Finish my paramedic program or learn a new language/have fun?

[ChooseWisely1]

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Hey everyone, I was recently accepted to one of my top choice schools and am contemplating what to do with the next 7 months of my life. I am a three time re-applicant, so to occupy my time I became an EMT and now am seeking my paramedic license. At the moment, I am about 400 clinical hours away from obtaining my license.

This is where the indecision comes in: I am unsure if I want to spend another 400 hours working on an ambulance to finish a degree I will never use. Those 400 hours, based upon the way the class is structured, would make me unable to travel or study other things until Mid-June.

I always planned on finishing the course, and I was very engaged initially in paramedic clinicals, but now I'm feeling tired. I can tell my performance is sluggish, I've gained weight and become chronically sleep deprived from everything that I have done trying to marshal my way into medical school. My interest in medicine has temporarily waned (as have all my other interests) and I don't know if it is wise to walk into medical school burnt out.

So what would I do instead? One thing I still feel very passionate about is Spanish. I've had the long term goal to learn it and want to travel through South America with my fluent gf over the summer.

At this point, I'm thinking I will finish the classroom portion, do time in the Pediatric ICU (just because it sounds fun) and then never get on an ambulance. That being said, this isn't a decision thread. If anyone sees any medium or long term repercussions on not spending an extra 10 weeks working (unpaid) I'd love to hear them.

 

[calivianya]

I'm very tempted to quit my job (had a string of very rough nights recently), but I'm going to stick it out. No point in racking up debt/living off a CC right now.

That being said, if your work is unpaid, I'd get the hell out. Go enjoy yourself if it's not going to make a difference in your finances. 🙂

 

[ChooseWisely1]

I'm very tempted to quit my job (had a string of very rough nights recently), but I'm going to stick it out. No point in racking up debt/living off a CC right now.

That being said, if your work is unpaid, I'd get the hell out. Go enjoy yourself if it's not going to make a difference in your finances. 🙂

You get it lol - EMS is like a high oxygen zone for the fire of burnout. I am worried about running out of money though but these clinicals don't change that one way or the other.

 

[NotYou20]

So what would I do instead? One thing I still feel very passionate about is Spanish. I've had the long term goal to learn it and want to travel through South America with my fluent gf over the summer.

I spent a couple months in SA before med school. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

[Lannister]

You do NOT want to start medical school being burned out/having lost your interest in medicine! Definitely take a break before school starts and have fun.
And definitely go to South America. It's an amazing continent, you could easily spend months there traveling around. It's fairly inexpensive too depending on where you go.

 

[ChooseWisely1]

A word of caution. Make sure what your acceptance letter/agreement says about completing current educational pursuits. If you current paramedic training was part of your application, it could be considered a current educational pursuit , especially if being taken for college credit. I would contact the school and double check before you make this decision

Thank you, I appreciate that advice. I graduated in December 2016 and the course is not graded, but I think you are right to double check. The actual end date of the paramedic course is December 2018 - you have to finish your hours by that time (even if the class portion ends in February), and most people will be finishing around September or October. I've already worked my tail off trying to be in a position where I could record work experience had I not been accepted, otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to begin with.

 

[Medic741]

If you want EM finish your medic cert. you’ll have a month to travel, which is a lot of time. Being a medic has been huge in opening doors that wouldn’t have even budged without that background.

Also, my experience has been starting MED school I miss the clinical contact pretty badly. If I still had a current cert it would improve my drive to study immensely if I could spend 12 hours / week doing what I love while deep in the books.

 

[Medic741]

And if anything happens in life, it’s so nice to be able to work a weekend, walk away with a grand because your car *+%& the bed at an inoportune moment/ w/e

 

[djtallahassee]

I spent a couple months in SA before med school. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

My plans exactly!

 

[alexlex143]

A word of caution. Make sure what your acceptance letter/agreement says about completing current educational pursuits. If you current paramedic training was part of your application, it could be considered a current educational pursuit , especially if being taken for college credit. I would contact the school and double check before you make this decision

Interesting to note. I have a follow up question tangentially related. What if one does not finish an educational pursuit prior to matriculation? Could this be grounds for an acceptance to be rescinded?

 

[incognitoflux]

Barring any stipulations of your acceptance being contingent on finishing your paramedic degree, I’d bail and go do something fun. I’m a current paramedic (7 years) just now finishing my education and med school pre reqs while working full time. One year left then I get to apply!

I would respectfully disagree with Medic741 since you’ll have gotten your cert but have 400 hours of unpaid experience. Unless you want it as a safety net to pickup a shift or two during slow blocks in med school then go for it, I think it all depends on your ultimate goal. Just my two cents.

Also congrats on the acceptance!


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[Medic741]

Reading through the acceptance, I found this.

"In order to matriculate it is, of course, assumed that you will fulfill all admissions requirements by the time of registration and that your current level of academic performance will be maintained. In this regard you should arrange to have supplementary transcripts forwarded to us as soon as they are available. We expect also that you will adhere to the plan of studies that you have indicated."

On my primary application, I wrote this:

"I have been accepted to an Accelerated Paramedic Program and will begin school in July while continuing to work as an EMT (I worked an additional 600 hours from July-October). I will complete my Paramedic training in February, 2018"

The classroom section of the course ends in February, 2018 - which I will complete. What I did not realize was the # of clinical hours required to complete the course, the fact that we were released for clinicals late (this was the first accelerated class), that completing my hospital clinicals (which I have done) would be stalled by needing my PALS certificate to work on an ambulance, and a few other factors.

In my interview, I told my interviewer (who is also the admissions director) that the next few months I would be completing my clinicals. I don't know if there is precedent for revoking an admission based upon something like this, but I don't want to take that chance.

An alternative to quitting or finishing would be completing 1 shift a week as a paramedic student up until May, then going to SA, coming back and matriculating. I have until December, 2018 to complete all of my shifts, so I wouldn't be quitting, just not finishing fast enough.

Should I email the admissions director and get clarification?

Sometimes you just have to suck up life, grit your teeth, grow up and fulfill your obligations.

 

[ChooseWisely1]

Yes, every acceptance is conditional

Would you mind weighing in on this and what would be the best method to contact admissions for clarification? How often are people conditionally rejected? Is it likely they would come after me if I did 1-2 shifts a week but did not complete the course?

 

[frosted2]

Just me, but why risk years of busting your ass (and getting in to med school) for something so trivial as 400 hours? That is sixteen 24 hour shifts. Is that worth losing an acceptance over?