EMS degree to Medical School

hogwiley said:
Seems like half of my EMT class were pre med students. This was a few years ago and to my knowledge NONE of them got accepted into medical school. This is despite the fact they were attending a pretty well respected University and pursuing a pre med degree tailored to prepare them for medical school.

Of course a couple of them failed the EMT course because they thought it would be a total blow off class, which would be a pretty good indication they maybe should have been rethinking their career decision.
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Anyone that thinks taking an EMT class is going to help them get into med school is foolish.

It is not however correct to figure that anyone incapable of passing an EMT class is not cut out to be a doctor. The EMT class is taught in a manner so different from most college classes that even "smart" students may struggle with it.
 
Actually, depending on the school it may help. I know a couple of people who have gone to med school and having previous patient contact in a formal setting was worth a little bit.
 
Aidey said:
Actually, depending on the school it may help. I know a couple of people who have gone to med school and having previous patient contact in a formal setting was worth a little bit.
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No doubt patient contact might prove to be useful. However taking the class and leaving it at that (probably not even taking a licensing exam either) is not going to do anything for your application.
 
Aidey said:
Actually, depending on the school it may help. I know a couple of people who have gone to med school and having previous patient contact in a formal setting was worth a little bit.
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...but it isn't nearly as big of a deal with the admissions game as a lot of people make it out to be. Without winning the admissions game, nothing else matters.
 
Tigger said:
Anyone that thinks taking an EMT class is going to help them get into med school is foolish.

It is not however correct to figure that anyone incapable of passing an EMT class is not cut out to be a doctor. The EMT class is taught in a manner so different from most college classes that even "smart" students may struggle with it.
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Agree with the second statement, not the first. EMT provides a gateway to patient care experience and is a pre-req for many Emergency Department technician programs.

If you just take the EMT class without getting credentials or noticeable patient contact experience, then your time is wasted.

Mike
 
The problem I see with EMS/ER Tech type jobs is what the applicants generally want to emphasize (war stories, cool skills, etc) is generally not what admissions committees are looking to hear. Medical school doesn't expect applicants to know how to manage patients (after all, that's what med school is for). They're looking for "Do you know what a physician does (i.e. shadowing)? Do you have the social skills to work with patients? (any patient care works for this... volunteering is arguably better depending on the situation)? What did you learn from healthcare in general?" (boring things that people don't generally reflect on).
 
I think that EMS experience can significantly differentiate you from the herd, if you have done real work in the field, and you have reflected upon it, and can express that. It can potentially set you apart from the large crowd of biochem majors.

BTW: My college "major" was philosophy of physics (Bell's theorem, the EPR paradox).
 
Agreed Kelly.

The benefits of becoming an EMT before med school isn't for whatever knowledge/skills you'll develop but the fact that you'll have patient contact. Clinical experience is a big part of the "prereqs" because it proves that you've experienced the nitty-gritty of medicine and didn't turn around and walk out the door because it wasn't for you.

There is an inflation of EMTs going to med school (I was told by an adcom member) so it no longer has its original dazzle, but it's still helpful nonetheless.
 
eprex said:
Agreed Kelly.

The benefits of becoming an EMT before med school isn't for whatever knowledge/skills you'll develop but the fact that you'll have patient contact. Clinical experience is a big part of the "prereqs" because it proves that you've experienced the nitty-gritty of medicine and didn't turn around and walk out the door because it wasn't for you.

There is an inflation of EMTs going to med school (I was told by an adcom member) so it no longer has its original dazzle, but it's still helpful nonetheless.
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I don't think it was ever dazzling.

I know a handful of doctors who became so after many successful years in an EMS career.

I have had countless students sit in paramedic class hoping that "being" a paramedic will win them points on med school applications.

The reason there is so much advice against going to EMT or medic school is because those who have done it know it is a much longer road, not a shortcut.

They are just advising those who hope to get an edge to do something that will have the biggest payoff to time spent.

KellyBracket is exactly right.

There is a difference between "being" (working) a paramedic and having a paramedic certification.
(or EMT)

Hoping to get an edge by simply getting a vocational certification or taking a college class somebody else did not doesn't convey anymore dedication or insight than somebody who took a class like Far East Philosophy.

What many people really fail to realize is that being an ancillary provider or mid level provider is not "doctor light."

The education of a doctor is not memorizing a different set of text books.

It is an education that teaches the fundamental aspects of all the basic science related to medicine and progressively over time teaches you how to apply it to patient care.

That is why the medical school prereqs are what they are.

That is why your performace (understanding) of these prereqs is more important than if you put somebody on a backboard or started an IV.

When you go to medical school you do not "pick up" where you left off in your prior field. You start over. You learn the doctor way. From the most basic steps.

For me "unlearning" oversimplified explanations of diseases and processes was the most difficult part. In that respect, my paramedic education actually hindered my progress in the early part of medical school. I spent more time with things I thought I already knew because it was very evident that I really didin't know much about it at all.

The most benefit I got from being a paramedic wasn't until my clinical years. Which was knowing what I was looking at and not being afraid to make a decision or carry out an action.

The largest benefit was actually after school. (residents actually try to hide when I enter a room for fear I will ask them a question about the patient or treatment.)

All of the outstanding doctors I know who are or were paramedics would still have been outstanding doctors even if they were never paramedics.
 
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Dazzling might have been hyperbole but medical adcoms have said that at one point being an EMT was a pretty big bonus, but since more people are applying with more and more experience, that it's become less unique. Like I was suggesting, it would be useful to know what you do as an emt or paramedic when you made it to medical school, but it was more the fact that you accrued some experience performing in the field of medicine. This is why shadowing is beneficial.
 
silver said:
uh oh
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I never said anything about working as an EMT. Just that taking the class and then doing nothing with it is pointless.
 
eprex said:
Dazzling might have been hyperbole but medical adcoms have said that at one point being an EMT was a pretty big bonus, but since more people are applying with more and more experience, that it's become less unique. Like I was suggesting, it would be useful to know what you do as an emt or paramedic when you made it to medical school, but it was more the fact that you accrued some experience performing in the field of medicine. This is why shadowing is beneficial.
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I'd wager no adcom member has ever said this. Hell, many of my professors flat told me they viewed it as a problem (not unique to EMS but really any allied health provider coming back).
 
Dwindlin said:
I'd wager no adcom member has ever said this. Hell, many of my professors flat told me they viewed it as a problem (not unique to EMS but really any allied health provider coming back).
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It has been my observation that admissions councelors will say just about anything to make a potential applicant feel like they have a chance.

Especially when handing out their crap and visiting schools.

Especially when asking for a secondary application fee.
 
Tigger said:
I never said anything about working as an EMT. Just that taking the class and then doing nothing with it is pointless.
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We'll see what happens. Im in the cycle now, while in a "special masters program." Had our first med class, I wrecked the med students and their mean :ph34r: (though that has nothing to do with being an EMT).

But I agree it all depends on what you do with it, and how it plays into the bigger picture of who you are. It definitely isn't the key to get into medical school, but it is one thing that can help out your application.
 
Veneficus said:
It has been my observation that admissions councelors will say just about anything to make a potential applicant feel like they have a chance.

Especially when handing out their crap and visiting schools.

Especially when asking for a secondary application fee.
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Touche. I should amend that to say "said that and meant it."
 
See below.
 
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