Earn some extra cash this fall working at a flu clinic
Use these recruiter-approved tips to write your resume and you’ll be getting paid to administer flu shots in no time.
Brace yourselves, winter flu season is coming.
In an attempt to ward off a week’s worth of aches, sniffles and feverish chills, influenza vaccines are most commonly offered from September until the end of December (although the vaccine doesn’t expire until June 30).
And if you’re trained in administering injections, now’s your chance to earn some extra cash.
Last year, an estimated 148.1 million people received the flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And with this year’s flu vaccine now available, flu shot administrators will be needed at hospitals, retail clinics, community centers and pop-up clinics to help administer the vaccine.
Picking up some time—whether it be anywhere from one hour to a full day—administering flu shots can be a great side gig, Vicki Sowards, director of nursing resources at Passport Health, told Monster. Sowards has more than three years of experience hiring and training flu shot administrators at Passport Health.
Flu shot administrators can make anywhere from $25 to $40 per hour, Sowards says, which makes this a great opportunity to earn some extra money with the approaching holiday season.
Although it varies by state, nurses, pharmacists and other appropriately trained health care personnel are authorized to assess a patient’s immunization status and administer vaccines, according to the Immunization Action Coalition. Approval must be granted by an institution, physician or other authorized practitioner, as well. But generally speaking, all RNs can administer the vaccine. However, authorization varies by state for pharmacists, LVNs, LPNs, medical assistants and other health care professionals.
Of course, you’ll need an active license with no disciplinary action and reliable transportation to be considered for the job, Sowards says. To help your resume stand out, though, Sowards recommends tightening it up to only include relevant information.
“You just need to list what your current job is and any relevant experience from the past five to 10 years,” Sowards says. “So leave out where you completed your clinical rotations in school or where you worked back in 1989. We don’t need to know that.”
When reviewing resumes for relevant experience, Sowards says there are three things she looks for when considering flu shot administrators: experience, customer service skills and the ability to work independently.
Sowards says experience administering intramuscular (IM) injections from a multi-dose vial to all age groups of people is a must. For example, if you’re a hospital nurse who gives pain shots, that’s the kind of relevant experience you’ll want to highlight on your resume. And if you’re still unsure about your resume, you could always get a free resume evaluation from the experts at Monster's Resume Writing Service.
It’s also important to feel comfortable working independently, and you’ll be in front of a lot of patients, so being personable is also a plus. Sowards says lots of people—of all age groups—tend to get a little antsy when it comes to getting shots.
“It’s important that you can talk to people of all ages and make them feel comfortable while you’re administering the vaccine,” she says. “The more you talk to them while giving the vaccine, the less they’ll even notice you’ve done it.”
After the holiday season, Sowards says most people turn to their family doctor to get the vaccine, so now is the best time to get a job at a flu clinic.