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Paramedic during Pre-Med?


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Hey all, hoping to get some input on being paramedic part-time during premed. I have a few friend who are paramedics and it seems like natural stepping stone for medical school. So my question is, it this job a good option? And would this look better on Medical school applications than any other job? Since the paramedic degree is offered in night school I'm pretty sure I can get it done in 4 months max. I need to be making some money during undergrad anyways right? (EMT also an option)

 

Thanks in advance for any input

Victor

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So you’re thinking about doing paramedic before undergrad and then working casual/part time during undergrad is what I gather? 

I’m unsure about the different requirements for paramedic education throughout the provinces but I would be very surprised if you could become a fully qualified primary care/level 1 paramedic in only 4 months.

I’d say that it would look good compared to a job with no patient contact or clinical relevance for sure. Remember though that employment is only one possible EC and although work as a paramedic may be a good one in that regard, you will definitely need more than just that.

As for the money side of it, think about cost-benefit first. Will you make back the cost of becoming a paramedic in a reasonable amount of time to make it worth incurring that debt?

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12 hours ago, Rahvin13 said:

So you’re thinking about doing paramedic before undergrad and then working casual/part time during undergrad is what I gather? 

I’m unsure about the different requirements for paramedic education throughout the provinces but I would be very surprised if you could become a fully qualified primary care/level 1 paramedic in only 4 months.

I’d say that it would look good compared to a job with no patient contact or clinical relevance for sure. Remember though that employment is only one possible EC and although work as a paramedic may be a good one in that regard, you will definitely need more than just that.

As for the money side of it, think about cost-benefit first. Will you make back the cost of becoming a paramedic in a reasonable amount of time to make it worth incurring that debt?

Thanks for the reply, and sorry, I meant the EMR program...the PCP program is a whole year. I will be providing mostly for myself during undergrad and (hoepfully)med school anyways so I'd have to have a paying part-time job medical or non medically related either way. This just seems like a better use of my knowledge and time if that makes sense. Just worried about employment and whether or not people hire EMTs/Paramedics for part-time positions (ex: weekends only, Friday + Weekend only, Nights,  etc) and whether it would take up to much of my time. Is this a popular job option among pre-meds?

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5 hours ago, VictorLin0725 said:

Thanks for the reply, and sorry, I meant the EMR program...the PCP program is a whole year. I will be providing mostly for myself during undergrad and (hoepfully)med school anyways so I'd have to have a paying part-time job medical or non medically related either way. This just seems like a better use of my knowledge and time if that makes sense. Just worried about employment and whether or not people hire EMTs/Paramedics for part-time positions (ex: weekends only, Friday + Weekend only, Nights,  etc) and whether it would take up to much of my time. Is this a popular job option among pre-meds?

Not a popular job among premeds, and very unlikely to get just weekends as a new hire.  

Not worth your time, get a normal job, or an on-campus job(these tend to pay more at most major univeristies).

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Yeah I agree, I don’t think it’s very popular. Most traditional premeds get their medically related experiences through volunteering or sometimes research.

You may want to check out volunteer medical responder, it requires less training and is something you could do casually, especially on weekends. Basically you provide the first aid services for community events.

Another option if you really wanna try to get some clinically related employment is to try and get a position as a personal care worker/orderly at a long term care facility. Usually you have to be some sort of allied health student to get these jobs, but I know of a few people in kinesiology and med sci who have gotten them. Frankly, some of these places are desperate for casual evening and weekend workers and it all depends on how you sell yourself and your skills and experiences.

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4 minutes ago, Rahvin13 said:

Yeah I agree, I don’t think it’s very popular. Most traditional premeds get their medically related experiences through volunteering or sometimes research.

You may want to check out volunteer medical responder, it requires less training and is something you could do casually, especially on weekends. Basically you provide the first aid services for community events.

Another option if you really wanna try to get some clinically related employment is to try and get a position as a personal care worker/orderly at a long term care facility. Usually you have to be some sort of allied health student to get these jobs, but I know of a few people in kinesiology and med sci who have gotten them. Frankly, some of these places are desperate for casual evening and weekend workers and it all depends on how you sell yourself and your skills and experiences.

 

3 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

Not a popular job among premeds, and very unlikely to get just weekends as a new hire.  

Not worth your time, get a normal job, or an on-campus job(these tend to pay more at most major univeristies).

Thanks for the input guys. I’ll try and find something and work out my schedule. I just though the most “hands on” job would be an EMT...and to be honest it doesn’t seem that hard lol. How do you recommend I get reference letters from doctors? I’m guessing clinics are the only choice because working with doctors in major hospitals enough to get a letter of recommendation seems a little far fetched ^_^

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11 hours ago, VictorLin0725 said:

 

Thanks for the input guys. I’ll try and find something and work out my schedule. I just though the most “hands on” job would be an EMT...and to be honest it doesn’t seem that hard lol. How do you recommend I get reference letters from doctors? I’m guessing clinics are the only choice because working with doctors in major hospitals enough to get a letter of recommendation seems a little far fetched ^_^

Hey, so unlike the US, med schools in Canada don’t really require or expect you to have physician shadowing or have reference letters from physicians. The vast majority of people aren’t going to have that. They more want to see that you have knowledge of the physicians role in the health system through your own research, and have some experience interacting with  people experiencing health challenges.

Most people’s letters of reference will come from their managers, professors, principal investigators for labs they work in, or their volunteer coordinators.

So don’t worry about working or volunteering in a setting where a physician would be able to write a LOR.

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