Need locations of paramedic certification in IL (Chicago)

[Eklipse113]

So I got my EMT-B license in IL in October... and I enjoy working on the weekends for a local ambulance company. I'm graduating with a BS in chemistry this year... a year early, 3.8 GPA, 30O mcat. And I have gotten zero med school interviews so far. Just one rejection from the 11 schools I sent secondaries to. The rest haven't said squat to me, and I'm getting restless.

So what do I want to do with that year I may be taking off against my will? Well I want to get my paramedic license. Then I can still be bitter at the system, but at least I can work towards eventually getting to be a doctor. They like it that you do something with that year anyway.

I figure I'll enjoy furthering the alternative career opportunity (for when they reject me next year too ) and bolstering my credentials... unless I chance upon saving a poor third-world child from certain doom and raising it on my own... or something. Since that's what they expect in the medical essays, it seems. Loving what you do isn't good enough anymore I guess.

Anyway, finding a list of all the certification programs near Chicago is next to impossible. I've been googling it for half an hour ...before I thought to ask here. I found the IDPH website, no luck. I found a website that claims all these programs exist at local community colleges (Westwood, Lincoln Tech, Malcolm X), but largely no information on program dates or cost or stuff like that (except Malcolm X).

Someone lay some wisdom on me.

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[Druggernaut]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528683

See this thread in the EMS forums, just a few sections down from this one.

In short, don't do it. You'll take a spot from someone who will actually work as a paramedic for a substantial amount of time. You've still got 10 schools you're waiting on, so you're jumping the gun. If you don't get in, work, save some money, and maybe volunteer or do some research. That'll look better than gaining a license that you may well never use.

 

[NERDY]

Have you talked to someone such as a pre-med adviser about your application. The interview season isn't over yet, so you still have time. Your GPA looks fine. Is your MCAT unbalanced? Do you have enough volunteer/shadowing/community service projects? Do you have research experience? Do you have solid, good LORs?

What advantage will doing the paramedic classes have on your application? What is your motive for doing paramedic classes if you never intend on working in the field? Perhaps, after talking to someone who knows more about admissions, he/she can suggest specific ways to improve your application. Why waste time and money if the paramedic classes won't help you reach your goal?

Again, talk to someone at your school who knows all about the application process. good luck.

So I got my EMT-B license in IL in October... and I enjoy working on the weekends for a local ambulance company. I'm graduating with a BS in chemistry this year... a year early, 3.8 GPA, 30O mcat. And I have gotten zero med school interviews so far. Just one rejection from the 11 schools I sent secondaries to. The rest haven't said squat to me, and I'm getting restless.

So what do I want to do with that year I may be taking off against my will? Well I want to get my paramedic license. Then I can still be bitter at the system, but at least I can work towards eventually getting to be a doctor. They like it that you do something with that year anyway.

I figure I'll enjoy furthering the alternative career opportunity (for when they reject me next year too ) and bolstering my credentials... unless I chance upon saving a poor third-world child from certain doom and raising it on my own... or something. Since that's what they expect in the medical essays, it seems. Loving what you do isn't good enough anymore I guess.

Anyway, finding a list of all the certification programs near Chicago is next to impossible. I've been googling it for half an hour ...before I thought to ask here. I found the IDPH website, no luck. I found a website that claims all these programs exist at local community colleges (Westwood, Lincoln Tech, Malcolm X), but largely no information on program dates or cost or stuff like that (except Malcolm X).

Someone lay some wisdom on me.

 

[notdeadyet]

Nothing impresses adcoms less than licenses without experience. If you've gone straight from high school to college and graduated in 3 years, a year of well-rounded work experience with some quality non-EMS volunteering will likely make you a more attractive candidate and will show some good maturity.

Get a good pre-med counselor to proof your primary and make sure you don't run with a "sirens screaming in the night" personal statement. Lots of new EMTs have a tendency to over-estimate how much EMT tales impress adcoms. They've heard them many times before. A sizable percentage of med school applications fall into the "no $hit, there I was" category, which get very dull.