Certification

[DaredevilDO]

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Does certification in Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, Medical Operations and First Aid, Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, or Terrorism help at all in medical school or maybe during EM residency/fellowship or in anything at all really? At all? Maybe?

 

[MedPR]

Does certification in Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, Medical Operations and First Aid, Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, or Terrorism help at all in medical school or maybe during EM residency/fellowship or in anything at all really? At all? Maybe?

Probably not.

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[Goro]

Yup! Lifesaving is a required part of most curricula.

Does certification in Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, Medical Operations and First Aid, Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, or Terrorism help at all in medical school or maybe during EM residency/fellowship or in anything at all really? At all? Maybe?

 

[racerwad]

Probably not.

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Astonishing...

Anyhow, as Goro mentioned, it does help in that it demonstrates a commitment to the care of others beyond the traditional shadowing and volunteering. Depending upon the context in which you obtained your certifications, you could point to it as evidence of the depth and breadth of your experience and understanding of what you might be getting into.

It probably won't help make a 25 on your MCAT look like a 30.

It will probably also help with your application towards EM programs as a 4th year because again, it shows a commitment to the field and that's something that is appreciated.

Also, beyond just padding your application, you must've met people along the way that might be able to help you out, right? That is another way your experience could help you.

If you're asking if you should go out and get these certs just to apply to med school and it won't help your current gig, it's probably not worth it.

 

[MedPR]

If you're asking if you should go out and get these certs just to apply to med school and it won't help your current gig, it's probably not worth it.

I assumed this was the case. So you actually agree with me brah.

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[racerwad]

I assumed this was the case. So you actually agree with me brah.

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I often do, which is why I rarely post when you do because you've made a point I agree with.

However, you assume a lot and sometimes know less. If the OP already has them, I felt compelled to tell him how they might benefit him.

 

[coolingglasses]

Doesn't hurt. But if you can't show how they contribute to your preparedness/experience in medicine, then they're not all that useful.

 

[NurWollen]

Doesn't hurt. But if you can't show how they contribute to your preparedness/experience in medicine, then they're not all that useful.

Yeah, but the same holds true for every extra curricular activity we do.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

it may help for a test question or two in med school and maybe as an interesting EC for getting in, but it isn't going to help regarding material or qualifications. and i highly doubt it will do anything at all for EM residencies especially that far out. To put that in perspective, i took a test just this morning where i only knew a test answer because i remember it from a scrubs episode, so don't think it is going to make that much of a difference in the material.

 

[dudeliness]

it may help for a test question or two in med school and maybe as an interesting EC for getting in, but it isn't going to help regarding material or qualifications. and i highly doubt it will do anything at all for EM residencies especially that far out. To put that in perspective, i took a test just this morning where i only knew a test answer because i remember it from a scrubs episode, so don't think it is going to make that much of a difference in the material.

I've been watching scrubs a lot lately. I would be very interested to know what from that show actually helped you in med school. Lol

 

[racerwad]

it may help for a test question or two in med school and maybe as an interesting EC for getting in, but it isn't going to help regarding material or qualifications. and i highly doubt it will do anything at all for EM residencies especially that far out. To put that in perspective, i took a test just this morning where i only knew a test answer because i remember it from a scrubs episode, so don't think it is going to make that much of a difference in the material.

It all depends on the residency part. If he's obtained those along the course of a 5-10 year career in pre-hospital healthcare/EMS, then he could use it as evidence supporting his certainty in his residency choice in EM. If they're just from the online FEMA courses, then I agree, it's a little "meh." Big picture, it's still a little early to be thinking about residency and if he doesn't have them already, it isn't worth getting.

I'm just hoping he's been a career firefighter or something and not just some wannabe that thought this would pad their resume.