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stealthx

stealthx

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I'm currently an EMT-B in college. I'm seriously considering medical school, but I have an aptitude in EMS. I want to specialize in emergency medicine but also work on an ambulance. If I were to go to medical school, is there a possibility to test to be a paramedic without going to paramedic school? How about while in medical school? I'm interested in doing both.
 
What state are you in or planning on working in post residency? For licensed physicians, it depends on the state, prior to full licensure, the answer is almost guaranteed to be no.

Also, short of minimum staffing requirements, there's no reason you can't work on an ambulance as a physician. The physician's scope of practice doesn't end at the hospital or clinic's door.
 
JPINFV said:
Also, short of minimum staffing requirements, there's no reason you can't work on an ambulance as a physician. The physician's scope of practice doesn't end at the hospital or clinic's door.
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But would he be paid like a regular medic? Which kind of sucks after spending all that money on med school.
 
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Foxbat said:
But would he be paid like a regular medic? Which kind of sucks after spending all that money on med school.
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2 words: Medical Director. There's a lot more (in fact, this part is large minority) than field responses, but some systems do have physicians available for response. Also, what better way to provide quality QA/QI than direct observation?
 
of course it depends on local areas...

look at it this way.. around here.. a court judge can issue orders/pass sentences. but what they can not do is make an arrest.. stop cars.. even opperate a RADAR and issue speeding cites..

they can order officers to make an arrest, bench warrent. sign no knock warrents. send people to jail.. but they can not go out and arrest the person themselves. they have no license to do that.

I know of several RN's that are also EMT-B's ,, they had to take the EMT class along with others and pass the tests.. other then ER RN's /LPN's I do not think a floor nurse would even know how to fit a C collar or how to do a Pt assessment.... in the field..
 
However he did not mention nursing school, he mentioned medical school. A better analogy would be the police chief. The police chief is still a sworn, uniformed police officer, yet his time is better spent doing things other than making arrests, opperating RADAR, running investigations, or other day to day police work. Similarly, a battalion chief could be manning the hose line, but, again, more important things to do.
 
TraprMike said:
of course it depends on local areas...

look at it this way.. around here.. a court judge can issue orders/pass sentences. but what they can not do is make an arrest.. stop cars.. even opperate a RADAR and issue speeding cites..

they can order officers to make an arrest, bench warrent. sign no knock warrents. send people to jail.. but they can not go out and arrest the person themselves. they have no license to do that.

I know of several RN's that are also EMT-B's ,, they had to take the EMT class along with others and pass the tests.. other then ER RN's /LPN's I do not think a floor nurse would even know how to fit a C collar or how to do a Pt assessment.... in the field..
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I'd put an RN assessment against ANY EMT-B in ANY situation. just because you learn in a hospital does not mean you don't know how to do it under a tree, or in the street. 120 hours of a book and a workbook versus 2+ years of assessements?

Are you joking?

Now then i'm not saying EVERY RN would be observant enough to clear a scene as safe to enter. Situational awareness was bored into my skull in during my emt "seminar," but let me ask you this,

what's the difference between an S3 and an S4 and where do you ausculate for them? (and try to answer without googling, please)


but i digress...

If you want to work on an ambulance, work on an ambulance. If you want to get paid for your education, you are gonna have to work somewhere else. (until EMT-Ps actually get paid for what they do)

Nothing says you can't volunteer and 3rd ride as an MD. I get way more out of volunteering than I would by taking a paycut to drive L&S.

and i hope people aren't still getting all but*hurt about volunteering. Every medic that I have ridden 3rd with was more than happy to let me handle the patient and the paperwork.
 
Thanks for all your insightful responses.

I plan to live in PA post-residency. If I were to ride along on an ALS crew as a physician, would I be able to participate in patient treatment? For example, intubate.
 
stealthx said:
I'm currently an EMT-B in college. I'm seriously considering medical school, but I have an aptitude in EMS. I want to specialize in emergency medicine but also work on an ambulance. If I were to go to medical school, is there a possibility to test to be a paramedic without going to paramedic school? How about while in medical school? I'm interested in doing both.
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Let me be the first to assure you, except on "extended" breaks, which usually is spent partly by academic requirements (xmas, summer, etc) there is not much working being done while in medical school.

You certainly won't e putting your books down during the week at 3 pm to go run calls in EMS. Not if you plan to pass anyway. Medical school is definately not like undergrad, I would compare it more to paramedic class on steriods over 4-6 years as opposed to a few months to 2 years.

Keeping up with the reading alone can be uite difficult at times and even clinicals have tests attached. We have one about every 2 weeks in our clinicals.

It may sound bad, but the further I go in my education (89 weeks of clinicals left!!!) the more of a waste of time US EMS becomes.

If you are really hell bent on becomming a doctor to work in EMS, I suggest you move to somewhere in Europe.
 
Veneficus said:
Keeping up with the reading alone can be uite difficult at times and even clinicals have tests attached. We have one about every 2 weeks in our clinicals.
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To add to this, the clinical final exams (and at some schools, tests during preclinical courses) often are national standardized exams called "Shelf Exams." So, although hopefully not, you can be responsible for material not explicitly discussed during the clinical course.
 
stealthx said:
Thanks for all your insightful responses.

I plan to live in PA post-residency. If I were to ride along on an ALS crew as a physician, would I be able to participate in patient treatment? For example, intubate.
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I have to ask. Why would you want to take an intubation away from a paramedic considering that they need as many as they can get to maintain proficiency. It's not like you won't be intubating in the ED as an emergency physician.
 
JPINFV said:
I have to ask. Why would you want to take an intubation away from a paramedic considering that they need as many as they can get to maintain proficiency. It's not like you won't be intubating in the ED as an emergency physician.
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cart before the horse... seems like. Another provider interested in skills.

no offense intended.
 
JPINFV said:
To add to this, the clinical final exams (and at some schools, tests during preclinical courses) often are national standardized exams called "Shelf Exams." So, although hopefully not, you can be responsible for material not explicitly discussed during the clinical course.
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We take the NBME shelf exams too.

One of the things we use to keep Stafford and Plus loans at our institution for the American expats.
 
Veneficus said:
We take the NBME shelf exams too.

One of the things we use to keep Stafford and Plus loans at our institution for the American expats.
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Hmm... imagine what would happen if there were shelf exams for EMS. Lots of students nationwide taking the same cardiology exam like a mini-NREMT test.
 
JPINFV said:
Hmm... imagine what would happen if there were shelf exams for EMS. Lots of students nationwide taking the same cardiology exam like a mini-NREMT test.
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That required you to learn information outside of what is told to you in class?

That would be absolutely awesome.
 
doesn't it seem like there are enough like minds on this website to re-write the whole profession and fix EVERYTHING?! Sigh...
 
8jimi8 said:
doesn't it seem like there are enough like minds on this website to re-write the whole profession and fix EVERYTHING?! Sigh...
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I can haz National EMS Czar title?
 
i just want to be the chairman of the death panel
 
Veneficus said:
i just want to be the chairman of the death panel
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Anecdotally, I heard that there is a 2 year waitlist at the Huntsville prison, of paramedics who want to administer the lethal injections.
 
8jimi8 said:
Anecdotally, I heard that there is a 2 year waitlist at the Huntsville prison, of paramedics who want to administer the lethal injections.
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But but but the NAEMT said "No."
 
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