Came out of high school believing Athletic Training was the path for me after being a student athletic trainer in high school, and went to EMT school over the summer before starting undergrad just to supplement the acute care aspect of AT. Up to now and for the next few years medical school was on my mind but more as an opportunity than a path, as I knew there was a ways to go first. EMT school was my first exposure to the first responder community, and boy did it have an effect. I was introduced to the wilderness SAR community through an instructor a few months into my undergrad and that took off like a rocket after joining a volunteer team in the area. I also picked up a crumby weekend IFT job for a few months just to get a line of experience so I could work in an ER the summer after freshman year. Did that full time, then went to PRN during the school year (12 hours every 2 weeks) and back to full time for winters/summers (I just got lucky on needs/openings with this). After my sophomore year I changed majors from Athletic Training to Public Administration due to a decreasing interest in AT (everything but the medicine aspect) and an increasing interest in Emergency Management. It was also at this point that I started leaning towards medical school a bit more and set my minor as Chemistry. It wasn't until I finished organic chemistry at the end of my junior year that I stopped saying emergency management was my career path and started saying I want to be a doctor, one way or another. I am still on this track, closing my 2nd to last semester of undergrad. I washed about 30 hours worth of AT courses and had to tack on a few pre-requisites for medical schools, so I will be graduating with something like 158 credits, but I am still "on time" fortunately. I will be taking the MCAT this coming spring and applying in the summer. I will be taking a gap year and hope to work for a 911 service full time, get outside a little more, and check off a few mini-projects.
I want to be a doctor because of the privilege of being a key, trusted person in the lives of patients who may or may not be sick, therefore having a critical and unique impact on their lives. Additionally, doctors are looked up to as the leaders in medicine, with no position higher, and that is something I admire.
I wouldn't say EMS is what initially made me decide that I want to be a doctor, but it has helped solidify the fact, and it has provided an exposure to patient populations and various physician specialties that has helped steer me in my specialty preference in the event that I am fortunate enough to have to make that choice. It is fair to say that my bias is towards emergency medicine, but I have had the opportunity to see other specialties interacting with patients new and old which helps guide the decision-making process. I do plan on shadowing in the coming spring and summer, but not as intensively as many others.
I only work 12 hours every 2 weeks (on average), but also train/deploy/prepare for 10 hours a week (on average) in a leadership role for a volunteer wilderness SAR team. Because of my course requirements situation I've found myself usually taking 17 hours of coursework per semester. There are semesters where this works out, and there are semesters where I tell my higher ups in SAR that I'll be stepping back for a few months. In the big picture school take preference, and I convince myself of this knowing that I'll be able to help many, many more people in more critical ways if I keep this school thing going for a little longer. I will admit that every single summer it became harder and harder to go back to school in the fall. It is hard to go back to school after a search exercise, let alone an actual search. It is hard to step away from the amazing community of first responders... and go to class. But I convince myself it is worth it, and I have people around me that help me with that.
@EpiEMS gave some great sources of data to show that medical school, for the most part, is not as high reaching as many take it to be. This is especially so as the "holistic" concept continues to spread and develop. I often encourage those on the edge to do a little research into the lower-end schools to see that it can be done. Additionally, there are "scenic routes" that can still be critical to one's career path once they finish medical school.
Many pre-meds get their EMT because it is a line on their resume and never put it to use. As far as I know, schools recognize this and thus put it off to the side. What I believe to be beneficial is actually working, for thousands of hours over a few years, as an EMT and gaining the patient contact and customer service experience. We can all beat our chests about the effectiveness of an EMT, but at the end of the day any decent paramedic (let alone doctor) blows an EMT out of the water. BUT, to this day, I still see 4th years and residents that cannot assess a patient to save their life (read every way possible). Take advantage of the opportunity to work with great people, experience a variety of patients, and if nothing else, make a difference in the community.
ALL of that said, please keep in mind I've had academic and pre-med advisors, and family and friends, helping me stay on track. I haven't applied nor interviewed yet, nor do I know for a fact a few of the things said above. This is an opinion-oriented, experience-based post. Everyone's experience will vary, and that's a good thing.
Good luck
@Gurby !!!
