Ive just got a quick question, an EMT can upgrade to a paramedic. Which may then advance to a Crit Care position or Nursing correct? BUT say I got my Paramedic Cert. And wanted to advance my knowledge and abilities even more. Is it possible to take a Physician Assistant Course with full transfer credits. Or would I have to start with transfering into a nursing degree program then advance to a Physician Assistant? which i believe has a starting salary of 80K Canadian a year
Not knowing anything about Canadian education and requirements for mid levels, here's my analysis based on the US system.
If you are looking at a nursing route, the mid level provider that you're going to want to look at is a nurse practitioner. It doesn't make very much sense to go EMT-P->RN->PA. EMT-P->RN->NP would work better, but the question that's going to get asked is, "Why go paramedic in the first place?"
If you are looking at a PA, the first thing to realize is that the vast majority of PA programs (as well as the trend that they are pushing towards) are a masters level graduate degree. Unless your paramedic program includes several of the prereqs as stand alone college level classes, then chances of using a paramedic education to cut out time is probably slim. For example, the
prereqs for the PA school at the university I currently attend includes anatomy (/w lab), algebra, college level English, microbiology, general chemistry, genetics, psych, sociology, humanities, and statistics. It is kinda of ironic that the prereqs for the PA school is more specific that the prereqs for the medical school even though there's almost the same number of units required in terms of prereqs (45 v 44). Also, technically speaking, most medical schools don't
require an undergrad degree (90 units of course work is essentially the universal requirement), however good luck getting into a med school without one.
If you're interested in the mid level route, my suggestion is to start working on it now. Not all PA schools require health care experience, however most paramedic programs are going to do little to help you knock out the prereqs for PA school.
