Do EMT's or MA's get more clinical experience?

[triplebond]

I'm a 3rd, going in 4th, year undergrad working towards getting into medical school and I wasn't sure which path would be more relevant in terms of helping me gain valuable clinical experience. By that, I mean I don't want a mundane job where I just clean rooms all day.

I've heard that Medical Assistants are able to do tasks that EMT's cannot do, like perform EKG's and drawing blood. However, there is much less excitement being an MA because you can only work in private practices, whereas being an EMT is better because you get exposed to all types of cases in the emergency department. Is there any truth to these speculations?

I was leaning towards MA certification but since this program is ~$1K more expensive than the EMT program, I just wanted to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lNVlNClBLE]

I'm a 3rd, going in 4th, year undergrad working towards getting into medical school and I wasn't sure which path would be more relevant in terms of helping me gain valuable clinical experience. By that, I mean I don't want a mundane job where I just clean rooms all day.

I've heard that Medical Assistants are able to do tasks that EMT's cannot do, like perform EKG's and drawing blood. However, there is much less excitement being an MA because you can only work in private practices, whereas being an EMT is better because you get exposed to all types of cases in the emergency department. Is there any truth to these speculations?

I was leaning towards MA certification but since this program is ~$1K more expensive than the EMT program, I just wanted to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.

.

 

[aldol16]

As a starting EMT, you most likely will be doing mostly transports at a private company. Think dialysis, doctor appointments, etc..

I think this is highly dependent on where you work. In the city, this is probably true because mobile intensive care units are likely only blocks away from calls and would get there before ambulances. Depends on the city, I guess. When I was in undergrad, I started out with the local squad and handled all the emergency calls. Nursing homes and other medical facilities also had contracts with transport ambulance companies but that was only for non-emergent transport. We would often get mad at these facilities for calling us for non-emergencies because that would take us out of service for 1-2 hours when only a transport was really needed. Anyway, you can start as an EMT doing actual patient care (i.e. not just transport) depending on where you work.

OP, how long does MA training take? With EMT training, you would probably only be able to find a course that's a semester-long and by the time you're done, you'll only have time for being a trainee for a couple of months at a local squad - not much patient contact at all. MA training might be more hands-on and give you on-the-job training so you can become exposed to patients earlier. For EMT training, many states have programs that completely pay for EMT training - you should look into this and inquire at your local squad.

 

[taco152]

If your able to work emergency service over transport I beleive emt offers much more. You will handle many situation. You'll walk into accidents, arrest, medical emergency and be looked on as thee provider. Even if your only bls you'll be involved with a team that are literally dealing with life and death moments. I agree that other shadowing is necessary and you'll have to be able to answer why not just stay in EMS but I beleive it's great clinical experience and opportunity.
I don't know as much about MAs so I can't speak as much.

 

[mimelim]

There is a substantial difference between clinical experience and clinical exposure. I would say that neither is a great source of clinical experience, but it can be variable depending on the location. I would say that EMTs have far more clinical exposure in most settings. One could get lucky of course and have a physician take an interest in the MA applying to medical school, but normally MAs are doing their work away from where clinical medicine is being practiced.

 

[triplebond]

I think this is highly dependent on where you work. In the city, this is probably true because mobile intensive care units are likely only blocks away from calls and would get there before ambulances. Depends on the city, I guess. When I was in undergrad, I started out with the local squad and handled all the emergency calls. Nursing homes and other medical facilities also had contracts with transport ambulance companies but that was only for non-emergent transport. We would often get mad at these facilities for calling us for non-emergencies because that would take us out of service for 1-2 hours when only a transport was really needed. Anyway, you can start as an EMT doing actual patient care (i.e. not just transport) depending on where you work.

OP, how long does MA training take? With EMT training, you would probably only be able to find a course that's a semester-long and by the time you're done, you'll only have time for being a trainee for a couple of months at a local squad - not much patient contact at all. MA training might be more hands-on and give you on-the-job training so you can become exposed to patients earlier. For EMT training, many states have programs that completely pay for EMT training - you should look into this and inquire at your local squad.

At my school, MA training is 3 months (140hrs) plus 160 hrs clinical externship. EMT program is about two months.

 

[triplebond]

From my experience shadowing a doctor, it seems like EMT's gain more clinical exposure and observe life and death situations more so than MA's but don't necessarily get to physically participate in medical procedures as much because they're limited by the training.

It's a toss up for me on this one because while MA seems to offer more training and experience. I really need to focus on getting my mindset together to apply for med school/grad school this cycle and I don't know if I'll have the time to participate in a long clinical externship. I know that the EMT program is a bit shorter, but not sure if my school requires an externship as well. Plus I want to get hands on experience asap.