Worth shadowing?

[AymAyzing]

So I spent 4 years in the military as an EMT and then I separated to go to school. I am currently a volunteer EMT at my local fire station.

My question is, I have a lot of direct patient care hours under my belt, would the clinical experience and fire/rescue be enough for ec's or should I shadow physicians too? Do adcoms favor shadowing multiple specialties? I have worked in family practice, allergy and immunizations, and then emergency care.

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[aSagacious]

Yes, you definitely need more shadowing. Pre-hospital medicine is not representative of hospital based medicine.

Edit: Didn't read that last line. In what context did you work in these settings? (Paper pusher / secretary, nurse assistant, etc)

 

[AymAyzing]

Yes, you definitely need more shadowing. Pre-hospital medicine is not representative of hospital based medicine.

Edit: Didn't read that last line. In what context did you work in these settings? (Paper pusher / secretary, nurse assistant, etc)

I was more an RN in the military. Even though I was only licensed as an EMT, being in the military gave me more flexibility with my scope. I did everything and then some, shots, blood draws, iv's, suturing, shave biopsy, colpo's, assisted in procedures like vas's (not just giving instruments, actually doing something). Me and my doc worked together for a long time.

 

[aSagacious]

Ok, in that case you might just want to shadow a few docs in some other specialties. Perhaps a PCP, a representative hospital doc (ICU, CCU, etc), and a specialist of some sort (maybe private practice cardio, GI, etc). You obviously don't need to do any or all of these, just throwing out a few ideas. The goal of shadowing is not to do much necessarily, but more to get a good idea of what practicing in that specialty is like.

 

[AymAyzing]

I think that is a good idea as I have limited inpatient experience. That's all I needed to know!

 

[Morsetlis]

So I spent 4 years in the military as an EMT and then I separated to go to school. I am currently a volunteer EMT at my local fire station.

My question is, I have a lot of direct patient care hours under my belt, would the clinical experience and fire/rescue be enough for ec's or should I shadow physicians too? Do adcoms favor shadowing multiple specialties? I have worked in family practice, allergy and immunizations, and then emergency care.

If you are working on a deadline, you don't need more. Polish what you already have.

If you are planning on applying next year, definitely add a month or more of shadowing. It's not a great activity, but it's definitely exposure and gives you something to talk about regarding hospitals/clinics.

 

[deleted393595]

So I spent 4 years in the military as an EMT and then I separated to go to school. I am currently a volunteer EMT at my local fire station.

Dang! You are AymAzying.

 

[AymAyzing]

Dang! You are AymAzying.

I try!