Premed Jobs

[sunshine02]

I've heard that being an EMT is a good job for Premeds wanting to get clinical experience and see if the field is right for them.

However, how hard is an EMT-B's job? Is it manageable with schoolwork? Also, how is the pay? For college, some money would be desirable.

Additionally, it seems like a lot of Premeds have jobs as EMT, so ultimately, how much does it help with admission to med schools? Does it really look that impressive?


Thanks!

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[Jarudy]

Using the search function will answer any question you have on this topic.

 

[MDgirl92]

I've heard that being an EMT is a good job for Premeds wanting to get clinical experience and see if the field is right for them.

However, how hard is an EMT-B's job? Is it manageable with schoolwork? Also, how is the pay? For college, some money would be desirable.

Additionally, it seems like a lot of Premeds have jobs as EMT, so ultimately, how much does it help with admission to med schools? Does it really look that impressive?


Thanks!

I was thinking about doing the same thing. I have no idea how hard it is but pay is about $7-10. The REAL problem is that the courses cost about $600-800 in all
I thought it would at least be a LITTLE impressive but this was before I knew so many pre-meds had gotten the idea too and I wasn't special (my idea wasn't for med school tho I just thought it would be a cool job and my mom had given me the idea years ago as a job while in college.)

 

[dougfunnie]

I've heard that being an EMT is a good job for Premeds wanting to get clinical experience and see if the field is right for them.

However, how hard is an EMT-B's job? Is it manageable with schoolwork? Also, how is the pay? For college, some money would be desirable.

Additionally, it seems like a lot of Premeds have jobs as EMT, so ultimately, how much does it help with admission to med schools? Does it really look that impressive?


Thanks!

Seriously, use the search function. This question gets asked all the time.

But, as usual, I'll bite. It's hard to get advice about EMS from a national forum. The education curriculum and job market vary widely throughout the country. In my area, EMS is a very competitive job market. Obtaining the certification is pretty easy (~200 class hours) but getting paid to respond to 911 calls just won't happen until you have some volunteer experience.

So, if you want to get paid using your EMT cert, you can make $8-12/hour starting wage as an ED tech or in critical care transport. If you want to respond to 911 calls, you can volunteer at your local rescue squad/fire dept. Most pre-meds with an EMT-B cert at my school do this.

Will working as an EMT be unique/impressive? For the reasons you stated, no. Will you rack up clinical experience hours? Yes. Is holding down a job while being academically successful impressive? Absolutely.

 

[dougfunnie]

The REAL problem is that the courses cost about $600-800 in all

A Basic class at your local CC will NOT be this expensive. In my state it's ~$250 including supplies and fees. There is a further discount if you're un/underemployed (aka a student).

 

[azerkail]

However, how hard is an EMT-B's job? Is it manageable with schoolwork? Also, how is the pay? For college, some money would be desirable.

where i live is greater los angeles area, pay is 9-12 an hour. work is 'usually' ok on rigs (ambulance service) with basic EMTs on private service primarily doing interfacility transfers over 911 calls (however in the next county over there's a lot more 911 calls for regular basic medic rigs than IFT's). few fire departments around here hire emt-b's but those who are are usually paid better. most places fire or private are 3 days on 4 days off, which is conducive for school if you set it up right (12,12,8's usually). i would say about 80% of my fellow emt's are still in school while practicing and 12 hours on an IFT rig gives time to read a couple chapters.

if you're going for experience i'd suggest an ED tech (you can use your EMT certification for this). you're like a CNA in an ER, but at the same time you're going to be unlocked from your scope of practice there and get way more hands on. you will learn interpersonal skills on the rig as well has how to show up and handle a situation, but clinically speaking there's tons more in an ED where you can pick the brains of ER doctors and nurses and specialists.

there's another thing to google for, ER scribes. they work with ER doctors to help intake patient information and work as liason's for ER personnel doing labs and tests and stuff. in orange county they have companies like specially designed for pre-meds. you contract with them as an ER scribe for a minimum 1 year full time or 2 years part time and work at local trauma centers.

take your grain of salt with this one, but the md i usually shadow before work saturday was impressed i started EMT school. he sits on the adcom for a nearby med school as well as teaches there. he noted that many pre-meds are EMTs but few can explain why they really do it (it shows up on their AMCAS but is never mentioned in interviews). if you explain you did it to see if medicine was right for you, i'm sure you'll be ok.

there is a thread that ad nauseum talks about the dangers of working in EMS whilst trying to go forward to med school. i think one other take home point it has was if you could honestly not work and focus on being a student, make that GPA and MCAT awesome, you'll be set.

 

[sunshine02]

Can someone describe their experience as an EMT-B? What kind of work do you usually get to do and do you usually work on the ambulance or inside the emergency room?

Also, if you are an EMT-B for four years during your college career, will med schools look upon that favorably since it shows commitment?

 

[aSagacious]

Merging related threads.

 

[sunshine02]

Also, what are EMT-B classes like?

 

[crazyasian]

A Basic class at your local CC will NOT be this expensive. In my state it's ~$250 including supplies and fees. There is a further discount if you're un/underemployed (aka a student).

It sounds like I need to move. My local CC and technical college is 800-1000 after tuition, fees, and books

 

[sunshine02]

Anyone out there who can help me? I'm relatively unfamiliar with the whole process and wasn't able to get much from web search.

 

[Tots]

Also, what are EMT-B classes like?

Not very hard. Mine was 3 days a week for 6 weeks or so. About half that time was lectures learning about basic physiology/medicine and then half was learning skills. Part of this time was also for ride alongs. I decided not to get a job as an EMT at the time. It was impossible for me to fit it into my school schedule at the time and I was offered another job at the time.

 

[weaksauce]

Also, what are EMT-B classes like?

I took a 10-week class during the summer. In my state (NC), you need to log 180 classroom hours before you can sit for the state exam, so we put in around 18 hours per week (4 hours on Tuesday/Thursday nights, ~8 hours on Saturday). I was taking organic I and II at the same time, and it was certainly doable.

I joined my school's squad after getting my certification. It was a pretty heavy time commitment--about 20 hours per week for cadets, ~40 for officers and crew chiefs. It was on a volunteer basis, but I'd say that our squad was the exception rather than the norm regarding (lack of) pay.