What job should I choose for healthcare experience?

[panglossian]

Hello!

Anyone willing to share some advice on best HCE jobs in terms of admissions/experience?

 

Background: I relocated to a new state at the end of the summer and got a job as a medical scribe in a local ED. My previous employment was in clinical research and through scribing I decided I want to be a PA. I am about to complete my EMT-B certification however, I am fairly certain that working as an EMT-B is not ideal as the only company near me uses EMT-Bs for transport only. 

 

Options:

1. Medical Office Assistant in private practice cardiologist office- Pros: get to do vitals, EKGs, 24hr holter monitors, 30-day event monitors, blood draws, counsel patients on weight loss, and physical exams for life insurance plus general office duties. Cons: 1hr commute, no PAs in the office, overbearing physician

 

2. Patient Care Assistant on Med/Surg floor at Hospital- Pros: get practice doing vitals, EKGs, and basic duties (lifting, bathing, bathroom assistance etc), possible meaningful experience as this floor is used for oncology patient transfer to hospice. Cons: no phlebotomy, 30-minute commute, night shift, less hands on in terms of medical skills

 

3. Emergency Tech- Pros: get to do vitals, EKGs, blood draws, urine specimen collection, splinting, 15-minute commute, and see a lot in a busy ER (I currently scribe there). Cons: only night shift currently available, patient interaction is brief

 

I am super grateful to have these opportunities, but picking the right one has been difficult for me. Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

[mtnpa]

First, make sure that the medical office assistant job is mostly back office because any front office duties will not count towards your PCE. Second, nothing wrong with EMS transport only as long as you listen to your patient and take vitals. You're still pretty autonomous on the transport and you're there if patient goes down the drain for any reason.

 

All in all, I say unless you already received a job offer, there is no harm in applying to all jobs and reassess after pay/benefits etc as well as in case you only get one job offer.

[panglossian]

Thanks for the response! I should add that I have job offers for all 3 of these positions and now need to make a choice. Financially, the ED Tech and PCA jobs pay the best.

[rev ronin]

I'd take the ER tech job.  Much better scope of practice than EMT transport-only.

[mtnpa]

Umder that circumstanxe, then I agree with Rev and would go with the er tech too. There is more patient turnover in the ER so you get to do a lot more. Plus since you are already scribing there, you can continue your relationship with any ED PAs for guidance when applying as well as a LOR.

[DiggySRNA]

ED Tech position for sure. Shorter commuting time and the scope is very similar to that of a back office MA.

[panglossian]

ED Tech it is! Thanks for the help everyone! 

[TheLastStone]

I'll taking my EMT-B class in Jan-May as I'm going finishing my Bachelor's and that's the route I've chosen to gain my HCE. I've read in forums and seen that I have a better chance of getting more interaction is with ER tech, since a lot of EMT-B's are seen as a drunk tank/transport. Would I be qualified enough once I'm certified to elect to go with ER tech than on the truck? Plus I've heard PA schools look at hours differently when someone is in transport than in ER tech; I can't confirm they are credible sources but just relaying what I've heard. Also, could anyone give me any info into what the class will be like? I'll already be taking a full course load at my university and taking this class 4 hours every other night and the ED and transport rotations on the weekends. Just trying to get a full scope! I have about 2 years of my bachelors left but I figure I can gain quite a bit of HCE within that time and up until GRE and application time. 

 

Happy Holidays!

-MS

[mandrew1]

Here are some stats for "accepted" students:

 

Previously worked as:

 

Medical Assistant: 17%

EMT/Paramedic: 9%

Phlebotomist: 9%

ER Tech: 8%

Medical records/reception: 7%

Nurse: 8%

Athletic Trainer: 6%

"Other": 45%

 

Find more information at andrewrodican.com

 

 

[Rhizopus]

I'll taking my EMT-B class in Jan-May as I'm going finishing my Bachelor's and that's the route I've chosen to gain my HCE. I've read in forums and seen that I have a better chance of getting more interaction is with ER tech, since a lot of EMT-B's are seen as a drunk tank/transport. Would I be qualified enough once I'm certified to elect to go with ER tech than on the truck? Plus I've heard PA schools look at hours differently when someone is in transport than in ER tech; I can't confirm they are credible sources but just relaying what I've heard. Also, could anyone give me any info into what the class will be like? I'll already be taking a full course load at my university and taking this class 4 hours every other night and the ED and transport rotations on the weekends. Just trying to get a full scope! I have about 2 years of my bachelors left but I figure I can gain quite a bit of HCE within that time and up until GRE and application time. 

 

Happy Holidays!

-MS

 

It really depends on what you do and where you do it. Some services, especially college services, do have a significant amount of intoxicated individuals as their patient base. However, there are many other calls that they run on, anything from diabetic emergencies to overdoses to cardiac arrests. Rural may have less calls than urban, but rural services often spend significantly more time with their patients than urban. 

 

911 service as an EMT is preferable to transport. Drivers often have a lot of patient care responsibility on scene, but if you're only a driver this doesn't really help you out with PCE. 

 

ER-Tech and prehospital EMT are both great experience. Pick the one that best fits your needs once you find out more about the positions. Look into whether the services in your area also require you to be a certified fire fighter. 

EMT class is easy but can require a lot of time. Don't forget your ABCs. 

[panglossian]

I'll taking my EMT-B class in Jan-May as I'm going finishing my Bachelor's and that's the route I've chosen to gain my HCE. I've read in forums and seen that I have a better chance of getting more interaction is with ER tech, since a lot of EMT-B's are seen as a drunk tank/transport. Would I be qualified enough once I'm certified to elect to go with ER tech than on the truck? Plus I've heard PA schools look at hours differently when someone is in transport than in ER tech; I can't confirm they are credible sources but just relaying what I've heard. Also, could anyone give me any info into what the class will be like? I'll already be taking a full course load at my university and taking this class 4 hours every other night and the ED and transport rotations on the weekends. Just trying to get a full scope! I have about 2 years of my bachelors left but I figure I can gain quite a bit of HCE within that time and up until GRE and application time. 

 

Happy Holidays!

-MS

 

Getting a job as a tech versus EMT-B seems to really depend on what level of certification the hospitals near you require. In my area there are two bigger hospital systems: one hires EMT-B certified techs and the other requires paramedic certification. You should look at job postings to see what sort of jobs you could get at your local hospital with your EMT-B certification. Networking is always a plus!

 

My class was 8 hours per week with 4 shifts in the ED and 4 shifts on an ALS ambulance. The class was really fun and engaging, but definitely a lot of work to do well. I was able to complete the class with high marks while working full time. I will warn you that this will not be easy with a full university course load unless you have taken and are confident about anatomy/physiology. Unlike college-level science courses, you will be expected to act out medical scenarios and apply your knowledge to the situation. Good luck with everything!

[TheLastStone]

Getting a job as a tech versus EMT-B seems to really depend on what level of certification the hospitals near you require. In my area there are two bigger hospital systems: one hires EMT-B certified techs and the other requires paramedic certification. You should look at job postings to see what sort of jobs you could get at your local hospital with your EMT-B certification. Networking is always a plus!

 

My class was 8 hours per week with 4 shifts in the ED and 4 shifts on an ALS ambulance. The class was really fun and engaging, but definitely a lot of work to do well. I was able to complete the class with high marks while working full time. I will warn you that this will not be easy with a full university course load unless you have taken and are confident about anatomy/physiology. Unlike college-level science courses, you will be expected to act out medical scenarios and apply your knowledge to the situation. Good luck with everything!

Thanks for the advice! So, you don't think it's a good idea for me to be taking a full time course load along with the EMT classes? It looks like my classes will be on monday and wednesday for 4 hours at night, and on weekends for the rotations. The classes I will be taking are intro chem and bio with labs, along with spanish. Plus, I just made a year commitent to a hospital as a volunteer so I'm excited about that! I'm sure it'll make me look good but I'm genuinely excited to help the patients and their families anyway I can. I stil have a couple of years until I finish my bachelors since I'm starting with the intro to my prereqs, so I plan on working full time over the summers and getting as many HCE hours as I can before I take my GRE and apply.

[Rhizopus]

It sounds like you are only taking three classes, so I don't see any reason not to take the EMT course as a 4th. I recommend taking it sooner than later. Sometimes it can take months after the course finishes to actually get your certification due to scheduling of the psychomotor and cognitive exams. 

 

 

Thanks for the advice! So, you don't think it's a good idea for me to be taking a full time course load along with the EMT classes? It looks like my classes will be on monday and wednesday for 4 hours at night, and on weekends for the rotations. The classes I will be taking are intro chem and bio with labs, along with spanish. Plus, I just made a year commitent to a hospital as a volunteer so I'm excited about that! I'm sure it'll make me look good but I'm genuinely excited to help the patients and their families anyway I can. I stil have a couple of years until I finish my bachelors since I'm starting with the intro to my prereqs, so I plan on working full time over the summers and getting as many HCE hours as I can before I take my GRE and apply.

[TheLastStone]

It sounds like you are only taking three classes, so I don't see any reason not to take the EMT course as a 4th. I recommend taking it sooner than later. Sometimes it can take months after the course finishes to actually get your certification due to scheduling of the psychomotor and cognitive exams. 

Okay, great thanks. That was somewhat my thoughts on the subject as well. I figure taking it while taking the intro classes would be more manageable than when I'm taking the more complex classes. 

[Rhizopus]

I think you'll be surprised how manageable the EMT class is. If you haven't taken A&P it'll be a good intro to that. Not sure how Charlotte does their EMS system, but I worked in Durham for a bit and was able to run calls as a basic. Good experience. 

[TheLastStone]

I think you'll be surprised how manageable the EMT class is. If you haven't taken A&P it'll be a good intro to that. Not sure how Charlotte does their EMS system, but I worked in Durham for a bit and was able to run calls as a basic. Good experience. 

I hope you're right about the manageability! ha. I've seen/heard that PA programs look at EMT hours differently than when you're an ER tech because of transport playing a factor and they want more patient care and such. I'm still going to take the course, just hoping I can find an ER tech position if I do continue to hear the the EMT is used mostly as a transporter and not getting much direct PCE.