Paramedics?

[Avid_waterskier316]

Hi,
I am an EMT-B and in my last year of my bachelors degree. I plan to attend paramedic school in the summer of next year and was wondering if there were any other paramedics who took the non-traditional path to medical school and worked as paramedics and what your insights were?

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[The Buff OP]

Hi,
I am an EMT-B and in my last year of my bachelors degree. I plan to attend paramedic school in the summer of next year and was wondering if there were any other paramedics who took the non-traditional path to medical school and worked as paramedics and what your insights were?

There's is tons of them who have. But if you are already going to finish your bachelor's, why are you going to enroll into a paramedic school that takes 1-2years? I was gonna go this route, but I chose to keep pursuing my degree instead of putting my education on hold for a career (paramedic) I don't really plan to do in the long run.

 

[Avid_waterskier316]

It's something I have always wanted to do. Plus there are things that I want to do before I apply to medical school. The educational path takes 11 months and I wanted to do that for 3-5 years. Needless to say, I plan on being a non-traditional student because I want to gain experience and do mission trips and work on my spanish.

 

[evansh]

I worked as an Advanced-EMT (the "volunteer"-paramedic, as it's called colloquially) throughout college. Although I'm not exactly non-trad since I'm just doing one gap year, I did get 4 years of around 40 hours a week in prehospital medicine, and I can say that it was a fantastic experience, for a few reasons:

1). If medicine isn't for you, you'll find out quickly.
2). I think it's a fantastic, well-respected experience to put on your application. It shows that you know a lot about the field that you're getting involved in, and have a dedication to patient care. You'll certainly have a lot of unique experiences to talk about on your app, in interviews, etc.
3). Most importantly, it's a great job in and of itself. EMS is what brought me to be pre-med in the first place; if you didn't have the opportunity to work extensively as an EMT in college, I think you'll be glad you capitalized on your EMT-B card afterwards. In my system, I was given a lot of autonomy and responsibility, and ended up as the co-leader of our first-responder corps. It was a very rewarding experience, and I have the comfort of knowing if medical school doesn't work out for whatever reason, I can be very happy working in fire and EMS as a fallback.

I know I didn't go through the exact pathway you described, but I thought perhaps I could help. PM me if I can help with anything else that's related; I have plenty of paramedic buddies and may have some good answers for you. Best of luck!

 

[jlh19]

I agree with evansh! I've been an EMT for three years working for a private company that takes emergencies. I've learned tons through my experience. I've been able to put the classroom knowledge into the clinical setting. I've also learned a lot about myself and that medicine is right. I decided to become a physician after I became an EMT. Right now I'm in my gap year so I'm in a paramedic course and will be certified by next May. The course is very nice because you obviously get to learn more advanced skills and you look more in depth to disease processes and how to fix them. I plan to work with EMS the rest of my life whether as a physician or as a medic so it was an easy choice to enroll in the course... Plus the timing worked out. I encourage you to do it if you feel like you wanna take the route you said you wanted to do. If you don't want that much of a break then don't waste the year or the money. Good luck, keep us updated on what you do

 

[Avid_waterskier316]

Thanks you for all the responses!

 

[The Buff OP]

It's something I have always wanted to do. Plus there are things that I want to do before I apply to medical school. The educational path takes 11 months and I wanted to do that for 3-5 years. Needless to say, I plan on being a non-traditional student because I want to gain experience and do mission trips and work on my spanish.

Just got on again.

I feel you, I am the same way, but I had to bite my lip and moved forward (actually got accepted twice into the program). One of my long time goals was to become a firefighter and I'm gonna do it through being a volunteer firefighter, so that way on my spare time I can do that passion. If you have no problem taking the long road, go ahead.

Have you studied for the MCAT? Shadowing or volunteering? Just wondering.

 

[Cawolf]

Yes, but I did not work as a paramedic with a plan to attend medical school.

I worked as a paramedic without medical school on my radar, and my experiences in the field motivated me to pursue this path.

Depending on your state (I have worked in two) I could answer any questions you have. Good luck!

 

[Avid_waterskier316]

I have not studied for the MCAT yet I still need to finish the pre-reqs. I am going to become an ER scribe so I will be able to how things work and I have showed at a few Emergency Rooms and a Jail.

 

[The Buff OP]

I have not studied for the MCAT yet I still need to finish the pre-reqs. I am going to become an ER scribe so I will be able to how things work and I have showed at a few Emergency Rooms and a Jail.

I mean, if I was you just focus on the medical school (maybe EM as a specialty) and and volunteer at a busy 911 as an EMT (that's why I do to please my trauma junkiness) or just go for AEMT (if you want those extra skills). You probably already know that its cool if you add some primary care shadowing in there?

 

[Fedekz]

I've been a paramedic for a bit over 5 years. During my time I've been a critical care paramedic and SWAT paramedic while I've been a police officer as well. So here is my $0.02...

Don't get caught up in being a paramedic. It's a waste of time ultimately if you want to be a physician. Just finish your BA or BS, do well on the MCAT, apply and get accepted (hopefully). Don't fall into the black hole of EMS. An A-EMT, and EMT-B isn't a paramedic ... if you want to pursue something of that nature while finishing your undergrad, then go ahead. Paramedic school is usually 2 years long at any reputable place, unless you go to a medic mill school - if you have any plans on being a doctor then just skip the whole NREMT-P deal. I've had a lot of great experiences, I worked in a busy 911 area (which happens to have a TV show now!), police officer paramedic, rescue tech ... but looking back now, I WISH i would have just not ***** - footed around and gone to medical school.

Again, this is just my opinion ... but try to learn from my mistakes...

 

[Avid_waterskier316]

My idea behind it was:
I have always wanted to be a paramedic (something that I can't really explain)
I need to do the pre-reqs and this is a job I can do in the meantime while taking pre-reqs and studying for the MCAT
I want to go to scribe school also and these two will get me around doctors and patients enough to know if I like medicine
If medical school doesn't work out, I already have shadowing hours as a scribe and patient care hours for PA school or I could go from paramedic to nurse and possibly go on to becoming an NP.

 

[The Buff OP]

My idea behind it was:
I have always wanted to be a paramedic (something that I can't really explain)
I need to do the pre-reqs and this is a job I can do in the meantime while taking pre-reqs and studying for the MCAT
I want to go to scribe school also and these two will get me around doctors and patients enough to know if I like medicine
If medical school doesn't work out, I already have shadowing hours as a scribe and patient care hours for PA school or I could go from paramedic to nurse and possibly go on to becoming an NP.

Seems like you are not so sure if you want to become a doctor, yet. Give this career option some thought, I know for sure I wouldn't want to be a nurse or PA, I want to be the one in-charge. If your dream wast to be a nurse or PA, sure lots of people become paramedics and then make the transition to that. Now doctor, that's a thing you have to work 110% towards to. I would take Fedekz (and mines lol) advice and run with if you realize medical is the correct thing for you.