akflightmedic
Forum Deputy Chief
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In my purely anecdotal reflections...I see a large portion of those who say "do NOT go straight to medic school" are those who never did. In short, they only have THEIR insight to offer...so how could they possibly offer a different opinion?
You need to ask a fair mix of those who waited and those who did not wait and then think about what you want and what is best for you and only you.
I finished EMT school and rolled right over into Paramedic school. I had about 3 months as an EMT at that point before class started. I do not regret how I did it...the only thing which worked against me was my age and how young I looked at that time. Age discrimination is real...I carried myself professioanlly and communicated well, however it still can be a negative.
As I have stated many times before, the "field experience" thing before moving to next level is also dependent on the program you plan on attending. How good are they? What are their reviews? So on and so on...
I always cringe when people say "My EMT instructor or my Paramedic instructor was the best ever...". At that point I have to ask...how do you know? How many other programs have you been through to make a fair comparison? How do you know what you were taught is most proper or most current research? Medicine requires you to actively critique any instructor and any piece of knowledge, continuously. Not many in our field have that level of tenacity. Complacency creeps in, then standards are lowered and we teach to the lowest common denominator.
Anyways, I digress. Evaluate everything, do what is right for YOU at this point in YOUR life. No one else has to own your decision whether it is right or wrong, nor should you give them that responsibility, burden or credit.
The stepped entry program for EMS is bullshyte. How many nursing students have to be CNAs first for X amount of hours?
You need to ask a fair mix of those who waited and those who did not wait and then think about what you want and what is best for you and only you.
I finished EMT school and rolled right over into Paramedic school. I had about 3 months as an EMT at that point before class started. I do not regret how I did it...the only thing which worked against me was my age and how young I looked at that time. Age discrimination is real...I carried myself professioanlly and communicated well, however it still can be a negative.
As I have stated many times before, the "field experience" thing before moving to next level is also dependent on the program you plan on attending. How good are they? What are their reviews? So on and so on...
I always cringe when people say "My EMT instructor or my Paramedic instructor was the best ever...". At that point I have to ask...how do you know? How many other programs have you been through to make a fair comparison? How do you know what you were taught is most proper or most current research? Medicine requires you to actively critique any instructor and any piece of knowledge, continuously. Not many in our field have that level of tenacity. Complacency creeps in, then standards are lowered and we teach to the lowest common denominator.
Anyways, I digress. Evaluate everything, do what is right for YOU at this point in YOUR life. No one else has to own your decision whether it is right or wrong, nor should you give them that responsibility, burden or credit.
The stepped entry program for EMS is bullshyte. How many nursing students have to be CNAs first for X amount of hours?