Paramedic compared to interhospital fields

[Gatewayhoward]

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I was wondering if anyone has thoughs on how being a seasoned paramedic looks on an application to a med school compared to other fields of medicine?

It seems that since we're the authority in the prehospital world (when no MD's are around), we funtion independantly except when we have to consult, we deal with all populations in many different situations, and EMS covers a wide range of emergencies and non emergencies; it would look great as long as the reviewer understands EMS.

 

[ShyRem]

Some places will love it because of the experience. Some places will hate it because you have "old habits" when they want a "clean slate to mold". Depends on the place.

 

[Emergency!]

I actually think you should avoid comparing it to other medical fields. Emphasize the strengths of your experiences and how they are applicable to being a physician without mentioning/comparing it to a say, nurse on the floor. (In re-reading your post, I don't think you were talking about actually making a comparison in your application, but in any case, I would avoid doing so).

You will want to explain (in a personal statement or otherwise) what you have gained from your clinical experience for a couple of different reasons. One - most of your interviewers (unless they also have EM experience) really have NO idea of what pre-hospital providers do. Two - the amount of experience two equally certified people have is radically different. (Say - a paramedic who has only worked doing non-emergency/non-critical care transports vs. one who has worked 911/critical care).

A lot of pre-meds are going the EMT route right now because they "think it looks good" on their application. They often have little or NO field experience. So, you will need to emphasize your experiences.

As far as how it looks to an adcom compared to other fields . . . I think its all in how you present it. If you package your experience well, it will be looked upon favorably. Don't get too caught up in "this will look better than this". 🙂

Good luck!

 

[.edu-MD]

I actually think you should avoid comparing it to other medical fields. Emphasize the strengths of your experiences and how they are applicable to being a physician without mentioning/comparing it to a say, nurse on the floor. (In re-reading your post, I don't think you were talking about actually making a comparison in your application, but in any case, I would avoid doing so).

You will want to explain (in a personal statement or otherwise) what you have gained from your clinical experience for a couple of different reasons. One - most of your interviewers (unless they also have EM experience) really have NO idea of what pre-hospital providers do. Two - the amount of experience two equally certified people have is radically different. (Say - a paramedic who has only worked doing non-emergency/non-critical care transports vs. one who has worked 911/critical care).

I agree. And most definitely, don't make the mistake of trying to say you know all about being a doctor because you've been a paramedic. Being an EMT/paramedic is worlds away from being a doctor. But, do emphasize the transferable skillset: teamwork, leadership, ability to think under pressure and in less-than-optimal conditions, etc.

I've only had one interviewer so far who sounded like they had any inkling of what prehospital providers do, and oddly enough it was a PhD, though it was at a school with a pretty well-known EM program. Sometimes they're curious and will ask about it. More often, my EMS experience hasn't even come up. That's not to say it wasn't an important part of my app that got me an interview in the first place!

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Be very careful here.

Paramedics do not consult, we patch for medical control. Consult suggest some equal footing and that dosent exist. As for prehospital and being the authority, this is also not true. Paramedics work within a well defined set of protocols which cannot be deviated from without patching to a physician. Authority suggests independant practice which also not the case.

When i went from paramedicine to critical care nursing it was a whole new world. There was alot of info i didnt know anything about at all. It was quite the leap and i wasent expecting it to be as hard as it was. Then going from that to flight nursing was another big step. We are, after a fashion independant practitioners. I dont work off protocols but based on critical thinking and knowledge.

In anycase, paramedicine is a great place to start and goto medicine. It is important to recognize that it is a very small subset of medicine far less than 10%, as is anything not physician level. Any extra knowledge going in will help!

 

[Gatewayhoward]

EMT-Paramedics with college degress in EMS are so underrated. Guess that's cause EMS is still in it's infancy, we're the ugly duckings of medicine.

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

Gateway


Too True. There are alot of medic programs with univ. degrees which are excellent. Unfortunately, the majority are still 6 month 1400 hour didatics (i teach many). Until insurace is willing to pay more for a degreed medic there will few people interested in taking the univ. degree for the same pay as the 6 month one.

Good thing about nsg is that the hospital will pay for everything as opposed to mom & pop EMS who pay for nothing.

Sad but true

 

[Gatewayhoward]

I so agree, I've almost got into fights with paramedics because I belive that the way our field can begin to gain real respect so people will want to be medics again is to require 2 year degrees for EMTP's. But so many are still stuck in the old days.

 

[ShyRem]

Unfortunately, there is one paramedic associate degree program in my state of which I am aware. It is poorly run. I agree that a paramedic should be a 2 year degree - but I think you MUST have EMT experience before you enter the degree. I've seen too many of the "degreed paramedics" come out to the field dumb as a box of rocks and full of themselves. They have no experience whatsoever outside of their paramedic college program, and really have no business being in the field.

I think there has to be some melding of the two fields of thought - there should be prior EMT experience, there should be recommendations from the physician sponsoring you through the program, there should be entrance exams to ensure competency at an EMTB level. And it should be a degreed program, expanding the anatomy, pharm, respiratory, and cardiology components. Trauma should be expanded to a cellular level for the effects of trauma on the body. There should be more clinical exposure. However, I think old medics should be grandfathered into the program and not be discriminated against. There is no substitute for experience, and that should be honored.

 

[Gatewayhoward]

My program which I just graduated required all students to have been an EMT for atleast a year, I was one for two. But they still bent the rules too much.

 

[freebyrdy]

My program which I just graduated required all students to have been an EMT for atleast a year, I was one for two. But they still bent the rules too much.

We had to have med control permission, at least 1 yr feild experience and pass a written exam before acceptance into the EMT-I and then into the EMT-P programs. I loved it.....we still had some *****s get past but most knew what they were doing and we had enough sense to know that just because you could do something didn't mean you should.......basics first

 

[thirdunity]

I'm sure some of us get into EMS because it's a *job* we can do, with flexible hours, while we're slogging through the pre-med courses.

I'm nontrad, and that's my case. Before going into health care, virtually no job I ever had, was very compatible with staying in school. I'm not employed yet, but the outlook and flexibility so far looks wonderful.

 

[McPoyle]

Be very careful here.

Paramedics do not consult, we patch for medical control. Consult suggest some equal footing and that dosent exist. As for prehospital and being the authority, this is also not true. Paramedics work within a well defined set of protocols which cannot be deviated from without patching to a physician. Authority suggests independant practice which also not the case.

When i went from paramedicine to critical care nursing it was a whole new world. There was alot of info i didnt know anything about at all. It was quite the leap and i wasent expecting it to be as hard as it was. Then going from that to flight nursing was another big step. We are, after a fashion independant practitioners. I dont work off protocols but based on critical thinking and knowledge.

In anycase, paramedicine is a great place to start and goto medicine. It is important to recognize that it is a very small subset of medicine far less than 10%, as is anything not physician level. Any extra knowledge going in will help!

Mike, at least around here, we have a set of "guidelines" (and I use this term very loosely) which is to be viewed more as a scope of practice, thus we have a lot of room to make independant decisions based on our assessments. I know this is different than most areas of the country, which hopefuly will continue in this direction. We obviously have a large number of very pro-ems physicians who respect us and our decisions...Of course, like you said, paramedics/emt's/nurses are NEVER the ultimate authority...

Also, I see you must have recerted...you added your EMT-P back to list of credentials. Glad to have you back buddy!

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

hehe

yah i did 🙂

 

[jetproppilot]

I was wondering if anyone has thoughs on how being a seasoned paramedic looks on an application to a med school compared to other fields of medicine?

It seems that since we're the authority in the prehospital world (when no MD's are around), we funtion independantly except when we have to consult, we deal with all populations in many different situations, and EMS covers a wide range of emergencies and non emergencies; it would look great as long as the reviewer understands EMS.

I was a paramedic before med school and thought it would be a big plus on my applications.

Unfortunately I dont think, at least in the allopathic world (I have no experience with the DO world so cant render an opinion) it is set apart in any way from other medical experiences. I got the impression that numbers, interview, and significant extracurricular activities (medical research, experience, tight end for the Miami Hurricanes, peace-corp worker, etc) are the big factors, and being a paramedic, although big in its own rite, is not set "above" other extracurriculars.

I also agree with the poster that pointed out that paramedicine is a "very small subset of medicine", and that opinion is not meant to be a downer...

just that after med school, residency, moonlighting as an ER physician in a busy ER during the last three years of my anesthesia residency, and now nine years of private practice, the poster's "very small subset" comment becomes very accurate.

What my paramedic background DID do for me was give me confidence in stressful situations since I had had so much exposure to same. And thats an extremely sought-after ability if you end up in an invasive field where things commonly go awry.

 

[Mike MacKinnon]

I was a paramedic before med school and thought it would be a big plus on my applications.

Unfortunately I dont think, at least in the allopathic world (I have no experience with the DO world so cant render an opinion) it is set apart in any way from other medical experiences. I got the impression that numbers, interview, and significant extracurricular activities (medical research, experience, tight end for the Miami Hurricanes, peace-corp worker, etc) are the big factors, and being a paramedic, although big in its own rite, is not set "above" other extracurriculars.

I also agree with the poster that pointed out that paramedicine is a "very small subset of medicine", and that opinion is not meant to be a downer...

just that after med school, residency, moonlighting as an ER physician in a busy ER during the last three years of my anesthesia residency, and now nine years of private practice, the poster's "very small subset" comment becomes very accurate.

What my paramedic background DID do for me was give me confidence in stressful situations since I had had so much exposure to same. And thats an extremely sought-after ability if you end up in an invasive field where things commonly go awry.

Hey JEtprop

I agree. I also think it is important to recognize that 90% of physicians are not ER physicians. That being the case, most have no clue what a paramedic is let alone what we do. Now mention critical care RN (ER/ICU etc) and they know exactly what that means. Physicans have close relationships to nurses where they have effectively none to paramedics. I believe that this decreases the impact being a paramedic has in the interview and application process. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Honestly, the majority of people within the hospital basically think we "drive fast" to the hospital with "loud noises and lights" so we can get ppl out of the way. They have no idea what happens in the back of the ambo.

 

[jetproppilot]

Hey JEtprop

I agree. I also think it is important to recognize that 90% of physicians are not ER physicians. That being the case, most have no clue what a paramedic is let alone what we do. Now mention critical care RN (ER/ICU etc) and they know exactly what that means. Physicans have close relationships to nurses where they have effectively none to paramedics. I believe that this decreases the impact being a paramedic has in the interview and application process. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Honestly, the majority of people within the hospital basically think we "drive fast" to the hospital with "loud noises and lights" so we can get ppl out of the way. They have no idea what happens in the back of the ambo.

Well said.

 

[Gatewayhoward]

I still think to have had prior medical experience before even deciding to continue on to allopathic medicine is still a big thing. whether nursing, paramedicine or whatever.
People like us seem to make a more informed decision about continuing on. because we have atleast a little more of a concept about what we're jumping into.