Pre-Med student interested in attaining an EMT-B

[HH Holmes]

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Hey all,

I'm a pre-med student attending a guaranteed medical program, and I was hoping to take EMT-B classes the following summer (2012) in order to increase my clinical experience and expose myself to another side of medicine. My goal is not to take a paying job, but rather volunteer at a local firehouse or at the county EMS service. I am going to be going to school in Florida, but I live in New York and will be taking classes in NY in between freshman and sophomore year, so I will have gone through Bio I & II (not sure if that will help any, as I assume the course is very hands-on and clinical). The schedule is not posted for Summer 2012, but I can only assume it will be relatively the same as this summer's:

EMT-B Original Summer Course
May 18 to August 18
Mon./Tues./Wed./Thurs.
9am-12pm

So three hours a day, four days a week in the morning does not seem to rough at all. From any pre-med (or anyone else really), is this schedule too intensive? How much studying per week is required outside of the classroom? I'm planning on taking EMT-B classes in the morning and then one to two days a week shadowing a plastic surgeon I currently shadow now.

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jesse

 

[deleted6669]

emt-b is certainly a good introduction to ems and emergency medicine in general.
not high pay but as you said you will be volunteering.
I took emt-b senior yr in high school with a heavy course load of honors classes and studying for this wasn't a problem. most of it is fairly hands on and straight forward so if you go to class and have a good memory out of class prep time is minimal. I would go for it.
for me it was a means to a great full time summer job and part time college job as an er tech which lead to a passion for medicine leading me next to paramedic then PA.

 

[HH Holmes]

emt-b is certainly a good introduction to ems and emergency medicine in general.
not high pay but as you said you will be volunteering.
I took emt-b senior yr in high school with a heavy course load of honors classes and studying for this wasn't a problem. most of it is fairly hands on and straight forward so if you go to class and have a good memory out of class prep time is minimal. I would go for it.
for me it was a means to a great full time summer job and part time college job as an er tech which lead to a passion for medicine leading me next to paramedic then PA.

Thanks for the reply. I thought about working it as a paying gig, but one of my old camp counselors (when I was like 7 lol) is now an EMT and he said that the county department doesn't pay kids who are under 21, and that working at one of the private companies is sketchy and not always guaranteed. I figure I'll put it toward volunteer use until I can find something that pays relatively well.

 

[ClandestineStar]

Hey! This is a tad off topic, but how did you manage to take summer courses that are accepted by Nova? I thought you had to take summer school on campus for the credit to be accepted?

 

[HH Holmes]

Hey! This is a tad off topic, but how did you manage to take summer courses that are accepted by Nova? I thought you had to take summer school on campus for the credit to be accepted?

The EMT-B classes are not for credit toward Nova... To my knowledge they don't offer EMS classes at all, as they would have been listed under the course directory.

 

[PingPongPro]

Im an EMT-B and also a 3rd year pre-med. I'm just going to write some of my thoughts/comments, take them whatever way you want.


EMT-B's responsibilities differ a ton depending on state, but many will attest that EMTs' main job will be a glorified taxi service. It was definitely not what I expected, but I really did learn a lot. During the class I hated it because it was tiring, but looking back on it and doing my refresher recently, I actually enjoyed the class and learning what it meant to be an EMT-b.

It does give you more clinical opportunities, but you have to really weigh the cost-benefit. For myself, it was very difficult to get a job as an EMT that fit my busy schedule, so have not worked as an EMT and have only volunteered through a foundation. If you are more interested in finding clinical opportunities, it may be wise to go a different path. If you want to learn some interesting aspects of emergency medicine u should do it.

Your class seems rough. Mine was accelerated and I finished it in 3 weeks (8-5 M-F). I actually got college credit for 12 units and getting an A here, was a pleasant surprise, since it does raise my gpa ever so slightly.

Also wanted to mention, many different places have varying requirements to volunteer. Due to liabilities and stuff like that, it might be harder to get a volunteering position as an EMT than you are anticipating. Be sure to do some research beforehand.

 

[HH Holmes]

Im an EMT-B and also a 3rd year pre-med. I'm just going to write some of my thoughts/comments, take them whatever way you want.


EMT-B's responsibilities differ a ton depending on state, but many will attest that EMTs' main job will be a glorified taxi service. It was definitely not what I expected, but I really did learn a lot. During the class I hated it because it was tiring, but looking back on it and doing my refresher recently, I actually enjoyed the class and learning what it meant to be an EMT-b.

It does give you more clinical opportunities, but you have to really weigh the cost-benefit. For myself, it was very difficult to get a job as an EMT that fit my busy schedule, so have not worked as an EMT and have only volunteered through a foundation. If you are more interested in finding clinical opportunities, it may be wise to go a different path. If you want to learn some interesting aspects of emergency medicine u should do it.

Your class seems rough. Mine was accelerated and I finished it in 3 weeks (8-5 M-F). I actually got college credit for 12 units and getting an A here, was a pleasant surprise, since it does raise my gpa ever so slightly.

Also wanted to mention, many different places have varying requirements to volunteer. Due to liabilities and stuff like that, it might be harder to get a volunteering position as an EMT than you are anticipating. Be sure to do some research beforehand.

Very helpful -- thanks a ton... I'm still shopping around for other classes, but the fact that I don't have to go in all hours of the day is nice. If I could find an accelerated course, that'd be nicer though. Same goes with credit, too.

I don't plan on working as an EMT, and if I do it will just be short to help me pay back what it cost to get the degree. If I can volunteer, that'd be good, and if I couldn't in my area, I'd shop around. To my knowledge, it's not too hard to find a spot.

About the glorified taxi bit, I know exactly how it is, unfortunately. I volunteered in an ER for 300+ hours where about 20% of the admits were brought by ambulance. Out of that 20%, I'd say 90% were non-trauma and did not need any true medical attention from an EMT or ED Doc. As a volunteer, I was a glorified housekeeper -- I sterilized beds, stocked shelves, transported patients and got stuff for the nurses and attendings. I think a degree and some exposure is better than volunteer work, but we'll see. Hopefully I learn a lot, and at least it'll give me a small head start for procedures and hands on stuff.

Thanks for the post 🙂

 

[Dr Oops]

The classes were really easy you shouldnt have any problems, I dont think I did any prep time ouside of class except whatever fill in the blanks assignment they had you to do.

Its a good experience but really sucks sometimes because you cant do anything for the patient in some situations.

Our volunteer corps was very flexible in scheduling and you could basically do whatever you wanted as long as you were in town while on call.

 

[ashleyanne]

I agree w/ the others here that it's a pretty easy course. It is a bit to learn, but it's not terribly difficult.

I took the EMT-B course in the Spring of my junior year of undergrad while taking two upper level Spanish courses (I'm not fluent), Biochemistry, and another difficult science course. I did well...

I also agree that EMT-B is probably not exactly what you think it is. There is very little you can do as an EMT-B and it (and even paramedic) are really just "prolonging your death" (not so much saving your life) and a "glorified taxi service". Also, perhaps a "glorified band-aid booth" (we lovingly referred to ourselves as that - I worked for Events EMS on my campus).

I also volunteered as an EMT during my undergrad (and may continue to do so in grad school - depending on where I go, etc.) It can be difficult to find jobs as a basic. 🙂

That course does not sound terribly intense, which is fine. I think it's better to do it slowly rather than the accelerated program, but that's just my opinion... It is a lot of skills that you'd rather be good at because you've practiced them 800 million times than just kind of know...

 

[fiznat]

The standard advice is to not bother with an EMT certification unless you are going to put in some significant hours actually using it. The certification by itself is meaningless without actual patient care experience, and adcoms know it.

As far as EMS being a "taxi service," "band aid stations," etc, your experience will vary considerably depending on where you work. EMS can be a great opportunity to really get some solid clinical experience, but only if you pick the right job.

 

[HH Holmes]

Thanks everyone, looks like I'll be signing up for classes for next summer!

@DrOops & Ashley - Thanks. Seems like it isn't too intense that I couldn't handle it along with other obligations.

@fiznat - I'm not looking at an EMT-B license as a gimmick for adcoms. I want the experience and the education the certification comes with, plus I don't have any adcoms to "impress" I'm enrolled in a 7 yr BS/DO, so as long as I keep the GPA and MCAT requirements, I'm set (though I'm supposed to keep 'medical interests').

I was actually planning on taking the class during my senior year of high school but with all my IB courses it would've been overwhelming.

Thanks again everyone 🙂