I was just wondering how many of the SDNers here have first aid and CPR training
dittoEmt-b...
Who has time for CPR training?????? Does being able to make a sweet western blot count?
It's better experience than someone with no experience, in my opinion.No offense to everyone but being an EMT doesn't mean much, well at least I dont think so. I can't imagine that it would really give you much of a boost to getting into med school. I'm currently an EMT with the FDNY and in my opinion, EMT's are only boyscouts who give glucose and oxygen.
No offense to everyone but being an EMT doesn't mean much, well at least I dont think so. I can't imagine that it would really give you much of a boost to getting into med school. I'm currently an EMT with the FDNY and in my opinion, EMT's are only boyscouts who give glucose and oxygen.
I second Dis' amen. 👍 I finally broke down and just renewed a few years back my CPR/ACLS/PALS/NRP so they all expire in the same month (March ironically enough) that way I can just renew them all around the same time and it makes it easy to remember when I need to renew.It's so funny. As a pre-med we're all like, "Well I have CPR, and I'm an instructor, and I'm taking ACLS in a month . . . "
By the end of school, you're like, "****, you're telling me I have to renew this crap again already?!"
No offense to everyone but being an EMT doesn't mean much, well at least I dont think so. I can't imagine that it would really give you much of a boost to getting into med school. I'm currently an EMT with the FDNY and in my opinion, EMT's are only boyscouts who give glucose and oxygen.
As far as getting into medical school, the weight placed on EMS experience is dependant on who is reading your application.
While EMT-B can't do much in terms of treatment, if you are working for a 911 service you learn
1) how to talk to patients (take a history, explain treatment etc)
2) How to stay calm and work through an emergency situation
3) How to figure out how to manage a crashing patient BY YOURSELF and implement your plan (well.... if you work for a service that runs double basic trucks or if you're a paramedic). This has less to do with actual medical knowledge and more to do with practicing clinical desicion making without a net.
It may not help you get in but it'll help you when you do.
As far as getting into medical school, the weight placed on EMS experience is dependant on who is reading your application.
While EMT-B can't do much in terms of treatment, if you are working for a 911 service you learn
1) how to talk to patients (take a history, explain treatment etc)
2) How to stay calm and work through an emergency situation
3) How to figure out how to manage a crashing patient BY YOURSELF and implement your plan (well.... if you work for a service that runs double basic trucks or if you're a paramedic). This has less to do with actual medical knowledge and more to do with practicing clinical desicion making without a net.
It may not help you get in but it'll help you when you do.
And I think you're completely wrong about the handling emergency situations aspect simply because unless you actually work in a urban area when EMS response is within 5 minutes (this is only a small percentage of the country) then maybe you can make some what of a difference. Other than that, evidence clearly shows that the quality of EMS is poor in suburban areas. Thus if you're an EMT out in lets say kansas, which has one of the poorest ems systems out there, then all you're really dealing with is a DEAD patient and not a critical one. Now im not quite sure how you can learn decision making skills on a dead guy, unless of course you're practicing you're skills of diagnosing rigor mortis.
OK well I dont want to start this into an argument, but while I guess you do point out some decent points, I disagree with it as well in many aspects. First of all, communication skills aren't really achieved through working in this field. I know many people who suck when it comes to patient care. And honestly, with some of the people we deal with, I dont blame them. And if you want to talk about patient care/how to talk to patients, well then you shouldn't be going to med school, you should be going to nursing school. And I think you're completely wrong about the handling emergency situations aspect simply because unless you actually work in a urban area when EMS response is within 5 minutes (this is only a small percentage of the country) then maybe you can make some what of a difference. Other than that, evidence clearly shows that the quality of EMS is poor in suburban areas. Thus if you're an EMT out in lets say kansas, which has one of the poorest ems systems out there, then all you're really dealing with is a DEAD patient and not a critical one. Now im not quite sure how you can learn decision making skills on a dead guy, unless of course you're practicing you're skills of diagnosing rigor mortis.
OK well I dont want to start this into an argument,glad to hear it
but while I guess you do point out some decent points, I disagree with it as well in many aspects. First of all, communication skills aren't really achieved through working in this field. I know many people who suck when it comes to patient care. And honestly, with some of the people we deal with, I dont blame them.
We barg into people's houses when they're hurt or sick and start asking them personal private questions to take a history. Unless you're conducting a history by telepathy, you inherantly have to be able to comunicate. You can be a jerk but it makes everyone's life easier to be professional.
And if you want to talk about patient care/how to talk to patients, well then you shouldn't be going to med school, you should be going to nursing school.
Doctors are the ones who take histories, explain treatment options and "break the bad news".
And I think you're completely wrong about the handling emergency situations aspect simply because unless you actually work in a urban area when EMS response is within 5 minutes (this is only a small percentage of the country) then maybe you can make some what of a difference. Other than that, evidence clearly shows that the quality of EMS is poor in suburban areas. Thus if you're an EMT out in lets say kansas, which has one of the poorest ems systems out there, then all you're really dealing with is a DEAD patient and not a critical one. Now im not quite sure how you can learn decision making skills on a dead guy, unless of course you're practicing you're skills of diagnosing rigor mortis.
Only a small percentage of our urgent/ critical patients are in cardiac arrest upon our arrival. IMHO cardiac arrests are relatively low stress since the algorhythms (sp?)/ protocols are clear and YOU CAN'T make the situation worse. It's the rapidly decompensating MI/COPD/CHF patient with 47 overlapping medical problems that you have approximately 28 seconds to formulate a field diagnosis without labs or radiological studies and initiate treatment before they do code that jack up my heart rate.