Summer & Part Time Jobs

[webshy]

Do most Queen's students have summer and/or part time jobs through the school year? On my interview weekend, the couple of students who I spoke with (unfortunately, couldn't make it out to the evening events) said that they didn't recommend summer jobs. They said that the intensity of the program was such that students needed the summer off to recover/relax. Is this opinion the norm? Or, do most students work through the summer?

 

Also, do any of the students have a part time job during the school year? If accepted to Queen's, I'm considering trying to work one to two shifts every couple of weeks (12 hours shifts, as a paramedic). Does the program allow time to work this much, and still have time for other activities outside of school work?

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

[coastalslacker]

I think you could definitely do that up until clerkship. Classes at Queens are not mandatory and excellent notes are posted online.

 

Once clerkship starts it would be more difficult and probably not worth it. Reasons for forgoing work in clerkship include:

1. While a few rotations are pretty slack, time commitment goes up for most.

2. At the end of most 6 week blocks you'll have an exam unlike in pre-clerkship when you're only tested q 4 months.

3. Call

4. CaRMS

5. Electives and a couple of rotations at peripheral hospitals (ie Oshawa or Peterborough).

 

Hope that's helpful. Everyone's financial situation and values are different, however, my perspective on working during med school and even in the summers was that doctors make pretty decent money and I'd rather take the opportunity to chill out (while it lasts!)

[KMG007]

My BF worked seven weeks each summer in his hometown. Just in the preclerk years and he went to UofT so somewhat similar workload to Queens. The job was working along side doctors and he liked it because it was the practical side of medicine that you have less of in preclerk. I think it is doable but some time off is definitely good and he always planned for one month of that.

[bayervillager]

A whole bunch of my classmates are working in research jobs this summer. The various departments at Queen's offer up many positions and studentships during the summer and there's also lots of external opportunities at other medical schools. One guy in my class got a research position at Johns Hopkin for the summer!

 

As for part-time jobs, I know of one classmate who has a part-time job doing research for a professor, another classmate who works as a marker TA (for the Department of Mathematics), and a couple of others who work as MCAT instructors. The most interesting one is the guy who works part-time as a dental surgeon, lol.