Should I go to Paramedic school?
- Thread starter Shanelly
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Sizz
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I'm actually looking forward to Paramedic school this August. I'd like to gain the extra knowledge, anatomy and pt assessment skills to continue growing in the field.
NYBLS
Forum Lieutenant
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Would you like to become a medic or doctor? Because while both are parts of medicine, they are totally different. Different roles, procedures, working environments, the list goes on. If you want to work in the pre hospital setting and provide the best care for your patients, become a parmedic. If you want to go to medical school and become a doctor and working in the emergency room, then go be a doctor.
quit wasting your time and money and go to nursing
Ok, I am getting a little fed up with the "should I go to paramedic school in order to go to med school later?" question.
It has been asked and answered infinite times and ways.
The response is always the same. Being a paramedic does not help you unless a number of things which you cannot control really go your way.
First: The place your applying actually knows what a paramedic is and doesn't have a negative opinion about them. That means somebody on the admissions panel was a paramedic or knows of previous students who were that did really well.
Second: Unless you have been a paramedic for many years in a really busy capacity and have an outstanding employment history of 5 years to a decade or more, it will not make up for substandard grades or a poor MCAT.
Third: While there are some benefits to being an experienced medic before med school. (especially when you get to clinicals) being a paramedic in no way prepares you for the rigors of the academic work. (Which unless you are in Europe or a similar curriculum you must first get through before any clinicals)
Being a paramedic can actually make med school harder, because you think you know something but have been given a oversimplified version of it. You then have to take extra time to relearn it. Tine is a major issue in med school. Things that take extra time really make a difference.
The emergency mindset: medical school is not about emergency medicine. Nobody gives a crap if you know atropine is given for bradycardia. You will be expected to learn all of its uses. (this is just one example out of hundreds.) Nonemergent medicine is a vast majority of medical school.
Don't think EMS is a backdoor to medical school. A few of us have come in that door, usually because we didn't ever expect to go to med school when we started. The standard way of going to undergrad, getting good grades and a competative MCAT is the path of least resistance. If being a doctor is your goal, I highly suggest taking the easiest route.
That means if Doctor is your goal then good grades in undergrad is your goal, not becomming a paramedic. (Which is just a waste of time if you want to be a doctor)
The only benefit you might get out of paramedic school, (and that is a big "if") is some realization. Medical school is like paramedic class on steroids over a much longer time. If you can't handle paramedic class, you can't handle medical school. But truthfully, that is nothing you or an admissions panel can't figure out without you becomming a paramedic.
If you think you want to be a doctor, shadow one before you start college, because a semester or a couple of years with mediocre grades will hurt a lot. You really need to be "all in" from the begining. Again for emphasis, the people who take a nontraditional route are the rare exceptions, not the rule.
Ok, I am getting a little fed up with the "should I go to paramedic school in order to go to med school later?" question.
It has been asked and answered infinite times and ways.
The response is always the same. Being a paramedic does not help you unless a number of things which you cannot control really go your way.
First: The place your applying actually knows what a paramedic is and doesn't have a negative opinion about them. That means somebody on the admissions panel was a paramedic or knows of previous students who were that did really well.
Second: Unless you have been a paramedic for many years in a really busy capacity and have an outstanding employment history of 5 years to a decade or more, it will not make up for substandard grades or a poor MCAT.
Third: While there are some benefits to being an experienced medic before med school. (especially when you get to clinicals) being a paramedic in no way prepares you for the rigors of the academic work. (Which unless you are in Europe or a similar curriculum you must first get through before any clinicals)
Being a paramedic can actually make med school harder, because you think you know something but have been given a oversimplified version of it. You then have to take extra time to relearn it. Tine is a major issue in med school. Things that take extra time really make a difference.
The emergency mindset: medical school is not about emergency medicine. Nobody gives a crap if you know atropine is given for bradycardia. You will be expected to learn all of its uses. (this is just one example out of hundreds.) Nonemergent medicine is a vast majority of medical school.
Don't think EMS is a backdoor to medical school. A few of us have come in that door, usually because we didn't ever expect to go to med school when we started. The standard way of going to undergrad, getting good grades and a competative MCAT is the path of least resistance. If being a doctor is your goal, I highly suggest taking the easiest route.
That means if Doctor is your goal then good grades in undergrad is your goal, not becomming a paramedic. (Which is just a waste of time if you want to be a doctor)
The only benefit you might get out of paramedic school, (and that is a big "if") is some realization. Medical school is like paramedic class on steroids over a much longer time. If you can't handle paramedic class, you can't handle medical school. But truthfully, that is nothing you or an admissions panel can't figure out without you becomming a paramedic.
If you think you want to be a doctor, shadow one before you start college, because a semester or a couple of years with mediocre grades will hurt a lot. You really need to be "all in" from the begining. Again for emphasis, the people who take a nontraditional route are the rare exceptions, not the rule.
JPINFV
Gadfly
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Can't believe I missed this. If you want to go to medical school, then go to medical school. EMS experience is not a fast tract to acceptance in any sense of the word and, to be honest, isn't even that unique. Actually, it's pretty common.
maybe we can get a sticky or at least a link to the many many posts regarding this.
JPINFV
Gadfly
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That's pretty terrible advice actually. From an economic standpoint, the loss of potential revenue alone by delaying schooling one year won't make up from what ever the cost of paramedic school and the income working part time is going to be. You can always go to paramedic school later, but I'd resist any effort or temptation to delay medical school. I seriously have no clue how my classmates who are married and have children do it.
As far as age, assuming 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school, and 3-4 years of residency, you'll be 31-32 by the time you finish your specialty training, However by 28, you'll have a medical degree. The bigger issue you might face is if you don't get in the first time around and decide to do a masters program, which will add another 2 years minimum, to your training.