Gaining the Clinical Experience to Get into Med School: EMT Training and Direct Patient Care
EMT TrainingExperience is among the biggest hurdles you need to clear in order to enter any competitive profession. However, clearing this hurdle can be especially challenging for those entering the medical field because it’s unlikely you can get into medical school without some experience under your belt.
Unlike other professions, the field of medicine offers internship opportunities only upon graduation from medical school. So, the question for many high school and college students aspiring to become doctors is this: How do I get the patient care experience I need to get into medical school if I’m not a doctor?
Our solution? Perhaps the best clinical experience for pre-med can be obtained by training for and working as an emergency medical technician (EMT). As an EMT, you get diverse hands-on patient care experience in a fast-paced, high-intensity treatment environment while working closely with firefighters, police officers, doctors, and other emergency-response and medical professionals. And you gain exposure and experience with patients who have a variety of medical conditions in a broad range of emergency response scenarios.
Discover efficient and effective paths to medical school, and ways to get the clinical experience needed to increase your chances of being accepted.
The Path to Medical School
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the recommended approach to getting into medical school includes:
- Explore your medical career options.
- Get some experience.
- Stay on track for medical school.
- Get more experience and explore resources.
- Team up with your advisor to build a game plan.
- Register and prepare for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
- Prepare for med school interviews.
- Receive letters of acceptance or rejection.
- Prepare for medical school.
Steps 2 and 4 call for gaining experience — hands-on patient care experience. The people who run medical schools are only looking for serious candidates — intelligent individuals who are passionate about the field. They seek those committed to completing a rigorous and prolonged education and training program.
They don’t want to fill their limited openings with candidates who are likely to drop out after their first encounter with a cadaver. Nor do they want to discover later that a (more…)
Meet the EMT Students: Colleen and Justin
EMT TrainingThere’s good reason why we precede our three-week Hybrid EMT course with the word “Intensive.”
And that’s because our 21-Day “Intensive” Hybrid EMT course enables students to satisfy eligibility requirements for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) and North Carolina State EMT examinations in an expeditious manner. Our course includes 10 days of virtual, instructor-led training, followed by 11 days of hands-on, practical skills training.
Today in this post, we’re highlighting a couple of students who completed our EMT training and received their certifications. As you’ll see, neither of them rested on their laurels, instead immediately following their training with additional education. First up is Colleen Kenedy.
Meet Colleen Kenedy
The first student we’re highlighting is Colleen Kenedy, who completed our Hybrid EMT training course in December of 2021. She signed up for the program in order to gain hands-on medical experience in a short amount of time. The objective was to help her when she was accepted to Physician Assistant (PA) school. And Colleen did just that.
Shortly after completing her EMT course and passing her NREMT exam, Colleen was accepted for admissions to the PA Program at the University of Washington’s MEDEX Northwest campus in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is now completing her didactic year. She received her (more…)
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Have any further questions about our courses, what you’ll learn, or what else to expect? Contact us, we’re here to help!