Ambitious EMT

[Avid316]

Hello, I am a new EMT and a pre-med student. I am a very curious student and I always want to know the "why's" and I love to read anything I can get my hands on. I was looking for some advice. I just recently began reading Dubins EKG book and I want to buy Dr. Guy's Pharmacology for Prehospital Providers in addition to a Paramedic text (either Dr. Bledsoe's or by Mosby) and begin reading it. I was wondering if youg guys thought I was over my head in studying these topics due to the fact they aren't EMT skills? In school normally I have classes that are of no interest to me, but emergency medicine is what fascinates me, so any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[CALEMT]

I was wondering if youg guys thought I was over my head in studying these topics due to the fact they aren't EMT skills?

Never stop learning, thats the advice a preceptor told me once. Just because its not a EMT skill doesn't mean that you can't/ shouldn't have a understanding of it. It can only make you a better provider if you can understand the physiology behind something i.e. EKG's or how "this drug" affects the cells in the body.

 

[Gurby]

I think learning EKG's and "pre-hospital" pharmacology (ie drugs for paramedics) as a basic is kind of a waste. It won't hurt, of course, but you won't have much/any opportunity to put that knowledge to use as an EMT-B.

I think it would be better to dive into learning anatomy and physiology. Make Anki flashcards as you go, so you don't forget the material.
To supplement that, go into depth learning about the various pathologies your patients have: What is CHF? What is COPD and why is it called that? What is "inflammation" exactly? Why do some patients need dialysis, how does it help them, what caused them to need it, etc? What, exactly, is cancer? What do all those lab values mean - what are abnormal values for K, BUN/creatinine, etc, and what does it mean for those to be too high/low? What issues could come from those abnormalities, and why/how?

There is so much you can learn that will be directly relevant to what you do as an EMT-B, and that you can apply right away in your assessments. EKG's are fun, but I think it would be more useful and relevant for you to understand the mechanisms that cause CHF patients to have edema in their ankles, for instance.


I would add... I don't think you're "over your head". Learning EKGs and pharmacology to the level that paramedics learn them in school is not hard. I just think it will benefit you more as an EMT and eventually as a med student/doctor to focus more on basic A+P and pathology, and building your assessment skills instead.

Also, don't buy a pharmacology book for medics, but learning about the drugs your patients take would be really really useful! Learning about how aspirin works, how lisinopril works and why it would be prescribed, etc, will really help you out a lot as an EMT. Learning ACLS drugs as an EMT-B would be mostly pointless.

 

[CALEMT]

I think it would be better to dive into learning anatomy and physiology.

I would like to make a point with this statement. Things started to "click" and make sense when I took A/P.

 

[Avid316]

Thanks so much for all the kind remarks. I took anatomy and physiology as a junior in college (I am going to be a senior now) in my opinion we didn't learn anything in enough depth which is why I want to keep up on that. So is buying the medic book a good idea to learn the pathologies of disease?! The only reason I was going to buy the pharm book is because people who used it said it showed how each drug works on the cellualr level.

 

[Avid316]

I also want to add I want to be a scribe in the ED so learning EKGs may be useful in that regard and getting an idea of how the ED drugs work may help. Thoughts?

 

[chaz90]

I also want to add I want to be a scribe in the ED so learning EKGs may be useful in that regard and getting an idea of how the ED drugs work may help. Thoughts?

Learning EKGs or pharmacology will have zero bearing on your role as a scribe. Being a scribe is invaluable as it allows you to see how an ER physician conducts assessments and navigates their workday, but it would be even more helpful with a bit more of a medical background first.

The most important thing to take for being a scribe is medical terminology.

 

[ERDoc]

I have to be the voice of dissent here. While it is always good that you want to learn more that what you learn in college, right now you should be focusing on your studies, getting the best grades you can and scoring well on the MCAT if you want to have a snowball's chance in hell of getting in to medical school. Don't think that being an EMT is going to help you get in at this point. Almost every applicant was an EMT during college so admission committees are not very impressed. The exception would be that if you were an EMT/medic for a while before applying. I'm not trying to discourage you from learning more, but time management is a huge skill you will need. If you have time, you should be focusing on physics, biology, chemistry and orgo. There will be plenty of time for EKGs and pharmacology once you get to med school.

As a scribe, you will need to know how to spell medical terms, not what they mean. You will never need to look at an EKG and will never be asked to interpret one. If you have to pick one (scribe vs EMT) go for the EMT. It will not help you get in but it will help you get comfortable with speaking to and touching pts. You cannot understand right now how difficult it is to be comfortable with touching people for many students.

 

[Avid316]

I appreciate that very much. As of right now I am taking the medical school pre-reqs. I want to go to paramedic school next summer because it's something I've always wanted to do. I have intentions of becoming a non-traditional student because I think it's the right path for me.

 

[ERDoc]

Do you mind if I ask why you are going to paramedic school if your plan is to go to medical school?

 

[Avid316]

My plans were to go to paramedic school and spend at least 3-5 years doing that and while I was a paramedic finish up my science classes and study for the MCAT and apply and if I don't get in on the first go round then fall back on the paramedic and apply again. I want to see if I like medicine and like being in charge of situations before I devote a lifetime to the profession. If I choose a DO medical school their average age is around 25 and slightly more accepting of non-traditional students so if I got in I wouldn't be too separated from my counterparts. The fact is that once I graduate next year I am not ready nor qualified to apply. While I am studying the necessary sciences I could have a job (no companies around me fire EMT without fire certs) to pay for the courses.

 

[Avid316]

Paramedic school is something I've always wanted to do. The quote I sometimes use to explain it is from Steve Finley who was a medic in Oklahoma City and is now a physician "there is probably something else I could've done, but there is just something inside of me that drives me to it, I can't really explain it"

 

[redundantbassist]

In school normally I have classes that are of no interest to me, but emergency medicine is what fascinates me

Fellow pre med student here. Keep in mind, that what you are learning now is just as important as the medical aspect of your career as a student. It is important for a physician to have a strong understanding of the human body, including at the chemical and atomic level. When you go to med school, you will be building your medical knowledge off of your science knowledge, mainly biology and chemistry. So, my advice to you is to focus on the classes you have now, keeping in mind that you are building the foundation that will make you a great medical student, and ultimately, a great doctor.

 

[Avid316]

Thank you for all the information.

 

[Gurby]

My plans were to go to paramedic school and spend at least 3-5 years doing that and while I was a paramedic finish up my science classes and study for the MCAT and apply and if I don't get in on the first go round then fall back on the paramedic and apply again. I want to see if I like medicine and like being in charge of situations before I devote a lifetime to the profession. If I choose a DO medical school their average age is around 25 and slightly more accepting of non-traditional students so if I got in I wouldn't be too separated from my counterparts. The fact is that once I graduate next year I am not ready nor qualified to apply. While I am studying the necessary sciences I could have a job (no companies around me fire EMT without fire certs) to pay for the courses.

Typically the advice is to stay at EMT-B, go straight to medical school and forget being a paramedic. This was a pretty influential post for me: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/should-a-pre-med-student-go-medic.238346/#post-3077481

On the other hand, if being a paramedic is something you've always wanted to do, and you aren't dead set on going to medical school... this actually seems like a pretty good plan to me.

The barrier to entry for becoming a paramedic is relatively low. You spend ~1 year in class and then you're out into clinicals (which will also show you many areas of the hospital and help show whether medicine is for you) and the field. If you decide it's not for you, you just saved yourself a lot of pain at little time cost. You lose out on a few years of attending physician salary (to the tune of at least $1 million, probably, if this delays your med school by 3-5 years), which is significant, but IMO it's more important to make sure that medicine is right for you. If you go straight to medical school and ultimately find out that you don't want to do medicine, sucks to be you. Now you're 300k in debt, 7-11 years older, and at this point pretty much have no option but to stick with it.

You definitely don't want to look back after going to medical school and have "what if's" in your head.

So, I think it's a reasonable plan. But don't expect being a paramedic to help you get into med school and don't expect people to be impressed - even most physicians don't seem to have much of a clue about the differences between EMT-B's and EMT-P's.

I'll be curious to hear ERDoc's thoughts!

 

[Avid316]

Thank you for sharing that link. It has brought insight to my siutation. My idea behind it was it's a job I could that I was the pre-reqs. I have seen paramedics work in the field and then become medical students and for some reason it's the path I have always envisoned myself taking to medical school. I am not the type of student who envisions going right after I graduate from undergrad. I am the type who wants medical experience before I embark on an expensive journey into becoming a physican. I think the non-traditional route is best for me, but like you I am curious to what his thoughts are as well.

 

[mgr22]

I can't think of any disadvantages to reading and learning. It's not like you'll use up some finite quantity of brain cells. Regardless of your age, certification or future plans, you might as well read what interests you.

 

[Avid316]

I want to add that I've taken general chemistry and I am taking physics this semester so I am in touch with the sciences. After I graduate I will finish up the rest (Bio, orgo, and physics), the problem for me is that it's difficult for me to relate them to medicine which is why I try my best to apply them to medical situations so I can help myself remember them. I have the opportunity to get a paramedic text relatively cheap and I know it contains pathophysiology an undergraduate can understand.
Thank you to those who have replied so far.

 

[Flying]

I want to add that I've taken general chemistry and I am taking physics this semester so I am in touch with the sciences. After I graduate I will finish up the rest (Bio, orgo, and physics), the problem for me is that it's difficult for me to relate them to medicine which is why I try my best to apply them to medical situations so I can help myself remember them. I have the opportunity to get a paramedic text relatively cheap and I know it contains pathophysiology an undergraduate can understand.
Thank you to those who have replied so far.

Better idea: Invest in Guyton and Hall and read it. You will get the basic foundation needed at all levels of care. It will also be your primer to the size and depth of the textbooks you should be trying to develop study habits for.

Get the medic textbook when you're ready to embark onto medic school.

I'm with ERDoc on making your basic science studies outprioritize the other stuff. However, you seem to have a plan similar to Gurby's, and he seems to be doing well. Let's wait and see.

 

[Avid316]

Thank you. The reason why I think the non traditional path I right for me is because there are things I want to do before being a doctor. For example I want to go on medical mission trips, I want to go to spanish speaking countries to teach English, I want to get involved in the medical profession prior to medical school. I know these aren't things that boost your application per say, but that's not the reason for me wanting to do them. I want to do these things because they are things I want to do in life. I want to apply to a DO program which is more accepting of non traditionals so I wouldn't be too far behind my counterparts.