Does Anyone Else Hate "Too Smart to be a Paramedic"?

NYMedic828 said:
The nursing school actually has a little class finder that links you to what they accept from other schools as equal to theirs.

My only hurdle is I probably won't be a full time student so it will take me 5 or so years to get a BSN from the ground up.
Click to expand...

there is a difference between what classes they accept and how much credit they accept.

Make sure you research both.

At my undergrad state university, they would accept any local community college credit but a maximum of 30 credits.

They also had a seperate rule that said at least 3/4 of your degree requirements had to be completed in that institution unless you were enrolled full time in that institution and was given "visiting student" status at another school.

Always read the fine print when it comes to transferring credit.
 
As a male nursing student in 1981, I was repeatedly asked why I was not in medical school. ("Look the grades, Teach...and I don't want to!").
 
mycrofft said:
As a male nursing student in 1981, I was repeatedly asked why I was not in medical school. ("Look the grades, Teach...and I don't want to!").
Click to expand...

I wasn't born until 9 years later... :blush:
 
I mighta delivered you. (not)
 
Maybe I'm just young an optimistic but I do ems cause I love it sure it's a pretty underpaid and unrecognized career path. If you want to go spend bunch money on degrees hopefully it's for somethig you love and not for the love of money you hope to make.... But I stress I'm young and optimistic I figure I got a few years before I lose that and start sounding old and cynical :)
 
mycrofft said:
As a male nursing student in 1981, I was repeatedly asked why I was not in medical school. ("Look the grades, Teach...and I don't want to!").
Click to expand...

I get that a lot even today, most of the time by patients. Many older patients find it odd to have a male nurse and some even refuse to have one. Or just as much as the med school comment is the "Are you straight?" comment.

I find it funny when the old demented patients refer to me as "that nice young doctor" no matter now many times I correct them. It's better than the patient who asked me if I was the janitor <_<
 
SDog said:
Maybe I'm just young an optimistic but I do ems cause I love it sure it's a pretty underpaid and unrecognized career path. If you want to go spend bunch money on degrees hopefully it's for somethig you love and not for the love of money you hope to make.... But I stress I'm young and optimistic I figure I got a few years before I lose that and start sounding old and cynical :)
Click to expand...

I used to be the same way. Probably what resulted in the Star of Life tattoo on my arm. (Which I don't regret, but its more of a life experience tat now)

Unfortunately as you begin to age, you realize that while you should do something you love you also need to do something that will provide for your future family/dependants. Money can't buy happiness but it is certainly a good start.

I am very glad I got into EMS because without it, I would not of recognized my general love of the medical field. I would love working in an ER or doc office just the same as an ambulance and it pays more. Two birds with one stone.

Also as stated, if you take the right path to get the right degree you won't waste all your money on loans. If you get a bachelors in political science or something then yes you dun' goofed.
 
One of my previous partners had 3 BAs and a MA. Think of the 3 most useless BAs and the most useless MA and those were his degrees. He was as useless as an EMT as his degrees were for getting a job.

Edit - It wasn't possible for him to be too smart for EMS. That would require he be somewhat able to do the job in the first place.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
NYMedic828 said:
I used to be the same way. Probably what resulted in the Star of Life tattoo on my arm. (Which I don't regret, but its more of a life experience tat now)

Unfortunately as you begin to age, you realize that while you should do something you love you also need to do something that will provide for your future family/dependants. Money can't buy happiness but it is certainly a good start.

I am very glad I got into EMS because without it, I would not of recognized my general love of the medical field. I would love working in an ER or doc office just the same as an ambulance and it pays more. Two birds with one stone.

Also as stated, if you take the right path to get the right degree you won't waste all your money on loans. If you get a bachelors in political science or something then yes you dun' goofed.
Click to expand...

+1

Money doesn't buy happiness, and relying on money to make you "happy" will make you anything but...

but.

Without money the rent/mortgage doesn't get paid, the kids don't eat and the car doesn't get fixed. When I was young, single, no kids... life was SO different. I lived in Chicago making crap wages as a flight attendant ($15k a year doesn't go very far, but when you're young & single with no kids it's possible). Now at 37 with 2 high-needs kids to take care of, life and priorities are significantly different.
 
AtlasFlyer said:
+1

Money doesn't buy happiness, and relying on money to make you "happy" will make you anything but...

but.

Without money the rent/mortgage doesn't get paid, the kids don't eat and the car doesn't get fixed. When I was young, single, no kids... life was SO different. I lived in Chicago making crap wages as a flight attendant ($15k a year doesn't go very far, but when you're young & single with no kids it's possible). Now at 37 with 2 high-needs kids to take care of, life and priorities are significantly different.
Click to expand...
+2

Right now I make pretty good money. Last year I pulled in $47,000, this year it will probably be $40,000-$42,000 (I really haven't been motivated to work OT this year). That kind of money is great for someone who is single, lives alone, with a small car payment and a one bedroom apartment in a middle-class neighborhood. I can buy toys and go out and still be comfortable, I don't live paycheck to paycheck.

But I couldn't dream of supporting anyone on that kind of pay and the reality is that EMS doesn't live much, if any, room for advancement. For a pay raise I can either go management or FD, and eventually I will need a Bachelors degree. If I need a BS degree to move into a better paying position in this job I would rather get a BS degree in something I would enjoy doing and get out of EMS entirely.

And to answer the OP, I actually think there are some people too smart to be paramedics/EMTs. If you are a person that pushes themselves to learn more and keep up to date with the latest advances in medicine, often you will be shunned by your peers. I remember going on a call for a guy that was jaundiced and altered as heck, when I did an assessment I noticed he had asterixis. When I told my FI this, he simply looked at me and said "Why do you care? Check his sugar, put him on the monitor and drive him to the hospital, diagnosis is a doctor's job." This attitude bugs me to no end, so what if we can't do anything about it? This is the sort of thing that keeps us being called ambulance drivers. I have often wondered if I would be better at this job if I was a little dumber and didn't think too much into what is going on with patients. I also think some people just aren't challenged enough by EMS, some people need to have a constant brain challenge at work and at a certain point EMS stops being challenging, not to say that there isn't more to learn or there aren't difficult calls, just that the day-to-day stuff stops challenging some people.

I recommend anyone with the drive or ability to get out of EMS while they can. Other careers can be much more rewarding both paycheck wise and intellectually.
 
sir.shocksalot said:
+2

Right now I make pretty good money. Last year I pulled in $47,000, this year it will probably be $40,000-$42,000 (I really haven't been motivated to work OT this year). That kind of money is great for someone who is single, lives alone, with a small car payment and a one bedroom apartment in a middle-class neighborhood. I can buy toys and go out and still be comfortable, I don't live paycheck to paycheck.

But I couldn't dream of supporting anyone on that kind of pay and the reality is that EMS doesn't live much, if any, room for advancement. For a pay raise I can either go management or FD, and eventually I will need a Bachelors degree. If I need a BS degree to move into a better paying position in this job I would rather get a BS degree in something I would enjoy doing and get out of EMS entirely.

And to answer the OP, I actually think there are some people too smart to be paramedics/EMTs. If you are a person that pushes themselves to learn more and keep up to date with the latest advances in medicine, often you will be shunned by your peers. I remember going on a call for a guy that was jaundiced and altered as heck, when I did an assessment I noticed he had asterixis. When I told my FI this, he simply looked at me and said "Why do you care? Check his sugar, put him on the monitor and drive him to the hospital, diagnosis is a doctor's job." This attitude bugs me to no end, so what if we can't do anything about it? This is the sort of thing that keeps us being called ambulance drivers. I have often wondered if I would be better at this job if I was a little dumber and didn't think too much into what is going on with patients. I also think some people just aren't challenged enough by EMS, some people need to have a constant brain challenge at work and at a certain point EMS stops being challenging, not to say that there isn't more to learn or there aren't difficult calls, just that the day-to-day stuff stops challenging some people.

I recommend anyone with the drive or ability to get out of EMS while they can. Other careers can be much more rewarding both paycheck wise and intellectually.
Click to expand...

Exactly what he said.
 
I do think it's getting better, slowly and sporadically. I didn't get the "meh" vibe from EMSA that I've gotten at other agencies.
 
Rocketmedic40 said:
I do think it's getting better, slowly and sporadically. I didn't get the "meh" vibe from EMSA that I've gotten at other agencies.
Click to expand...

I think it's getting worse.

We keep adding expensive toys without adding education.

That's one step forwards and two steps back in my book.
 
I think the "education" is rather dependent upon the agency for the time being, but schools are catching up slowly. For instance, my pathetic excuse for a course coordinator didn't even know what parts of the heart a 12-lead monitored, how to interpret it, or how it ties into EMS, and the NR is driving her course out of business due to her failure to accredit and progress.

The deaths of the "medic mills" will probably change this somewhat.
 
Rocketmedic40 said:
The deaths of the "medic mills" will probably change this somewhat.
Click to expand...

I think the opinion that NR or any accrediting process is going to kill off medic mills is overly optimistic.

Medic mills have only one purpose, to make money. In order to protect their revenue streams I have seen them come up with all kinds of imaginitive ways to skirt the rules.

By far my favorite is when they pay fees to out of state community colleges to list themselves as "remote campuses" of that institution.

This even permits them to issue actual credit hours if requested by students from the "parent" organization.

Where there is a will there is a way.
 
I'm not sure what the national state of EMT-P competency is, but around here paramedics are highly regarded. King County WA paramedics have an incredible amount of training and are also VERY well paid. It's been said that having a medic one medic on scene is like having an ER doctor in the field.

But I understand that this probably isn't the case in most places. A lot of my friends are switching to ER tech positions because it's almost twice the hourly pay and the hospital environment mixed with the desire to learn as much as possible in order to provide great care seems to work out much better than my friends in the field. Most EMT's I know are either complacent or ignorant. Most could care less about learning things that are a "doctor's or nurse's job". Everyone else either has or is moving on to a PA, medic, RN, etc. program.

Again, I'm only talking about basics here. Like I said, the attitude around here is a pretty high regard for medics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top