Tony Ippolito
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To be or not to be a medic.....decisions decisions decisions
- Thread starter Francisco
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To the OP, you're right about medic school being tough. If I were interviewing you for a spot in a medic program, I'd probably ask you to tell me about something really challenging you've succeeded at. Maybe ask yourself the same. If you've met a difficult challenge before, that should give you at least a little confidence about being able to do it again.
Pros and cons of being a paramedic? I don't mean this as a joke, but compared to what? Compared to an EMT, medics learn to recognize and treat, when indicated, many more medical conditions. If you take the job seriously and don't dislike people, you'll probably keep more of your patients from getting much sicker en route to definitive care. I'd say that's a pro. You'll also make more money as a medic and have more opportunities for further advancement.
Cons? If you have significant problems with reading comprehension, basic math, test-taking, in-your-face scrutiny, taking direction, prudent decision-making, time management, maturity or authority figures, you will struggle at times.
The questions you're asking and the doubts you have are normal. Can you stay determined and mostly optimistic about finishing something difficult you've started?
Pros and cons of being a paramedic? I don't mean this as a joke, but compared to what? Compared to an EMT, medics learn to recognize and treat, when indicated, many more medical conditions. If you take the job seriously and don't dislike people, you'll probably keep more of your patients from getting much sicker en route to definitive care. I'd say that's a pro. You'll also make more money as a medic and have more opportunities for further advancement.
Cons? If you have significant problems with reading comprehension, basic math, test-taking, in-your-face scrutiny, taking direction, prudent decision-making, time management, maturity or authority figures, you will struggle at times.
The questions you're asking and the doubts you have are normal. Can you stay determined and mostly optimistic about finishing something difficult you've started?
OP
OP
Francisco
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Well I already have a Bachelors in science but the tough part is getting accepted to the program and the cost because I don't get NO financial aid whatsoever
Gurby
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What is stopping you from applying to PA school right now? What flaws are holding you back? Becoming a paramedic won't make up for a bad GPA or bad MCAT/GRE/etc.
Old Tracker
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There's a Spanish saying, "El que sabe mas, vale mas." He who knows more is worth more. I might add, they earn more too.
Yes it's hard, but so is working as a paramedic so it has to be.
If you're worried about failing and wasting 6 plus grand, you could try a community college. You pay by the semester and they usually try to weed people out early, so you'd be out less money.
You would have pre reqs, but those would be good for nursing as well, so if you didn't cut it as a medic you could do nursing instead. I know at least 2 people that failed medic that went on to be RNs, so you'd have a backup. They're probably glad they failed medic since they make more money than medics anyway.
If you're worried about failing and wasting 6 plus grand, you could try a community college. You pay by the semester and they usually try to weed people out early, so you'd be out less money.
You would have pre reqs, but those would be good for nursing as well, so if you didn't cut it as a medic you could do nursing instead. I know at least 2 people that failed medic that went on to be RNs, so you'd have a backup. They're probably glad they failed medic since they make more money than medics anyway.
Depends on what everyone says.
Yes, it is hard. Yes, some days it sucks. A lot. Yes, it takes a lot of time of your life for 1-1.5 years. Is it THAT hard? No. I think the worst thing for me personally is the nights I get 4-5 hours of sleep (this happens a lot) and managing all of the crap that comes with it. If you are wanting something easy, don't bother. If you actually want to do it, then you will figure it out.
It does get easier though...kind of. Right now, concepts make sense a lot more than they used to. I can follow various medical things, even if they are new and pick it up faster. On the other hand, I am getting my *** handed to me with work/clinicals/class this month and am working 5-6 days a week pretty much all month. So "bad" is a very subjective term.
zzyzx
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To the OP...if you have a BS and did well in EMT school, you should do well in medic schools. The key thing is that, prior to going to medic school, you take an anatomy course, a physiology course, and do some of your own studying on medical topics. I believe that having a few years of experience as a medic is a terrific way to prepare yourself for becoming a PA, or whatever else you may decide to do.
I like what STX medic says about programs were a lot of students fail. These are bad programs that take the wrong approach to teaching. Students who have little chance of success should not be accepted to medic programs. Like medical school, a program should find good candidates and then do everything it can to help them succeed.
I like what STX medic says about programs were a lot of students fail. These are bad programs that take the wrong approach to teaching. Students who have little chance of success should not be accepted to medic programs. Like medical school, a program should find good candidates and then do everything it can to help them succeed.
bcemr
Forum Crew Member
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Do you want to continue to work in EMS?
1. Why? (seriously... why)
2. Decide how much you want to invest in a career. You won't get much of a pay raise mind you.
3. Go into nursing instead.
1. Why? (seriously... why)
2. Decide how much you want to invest in a career. You won't get much of a pay raise mind you.
3. Go into nursing instead.
Parameduck
Forum Crew Member
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I believe oregon state police swat are paramedics. And out on long Island Nassau County pd runs the ems system. I could work!
Bullets
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As they said, the difficulty is relative. Going into the medic program, our class was told the horror story, "get ready to say goodbye to all your family, your girlfriend/boyfriend, social life, ect because this will dominate and consume the better part of every free moment of the next 2 years, and we recommend not working"
So after that rather dire warning i was concerned. Once i got into the class however, i laughed all the way through it, i found it absurdly easy, passed at the top of the class, crushed clinical and everything, all while having a girfriend and working full time.
Depends on you
So after that rather dire warning i was concerned. Once i got into the class however, i laughed all the way through it, i found it absurdly easy, passed at the top of the class, crushed clinical and everything, all while having a girfriend and working full time.
Depends on you
Underoath87
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^^ Same here (except it was 1 year).
medichopeful
Flight RN/Paramedic
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Like someone else said, it's all relative. I personally don't find it that hard, but I have a bit of experience in related fields. If I was going to medic school after only having worked as an EMT, then it would be way more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.
I personally find that when a program or the students who attend it repeatedly state how difficult a program is, that the program itself is not too difficult. I think it's a scare tactic, and I quite frankly find it ridiculous.
That being said, some people in my medic program are definitely struggling, and it shows. Inability to critically think is a big one. A lot of people let their nerves get to them as well, which you can't do. If you have experience as an EMT and a college degree and you want to become a paramedic, go become a paramedic. You'll have to study but you'll do fine.
Tony Ippolito
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Good to know, thank you! That's the dream for sure. Best of both worlds
BassoonEMT
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Nassau County PD does run ambulances for the county, though the vast majority are VFD or VAC, so they don't hire THAT many people. Also, while you do go through an abridged academy, and need to be cleared with a firearm, you're not a cop, and you don't carry on duty. There are no double roles, only either police or ems. Pay is crap for a few years, but after a while you make major major money.
Medic school was an awful year of my life, but it's worth it if you want to be a medic. Also opens up a lot of doors for you to other jobs in hospitals etc. if you want to go that route, but obviously becoming a medic for that reason is dumb.
Everybody says it's terrible because it's a LOT of information very quickly. While we don't go as in depth as other medical professions, you're still expected to be at a very high level of competency and understanding. How much schooling does a anesthesiologist go through to be able to sedate, intubate, and manage the airway of a patient during surgery? Well you're expected to be able to do essentially the same thing after 2 weeks of the airway chapter.
As long as you study and put the time in, you can succeed.
joshrunkle35
EMT-P/RN
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I would say this is the truest statement that can be said, yet so individualized that it cannot be easily understood.
Even pass rates aren't always good indicators. For example: One school in my area is a year long program with three semesters. If you fail one of the portions, you retake the semester. You have to pass all of the semesters before your final. Someone could fail multiple semesters multiple times and then could still be included as "Passing" the course on their first try. You only had to get like a 67% to continue on at that school. Another school nearby (where I went) was about 8 months long, no second chances. If you got below an 80% on a test, you flunked out (you could retake 1 test), and you couldn't restart in the middle of the program.
The material is usually similar within a state, but the length of time for a topic may be different. For example: one school skipped a lot of physiology and pathophysiology (which weren't as heavy on the test, but are important to making you a good medic), so that they could spend two months on cardiology. My school was heavy on stuff that wasn't on the test, but made you better prepared to be a good medic...but we only had two weeks to read about 3-4 books that were 200-300 pages on cardiology and that was with clinicals and ride alongs.
Some schools manage time in a specific way: like, it's always a 10 hour day, 5 days a week, but other schools do the thing where you have short weeks and really long weeks.
For me, the material was relatively easy. Nothing was ever harder than say, an organic chemistry midterm. I liked that my school was only 8 months instead of 12. But, I had to find really good time management skills, like listening to podcasts about drugs or cardiology whenever I was in the car or running on the treadmill. I had maybe 2-3 weeks during the whole thing that were actually tough, like: work sucked, hadn't slept, was behind in my studies and because I was focused on school, my wife felt neglected, so stuff sucked at home for a week. But...that is relatively minor...that's just life. You can have weeks like that at any job or in any life situation.
Most likely medics in your area that you work with would be your best resources. Talk to 5-6 of them who are less than 5 years out of school, and 1-2 of them that teach somewhere, and ask about the differences in the programs in your area, and what challenges you as an individual might face.