likely to learn things while you are there if you are interested in the area you are in. Who knows, maybe being at a fertility clinic will give you a new perspective and give you a unique view into patient care. 

You will get out of a job what you put into it. If you make an effort to learn and spend more time with the patient, you will gain confidence and providers will bring you in on more things. You can always do some shadowing at a family practice clinic if you are worried about not having any exposure in that setting.