Comments on: Forum Flashback: “Should I become an EMT?”

By: Mike EMT-B

Mike EMT-B — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:33:47 +0000

I am currently an EMT-B. I will be working for the City of Honolulu EMS. My course was and EMT-I course requiring 700 hours (2 months 40 hour/ week ambulance rotations). This is experience is for Physician Assistant school. Many P.A programs require 1 year or 2000 hours of experience. I have found that just the clinicals alone have exposed me to many different types of patients from sick to injured. This experience is valuable and humbling as a medical professional, and will recommend it to anyone getting into the field. You get dispatched to a variety of cases: gunshot, stabbings, trauma, DOA, cardiovascular (CHF, CP, HA, HTN), stroke (CVA), OD, childbirth, psychiatric, respiratory, drowning, diabetic patient, seizure, and oh yes many others. Through EMS you learn how to take a patient history, and possibly figure out what the underlying problem could be. BUT At the same time, medical school (MD), nursing school (RN), and Physician assistant school (PA) will only accept students with the best grades. So make sure you have something close to a 4.0.

By: Nursewannabe

Nursewannabe — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:27:00 +0000

What about EMT vs. Nursing school? I’m trying to figure out whether I should do my prereqs for nursing school or become an EMT first to figure out if I want to be in the medical field.

By: Thomas EMT-B

Thomas EMT-B — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:43:45 +0000

NYCEMT-The author of this article has worked as an EMT. He talks about his background in a post above yours.

By: NYCEMT

NYCEMT — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:44:53 +0000

I could not disagree more. First of all, you are in direct care of the patient. You make decisions and interventions that could save someone’s life or do the opposite. The article says that EMT is looked at as an extracurricular activity such as volunteering or research. Obviously the author of this article has not been an EMT out in the field. Maybe its because I work EMS in the Bronx, but volunteering? i mean yes we do have to transport geriatric patients from time to time but how about the time when someone handed me an unresponsive infant? How about the HIV patient who was bleeding from the forehead after being hit in the head by a cain and needed bleeding control? How about being dispatched to a patient breathing at 40 breaths per minute? I’m sorry we are the first responders. We make the first decisions in patient care. So to compare it to volunteering (what max you get vitals- we get two sets for each patient-which is standard) or doing “research” without a Ph.D (which is pretty much equivalent to cooking), is a disgrace. Furthermore, Paramedics (which I will be by the end of next year), can do far more than emts. They are pretty much the doctors of the road. They can ETI, do EKG’s, give over 24 drugs, and a whole host of other things. So choose what you want to choose… What do medical schools really want? Yes, it is important to know how many ATP’s come out of the TCA cycle, but I know when it comes to my interview… probably sometime in the near future, and if the question arises: why do you want to go into medicine? I will have no problem telling them about the time I saved an infants life and the look on his crying mothers face when he became conscious.

By: Shantanu

Shantanu — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:45:07 +0000

I am taking an EMT class right now but I’ve been volunteering with my Rescue Squad for over a year now and I can easily say that I’ve seen things which have really made me far more devoted to becoming a doctor than anything else.

Being an EMT gets you a lot of experience. You’re the first responder, thus you need to develop critical thinking skills which will be useful in Medicine (What do I do? Do we have to ambulate? Do we need medics? What about Medevac? Or if the problem isn’t obvious: what the hell is bothering him?) It sure as heck isn’t easy but it definitely is rewarding.

Everytime I see a doctor in the ER when we transport after a call it makes me all-the-more devoted.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:11:09 +0000

As I’m about to start my third year in med school, some of my most incredible life experiences definitely came from being in EMS. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat even if I were never going to put it on my med school application. It was worth it because of its own merit. If you think you’ll enjoy EMS, you probably will, and it was great. Just make sure you’re in an area that will allow you to do 911 calls, because nursing home transports get real boring real fast.

By: EMT-P

EMT-P — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:45:23 +0000

Hello everyone! I have been an EMT-P for two years now, and have finally made the decision to go back to school for nursing. I was initially on the nursing track straight out of high school, and planned to continue on to CRNA. I chose to take EMS classes at night while I took my core classes during the day. I felt EMS would be great experience while I worked my way up to my goal. Well I’m telling everyone this to remind you not to be swayed by “the now” and let go of your goal! Paramedics have what many people consider to be great work schedules. Many services work 24 on 48 off, so two and three days a week. The pay, for a student at least, is wonderful. As a junior in college that kind of income is unreal. The experience is good, but very very different from in hospital care! In all, it took me two years to go from nothing to EMT-P, and when considering those two years plus the two years of working as a paramedic, had I stayed on track with my BSN I would already be in a CRNA program instead of working on my RN! I am not trying to sway anyone’s opinion on taking EMS courses; just don’t let them interfere with your final goal of MD!

By: L

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:30:29 +0000

I plan on taking the classes to become an EMT this year. I personally do not think that doing it before you apply to medical school is a bad thing, especially if one wants to gain experience before enrolling into med school. I actually think that EMTs should be proud that the job is thought of as the perfect way to boost one’s chances of getting into med school becuase it shows that people actually do value and appreciate that job enough to realise that it is very important in the medical field. Also, the fact that medical admission boards place a certain value on applicants with that experience should also re enforce the fact that this job is looked upon with respect and not simply as a steppng stone to something higher.
But that’s just my opinion

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:19:01 +0000

I am an NREMT-B and in 2 months, i will begin my 3rd year of Med School. I obtained my EMT after finishing undergrad because I was burnt out and didn’t want to go to medical school. I used my EMT to work in the Emergency Department and Trauma Center of an urban, 900+ bed Level 1 Trauma Center for 4 years. The hands on experience was absolutely phenomenal and motivated me to pursue a career in medicine. Working in a teaching hospital, I was able to see the spectrum of medical education from EMT students to Interns to Attendings and it gave me a better understanding and appreciation for the field of medicine.

To be brief, one should not use EMT certification without experience as a CV builder. But, before committing $150,000+ dollars and 8-10 difficult years to medical education, spend some time working in and understanding how medical care is delivered along the continuum. Becoming an EMT is very rewarding and offers a chance for patient contact in an autonomous, decision making environment, skills that will be vital to the successful practice of medicine later in your career, regardless of specialty.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to hear more or discuss it further.

By: Michigan EMT-Intermediate

Michigan EMT-Intermediate — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:15:27 +0000

To Mike Barnum, MD:

I honestly wish you could come to my university and say exactly what you said in the post above to a certain professor who is also ON THE HUMAN MEDICINE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS BOARD. This professor / advisor has been telling pre-medical students who are severely lacking in many areas that an EMT license could very well be their ticket into medical school. What you said people SHOULDN’T do is exactly what this professor is doing. He is not directly my advisor because I am not in that college within the university. I have wanted to approach him about this for a long time and I’m not quite sure what I would say. I have talked to quite a few students about this and they agree that it is not “selfish” but rather helping students like myself who are getting a different kind of benefit out of working in EMS rather than the superficial value of having the license. I plan on talking about this extensively in medical school interviews and personal statements. Thanks for your post!

-Mich EMT-S