Basic to Medic to Doctor...

Achilles

Achilles

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The title says it all but I'll elaborate anyways.
My original plan was to just do basic, well I found out I adore the medical aspect of. I was planning on getting my associates degree in EMT, but was wondering if I should even do paramedic if I plan on going to medical school. I would major in something that would help me in medical school, like biochem or chem. Do medical schools even care that you were medic or are Basic/ medic pretty much the same thing in their eyes? My gpa is not the best (hovering around 3.1) so if I did the medic class which includes (A&P and a pharmacology class) and did well in them, it would boost my gpa so I could transfer to a university and major in something.

So the questions:
Should I take medic to boost my gpa?
Do medical schools look at basic/ medic as equal?


Thanks,
Andrew
 
Achilles said:
The title says it all but I'll elaborate anyways.
My original plan was to just do basic, well I found out I adore the medical aspect of. I was planning on getting my associates degree in EMT, but was wondering if I should even do paramedic if I plan on going to medical school. I would major in something that would help me in medical school, like biochem or chem. Do medical schools even care that you were medic or are Basic/ medic pretty much the same thing in their eyes? My gpa is not the best (hovering around 3.1) so if I did the medic class which includes (A&P and a pharmacology class) and did well in them, it would boost my gpa so I could transfer to a university and major in something.

So the questions:
Should I take medic to boost my gpa?
Do medical schools look at basic/ medic as equal?


Thanks,
Andrew
Click to expand...

I think the best people to ask are probably Vene, zmedic and Kelly.

It is my understanding that any form of community service FD/PF/EMS looks great on any college application.

Every doctor I know that came from EMS will tell you that being from EMS has made them a better doctor. No experiences are wasted.

Personally, I'm doing the online nursing at the moment from medic but I may just get my BS and go on to PA school instead. I haven't done any actual nursing classes yet.

On my current path I can retire from FD at age 39 and potentially go back to med school but that would be a big move and by then I'd have to retake every science class...
 
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So many topics raised in one short paragraph!

If you want to be a medic, do it. You should understand that, by itself, it won't help with your GPA, your med school application, losing weight or growing back your hair. But if you want to be the guy with the tubes, drugs, and needles, go for it.

You can be a great med school applicant as a former EMT-B (Zmedic!), or a marginal applicant as a former medic (me - terrible GPA!). As an element of your application, the color of your patch doesn't matter, but what you did with your patch matters, as well as grades, recommendations, research, leadership stuff, etc.

Also, the college major with the best rate of med school acceptance is supposed to be dance. So, perhaps you should trade the gold patch for some ballet slippers!

Errata: Zmedic would likely want me to point out that he was also a FF and OEC!
 
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Little side note,

What exactly does the MCATs consist of?
 
The test requires knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics.

The funny thing is, it's really a reading comprehension test on crack. It is often said that true science majors (bio, chem) don't do as well as, say, English or philosophy majors.
 
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The reason my grades not being tip top is because of my business that I've been running 24/7 and my study habits :(
Just need to fix those (plan on selling my business)

Also I was doing some research on what medical schools like and "unique" stands out, what would they consider unique though?
 
Achilles said:
The reason my grades not being tip top is because of my business that I've been running 24/7 and my study habits :(
Just need to fix those (plan on selling my business)

Also I was doing some research on what medical schools like and "unique" stands out, what would they consider unique though?
Click to expand...

Little tip to help improve your study habits, in regards to your business.


Never get high on your own supply.
 
I agree with everyone here that you can be a medic and a good doctor, but from a purely economical standpoint, I'd skip medic school if med school is your goal. The sooner you finish med school, the sooner you make physician money. There is no reason to postpone that unless you just really feel the need to practice as a medic.
 
I think Kelly hit on some good points there. Don't do medic expecting that alone to booster your app. Certainly do it if you want to be/work as a medic but it alone, I don't think, will be looked at much different than EMT on the surface. That said, if you were a medic and held a leadership role and excelled at the job then that would certainly look good.

And like what was already pointed out, your major really doesn't matter. Major in something you're interested in and will do well in, don't major in something just thinking it will help out in med school.... because it won't.

Ultimately there's no right or wrong way, though whatever you do end up doing, make sure you do it well. It is hard to bring up a GPA and make take at least a year or two of good grades to start to raise it depending on how much prior credit you had.
 
I'm only 20 years old. Currently at a community college looking to transfer to university. At that point I will sell my business, and concentrate on school.
 
Achilles said:
The title says it all but I'll elaborate anyways.
My original plan was to just do basic, well I found out I adore the medical aspect of. I was planning on getting my associates degree in EMT, but was wondering if I should even do paramedic if I plan on going to medical school. I would major in something that would help me in medical school, like biochem or chem. Do medical schools even care that you were medic or are Basic/ medic pretty much the same thing in their eyes? My gpa is not the best (hovering around 3.1) so if I did the medic class which includes (A&P and a pharmacology class) and did well in them, it would boost my gpa so I could transfer to a university and major in something.

So the questions:
Should I take medic to boost my gpa?
Do medical schools look at basic/ medic as equal?


Thanks,
Andrew
Click to expand...

Major in ANYTHING that you want... as long as you do the typical pre-reqs (1 year of chem, 1 year of organic chem, 1 year of bio, 1 year of physics - do NOT expect chem or bio to help you in medical school).

Most schools probably do not know the difference between an EMT or a medic.

A medic or EMT cert might help - it depends what you do with it. (It will not hurt despite what some people think.)

I would only suggest getting your medic if you get as part of a BS (e.g. University of Pittsburgh, or University of Maryland)
 
An EMT or medic certification/license with no experience won't help.

EMT or medic experience will not help you land an interview.

However, in my opinion being able to discuss intelligently health care, as seen by EMT or medic experience, can be useful with the provision that it's more profound than war stories/I saved some dood's life by taking him to dialysis 3 days a week.
 
as long as you maintain a high GPA, medic will be good. If you cant maintain a high GPA while pursuing medic, don't do it. People have done it.
 
KellyBracket said:
The funny thing is, it's really a reading comprehension test on crack.
Click to expand...

That is actually a really nice summary...

If you plan on started Medical School in 2016 then you get to take the new and improved! MCAT that has Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Reading Comp and Critical Thinking, and Social/Behavior science:excl:

Achilles said:
Also I was doing some research on what medical schools like and "unique" stands out, what would they consider unique though?
Click to expand...

This is a hard question to answer because schools see so much now. You should do things you enjoy and emphasize the things that make you stand out from a crowd. Like others have said a EMS cert/license with no experience doesn't really make you stand out. Running a business, while getting good grades, and working in healthcare is a little more stand-outish.....

I would caution you that pre-reqs taken at 2-year community colleges aren't accepted by all medical schools, some want your pre-reqs to be done at a 4 year school...
 
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