Entering the Medical Profession by Becoming an EMT
If you want to enter the medical community and start getting experience right away, one of the easiest ways is by becoming an EMT. If you want to get your feet wet in the medical profession before you fully commit to a long term program so that you can find out if you really have what it takes to make a living in the medical field, one of the easiest ways is by becoming an EMT. EMT training is a good bridge into the medical profession.
What is an EMT?
EMT stands for Emergency Medical Technician. An EMT is a medical professional who takes care of person either before that person comes to a hospital or during the transfer of a patient from one hospital to another.
People will often refer to an EMT as a paramedic because they so often work in ambulances much as paramedics do. Technically, however, a paramedic is type of EMT, but not everyone who is an EMT is a paramedic. In becoming an EMT, you must undergo about 200 hours of training in most states and in Canada. This type of EMT is sometimes called an EMT-1 or and EMT basic.
A Paramedic is an EMT who has gone on to get about 2000 hours of training and has at least a year’s worth of experience working as an EMT-1. Paramedics are often called EMT-2s or EMT-paramedics. Those in the know will often refer to someone with EMT-1 training as simply “an EMT”, while they will reserve the title, “paramedic” for those with advanced training.
What is the difference between and EMT and a Paramedic other than experience and extra education?
Those in the medical profession usually think of the difference between the EMT and the paramedic as divided by those that can break the surface of the skin and those who can’t. An EMT with basic training is not allowed to give shots, cut into a patient, or otherwise puncture the surface of the skin. Sometimes, the EMT will be allowed to shock the heart of a person, but sometimes they will not.
A paramedic on the other hand may take any action he or she believes will make a patient stable for transfer to a hospital. For this reason, many ambulance crews will set up teams of two with one paramedic and one EMT (although you should not assume this is the case always since many crews also have two paramedics and or two EMT basics).
Increasingly ambulance drivers are completing EMT training as a matter of course so that they can help at the scene of an emergency also.
Why is becoming an EMT a good way to enter the medical profession?
Becoming an EMT allows you to see medicine in action on a first hand basis with relatively little training. Although many EMT-1 graduates volunteer their services as part of their paramedic training, many also are paid to help at a hospital or with a fire department crew. The experience you acquire as an EMT will give you the sort of knowledge of the everyday functioning of a hospital that is perfect for someone studying nursing. Many EMTs are nursing students during the day. Many hospitals and programs have set themselves up to standardize this process so that students can earn a living while studying nursing and so the hospital has yet another pool of candidates from which to draw.
Most of those who are serious about becoming EMTs also go on to become paramedics. Paramedic pay is higher than EMT pay.
Becoming an EMT may seem like a good job while studying to be an MD, but most medical students just don’t have the time to put in during medical school. However, while you are an undergraduate you might find becoming an EMT a good way of both supplementing your income and getting the sort of real world experience that will help in writing your medical school statement of intent.
Given the growing need for medical professionals because of aging Baby Boomers, the demand for medical professions will only grow in the near future. If you are looking for a rewarding profession in the medical field, a good place to start is as an EMT.