How much weight does an EMT cert carry?

Not worth your time at all, your time could be focused on other things imo.

steveo26 said:

Hi Everyone,

I am finishing up 2 undergrad re-takes this semester (10 credits total) and will take the MCAT in May. I am toying around with getting certified as an MCAT. My question is whether or not it will be worth it to add this to my plate since I'll be working about 20 hours per week as well. I don't want things getting in the way of MCAT studying, but if an EMT cert is a huge deal, I'll find the time. It's worth noting that I will only be able to put the cert itself on my med school app as there will be little time to log hours between certification and when I submit my med school applications. Thanks for the help!

Steve

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Agree with Zeb. It's the clinical experience that one could possibly acquire that would be of interest. The certification means you can pass a basic highschool biology course.

steveo26 said:

Thanks for the responses (and for overlooking the "MCAT" typo). I figured as much, but it's also been a while since I've had clinical experience. I did about 2 years of lab/clinical research at Hopkins about 5 years ago. I was in the OR and at the bedside for numerous procedures (hundreds of hours). Is there a shelf-life for clinical experience in the eyes of adcoms? I have done some more volunteering recently, but i did tons of shadowing/volunteering a few years back. I don't need clinical exposure to confirm my decision to pursue medicine at this point. In the event I don't get accepted this cycle, the EMT experience would be a good way to strengthen my app, however I understand a cert by itself doesn't mean much. It boils down to how much contingency planning I want to do in the event I dont get accepted.

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I don't know steveo. It doesn't seem to me that there is a commonly agreed upon script. Where Clinical Experience's lines are fixed. You have some. It's much more about how it feeds into your particular narrative. And how it expresswes your motivations. If you want to see some things clinically as an EMT or ED tech then by all means do it. It could make for a decent update impetus as the season goes on. EMT cert is a premed standard. A deeper insight into patient care culture is not. So if I was you I would be thinking several steps in advance to determine it's worth to me.

Those would involve asking yourself whatt you could and would want to do with the cert. itself. Opportunities vary widely by region and even city and facility. Some ED's hire EMT-B's as ED tech's. Some don't. EMT-B's can be SNIF delivery guys or functioning EMS personnel for a municipality.

I don't know. Good luck dude.

Here is a good post about EMT's to read:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=685859

If you volunteer as an EMT it's good because it's both clinical and volunteer. If you do it as a job then it's not as good IMO. In either case it definitely won't hurt but don't just get it to get it, the value will lie in actually using it.

If you get your EMT just prior to applying to med school, it looks like a ploy - a resume/EC builder. Adcoms are not dumb, and it will be viewed as what it appears to be. If you get your EMT and use it fairly extensively for a period prior to being pre-med, it looks like you're interested in medicine and medical school becomes a natural extension.

The cert is meaningless w/o actually using it to spend significant time with patients.

steveo26 said:

Hi Everyone,

I am finishing up 2 undergrad re-takes this semester (10 credits total) and will take the MCAT in May. I am toying around with getting certified as an MCAT. My question is whether or not it will be worth it to add this to my plate since I'll be working about 20 hours per week as well. I don't want things getting in the way of MCAT studying, but if an EMT cert is a huge deal, I'll find the time. It's worth noting that I will only be able to put the cert itself on my med school app as there will be little time to log hours between certification and when I submit my med school applications. Thanks for the help!

Steve

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I don't know how it is elsewhere, but there are tons of pre-meds at my school. Half of them have EMT certifications and volunteers for the campus or other local ambulance squads. If you were a freshman looking for ideas for volunteer and clinical opportunities, I would say it's a great way to get extra experience. But it's not worth taking extra time when you're already applying just to put the certification on your resume.

Sounds like a well thought out and practical plan. Best of luck!

I actually had this same question. Lets say you apply in summer, then you would like to work in something medically related.

What do you do? Obviously I couldn't add it to my app but I'm sure when they ask, "so Blanco, what are you doing these days?" I could at least answer with something relevant to the field.

I've heard options of: PCT, EMT, CNA, etc. Is this good or is it absolutely of no worth to an interview and/or applicant?

I guess there is no CORRECT answer for what to do in this glide year but I've always thought medically relevant is better than not...

Not sure. Please impart your SDN wisdom on my confusion.

steveo26 said:

I'm going to go ahead and focus my energy on the MCAT and getting A's in my classes this semester. Since everything hinges on when I submit my apps and I won't have time to log hours as an EMT before doing so, I agree that the cert is pretty transparent. Perhaps, I'll look into an EMT class this summer and work as an EMT in the fall. If I need to re-apply, then I'll have meaningful EMT experience to add. Otherwise, I'll simply have some great experience as an EMT and a productive way to spend some of my time before attending med school.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this!

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Excellent plan. In my experience (and from my observation) ADCOMs are not impressed with the short-term. I'll allude to a specific situation. My friend (not some made-up non-entity) chose to pursue medicine after he got his BA. He worked for years in construction while taking post-bacc classes, but managed to extend that to another 4 years. He applied to med school with no success, and waited a year while studying for his MCAT. In the interim, he didn't do much, aside from working and studying to be an EMT. He only improved on the MCAT by one point--big mistake--and rather than trying again, went to a Caribbean school this January.

When ADCOMs look at your resume, they're not looking at details. They're interested in the commitments you've made. Whether you fed the homeless, spent six summers in Africa, or simply led a marching band, they care more about your commitment to something than WHAT you committed to doing. A certification as an EMT is hollow if you can't talk about the different patients you've helped over the years. Research experience is hollow if you've only spend 4 months working on a project. Commitment to doing ONE thing matters more than certifications and credentials in anything.

Focus on your MCAT and previous experience. Go for the EMT class this spring if you feel it will help you during the next cycle. But focus on what you're doing now.

steveo26 said:

I'm going to go ahead and focus my energy on the MCAT and getting A's in my classes this semester. Since everything hinges on when I submit my apps and I won't have time to log hours as an EMT before doing so, I agree that the cert is pretty transparent. Perhaps, I'll look into an EMT class this summer and work as an EMT in the fall. If I need to re-apply, then I'll have meaningful EMT experience to add. Otherwise, I'll simply have some great experience as an EMT and a productive way to spend some of my time before attending med school.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this!

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Yeah this sounds pretty solid. EMT-B class is not a difficult course, though it can be distracting. Theres nothing you will do in this course that will matter for ADCOMs, the cert in a sense is worthless its what you do with it as many have stated. If you only have a few months, not worth it sense most places you would volunteer will have you doing a rookie program of sorts, plus how many hours are you able to get some folks at my agency that volunteer only do 36hrs a month. Some places theres only so much room for there folks to sign up in the larger EMS agencys so the idea that you will have a lot of time on the truck to get any real thing of substance is slim. Its not gun shots,stabs,MVCs,Cardiac arrest, every night. Can be alot of nothing or nothing at all. Need close to a year or more to really get going and see what you see in that time. Best thing is not to worry about EMT and concentrate on your studys and what you got on your plate already. Seems thats what your going to do for the most part just another internet opinon

Good Luck/Disclaimer Don't Take My, Word I Don't

Thanks for this. I had been considering going for an EMT cert, but now I know my time is better spent elsewhere.

BennieBlanco said:

I actually had this same question. Lets say you apply in summer, then you would like to work in something medically related.

What do you do? Obviously I couldn't add it to my app but I'm sure when they ask, "so Blanco, what are you doing these days?" I could at least answer with something relevant to the field.

I've heard options of: PCT, EMT, CNA, etc. Is this good or is it absolutely of no worth to an interview and/or applicant?

I guess there is no CORRECT answer for what to do in this glide year but I've always thought medically relevant is better than not...

Not sure. Please impart your SDN wisdom on my confusion.

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Beyond just the personal benefit of being able spend time with patients and practitioners I do think they're are some benefits to applicants/interviewers of being an EMT, PCA, etc. You can talk about it during an interview. If you get waitlisted or deferred you can include it in an update letter or get a supervisor/physician to send an additional LOR (always ask permission from admissions before doing this though). Also in the unfortunate event that an applicant doesn't get accepted than they've already added something new for next year's application.

Plus, if you can get in good with some of physicians, ask them to give you a tutorial of a physical exam and a medical interview if they're willing. May as well use the time to learn normal sounds, percussions, palpations, and visual findings and get some facility with the stethoscope, otoscope, etc.

ShyRem said:

If you get your EMT just prior to applying to med school, it looks like a ploy - a resume/EC builder. Adcoms are not dumb, and it will be viewed as what it appears to be. If you get your EMT and use it fairly extensively for a period prior to being pre-med, it looks like you're interested in medicine and medical school becomes a natural extension.

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Mm.. always straight to the point. Love that in my women.

Many years ago I was going back to do premed stuff with the thought of going to med school. I also thought that getting an EMT cert might help me. I did it. I'm not sure if it helped or not. I did go to med school, residency etc. now an anesthesiologist. Looking back on it, it did have one benefit not alluded to above. I got to see what sort of training and knowledge EMTs have. It is not a lot. But the experienced ones can be very good at what they do. In fact, a gen practitioner who volunteered with that rural crew said she would often defer to the guys who did a lot of that stuff as they seemed to have a better idea of how to stabilize and transport a pt.
Being an anesthesiologist, I don't feel that way at all. But I can understand how someone who sees pts in the office all day in non-emergent situations could.
It was fun, I learned stuff, and it gave me an insight I would not otherwise have. Not sure if it helps get into med school (prob not). If that is the only reason you want to do it, I wouldn't recommend it.
Tuck

I have a friend who did an EMT cert at the local community college while he was doing his post bacc for med school. I chose, like you, to skip it and focus on Ochem and the MCAT. He was in the course every saturday for a semester, and then had to do 4 rides in an ambulance to finish the course. The local fire department then had his number to go "volunteer" at the station - washing fire engines, cleaning gear, etc - with the occasional ride in the ambulance when they had room.

I on the other hand, worked in the local ER and did similar grunt work - cleaning, restocking, etc. Six of one, half dozen of the other IMO.

He said the only positive about the course was that AMCAS counted it as an 8 credit BCPM course - which had the same effect on his GPA as two much harder courses.

We both were accepted to multiple MD schools - in one case, the same school, so take that for what its worth.

I'll bet my EMT cert weighs about two ounces.

It all depends on what you actually do as an EMT. If you get the cert, good. It certainly can't hurt. If you get it and work at a transport company, OK, its at least some experience.

Now let's say that you get your cert, and work at FDNY out of the station where Rescue 1 is, or in Philly with Medic 34 (~ 9000 calls per year). Some place that is literally Hell on Earth, nonstop action, rockin' all day and night.

Your call volume and your patient contact hours will skyrocket, as well as your skills. I have yet to meet an EMT from big city or highly active EMS *with the right MCAT scores and grades* that didn't get into medical school.

Basically, you take your lumps out on the street and learn how to deal with them. Sitting inside a car during an extrication holding C-spine or putting in an IV while gas powered saws buzz all around you definitely stiffens your nerves. Supervisors or Police yelling at you while you do your thing is another wonderful experience. Eventually, you'll find that you don't get rattled near as easily, and that you can manage your stress level much more effectively.

My advice: document, document document. Know your patient contact hours, get to know your ER medical director, and get your hands dirty and get in there. Ask a Medic or ER Doc to let you drop a tube or use a BIAD. Learn to not take flack from nurses and Docs. Overall, gain confidence in what your abilities are. That will all project in your essay as well as your interview, provided you do not get the ParaGod complex.