davidccs Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hello, I've been reading these forums for some time and have been thinking about becoming a PA for about 6 months (ill be honest im not 100% sure thats what I want to do but so far it looks like itll be the winning choice). I am currently in paramedic school, with the first semester under the belt and the second about the start. Now before starting paramedic school I was told it was really hard and a lot of material to learn in a short period of time (they say the program should last 2 years instead of 1) and now that i'm in it, I agree that it is a lot of information but it can be accomplished with good time management. For those that aren't paramedics a regular day involves going to class and listening to the teacher talk about 4 to 6 chapters with power points of the main points while the class is expected to do most of the reading at home, then heading to lab and putting the class learnings to practice with daily quizzes in lab and weekly exams in class. My question is, how is that compared to PA school? Were any of you scared before starting thinking you wouldnt probably be able to cope with all the material then once you started realize that managing your time makes it do-able? PS: i searched for threads having to do with paramedics and didnt find any to answer my question, if there is or more I apologize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Disclaimer: Just expressing what I have seen at work...over and over again. Not trying to get into a heated discussion. Just sharing okay FWIW LOL. Keep doing what you are doing! See how paramedic school treats you. Yes, we are going to tell you that PA training is going to be the worst thing that ever happened to you...lol. Get it all the time. That's how I know I' doing my job. IMHO you are asking about one of the benefits of having formal HC training and prior HCE. Specifically, the structure and sequencing of a health career curriculum. One that is intensive in nature...lol.While in PA school some of what you will be doing, and how programs "teach" you to do it, may seem familiar because of this. Other parts of the curriculum will leave you as in the dark as someone with no experience...lol. Time management is the key. Being able to get past "How do they expect me to know all this information?" or "Trying to drink water from a firehose" phase is crucial. IMHO having "similar" educational experiences (i.e. formal HC training like paramedic) seems to have helped PA students. I think you are headed in the right direction. Good luck in your Medic and PA endeavors. LesH FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 P.S. Welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 3, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 3, 2011 Compared to paramedic school I found the pa classroom portion more demanding and the clinicals less demanding. as a medic intern I was frequently put in a position to do the right thing right now or your pt dies right now. as a pa student there is always someone there backing you up. my paramedic preceptor felt that his whole job was just to document my behavior and interactions with an emt -basic partner and to not actually work the case or teach at all. it was often like he wasn't even there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eze8923 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Yes, we are going to tell you that PA training is going to be the worst thing that ever happened to you...lol. Get it all the time. That's how I know I' doing my job. it makes SO much more sense now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidccs Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Lesh, thank you for your words of encouragement and detailed response. Compared to paramedic school I found the pa classroom portion more demanding and the clinicals less demanding. as a medic intern I was frequently put in a position to do the right thing right now or your pt dies right now. And thats why I like the idea of being a paramedic, I love the fast pace of an emergency and the adrenaline rush that you get when you arrive at a scene and know a patient is not going to be a productive person unless you help him, but i also understand that a my body and mind will take a huge toll if I stay a medic for the rest of my life so my next step would be to be a ED PA, as a former medic, do you still get the rush when working in the ED? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 You may hear that being a PA = paramedic retirement program. I subscribe to that theory. Go to the field, enjoy it. Soak it up, roll around in it, lavish yourself with experiences that you will not gain in many other jobs. Gain a perspective that is part adrenaline, part cynicism, part wonder, and part disbelief. It's ok to smile when you're driving to a call and see the faces staring at you, wondering what your life is about. It's ok to smile when you run a really sick, about to die, holy crap this is for real CHF'er who only lives because you were able to acutely maintain them. It's ok to feel horrible when things don't go well. Eventually the night shifts, the weekends, the holidays, the missed soccer games of your kids, the missed camping trips with friends will wear on you. Then go to PA school. Take your wealth of life experiences and plant the next seed, tend the garden, and reap the benefits of your new harvest. As for school intensity...I have spoken with many former paramedics who are now in PA school...they laugh and shake their head when asked "how does it compare?" They report paramedic school was like "skipping on the beach holding hands with your girlfriend compared to trying to keep up in PA school. But it's worth it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 4, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 4, 2011 as a former medic, do you still get the rush when working in the ed? on good days yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcd1976 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've got to go with Steve here, though I am not of retirement age. In my paramedic program, we finished the didactic phase in its entirety between 1 September and 20 December; every morning began with a quiz over the previous day's material, with an exam about once every seven to ten days. We then completed 12 - 12 hour ED shifts and 10-24 hour shifts in the field (could be extended up to 20 shifts). I didn't find it that taxing academically, especially compared to my undergrad schedule, but the three hours (plus) of daily commuting and working so I could scrape money together to eat and fill my gas tank is what was really distressing to me. Everyone's 'wall' is a a little bit different, but sooner or later we each go flying into it at breakneck speed when in an environment like that. I just decided to always make it though one more class, one more day, and soon enough I was done! I also asked a colleague who went on to PA school after retiring from the fire service, and he just giggled. He told me he knew I would do well because I thrive under pressure, but to be ready for pressure like I've never faced! He told me paramedic school was a cake walk compared to PA school, which I fully expected. Needless to say, I'll live MUCH closer to campus this time around. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Here are some numbers to think about based on my experience: Medic school: - 4 hours/night x 2 nights week classroom for ~ 11 months - approximately 700 hours of clinical time, lots of which was spent on station with significant down time. Done during last 5 months of the program. PA school: - 40 hours/week (+/-) classroom for approx. 15 months - 12 months of clinical time - 40-100 hrs/week depending on the rotation. So, I would expect PA school to be 5X harder than medic school. The medics I've talked to who have done it say that it's the volume of the material that is the hard part. The difficulty of the material is only somewhat worse than medic school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 5, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 5, 2011 pa school is not 5x harder than medic school. the didactic/classroom stuff is probably 2-3x and hard and the clinicals are easier. more time, but less expectations of perfection... my medic program( 20 yrs ago) classroom 7 hrs 4 days/week x 6 months 160 hrs of clinicals in hospital(done during last 3 mo of classroom) 600 hrs of field time done after completion of classroom and hospital. basically 11 months in which you could work part time the first 6 months. I could not have worked during field internship as I was doing 4 twelve hr shifts/week and commuting 2 hrs one way to the county I did clinicals in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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