EMS Degree

[firesafetybear]

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Hello my name is Austin. I am 18 years old and thinking about becoming a EMT/Paramedic/Firefighter. I understand tha after i complete all that and some Gen Ed. courses I wll have an A.S in EMS. (Emergency Medical Services).

My question is what can I do to further pursue my career and work my way up as i am Employed as a paramedic/firefighter? I want to eventually be working in a hospital or become a doctor. Something rewarding, as in money wise and the face that i'm saving lives everyday. It isn't all about money, but making good money and doing what I love everyday would be very nice.

If anyone has an idea of what path I should take, or how to do this, or the best way to move up the ranks, etc.

Also to add, I have florida pre-paid so that pays for 4 years of school. 2 years community and 2 years university.

 

[firesafetybear]

And maybe I should add that I want to some sort of surgery. Brain, neuro, spine, cardiology, heart, all that stuff.

 

[aSagacious]

Slow down there tiger. EMS and professional medicine are two discrete career paths. Obtaining your medic / fire-science degree will do nothing for you as far as 'working your way up' towards becoming a physician.

Sure, you'd be accumulating clinical experience but you'd still have to attend a 4-year university, acquire a bachelor's degree (while satisfying the med school prerequisite courses), and then attend four more years of med school plus 3-6 years of graduate medical training (residency + fellowship) before you can autonomously practice as a physician.

If you already know that you eventually want to be a physician then my advice would be to skip the medic/fire-fighter licensure entirely as it will only waste your time. Almost none of your community college credits contributing to your licensure will transfer to a four-year university, so you'll likely have to spend four years on top of the two at your community college.

Another career to consider is one of the allied health professions (nursing or physicians' assistant), both of which are compensated well and can do a fair number of simple procedures.

I suggest you start volunteering or shadowing in a hospital setting in order to gain exposure to these various professions before you set out on a career path.

 

[Tin Man]

If you love EMS, you'll get there fast, and you won't make much.

If you want to be a doctor (especially a surgeon), it'll take you a very long time to get there, and you'll make more money.

Do one or the other. It's unlikely you'll be able to study much on a firefighter's work schedule, and you'll be adding time on to an already time-consuming process. I've dedicated over four years of my life to medicine already, and have not even begun to learn about medicine yet.

 

[Starlightembers]

Just to add on to what others are saying, to become a physician you will need (highly simplified version):

• A Bachelors Degree, 4 Years.
  • You can major in whatever you want; however, to get into medical school, you will need to complete two semesters of Biology, two semesters of Chemistry, two semesters of Organic Chemistry, two semesters of Physics and a semester or two of college-level math. It is important to get as many As, especially in these classes, as possible. The average GPA for those accepted into medical school is around 3.7ish. You will then need to take something called the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and do well on that. During this time, it also important to volunteer in a clinical setting (ex, a hospital), shadow practicing physicians and engage in other extracurricular activities.
• Medical School - 4 Years
  
  • Once you have applied and (hopefully) are accepted into medical school, you will then spend four years getting your medical degree. Traditionally, the first two years have been spent studying biomedical sciences and the last two years spent in the hospital learning how to take care of patients.
• Residency/Post Graduate Training - 3+ Years
  • After medical school, you will then need to apply to residencies and match into one. Residency is where you will train in your chosen specialty and, depending on what specialty you choose, can take anywhere from three (Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine) to six (Neurosurgery) years. A General Surgery residency is usually five years. After residency, some doctors choose to pursue even more specialized training, called fellowships (for example, a General Surgeon can do a fellowship in Vascular Surgery).

 

[mmmcdowe]

I blame the Sims for causing confusion about becoming a doctor.

 

[docB]

EMS can be a stepping stone to medicine but it is not the best if you know for sure you want to be a doctor. They really are, as others have mentioned, different fields.

I suggest you do some reading in the EMS forum here on SDN. Here's a link to the FAQ. Read that. Then do some searching. Then, once you have a better handle on some questions post them. There are a number of members there that know a lot about the available degrees available in EMS.

For general questions about the path to medicine from the position of a recent HS grad hSDN is excellent. Search before you ask but then you will get some useful info here.

Good luck.

 

[Tin Man]

I blame the Sims for causing confusion about becoming a doctor.

Yeah, it really screwed me over. I've been trying to become a doctor for three WEEKS when I thought it was only going to take me a couple of hours of power-leveling.