Paramedic as a Bachelors Degree?

[MDavidson17]

Hello, I am currently an undecided pre-med major, undecided as in my bachelors degree. I am also an EMT-B working for a service at the moment. While working as an EMT-B I realize I can't stand knowing what to do and not being able to do it on the truck because I don't have the training or certification. I am contemplating taking Paramedic as my bachelors, as my school does offer a program for it. Do you all think this would be a bad idea? I've heard that medical schools don't really care for vocational degrees. Just really want to know if it will hinder me in anyway. Another option would be taking a year off of school to go to Medic school. Is setting myself back a year to work for two years ludicrous?

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[Gurby]

Definitely don't delay your medical school pathway by a year to become a paramedic. An EMS-focused bachelors seems reasonable to me, assuming you can also get your prereq's done within that 4-year span of time. I feel like this should be possible because paramedic is usually a 1 or 2 year program.

Not exactly the same situation as you, but here's a great post I have bookmarked on "should a premed go medic": http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/should-a-pre-med-student-go-medic.238346/#post-3077481

You do get some great hospital experience during paramedic training - I did 40 hours in the OR practicing airway management, 40 hours in the ICU, 40 hours psych ward, 40 hours in pediatrics, 40 hours labor and delivery, 160 hours in the ED. All of this time you're assessing patients, rounding/consulting with the doctors, watching them do their assessments, talking about what you'd do and why, practicing your skills, etc.

 

[LizzyM]

The vocational degrees are not seen as being as rigorous as a BS in neuroscinece or biochemistry or even a BA in philosophy or history.
The vocational degrees are education and training for a specific job. If you do the training with no intention of making in your career, you've deprived someone who did want to make it their career of that training spot and you look like an indecisive fool who trained to be X and then switched to medicine. There might be the cynical adcom members who will wonder if you will switch again and decide you don't want to be a physician but now want to join the circus or go into politics.

 

[doc05]

you don't need a 4-year degree to be a paramedic. how can it possibly be a major? are you at a community college?

 

[Cawolf]

Pitt has a bachelors in emergency medicine, which includes a paramedic program.