Any Firefighters or Paramedics...

[FoughtFyr]

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If you are a firefighter, paramedic, EMT-B or any combination of the above -

As a kindred spirit who has "made the leap" to medical school (UIC Class of 2004), if there is anything I can do to help you - please feel free to contact me via private message service here.

It can be done...

- H

 

[southerndoc]

FoughtFyr,

There are a lot more EMT's and paramedics attending medical school that I imagined there would be.

I thought I was only one of a handful that were attending medical school. Heh, how wrong I was. Numerous others have made the leap before me.

There is still a "brotherhood" among firefighters and paramedics that still exists when they transition to medical school and residency.

 

[Ernham]

95% of EMT turned doctors only got their cert so it would look good on their application. Firefighters, however, are a completely different story, and I'd be interested to hear of anyone from such a background going into medicine.

 

[gwyn779]

I didn't get my cert so it would look good on my application. I got it so I could start doing stuff as soon as possible, since, after all, that's what I wanted to do. But maybe I'm one of those 5%. Except everyone else I've talked to says the same thing and truly enjoyed their time in EMS.

 

[FoughtFyr]

Actually, I never wanted to be a doctor. I started out right after high school as a medic/firefighter. At the age of 22 I started a bachelor's in nursing program because I really liked riding the bone bus and I wanted to go into EMS administration. In my (geographic) area nurses and medics don't always mix, and in my case they didn't, so after 2 1/2 years I transferred to a different school persuing a degree in health policy. I continued to work throughout undergrad. After earning my BS, I decided that I really liked toxicology - I was a glo-worm (HazMat team) - and to me it was just neat stuff! So I went and earned an MPH degree emphasizing environmental toxicology. All my instructors were docs and they kept telling me to apply to med school. When I earned my Master's, I left the fire department and became a research associate for a company called TriData, and was assigned to the U.S. Fire Administration as a "Major Incidents Investigator"; as well as doing some municipal consulting work. Pay was great but I hated office work. So I took my professors' advice and applied to med school (I had taken the MCAT during a moment of weakness in the first year of my MPH). I got in. I went back to the FD the first two years of med. school - probably shouldn't have, given my grades, but hey I missed the guys. Plus, it felt great to actually feel like I knew what the hell I was doing (as opposed to anat. lab 😉 ). So there is my story since you asked...

I was just posting here to offer a hand to any "brother" who felt I could help. That offer stands.

- H

 

[southerndoc]

I didn't become an EMT or paramedic to improve my app.

In fact, it was after I became an EMT that I decided to go to medical school.

 

[tonem]

I was a firefighter for 13 years before starting medical school in 1999 (firefighter/paramedic for the last 5).

I second Foughtfyr's noble sentiment. Let me know if you have any questions etc...

 

[lytesnsyrens]

I'm an EMT and I didn't do it just to pad my record. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but I had never had any kind of exposure to medicine, so I got my cert to gain experience and see if I really enjoyed it. And I LOVE it! In fact, if I don't make it to med school (God forbid) I'm going to go the paramedic route and hopefully become a flight medic. That's my goal anyway. BTW, did any of you guys do flight? well, that's my little story.

 

[OB1🤙]

Any other ski patrollers out there? I wasn't too hot on transfers and non-911 calls, and since I loved snowboarding, I went up and worked in Big Bear Lake, CA for three seasons as a patroller. It was quite possibly the best job in the world! Lots and lots (and lots) of trauma.

Here's a question to other medics and EMTs- do you guys intend to go into emergency medicine at this point, or are you looking elsewhere? I have my heart set on EM, but I wonder if that'll change as school goes on...

 

[PluckyDuk8]

I know this wasn't the point of the op's post, but I just have to defend some of us EMT-B's. Please do not assume all of us want to pad our resume's. Cheesily, I always knew I wanted to be a doctor...I became an EMT-B for a public service abroad because it was something that would give me medical exposure (and it was the easiest way of getting certification) and it would combine my love for medicine with the love working for and learning about that country. Would I use my year off working for private ems, after having my experience with true "public" ems, dealing with backbraking stairchair lifts bringing back a patient from dialysis, being a taxi at times, holding my nose from nursing home smells, etc. if I didn't like EMS work and just was interested in padding my resume? I take pride in what I do (even if I can't do who knows what medical and pride myself in my customer service and level of caring).

Sorry about the rant. How about those emt's who as a student/doctor are going to run into their previous coworkers? We are already joking about it at my workplace about me. I know it's going to happen...my garage is a 10 minute drive away from my school's hospital.

 

[Happy613]

Hey....I graduated college last year, but for the last two years of college I rode with a volunteer Fire company in Upstate NY. I think I pretty much spent my senior year on an engine. It was an amazing experience and I had to decide whether or not to apply for a paid ff position or retake the mcat...in any case I ended up applying to the Phoenix fire dept (which is an amazing organization) but in the end decided to re-take the mcat and I will be going to med school in August.

I don't regret the decision but I do miss the excitment of roaring out of the station at 3 in the moring in a snow drift....all in all I feel very lucky and honered to have had the experience.

 

[southerndoc]

Originally posted by Hawaiian Bruin
Here's a question to other medics and EMTs- do you guys intend to go into emergency medicine at this point, or are you looking elsewhere? I have my heart set on EM, but I wonder if that'll change as school goes on...

Either surgery or EM, not sure.

Most of the paramedics I've seen have not been that interested in EM. I know 4 EMT's (2 were EMT-P's) that chose internal medicine as a career.

 

[dumbest premed]

When I got my EMT-B certification I was planning on only doing it for a year or so to pad up my application a little. That was 2 years ago. After a month of volunteering, I began to enjoy my work. I've gained many hours of patient contact and think that it is a great experience. After volunteering for 6 months, I became an ER tech and got a paying job as an EMT with an EMS provider. I did this for about 8 months, but quit due to the lack of 911 calls. I wasn't seeing much trauma and my shift primarily involved transporting pts between hospitals and between nursing homes and hospitals. I then resumed my volunteer work, along with firefighter training. I very recently received my firefighter certification and have been volunteering as an EMT/firefighter for the past week.

Working as an EMT is definitely the best job that I ever had. I will most probably continue to volunteer during med school (if I am able to).

As a firefighter, so far I haven't responded to any major fires, but have done several vehicle extrications(HELL YEAH!). I continue to respond to medical calls primarily.

While I know many people who got their EMT certification to pad their application, many of them ended up enjoying it in the long run. My best guess is that there are plenty of us in med school.

 

[medicRN669]

Congrats FoughtFyr, and thanks for the offer of help, may be calling on you.

 

[paramed2premed]

Originally posted by Ernham
95% of EMT turned doctors only got their cert so it would look good on their application. Firefighters, however, are a completely different story, and I'd be interested to hear of anyone from such a background going into medicine.

I work full-time as a paramedic. I do a lot of precepting of Intermediate and Paramedic students, and I always ask why they are taking the course, moving up.

If I hear one more FF say that he wants to become a medic so that he will have an easier time getting on a department, I will rip off their leg and beat them to death with it. Maybe many doctors did get their EMT to "app-pad" (although my experience is contrary to that), it seems to me that 99% of FF-EMTP's got their medic either because a) it would get them a job, or b) because the union gets them overtime pay to sit in medic class.

Hey, some of my best friends are FF's! Just don't be so quick to denigrate EMTs as cynical EC-grubbers, and exhalt FF's as purer of spirit.

 

[FoughtFyr]

If I hear one more FF say that he wants to become a medic so that he will have an easier time getting on a department, I will rip off their leg and beat them to death with it. Maybe many doctors did get their EMT to "app-pad" (although my experience is contrary to that), it seems to me that 99% of FF-EMTP's got their medic either because a) it would get them a job, or b) because the union gets them overtime pay to sit in medic class.

Hear, Hear! I worked as an EMT-B instructor at a suburban Chicago Hospital affiliated with a university. EVRYONE in my classes was a. trying to get into med school, b. trying to get on a fire department, or c. getting paid obscene union wages to sit in my class. Got annoying after a while. Once, just once, I wanted to hear "I love EMS!" - namely because I do and I was starting to feel a bit odd 🙁

I'm o.k. now...

I think...

post call must sleep...

zZzZz...

- H

 

[paramed2premed]

Originally posted by FoughtFyr
...Once, just once, I wanted to hear "I love EMS!" - namely because I do and I was starting to feel a bit odd 🙁
- H

Right on. 😀

 

[southerndoc]

I sometimes question whether I should have went to medical school.

I really miss being on the streets full-time! I love EMS. Nothing can compare to it! My roots are EMS are still so strong that I wear a NREMT-P pin on my white coat. How sick is that?

 

[FoughtFyr]

Originally posted by Geek Medic
I sometimes question whether I should have went to medical school.

I really miss being on the streets full-time! I love EMS. Nothing can compare to it! My roots are EMS are still so strong that I wear a NREMT-P pin on my white coat. How sick is that?

I feel your pain. Got in trouble M2 year for signing a pt. chart as "EMT-P" out of force of habit (I had just gotten back from working a 48-hr over a weekend). I intend to contine to place the title after my name post medical school.

- H

 

[southerndoc]

I find it very hard to restrain myself from taking control during certain situations (e.g., cardiac arrests). Sometimes when I see a resident struggling to intubate, I just want to grab the laryngoscope out of his hand and throw the tube down.

I did have to remind one attending physician (a psychiatrist) that we don't treat hypotension with 1 mg epinephrine IV. We must first try a fluid bolus. Just imagine if I weren't there.

 

[FoughtFyr]

Originally posted by Geek Medic
I find it very hard to restrain myself from taking control during certain situations (e.g., cardiac arrests). Sometimes when I see a resident struggling to intubate, I just want to grab the laryngoscope out of his hand and throw the tube down.

I was doing compressions on a code, without family present, at a beautiful rate, depth, etc. and, out of force of habit, I was whistling "Patience" by Guns n' Roses (try it sometime - keeps a great rhythm). One of my classmates heard a nurse stating that I "had no idea what I was doing" as I was going "too fast", "too deep" and "not taking this seriously", so she was going to "replace me". Thankfully, my classmate avoided the oncoming shouting match by pointing out to the nurse that it would be in neither her best interest nor the patient's for her to attempt to remove a 10 year veteran paramedic who was 41 hours into a 40 hr shift.

- H

 

[paramed2premed]

Geek and Fought -

You answered an unvoiced question of mine. I have worked hard in my 5 years as a medic, working both inhospital and EMS. I am respected (I think...) as respectful and competant from the trailer parks to the OB floor. In the ED I am a leader, and my knowledge and skills are valued. Doctors have handed me the 'scope and tube for the second attempt, the have watched me run a RSI intubation in the ED, and I order labs, x-rays, and meds in the ED. Far from being admonished, I find that the doctors express a good deal of confidence in my judgement. (Well, so far. There is always tomorrow!)

How am I going to make the transition to scut boy?

There are many fields in medicine where my experience and knowledge is scant. There are a few, though, where I am fairly skilled. How am I going to handle being told to do things that are injurious/incorrect/unethical by less-experienced, but higher-ranked people? I have always been somewhat cheeky, and I worry that I will be seen as arrogant and conceited.

Your experiences inform me that this indeed may be an issue in the future. How do you guys handle this tension?

 

[tkim]

Originally posted by Geek Medic
I sometimes question whether I should have went to medical school.

I really miss being on the streets full-time! I love EMS. Nothing can compare to it! My roots are EMS are still so strong that I wear a NREMT-P pin on my white coat. How sick is that?

It's sick.

This will be year 15 for me - 13 at the P-level, and I'm not afraid to admit I'm a little crisp. Getting off the streets for a while will do me some good.

- Tae

 

[paramed2premed]

Tae -

For some reason, I thought you were pro-FF. 13 years on the rig? What about your pension?

- P2P

 

[tkim]

Originally posted by paramed2premed
Tae -

For some reason, I thought you were pro-FF. 13 years on the rig? What about your pension?

- P2P

Ah, no - me just medic.

I use that Judd Hirsch line from 'Taxi' - "Everybody else here is something else - I'm just a cabbie."

I get no pension, working private and hospital-based services, though I've cashed out of profit-sharing plans once or twice.

I *do* get 20 weeks of severance from my hospital job. I guess it's the only good thing about being laid off ... 🙄

- Tae

 

[quideam]

I became an EMT-D when I was sixteen... riding was what got me interested in medicine in the first place. It's actually what got me interested in military medicine, because that will give me the opportunity to practice "in the field" more.

Anyway, now i'd like to do either surgery or EM...

**by the way, i really think that most people who become EMTs and actually ride for a year or two do it because they love it....**

- Quid

 

[deleted6669]

emt 1-a x 5 years
paramedic x 5 years in l.a. county and philadelphia
emergency med p.a. x 7 years

will probably do em, fp, or em/fp the d.o. route.

I too am constantly saving new physicians from themselves and their silly mistakes in the e.d.