EMT-B Web Enhanced

[syizzle]

Hi, everyone this is my first time posting on this board. I'm here to ask if anyone has taken the EMT-B Web Enhanced course and if so how hard is it. The class is most online and you meet every Saturday from 9am to 5pm to do the practical stuff. The reason I am going to take the web enhanced class is because I am going to school full time and I work part time as a personal trainer. I want to be an EMT because it will give me a preview of how the medical field looks and it will hopefully help me get into medical school.

Now I am a pre-med at my school and my major is Exercise and Sport Science. This semester I am going to be taking Physics and Chemistry together along with some other gen ed classes. I just don't want to take to much at once and hurt my grades since in need to maintain a good GPA. I have taken Anatomy and Physiology separately and I have also taken Injury and Illness and made good grades in all of them. So if anyone has any advice please feel free to reply asap because I have to register for the class soon.

Oh yea and I live in North Carolina too.

 

[jrm818]

I haven't taken the web-based course, or any online course for that matter. In general, though, I'd say you should not expect to spend any less time on the course than you would in a traditional classroom course. Self-study simply replaces lecture. The EMT-B course itself is not hard (basic, as the name implies), but it does take some time to complete successfully.

Physics and chemistry can be very hard, depending on what versions of the classes you are taking. They are also much more important to your medical school application than being an EMT-B.

It sounds to me like you are overstretching yourself. You already have a part time job - when are you going to work as an EMT? My advice would be not to take the class unless you wanted to work as an EMT, and to do so independent of applying to medical school.

Prepare for the comming onslaught - many posters here do not like the idea of EMS as a pass-through to medical school, and with good reason. EMS and medicine share some things in common, but, especially at the basic level, they are not the same. Unless you work as an ED Tech, you will receive very little hospital exposure working in EMS, or exposure to what it is like to work as a physician.

From what I've heard (I'll be applying to medical school in the near future), it is a poor decision to get into EMS to help get into medical school. In the view of most adcoms EMS carries little more weight than any other medical experience (shadowing a MD, volunteering in a hospital, etc). It may fulfill the requirement to have some patient contact and experience, but will not wow anyone. Premed EMT's are a dime a dozen.

Not that EMS is worthless - you do get experience performing basic assessments, patient contact, working with other medical professionals as a team, etc. Of course you get all that in medical school too...

I thoroughly enjoy being involved in EMS, but I don't expect it to get me into medical school, and probably would have become an EMT even if I were not going to medical school. I treat the job seriously and would not be doing it if I felt that I was less educated or able than full-time EMT's because of my focus on school. With the other commitments you listed, I would not be confident that you could give EMS the focus it requires.

Your GPA and MCAT's are the most important for med school. It sounds like you should focus on your PT stuff and your premed requirements. Don't overstretch yourself trying to accumulate letters next to your name in the hope of impressing anyone. If you want to go into EMS for the sake of EMS, go for it. It sounds like you have a different path....

 

[KEVD18]

I want to be an EMT because it will give me a preview of how the medical field looks and it will hopefully help me get into medical school.

im sure a few of the members here more experience in this matter will be along shortly to advise you on that.

 

[medic417]

www.percomonline.com

www.techproservices.net

Both have quality online education.

 

[VentMedic]

EMT-B may or may not help you with your med school application. However, the right clinicals and research in your exercise science major can be a plus.

If you have taken A&P and the Injury/illness classes for Exercise Science you will have no problem with an EMT-B class since Exercise Science class can be much more indepth when A&P and other prerequisites are required.

I would only consider EMT-B to explore the world of EMS to get a little insight on prehospital or to pick up an ED Tech job during school. Sometimes it can be useful on an Exercise Phys. application as an extra cert like CPR.

 

[syizzle]

Thanks, being an EMT does interest me but it is not something I would want to do forever, thus why I want to goto med school. My problem is that a lot of doctors do not let you shadow them because of HIPAA or some other reason and the hospitals around here only want me to answer the phone or do stuff that is not that involved. So my pre-med advisor suggested that I become an EMT or a CNA (nurses aide) since being a personal trainer doesn't allow much clinical exposure. The EMT interested me a lot more just because I felt like I would get more out of it.

If any of you'll know of any websites where I can find some research opportunities or something like, that would be great because I haven't had much luck. Also I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but what is an ED Tech?

Wait I think I found what it is. Is it an Echocardiology Tech? If so how do you become one?

 

[VentMedic]

Thanks, being an EMT does interest me but it is not something I would want to do forever, thus why I want to goto med school. My problem is that a lot of doctors do not let you shadow them because of HIPAA or some other reason and the hospitals around here only want me to answer the phone or do stuff that is not that involved. So my pre-med advisor suggested that I become an EMT or a CNA (nurses aide) since being a personal trainer doesn't allow much clinical exposure. The EMT interested me a lot more just because I felt like I would get more out of it.

If any of you'll know of any websites where I can find some research opportunities or something like, that would be great because I haven't had much luck. Also I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but what is an ED Tech?

Wait I think I found what it is. Is it an Echocardiology Tech? If so how do you become one?

Emergency Department Technician: EMT cert, some also want CNA and phlebotomy certs.

Please tell me you are not getting a degree in Exercise Science to be a Personal Trainer? While that is one opportunity there are others depending on your track.

 

[daedalus]

"Will EMS help my Med school application?"
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=556556

The above is an excellent article written by an attending ED physician who happened to be a paramedic before medical school.

 

[daedalus]

Echocardiology Tech? If so how do you become one?

An Echocardiography technician is a type of imaging technician that has to go through special schooling and commonly is self employed and visits several cardiologist's offices a day to preform their echos. Alternatively they may be employed as an in-office tech or inside of a hospital.

"How do I become an echo tech?"
http://www.ehow.com/how_1000123_become-echo-tech.html

"What is echocardiography?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echocardiography

 

[syizzle]

Emergency Department Technician: EMT cert, some also want CNA and phlebotomy certs.

Please tell me you are not getting a degree in Exercise Science to be a Personal Trainer? While that is one opportunity there are others depending on your track.

No I am doing Exercise Science because when I become a doctor I want to do orthopedics. And Exercises Science geared more towards orthopedics than a Biology or Chemistry major. Plus I am already a personal trainer and have been one for about 2 years and while it's a good job I couldn't see it being a career.

And an ED Tech do you just need to get your EMT-B cert or do you have to get an intermediate or paramedic cert. Because being an ED Tech sounds like it would interest me a lot more. And daedalus thanks for finding that thread it was very helpful and had a lot of info. It's really making me think that being an EMT may not be the best path. I'm called around and I think I found a shadowing opportunity at an orthopedic office near me. So hopefully that will work out.

 

[VentMedic]

And an ED Tech do you just need to get your EMT-B cert or do you have to get an intermediate or paramedic cert. Because being an ED Tech sounds like it would interest me a lot more.

Emergency Department Technician: EMT cert, some also want CNA and phlebotomy certs.

Check around your local EDs to see what they want or if they even use ED techs.

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=9895

Some may want a Paramedic cert but not always.

You can also be a CNA or Patient Care Tech to work in the area that you want to specialize in, or any area, as a physician. Some hospitals may train you as an ortho tech if they see you have an interest in that area.