Best Jobs While In A Nursing or Surgical Tech Program

I think this is a great question to think about when you’re looking at entering a program. There are a few ways to look at this question.

1.        Do you already have a job that has a flexible schedule which will work around your class and clinical schedule? I know a lot of nurses who worked various jobs they had right out of high school and kept those since the schedule was flexible and they didn’t want to try and learn a new job while also focusing on their schoolwork and I think this is a valid point to think about.

2.        Do you want a job that is going to be in the healthcare field so you can begin familiarizing yourself with healthcare terminology, gain some experience, and maybe even just confirm that it is the right career path for you?

So, we are going to focus on the second part for now. When I first applied for surgical technology school, I was already working at a veterinarian office as a vet tech. I had taken this job while initially being in school to become a teacher but found out that being a teacher wasn’t really for me. When I took a pause from college all together, I began thinking maybe I would want to pursue a career in the veterinary field.  However, I didn’t feel that would have the brightest future for me and thought that maybe I needed to look more at the human side of healthcare. You can see more about my start here.

Anyway, I got accepted into a surgical technology program while working as a vet tech. Kinda the best of both worlds really. The veterinarian, good ole’ Dr. Bill, that I worked for was very supportive and allowed me to work at the clinic around my class schedule. He was honestly the best boss I’ve had so far in any capacity- just a true caring soul who wanted nothing but the best for everyone.

One of the best parts about working at the veterinary clinic was that I was directly involved in medications, lab values, imaging, patient care, surgery and more; even though it wasn’t human healthcare, it was still extremely beneficial. If you are unaware, many of the medications that humans take are also given to dogs and cats—like Reglan (metoclopramide), Atropine, insulin, and prednisone. I was able to gain a lot of experience about x-ray technology since I was the one performing the x-rays. I was also the one who conducted blood draws for lab samples. Talk about having to get good at drawing blood! Imagine having to keep a 100lb dog still and find the veins through the hair! Honestly, drawing blood on dogs and cats was easier than on humans. You know, aside from the fact that they are a lot of times trying to bite you. Their veins literally just pop out unless they are in a state of extreme dehydration.

I gained a lot of experience about medications and vaccines. Learning how vaccines worked and how to calculate medical doses quickly proved to be beneficial in Nursing school later one. Imagine spending a year calculating doses of atropine for a 5lb cat and then for a 120lb dog. I became pretty confident in calculating drug dosages.  

I also got to work with anesthesia during surgeries. Looking back, this is where my career in healthcare really started. I loved everything from setting up and monitoring the anesthesia to being an active part of surgery. I was also trained to intubate the dogs and cats- which was very cool to do. Dogs and cats are intubated in a prone position with their head lifted up, so you could only imagine the shock on my face when I see my first human intubation and they are supine! The knowledge I learned here proved to be extremely beneficial later when I went through surg tech school.

Overall, I would highly recommend anyone looking to enter the medical field to get a job at a local veterinarian’s office. Usually, they are always needing some help and you get exposed to such a wide variety of skills that you are sure to find something that you will fall in love with. I personally know of a CRNA, X-ray tech, surg tech, and a few nurses who all started their healthcare careers at the same veterinarian that I did and we all found our calling after being exposed to the wide variety of task that are common daily in a veterinarian office.

Another option that I see a lot of people start out with is an emergency room tech or sterile processing tech. Emergency room techs are frequently nursing students at the hospitals I have worked at. I think this this a great option as well since again, they generally work around your school schedule. You are also surrounded by nurses and get exposed to a ton of the healthcare field. Having nurses around to answer any of your homework questions can also be a benefit here. Also, at least for the hospitals I have worked at, if you are a good tech who shows motivation and a desire to learn, you are practically guaranteed a spot once you graduate from the nursing program. This is obviously beneficial to the hospital as well since they have less onboarding they have to do compared to a new hire that came from outside the hospital. You may also find that your hospital will have a tuition reimbursement program which is worth considering!

From my experience working in the operating room, I have also seen several people start their career off in the sterile processing department. I think this is a little less common since many people don’t even know this is a career path. However, if you are in surg tech school or nursing school and wanting to pursue a career in the operating room this may be very beneficial for you since you will gain a ton of experience about all of the instruments used in a variety of surgical procedures and sterilization processes which are huge parts of the CST exam.

Another option that I myself do not have a ton of experience with but know a few people that have gone this route is being a tech in the OB unit. This would be a great option for obviously anyone wanting to pursue a career in OB, Mother/Baby, or the NICU. Most hospitals also have specific surgery units for OB cases. I know several surg techs who have moved to these floors after spending several years in the main OR and wanting a change of scenery. Since they likely will not be in surgery all day long many of these surg techs also get exposed to patient care by assisting with vaginal deliveries and responding to call lights.  This can be a nice change of pace for some people. 

There are a lot more options for jobs that allow you to go through schooling and clinical rotations, these are just the few that I have personally witnessed to be good options! Just be up front with your employer and your goals and generally they should accommodate, and if they don’t maybe it’s not the best place to work anyways! Also keep in mind that not everyone can handle a “demanding” job and go through school at the same time- try to get a good grasp on your learning style and how you retain new information.