To be or not to be (...a paramedic)

[SanDiegoEmt7]

I'm looking for the opinion of current paramedics or emtb's that are in the process of becoming more advanced healthcare providers.

Names that come to mind Veneficus, JPNIV, etc.

I was planning on applying to medical school in a year or so. Unfortunately due to some recent family issues it has been postponed indefinitely. Most likely it will be a couple years until I can put the app in.

The company I work for will sponsor EMTs to go to the local county medic school, which is respected and not a mill. I am considering a masters in biology right now and have thought about postponing it a year, so I can attend school and then work as a medic while obtaining my degree.

I'm just not sure if going to medic school is worth the time and energy. I've read the previous posts about how you actually have to relearn many things the right way and so forth, but the temptation is there. Mostly I'm not sure if I can work at the basic level for another couple years while waiting to apply to medical school, and I don't see myself doing another job in the mean time.

Any thoughts?

 

[firecoins]

The good thing about obtaining the medic with medical school in mind are the hospital rotations. I went on grand rounds with residents.

 

[Motojunkie]

Just spit balling, but an SMP program might be an option. My brother is in a two year program right now at Drexel where he gets a masters in Bio (and not that useless med school specific one, I forget what its called) along with doing the usual SMP program, which is taking the first year of med school classes, although not for credit.

 

[Akulahawk]

I'm looking for the opinion of current paramedics or emtb's that are in the process of becoming more advanced healthcare providers.

Names that come to mind Veneficus, JPNIV, etc.

I was planning on applying to medical school in a year or so. Unfortunately due to some recent family issues it has been postponed indefinitely. Most likely it will be a couple years until I can put the app in.

The company I work for will sponsor EMTs to go to the local county medic school, which is respected and not a mill. I am considering a masters in biology right now and have thought about postponing it a year, so I can attend school and then work as a medic while obtaining my degree.

I'm just not sure if going to medic school is worth the time and energy. I've read the previous posts about how you actually have to relearn many things the right way and so forth, but the temptation is there. Mostly I'm not sure if I can work at the basic level for another couple years while waiting to apply to medical school, and I don't see myself doing another job in the mean time.

Any thoughts?

Get your Bio Masters. Work as an EMT. Get a gig as a biologist. When you're ready to go to Med School, do it then. If you're going to be going to Medical School, getting Medic will only slow you down.

 

[firecoins]

I know several MDs/DOs and NPs/PAs who were medics.
Medic school did not slow them down.

 

[Akulahawk]

If the time getting through schooling is going to be a while, then yeah, do it. Get the Medic. You'll see a bump in pay that you can (hopefully) stash away for living on later.

 

[LonghornMedic]

I know several MDs/DOs and NPs/PAs who were medics.
Medic school did not slow them down.

I know of several myself. Didn't slow them down either.

 

[Sassafras]

I'm tossing the exact same question around only it ends with "do I really want to start residency in my 40s with 200k in debt" ugh. But will I be happy as a medic the rest of my life scenic I can get the medic basically free?

 

[Akulahawk]

I'm tossing the exact same question around only it ends with "do I really want to start residency in my 40s with 200k in debt" ugh. But will I be happy as a medic the rest of my life scenic I can get the medic basically free?

I'd be in exactly the same boat. I'd be well into my 40's during residency, and into my 60's by the time my loans are paid off... with a couple years to go before I'd be thinking about retirement.

And I'm not exactly happy where I'm at, there are NO medic jobs that will work for what I need. I really do enjoy being a medic, but it's going to be a while before I can get back to it.

 

[SanDiegoEmt7]

Just spit balling, but an SMP program might be an option. My brother is in a two year program right now at Drexel where he gets a masters in Bio (and not that useless med school specific one, I forget what its called) along with doing the usual SMP program, which is taking the first year of med school classes, although not for credit.

The SMPs are great for the right person, especially since many of them lead to acceptances in their university's med school. They are mostly if not entirely academic based in premed sciences, whereas my masters would be research intensive. Part of the reasoning is that I can't leave my home town for the next couple years and there are no SMPs in the area unfortunately.

I'm 23 years old. So the question is do I want to apply to med school at 25-26 with a masters in bio, or do I want to apply to med school at 26-27 with a masters in bio and having worked as a medic for 2 years.

 

[LonghornMedic]

The SMPs are great for the right person, especially since many of them lead to acceptances in their university's med school. They are mostly if not entirely academic based in premed sciences, whereas my masters would be research intensive. Part of the reasoning is that I can't leave my home town for the next couple years and there are no SMPs in the area unfortunately.

I'm 23 years old. So the question is do I want to apply to med school at 25-26 with a masters in bio, or do I want to apply to med school at 26-27 with a masters in bio and having worked as a medic for 2 years.

I think having a couple years of Paramedic in EMS will will help. You'll develop greater patient interaction skills, assessments, have a better understanding of healthcare than someone who doesn't.

I've precepted Paramedic students who never practiced/worked while in school. They went from EMT-Basic to EMT-Intermediate to Paramedic. The rides were very tough for them. They had very little clue of how to interact with patients. They would sit there frozen, not knowing what to do or ask. They have all this knowledge in their head and no way to effectively use it. I started as a Basic volunteer for the National Park Service. Just the right amount of calls to develop a rhythm. While I was doing that I was in EMT-I school. Once I finished EMT-I, I continued with the Park Service as an EMT-I for a couple of months before I was picked up full time by a ALS private ambulance company. After four years then it was on to Paramedic school. By now, I had been working on a ALS truck for four years and learned a lot from my partner. So when it came time for Paramedic school, it was much easier than I thought it would be. Any good experience can help you move to the next level.

 

[JPINFV]

The SMPs are great for the right person, especially since many of them lead to acceptances in their university's med school. They are mostly if not entirely academic based in premed sciences, whereas my masters would be research intensive. Part of the reasoning is that I can't leave my home town for the next couple years and there are no SMPs in the area unfortunately.

I believe you are confusing a Special Masters Program (SMP. I graduated from the Tufts SMP program [MS in Biomedical Sciences]) and a "postbaccalaureate premedical program." The postbacc/premed programs are the ones that are essentially a way for people who decided to become a physician after undergrad to knock out the premed requirements. SMPs, on the other hand, are generally a preview of the first year of medical school. When I went to Tufts, Tufts Med School was still using a traditional curriculum (e.g. anatomy, physiology, immunology, biochem, molecular bio, pathology, pharmacology, etc) and many of the SMP courses were the same (same professors and same exams, just lectures in the afternoon instead of the morning) as the medical students (molecular bio, biochemistry, histology, immunology, and physiology IIRC) with additional courses rounding out the program. Additionally, an MCAT course (recommended. After the SMP and the Prinston Review course, my score went from 29 (9/10/10) to a 34 (12/12/10). Mind you, my math, ochem, gchem, and physics was several years old minus the review course.

 

[JPINFV]

I'm looking for the opinion of current paramedics or emtb's that are in the process of becoming more advanced healthcare providers.

Names that come to mind Veneficus, JPNIV, etc.

I was planning on applying to medical school in a year or so. Unfortunately due to some recent family issues it has been postponed indefinitely. Most likely it will be a couple years until I can put the app in.

The company I work for will sponsor EMTs to go to the local county medic school, which is respected and not a mill. I am considering a masters in biology right now and have thought about postponing it a year, so I can attend school and then work as a medic while obtaining my degree.

I'm just not sure if going to medic school is worth the time and energy. I've read the previous posts about how you actually have to relearn many things the right way and so forth, but the temptation is there. Mostly I'm not sure if I can work at the basic level for another couple years while waiting to apply to medical school, and I don't see myself doing another job in the mean time.

Any thoughts?

The stock answer to the paramedic premed question is "no." However, your situation differs from what most of the time there isn't a potential gap.

A few quick questions. Why would you have time for a masters program and not time for medical school?

Second, if you are putting off medical school, what are your plans to review the material for the MCAT since MCAT scores "expire" depending on the school (generally, 3-5 years IIRC)?

Third, will you have time to work as a medic while working on your thesis and applying (including traveling for interviews) to medical school? While there's a lot of standing around waiting depending on what type of research you're doing (I swear to God, it will be too soon before I have to do another PCR and gel), the prep time might not be able to be too flexible. Similarly, a lot like EMS, just because you want to get out around 5 or 6pm doesn't necessarily mean you will. Things happen and there were a few nights where I spent considerable time trouble shooting things in the lab, waiting for things to complete (/me glares at the 3 hour PCR protocol, especially when the machines are booked), or finishing up tests just because I got behind someplace during the day.

 

[SanDiegoEmt7]

I believe you are confusing a Special Masters Program (SMP. I graduated from the Tufts SMP program [MS in Biomedical Sciences]) and a "postbaccalaureate premedical program." The postbacc/premed programs are the ones that are essentially a way for people who decided to become a physician after undergrad to knock out the premed requirements. SMPs, on the other hand, are generally a preview of the first year of medical school. When I went to Tufts, Tufts Med School was still using a traditional curriculum (e.g. anatomy, physiology, immunology, biochem, molecular bio, pathology, pharmacology, etc) and many of the SMP courses were the same (same professors and same exams, just lectures in the afternoon instead of the morning) as the medical students (molecular bio, biochemistry, histology, immunology, and physiology IIRC) with additional courses rounding out the program. Additionally, an MCAT course (recommended. After the SMP and the Prinston Review course, my score went from 29 (9/10/10) to a 34 (12/12/10). Mind you, my math, ochem, gchem, and physics was several years old minus the review course.

I kind of combined the post-bacc and SMP there. Sorry about that, it was a mental lapse.

The reasoning for the master's but not med school is that there is no med school in my area and I must be in my home town to help take care of family stuff for a couple years. I also would like to improve my application, I would like to add more research to my resume (I didn't get published or have any posters in my undergrad)

I'm not sure about the time constraints. I did work full time while pursuing the undergrad degree, but it was tough at times. The master's has the potential to be even tougher with class, lab work, and TAing. I assumed I would take vacation time for interviews and travelling. As for the MCAT, I planned on taking it this year during my gap, since I was too busy during undergrad to give it adequate study time (and too broke to take an expensive study class).

I just don't know if it's worth going to medic school when I'm only planning on doing it for two years. In my 911 system there is only one medic on scene (no fire medics and you work with an EMT) and there is a strong call volume with great diversity in complaint/injury. The medics that work hear are sought by many other county's just because of the experience they gain by working here. So I see some good skills and personal growth that can be gained. But is two years enough time to solidify the paramedic skills to the point that it would actually help me as a doctor?

 

[terrible one]

I just don't know if it's worth going to medic school when I'm only planning on doing it for two years. In my 911 system there is only one medic on scene (no fire medics and you work with an EMT) and there is a strong call volume with great diversity in complaint/injury. The medics that work hear are sought by many other county's just because of the experience they gain by working here.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but out of curiosity where do you work? Thanks

 

[SanDiegoEmt7]

I work in the central valley of California

 

[terrible one]

Oh I was just asking because of your screen name SanDiegoEMT, so you work at Hall then?

 

[EMTinNEPA]

I know several doctors who are former Paramedics, and they are among the best Physicians I know.