Right when I decided I wanted to be a PA, I was able to talk to a former admissions director from one of the Texas programs. The first step he recommended for me was getting certified as an Emergency Medical Technician. I'm glad I took that advice. Being an EMT-Basic has allowed me to learn fundamentals of health care that I will be using fo my entire career. Patient Assessment, taking a history, basics of A&P, stabilizing therapies, writing a SOAP report, and most importantly communicating with patients. I think (and have been told) than actual interacting with patients is one of the critical things that PA programs want their applicants to get from their HCE (health care experience). The cursory A&P gave many big picture concepts that not only allowed me to understand common complaints that I would encounter, but also create a general knowledge that I have been able to expand upon in my prereqs. My training included basic knowledge (circulation, respiration, blood pressure, heat getneration, etc), skills training (splinting, bandaging, managing an airway, etc), and 96 clinical hours. Having the certification helped me get my job at the hospital. All in all, it has helped set me apart in several ways.
EMT Training
Pro:
-Great Intro to Health Care (Pt interaction, pre-hopistal and hospital exposure, etc)
-Can help get a job and therefore HCE (a big deal to many PA programs)
-Good Precursor to Prereqs (ideas of homeostatis, body systems, pharmacology, etc)
Con:
-Expensive (mine was $1,000+)
-Time (my class schedule was a fire rotation)
-Limited scope of practice (better HCE as RT, RN, Medic)
No comments:
Post a Comment