Friction Posted March 11, 2013 Hey all, So I'm currently an Emergency Department Tech outside of Phoenix (15 months), however, today I received a call about interviewing for a job at the Maricopa County Burn Unit, which is one of the best in the country. While I enjoy working in the ED (level 4), I think varying my experience would be a good thing come time to apply for school. Also, being a Navy Corpsman I know learning burn treatment and management would be extremely beneficial when I deploy. While its fairly specialized, I'm thinking it would give me a really good/unique experience both in life and in experience. For what its worth, I've done rotations in the burn unit so I know what to expect. I plan on working in EM after I graduate so I can't imagine this would be a bad thing? Any opinions on whether I should stay in the ED or move onto something new like the burn unit? Joel
GatorRRT Posted March 11, 2013 With your varied experience as a corpsman, I don't see the benefit of adding the burn unit position to the resume. Are you happy where you are now? Considering EM is where you see yourself, stick to it. Just my 2.5 cents.
Friction Posted March 11, 2013 Author I do enjoy it, but I also want something that's more trauma management/treatment. Being in a level 4 ED is like watching Groundhawg Day... flank pain, chest pain, lacs, more flank pains, etc. I would like to experience something new and different. And like I said, I think it would be invaluable training for when I deploy given how prevalent IEDs are. I also figure if I can get into the burn center, I can try and do some per-diem shifts in the county ED (level 1).
Just Steve Posted March 11, 2013 Burn Center may allow for networking into some OR time, at least to observe, maybe start to scrub. It may also network into visits to the ICU to check on patients. Level 4 ER is an average day in sick call for a Corpsman. I vote you step up your game. (speaking as a former Corpsman, scrub tech, and then paramedic, now a PA student)
Friction Posted March 12, 2013 Author Burn Center may allow for networking into some OR time, at least to observe, maybe start to scrub. It may also network into visits to the ICU to check on patients. Level 4 ER is an average day in sick call for a Corpsman. I vote you step up your game. (speaking as a former Corpsman, scrub tech, and then paramedic, now a PA student) Kinda what I was thinking. I love the ED but I'm not learning nearly as much as when I started out. I figure the more exposure I get in different fields the better prepared I'll be for PA school.
Just Steve Posted March 12, 2013 Burn will also give excellent exposure to wound care and acute pain management. Lot of potential
Friction Posted March 12, 2013 Author Burn will also give excellent exposure to wound care and acute pain management. Lot of potential Yeah. I did a paramedic school rotation at this same place... I did a lot of dressing changes and pushed an incredible amount of narcotics to keep those people sedated. Oh, I also got to see and help with a full frontal escharotomy. It was during this rotation that I decided I really wanted to practice medicine at a higher level.
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 12, 2013 Administrator So, I'm not seeing any downside to this. Is there one? It looks like a great opportunity, and one I wish I'd had as a pre-PA.
Friction Posted March 12, 2013 Author Not really, other than its a little depressing seeing people in that condition, but, as my previous preceptor explained, its something you build a tolerance to over time. I'd imagine having experience as a Corpsman, ED tech, and Burn Center tech would be a pretty unique resume when it comes time to apply to PA schools.
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