Paramedics to D.O.?

[Medic24]

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Was wondering if their were any other paramedics starting Med School this year? Especially D.O. programs? If so where did you work? Why did you choose D.O.? I was a Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Paramedic for few years and then started working my way up the chain. Pretty much my whole career was with DC. As a manager, I really missed pt. care so I moved to Philly to do a post-bacc. Since I am in my "glide" year I am working again. D.O. programs have really seemed to embrace me as opposed to allopathic programs. My gut tells me to go D.O. 100%. Just wondering if others with similar healthcare experience felt the same way.

 

[Robz]

Hey there,
I worked in EMS since the fall of 94' with a break the last few years. I'm a NREMT-P and I'll be starting medical school this fall. So, just so you know your not alone in this. I have worked all over I originally worked in Albany, NY and was a volunteer for a couple of agencies and worked for Albany Fire and EMS for a bit also. When I left NY I moved to Knoxville, TN and I took a job as a medic for the all the games at my University. So...in essence I got paid to help out at all the venures from concerts to big time sporting events.

In all I loved being a medic. It was a very challenging job and there were great rewards. What bothered me was how little autonomy I had and the fact I got paid 7.50 an hour as a medic here in Knoxville. That was slightly disturbing to me.

As for DO programs and medics? I know most programs love the idea of nontraditional applicants and it shows. My score card kinda shows that also...I got accepted to every osteopathic school I fully applied to. I also applied to allopathic schools and most are a little slower to get back to me on things. Some of those though were very responsive in my interviews to my past and experience as well too.

thats my story and I'm sticking to it 🙂

 

[Paramedic1]

hey guys. i've been a medic for a little over 2 years. i've always known that i wanted to go to med school, but wanted to take some time off after undergrad. during the time off i went to medic school. i've been an emt since 94. i started on a volunteer truck, went to college where i didn't do ems, then dove back into ems full-time as an emt for amr in bridgeport, ct, while in medic school. i worked in ct for a while then moved to boston to finish my premed stuff while working full time for a very busy 911 private. now i'm at a mostly transfer service and not working too hard until school starts. i can't wait to get off the truck and go back to school full time. working the truck has been a great experince, but i want to learn more.
i've been accepted at NYCOM and will most likey go there unless i get into my state school. $$$$. i had one MD interview (penn state) and have another in two weeks (uconn). and i still haven't heard from 9 other places. i think the DO programs do like the paramedic experience. i got a NYCOM interview and acceptance all before xmas and i took the august MCAT. i also had a very good DO LOR. the others have taken a while.
damn. $7.50 as a medic. that should be a crime!!! i was making $12.60 as a basic for amr and $18 as a brand new medic. good luck at school.

 

[Medic24]

Yeah, $7.50 is totally inappropriate considering the responsibility. During this glide year, I have done hospital based critical care transport. I was sold when I found out they were paying $25/hr and paying 40 hours for 3 - 12 hour shifts a week. My partner is a nurse and we have an EMT driver for a "monster" medic truck. Generally hours of boardom with the occasional absolute train wreck. Occasional flying, but rare. It has been an interesting new perspective seeing how the intensive care units work. Lot's of continuous vasoactive drips and vented patients, with occasional procedures such as A-Lines, narcs such as Fentanyl and Ativan. All that stuff was in-house training, so it has been interesting. Where I am from the ICU's are often run by Anesthesia - I bet the Anesthesia Department is 40% D.O. What was it like working for AMR?

 

[Paramedic1]

hey again,
amr was pretty good. we had good 2 good cities and weren't union like the rest of amr in ct. we had fairfield, which is pretty suburban. about 90,000 people and when someone calls 911 they usually need it. we also had bridgeport, which is urban/suburban with about 350,000. great calls there. all sorts of trauma and all the other city crap...drunks, frequent fliers, etc. we also did paramedic backup for a lot of surrounding communities with volunteer bls. it was a paramedic/basic system so it really helped my bls skills while i was goind to medic school.
where are you going to school? did you appy to any MD programs?

 

[OSUdoc08]

I worked in central Texas during college, and I currently work for a private ambulance service (AMR) full-time in Dallas, TX. I chose DO because all of my medical directors for the 4 diff services I have worked for have been DO's, and I find that they are common for ER docs interested in EMS, which is what I want to do.

I currently work a 12 hour-shift, on an AB shift system. I work every Mon & Wed, and every other Fri, Sat, Sun. It's nice to have those 4 day weekends every other weekend.

I get paid $13.201 an hour, and the overtime is great! AMR is by far the highest paid service I have seen.

I've been in EMS for 3 1/2 years by the way.

 

[tkim]

EMT-P for 12 years and counting, though I haven't done a shift since I moved to Cali from Boston.

I wish there was some way med school classes could qualify as a refresher course ...

- Tae

 

[lytesnsyrens]

well, i'm not a medic, but i am an EMT and am hoping to also go the DO route. i've been an EMT for 4 years now and i work in an ER in one of kansas city's hospital systems which includes a trauma center, suburban, and rural hospital. Occasionaly i ride on the trucks, but lately i haven't found much time for fun. I am hoping to graduate this fall and maybe take some time off from school before DO school and get my medic license. (hope to save up some extra cash too). anyway, i'm glad to hear that most DO schools are more receptive to paramedic/emt's and other nontraditional students. kinda gives me abit more hope in getting accepted.

good luck to everyone else applying.

 

[SolisR]

Rick Here...

EMT since 1991, Paramedic since 1993. I've worked in Athens and Huntsville, Alabama as an ED and field paramedic my whole career. I've worn a white shirt since 1997 in a field supervisory role, but have not stopped practicing in the field. Alphabet soup and DOT instructor for 3 different paramedic primary education programs since '95.

Last Friday, after my first interview, I was accepted to OU-COM (My first choice school). Maybe it's shortsighted, but I've cancelled all other interviews; I had my heart set on OU-COM and am really look forward to the fall.

We are now trying to find my wife a medic job in the Athens area. I'm also entertaining the idea of getting a PRN gig. I'd like to keep my hand in EMS and supplement my income during school breaks if possible.

Why DO? Well, as a medic, I really appreciate the emphasis on prevention as well as the comprehensive philosophy of Osteopathic Medicine. I also agree that DO schools seemed to value life/healthcare experiences more than the MD schools.

Good luck to all other cotjockeys out there... See you in september!

Rick

 

[Medic24]

Rick - congrats, I agree. I wrote part of my med school essay on how the fire department has had such success with prevention programs and how the next step is applying prevention to EMS. As you switch roles from being a boss to a student don't forget the big picture. Everything is temporary and the calls and the street will always be there for you and me to come back to once we get to the other side. Good luck brother!