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How beneficial is it to become an emt for med school apps?
Emt
- Thread starter drabberbadge
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Beneficial. 1-10, probably around 8.5-9 🙂
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Oh really did not know that it was such a huge plus to have on an app
The only thing is my school(USC) offers the class for one month from 8 am to 10 pm everyday which is a bit ridiculous in my opinion
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I'm currently a EMT student (I have about 2 weeks of class left) and what I have heard is administrators have seen it a lot, it is overplayed. I think it's a good clinical experience, but it doesn't really give you the hospital clinical experience. Yeah, classes are really long my classes start at 8AM-3:40PM. I'm not going to lie you get burn out quick, those classes are too long. 😴
beneficial to work as an EMT. No one cares if you just got the cert and then did nothing with it. The value in being an EMT is more of the professional experience caring for patients than is its use as primarily application fodder.
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This.
And very much this.
That said, being an EMT seems to be one of the default options for premeds seeking clinical experience. That's not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. It's not a golden ticket to medical school.
But then, very few things actually are...
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+1
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During my EMT school we did a lot of clinical hours in both ERs and ambulances. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, Also if you're not looking to work 12 hour shifts on rigs, just try to work as a tech in a hospital or volunteer if your school has a first responders organization.
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I worked as an EMT and it was arguably my most meaningful experience for many reasons but two main ones: 1. I got direct contact with patients and had some serious responsibilities. I volunteer at a free clinic as well taking vitals and such, and it's almost hard to watch some of the other premeds deal with patients. I'm not saying that they're screwed forever or anything, but I feel that they will have a tougher time adjusting to the patient care environment when the clinical years come around. 2. I worked a lot in very disadvantaged areas and with certain medical populations I never thought i'd work with (psych patients, dialysis patients, and prisoners). This is more specific to the private company you work for, but nonetheless it was a life changing experience.
Yes it also looks good on an app (if you actually get a job as mentioned above) and you can make some money, but those are certainly not the main things I took away from my job.
Also, my program was two nights a week, 4 hours each class. We also had two 12hr. ride times at fire departments and two 8hr shifts in an ED (incredible experience...).
Good luck!
Yes it also looks good on an app (if you actually get a job as mentioned above) and you can make some money, but those are certainly not the main things I took away from my job.
Also, my program was two nights a week, 4 hours each class. We also had two 12hr. ride times at fire departments and two 8hr shifts in an ED (incredible experience...).
Good luck!
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Only do it if you REALLY want to. Getting certified is not cheap and there are far more many better ways to get clinical experience. For our EMT program, you have 16 hrs of class each week and if you're working full-time it's definitely a no no. Plus it's about $1000 for training.
I know this Ivy school kid who works at the same hospital with me got his EMT certification just for college application. He actually never practiced, which made me
I know this Ivy school kid who works at the same hospital with me got his EMT certification just for college application. He actually never practiced, which made me
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I originally got my EMT cert, license, etc. thinking I wanted to do EMT or an EMS related job for my senior year + gap year.
It was a great experience learning everything, but I've only ever been able to get like...15-20 hours of ER shadowing (lifting patients, standing in line for doing CPR before patient came back), but it's nearly impossible to find a job where I live, unless you only want to be driving the ambulance
Now my cards are slowly rotting, and I'll need to do re-cert again x). But yes, it only looks great if you get opportunities to practice. Otherwise, it's just some cool thing that you did that's nothing more than a bullet point in your application 😛
I pretty much just go around shoving my stethoscope at people and taking their blood pressures for fun these days.
It was a great experience learning everything, but I've only ever been able to get like...15-20 hours of ER shadowing (lifting patients, standing in line for doing CPR before patient came back), but it's nearly impossible to find a job where I live, unless you only want to be driving the ambulance
Now my cards are slowly rotting, and I'll need to do re-cert again x). But yes, it only looks great if you get opportunities to practice. Otherwise, it's just some cool thing that you did that's nothing more than a bullet point in your application 😛
I pretty much just go around shoving my stethoscope at people and taking their blood pressures for fun these days.
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classes were about $500.00 then books, vaccinations, uniforms, physical exam, background test, drug test. I still need to pay for my NREMT and state exam, plus the background checks that have to go with those test FML
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What I have noticed from my ER clinical's is if you want to end up being a ED tech you have to know how to start IV's and phlebotomy. Pretty much a EMT-B is useless. Now, an EMT-I can be helpful.
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😱Yikes!
This is only for the training program itself. Not sure about the additional fees.
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Your employer could also train you.
Totally not true.
Your employer will teach you phlebotomy, it's like one class. Many nurses don't even learn to start IVs until they are practicing.
And my EMT course cost me 650. doing the class at a college will usually be more expensive, and you'll learn less about being an EMT than you would in a course funded by an EMS program.
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True, but good luck finding a hospital who is willing to do it. I guess it depends in your area. At the hospital I did clinical's ED tech's are paramedics.
Don't mean to keep second-guessing you, but almost every tech job I looked into trained it's workers in Phlebotomy. Again, it's only like a 8 hour course and that's it. It's in their benefit to teach their own, since they can receive funding from the hospital for the course, and they need to do yearly competencies anyway. Also, medics make WAY more money than ED techs do, so I find it unlikely that the position would still exist if only medics could become techs.
Again, I don't this should be a big deal at most hospitals. Most nurses do not even learn phlebotomy until they are on the job, unless they have been techs/NAs
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Sorry, but this is incorrect. Here in so cal at least paramedics make about $11/hour and ED techs start at about $15/hour. Tech jobs are fairly difficult to come by however. Medics don't really start making good money until they get a job as a firefighter/paramedic.
Let's be honest, it's a meh job in terms of adding to your application. Bonus points if you can articulate something besides "I worked with patients" and "I saved lives... F___ YEA!" The education is simplistic (seriously, if you're having trouble with EMT level material, don't go to medical school... and if those long classes are too hard, wait till your 30 hour surgery call shift or 24 hour + IM call shift) and the scope of practice is minimal (Oh, look, oxygen... at 15 L/M via NRB because half of the EMTs can't understand the word "titrate").
So you think "OK, I'll become a paramedic." Awesome... except that its more time away from working towards your goal (medical school) AND most admission committees don't know the difference anyways.
So you think "OK, I'll become a paramedic." Awesome... except that its more time away from working towards your goal (medical school) AND most admission committees don't know the difference anyways.
Medics don't really start making good money until they get a job as medics? Wtf?
On a side note, I've never heard about a medic making 11/hr unless we are talking about different things. Some Basics, sure, but a medic? I think there is some confusion here....
Medics don't really start making good money until they get a job as medics? Wtf?
On a side note, I've never heard about a medic making 11/hr unless we are talking about different things. Some Basics, sure they can make that much, but a medic? I think there is some confusion here....
I've only met one tech who is a certified medic - she became a tech because she is obese (couldn't handle the heavy lifting) and pursuing a nursing career. Other than similar non-SOP and non-financial reasons, I can't think of why a medic would waste his certification by becoming a tech
I gotta disagree man - premeds don't become EMTs for the education, they do it for the experience. Don't understate the value of prior patient care before medical school. And for the record, EMT-Bs apply 15L/M via NRB because it's the standard of care for EMTs - even if they understand the word "titrate", they would be breaking policy doing anything else for a patient who is hypoxic, showing signs of hypoxia, or "may become hypoxic", and would be found neglegent if the patient experienced any further hypoxia-related injury. Titration can be done in a hospital setting, or by a medic.
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Get off your horse, buddy.
My EMT class are hard as rock. Not because the material is challenging, but the exams have nothing to do with the chapters. I took a test today, I had to read 10 chapters, only fu**ing 3 chapters were in the test.
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No worries. Like I said, it depends in your area. Paramedics in the ER make good money because of their experience. The guy we had the other day has 17 years of experience he could out-knowledge any nurse there. He even made the new ER doc a little nervous. lol The Ed techs that are paramedics, the tech thing is a side job while they have days off from the ambulance.
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Things work differently in SoCal than most parts of the country, especially in San Diego. Most ALS ambulances are privatized, and paramedics get paid $11/hour on average. Most of the medics here are trying to become firefighters, for which paramedic certification is required for most departments. They don't start making any more money until they get on as a firefighter. It sucks.
That being said, most tech jobs in the area start at $15/hour, and provide much better experience for pre meds. If the OP can get a tech job I would suggest that.
So you had trouble reading 10 chapters of 8th grade reading material and a lot of useless pictures (Seriously, the Brady Prehospital Emergency Care 7th Edition book my course used 7 years ago had a picture of a Motorola radio that was basically captioned "This is a 2 way radio")? Over what time period? 10 chapters of Brady or AAOS or whatever EMT book your course is using isn't even comparable to 1 chapter of Harrisons Internal Medicine.
...and if your exams have nothing to do with the assigned reading and lecture, that doesn't make your class hard, it means your instructors are terrible at writing exams.
It's the standard of care because the term "titrate" isn't understood. It's not the standard of care because it's the best care. There's a reason that not every patient in the hospital is on a NRB, and it's really not that hard to determine when a NRB is needed and when it isn't. Furthermore, the standard of care is definitely changing. The AHA Emergency Cardiac Care Guidelines (which, granted, is only one part that contributes to the standard of care) changed their recommendation for oxygen in cases of ACS to administer only if the patient is hypoxic per pulse ox or showing signs of respiratory distress.
Also, the experience is going to vary greatly. Playing Renal Roundup 3 days a week for 12 hours isn't really patient experience. It's a glorified taxi ride. Playing chauffeur to the paramedic/fire department isn't exactly great patient experience either. The simple fact is that being an EMT is not the end all/be all experience when it comes to patient care experience.
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Fortunately, there's a growing trend in EMS towards evidence-based medicine (at least where I work), and many systems are phasing out policies like this. Of course any hypoxic patient should receive supplemental oxygen, but a policy that requires the arbitrary administration of high-flow oxygen to every patient that "may become hypoxic" fails to acknowledge the growing consensus that induced hyperoxia is not only of no benefit to patients, but may actually be harmful (due to increased oxidative stress). A competent EMT shouldn't need a medic or a hospital to determine if their patient is hypoxic, and it's unfortunate that the bar for competency in prehospital care is set so low.
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The typical med student finds the opportunity to become an EMT and thinks "This will make me unique on my med school app and it'll be amazing!" I initially fit this mold. I took an EMT class through my school and did not have to pay for the certification test. However, I learned that my squad also mandates at least one 12-hour shift a week and a 24-hour shift every four weeks. I personally chose not to pursue becoming an EMT because it would be difficult to balance research, volunteering, academics, and running as an EMT.
That being said, may people find great experiences running as an EMT. It truly boils down to whether running as an EMT will negatively impact your academics. If it will, then I would say its not worth it. Your GPA is crucial to your application and running as an EMT would not compensate for your poor grades. Plus, many pre-med students are running as an EMT and it does not make you significantly more unique than the next applicant.
Many students engage in shadowing a hospital clinician or a variety of other physicians and this is sufficient clinical experience for medical schools to recognize your interest in medicine. Becoming an EMT is NOT required and should only be done if you can balance running long shifts with superb academics and whatever other extracurriculars you chose. Remember, you are aiming to become a doctor. That is different than a pre-hospital EMT.
That being said, may people find great experiences running as an EMT. It truly boils down to whether running as an EMT will negatively impact your academics. If it will, then I would say its not worth it. Your GPA is crucial to your application and running as an EMT would not compensate for your poor grades. Plus, many pre-med students are running as an EMT and it does not make you significantly more unique than the next applicant.
Many students engage in shadowing a hospital clinician or a variety of other physicians and this is sufficient clinical experience for medical schools to recognize your interest in medicine. Becoming an EMT is NOT required and should only be done if you can balance running long shifts with superb academics and whatever other extracurriculars you chose. Remember, you are aiming to become a doctor. That is different than a pre-hospital EMT.
Sorry if anyone else mentioned this, I didn't read every post.
I'm taking an EMT-B class right now and I would recommend it. We had required time both on the truck and in the ER, so you can actually get some experience relevant to a doctor. In many hospitals you can become an ER tech with an EMT-B cert, which will give you the opportunity to get a lot more patient contact. Neither of these things will be particularly unique, but it will give you some perspective on hospital care, patient interaction, responsibilities of nurses, etc. which I think are beneficial to decide if this is the route for you. I had very little patient interaction before taking this class, but have now decided to pursue working as an ER tech, not to boost my app, but just because I actually enjoyed doing it.
So if you have the money and time, and you are interested in the experience, then go for it. If you do decide to do it, make sure you ride along with a busy EMS service. I ended up going to a more rural area and got stuck watching chariot races at a county fair for 6 hours
I'm taking an EMT-B class right now and I would recommend it. We had required time both on the truck and in the ER, so you can actually get some experience relevant to a doctor. In many hospitals you can become an ER tech with an EMT-B cert, which will give you the opportunity to get a lot more patient contact. Neither of these things will be particularly unique, but it will give you some perspective on hospital care, patient interaction, responsibilities of nurses, etc. which I think are beneficial to decide if this is the route for you. I had very little patient interaction before taking this class, but have now decided to pursue working as an ER tech, not to boost my app, but just because I actually enjoyed doing it.
So if you have the money and time, and you are interested in the experience, then go for it. If you do decide to do it, make sure you ride along with a busy EMS service. I ended up going to a more rural area and got stuck watching chariot races at a county fair for 6 hours
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Ridiculous how? 2 hours every day M-F actually sounds light on the hours that are required for an EMT cert. Are you sure there aren't required weekend sessions?
It is of no benefit to you or to EMS to have EMT as a certification if you don't put serious time and energy into working as an EMT.
8am-10 PM is 14 hours, not 2.
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That makes more sense and sounds about right.
As a current EMT-B whose finishing up medic class in three weeks, I have been exposed to mostly serious medical emergencies. In my department, we are renowned for major traumas including vehicles into buildings, train/vehicle scenes, vehicle pedestrians, entrapped patients in vehicles, and cars wrapped around utility poles. Besides the medical emergencies and the usual bull**** calls, this experience makes it all worthwhile to me. Where else would a pre-med get to stabilize a patient and assist their ventilations while enroute to drop off the patient for air transport to level 1 trauma center. I volunteered at a hospital and my assignment was to move patients and make beds, I quit my first day. I believe quality > quantity, as long as you can passionately talk about your experiences, your golden.
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Check out the "Will EMS Help My Med School Application" FAQ on the EMS forum:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=412860
You're overstating how much physicians, especially the vast majority who aren't emergency physicians, really care about you being a hero. Now if you can gain something deeper than "I pulled people out of burning cars and used a BVM on them... GO ME!" than you might have some benefit out of it moreso than any other patient care experience.
That was not the point I was trying to get across. I just wanted to convey how it might help motivate some pre-meds to become better academically and find out if medicine is what they truly want to pursue. It should not replace other required activities such as shadowing physicians in different fields of medicine but it is a great supplement. BTW, I never said I was hero, far from it.
Yes, the standard of care is changing, but it's a lot slower (than let's say, CPR guidelines) because there isn't a body like the AHA that is pushing its change in EMS. It really has nothing to do with whether or not EMTs generally understand what "titrate" means. There are many other factors that administrators consider when making policy. Many policy-makers likely see O2 titration as just another thing for EMT-Bs to waste time diddling with at the scene when they should really just load and go and get to the goddamn hospital so the patient can get some more advanced medical care and stabilization. I would expect that titration may become the standard of care a little quicker in more rural settings.
I don't think the argument ever was if EMT is the best patient care experience out there. It is a very good one though. As long as you do your research and apply to EMS companies that do more than play "Renal Roundup" (lol) every day....or hell, like I mentioned above, just become a tech.
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A doctor on a med school admissions committee emphasized to me that being an EMT is highly valued by the committee. So, I got trained. To second what others have said here: there is a major difference between having the EMT certification and actually working or volunteering as an EMT. The key is to do the work (I did some). My personal experience taught me I did not like the work. I could do this emergency work if I had to but I would never choose to do it. Knowing it didn't fit my personality was invaluable for me and my med school plans.
Maybe you will discover you love the EMT work. If you love it, you can point to your concrete experiences when you're applying and during your med school interviews to show your "proven" love for medicine.
If you do the EMT volunteer/work, my advice is to stay humble and keep looking for ways to learn outside of the basics needed for the certification. For instance, this advice on drawing blood (http://www.jobs.net/Article/CB-108-...harp-Tips-How-to-calm-fears-in-the-blood-lab/) is useful - even though you might not draw blood as an EMT, the general principles for calming patients are powerful.
I think training and volunteering/working as an EMT is an ideal way to prep for med school - and med schools seem to take it seriously, too.
