SeaLoMedic Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Hey guys, I've been reading behind the scenes for awhile & decided it was time to ask a few questions (most of the ones i've had i've been able to find answers to!) If there is already a Paramedic to PA thread that I just cannot find please redirect me there.I have been working as a unit secretary for the past 5 years in the hospital so i'm very familiar with how things work there etc. I decided to go to paramedic school last year after completing EMT school as I wanted to do something in the medical field but felt nursing really was not for me. I graduate in december (!!!) with an A.S. in EMS and am crossing my fingers for a transfer to the ER as a medic. Where I live you have to attend fire school in order to work as a "street medic." As much as I LOVED internship, I'm on the edge about fire school. While doing ER clinicals I became familiar with the job of a PA (i'd previously never heard of it) and did some research. I think it is the perfect fit for what I want to do! After looking into the schooling I need it will be about 2-2.5 years before i'll be ready to apply to PA programs (I'd be 28 yrs old). During that time I plan on working as a medic in the ER. I'm registered for next semester to start prereqs for a pre-clinical health sciences bachelors degree program I can transfer into after completing the prereqs. Should I consider fire school and get some street time too or will the ED provide enough experience? How soon should I look into shadowing a PA? Any tips on what to do/not do at the beginning of this journey?Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dndandrea Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 My advice is to start shadowing PAs sooner than later to make sure you 100% want to become a PA. I believe the ED will provide you with much better experience than you would as a street medic (assuming you're referring to first responders). In the ED you'll get great hands on experience with patients and you will be able to observe physician assistants working. Working as a paramedic in the ED is one of the best types of health care experience for pre-PA students in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 19, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 19, 2014 Medic scope of practice tends to be limited in hospital settings. consider going the field route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealWayPA Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 SeaLoMedic, You're in a similar position that I was about 4 years ago. At that point, I was an EMT working the street who only had ever heard of PAs because I interacted with them in the ER while dropping patients off. After firmly deciding that I was going to become a PA come hell or high water, I went back to school mostly full-time for about 2 years to get all of the prereqs done, and have stayed in school since then to continually boost my GPA. Overall, I think working in an ED is one of the best all around moves for somebody thinking about making the PA plunge, especially if you want to work in emergency medicine or urgent care as a PA. Working in the ED is gonna let you see and assist with tons of things you don't get to see or do routinely in the field, like the heavy duty critical care stuff (chest tubes, surgical airways, etc.), conscious sedation for pediatric patients or fracture reductions, suturing by docs, PAs and (if you're lucky) plastic surgery residents and attendings, urology type stuff like foley catheter placement and continuous bladder irrigation, seeing cardiac arrest and trauma resuscitations from an ER rather field standpoint...the list goes on and on and on. I thought I was pretty medically savvy as an EMT working the street...and then I started working in the ER as a tech. If you're interested in learning medicine, being an ER tech/paramedic in ER is probably as good of an opportunity as you're going to get. There are SO many human resources to draw from - ER attendings, medical and surgical residents, PAs (many of whom are as savy about EM as the docs themselves), nurses who have been doing this for 30 and 40 years, allied health people like X-ray and CT scan techs. I've found that all I had to do was show an earnest, humble interest in learning and all of my co-workers are ALWAYS willing to talk to me about what they know. Plus, when it comes time, most PAs and MDs are willing and extremely gracious about writing letters of reference, and usually they are very praiseworthy because they have seen your skills, intellect, and patient rapport, and can speak as favorably as anybody can concerning your potential as a PA. Work as a medic on the street part-time (keep those intubation and IV skills sharp!), and work in the ED the rest of the time. After a few years, you'll be an emergency medicine-oriented PA applicant with stellar chances of being accepted to a PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TATAbox Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 If you work as a hospital medic you will miss out on the high level of critical thinking that you do as a "street medic". A Paramedic position was created to respond to 911 emergencies out of the hospital, working in the ER is basically just an ER tech. I say that you should do both to gain experience as a "street medic" and you will also gain great experience in the ER from working closely with PAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealWayPA Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Agreed with TATAbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 19, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 19, 2014 I also did both. I was an er tech for 5 years then a 911 & critical care medic for 5 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdpac Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Sounds like you're in Florida with the requirement that you go to fire school to work as a paramedic on the street. No? Either setting will offer you exposure and experience to help prepare you for PA school. Working in the ED will essentially see you working as a tech. Working on the street you'll be much more autonomous with a wider scope of practice, have more responsibility and experience an increased requirement for independent and critical thinking. Each will offer their own level of exposure and experience that you may not (and probably won't) get in the other. I don't think you'll necessarily go wrong with either experience. However, I think the street experience will better prepare you to work as a PA while working in an ED will better show you what life is like as a provider in an ED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 19, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 19, 2014 Having done both, I think the tech part helped more in school and the medic part helped more with the actual practice of emergency medicine, especially the management of emergent pts with airway issues, ods, stemis, cvas, trauma, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaLoMedic Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Sounds like you're in Florida with the requirement that you go to fire school to work as a paramedic on the street. No? Welcome to the Sunshine state! It's very frustrating. My biggest issue with going to fire school 1) taking a semester out of prereqs 2) Cost, it aint cheap 3) I'm female, although I started weight training in April i'm not exactly the strongest Thank you guys, it's sounding like gaining experience from both worlds is the best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlsclm Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 FYI, Volusia County (as yet) does not require fire standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 20, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 20, 2014 "fire standards"...I almost hate to ask.....where I worked as a civilian 911 medic this would not be a good thing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlsclm Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 ^^too right, but by this I mean fire school in addition to EMS certification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 20, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 20, 2014 Where I worked "fire standards" meant No IV, no monitor, no airway adjuncts on pt in resp. distress....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I have nearly 30 years of EMS experience and certainly endorse it for being a good background for PA school. That said, I doubt I would have gone to fire school to be a street medic. In Ohio, it isn't necessary; I work for a 3rd service as a 9-1-1 medic these days. I'm sure that your scope of practice would be more limited in the hospital. That said, while it isn't ideal, you'll get the HCE you need to get into many programs anyway. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayla2013 Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 it would be such a waste of time to go through 4-6 months of fire academy, then TRY to get a job, (im currently in the process and i applied last sept-and itll be close to feb/march before i find out if im accepted then another academy to complete), then youll have to go through probation (usually a year or 18 months) just to go and quit a year later for PA school. Not to mention Im sure there's someone out there who really wants to be a fire medic and you basically just wasted a spot and a whole lot of dept money. the ER is probably your best bet. the schedule is predictable, the pay is probably better and its an easy out if/when you get accepted to PA school. Are there no IFT companies or private ambulance companies nearby? please consider this in your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornellSPA Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 SeaLoMedic: Come to AASPAs Pre-PA meeting in Orlando in January! Afew Paramedic to PAs will be there for sure: http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/15197-orlando-pre-pa-meeting-jan-23-2015/ aaspa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaLoMedic Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Not to mention Im sure there's someone out there who really wants to be a fire medic and you basically just wasted a spot and a whole lot of dept money. I would never want to "waste" a spot or take anything away from someone else. I would love to be a paramedic for a station, i'd prefer it to working in the ER. However where I live if your one you have to be the other. I wish it was different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreatx Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 It's all brutally frustrating. Don't forget the volunteering and shadowing and other things you'll need to fit into your medic work week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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