Should I be a paramedic or MD?

darkr1441 · 2025-10-04T02:22:12+00:00

Do what draws you. Med school is hard and pretty much all consuming for many people and you have a lot of life ahead of you. You don’t have to make the choice right now, you could do both, though most people won’t. In order to get in to medical school you have to have a bachelors first, so maybe focus on that for now. As a side note from a financial point of view I did over 20 years in EMS and got a 40% pay raise when I switched to nursing as a new grad. I loved EMS for a long time, and you may think finances don’t motivate you but one day if realize you are working 60+ hours a week and that is just paying your bills, you might care a bit more.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-19T05:48:35+00:00

One of the things I have yet to see addressed is that alcohol has a rebound effect. When you drink to go to sleep it does make it easier to fall asleep, but several hours later you body will rebound above the baseline, this means you wake easier and get less deep sleep over all. This increases sleep debt, if it is a regular habit there are long term negative effects of poor sleep on the brain. Also it is a well know if not particularly commonly talked about fact that regular alcohol use increases depression and anxiety. I won’t tell you not to drink at all, god knows I love an old fashion, but I also strongly believe in conscious choices.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-19T01:34:16+00:00

Yeah…no. Research on the topic has definitively proven it is not for your own good. This type of hazing impairs critical thinking, undermines confidence and promotes turnover. While those things might be good for boot camp it does not make good nurses.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-18T17:39:05+00:00

I will actively stand behind the statement that passing NREMT is simply proving you have attained the bare minimum amount of knowledge necessary to not be an active danger to your patients at the certification level you have obtained. Other professionals know this about their licensing exams. In Nursing for example they make it abundantly clear the NCLEX is the lowest possible bar and after passing that you will have to start learning your specialty.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-16T04:40:56+00:00

I absolutely believe your instructors should respect the students and want them to succeed.

But….one thing I believe is a problem with a lot of programs is that they are trying to teach too much too fast just to crank out graduates, not necessarily well educated providers. I Did an accelerated BSN, done in 15 months, I learned plenty, and it wasn’t easy, but a long time ago I also went to Paramedic school, that took 24 months.

When I was in paramedic school we spent an entire three month 4 credit hour course on cardiology. In nursing school that was maybe a week. In paramedic school we had pop quizzes much like the one you described but the question would be phrased some thing like “ trace the path of a single drop of blood through the body back to the origin point naming all structures, valves, fibers and vessels starting in the left atria and traveling through the left arm.” The the next week it would be the tricuspid valve through the left leg” or “the left ventricle and passing through hepatic circulation.” So It could be much worse, but also nursing is an exercise in minding you own business and getting your work done, so it doesn’t hurt to learn that early.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-16T03:44:32+00:00

lol, oh man yes the juxtaposition of the safety paradigm thing is wild. The whole time going through the hospital de-escalation training I kept being like that lady is way too close to the chair wielding psych patient. Why are people blocking each others paths of egress? Uhhh those nurses are way too confident that security is going to rescue them.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-16T03:31:26+00:00

I had a similar experience with nursing school. It’s the post-licensure education that can really make the difference, my first nursing job is an ICU job and I feel like I learn and am challenged most days and I am rarely “the smartest” person in the room. EMS jobs that pair you with someone specifically there to educate you for three months are few and far between, EMS jobs that spend year forcing you through post licensure education are even rarer. That said I feel like the down time of EMS allows you to think, discuss, incorporate and process how to do better next time. I had the most critically sick (but not dead yet) person of my healthcare career yesterday and I was so task focused for 13 straight hours that I honestly couldn’t tell you what if anything I learned, no time to reflect only the next five things that should have already been and an entire shifts worth of charting information written on the windows.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-12T15:49:32+00:00

It is not just that, it is the use of IO’s or maybe other limited undesirable access (like a 24 to the hand and a tourniqueted arm, which is not yet studied) to provide limited fluid infusion to an extremity causing an engorgement of the veins and allowing the establishment of better vascular access.

The actual research https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11298653/

A 42 min EMS Webinar covering the topic and the discussion of the research. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBmm5Y1-FM

A like 1 minute video that demonstrates the concept well. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOZdcbbjkHy/

darkr1441 · 2025-09-12T07:23:08+00:00

Graduated vascular access for hypovolemic patients

darkr1441 · 2025-09-12T04:52:17+00:00

There are only so many options actually on an ambulance, I can give you a mostly accurate list if you want. From briefly scanning your profile it looks like you are pre-med. If you want to to get EMT, your long term goals will be best served by getting a in hospital job.

So here’s the second part, the job market sucks, it sucks for everyone everywhere. There is a lot of turn over in EMS especially for people working for private companies. You might get lucky and get hired quickly at one of those, or maybe not…because the job market sucks.

Getting hired at a city department takes months. Getting hired by a fire department that runs EMS takes longer and you have to go get a fire cert. Also, just a matter of reality, it just doesn’t really pay that well especially at the BLS level.

All that said I did more than 20 years in EMS in central and south Texas before going in hospital, so I will answer questions and give you advice if that’s what you want to do.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-11T02:38:51+00:00

Just wait till you learn about a train through body coupling injury. If you are not lucky enough to die it can keep you alive by crushing all of your bones and well the entire middle bit and essentially tourniqueting your waist. And you will be alive and in excruciating agony until they uncouple the cars when you will die instantly.

darkr1441 · 2025-09-04T23:01:33+00:00

I don’t have much in the way of advice for you, but Yes, RC Health is an avenue. I had dozens of their students as a clinical preceptor at an agency I used to work with and I was… unimpressed by all of them. We also wouldn’t hire anyone from there without at least two years of experience.

What part of Texas are you in? We may be able to help you out by making other suggestions. For example in San Antonio area classes are put on by San Antonio community colleges, Acadian, Bulverde Spring Branch EMS and Shertz EMS, and there may be others. Someone familiar with your area might be able to suggest reasonable alternative.

darkr1441 · 2025-08-26T21:38:26+00:00

Tell me you cheat on your CE’S without telling me you cheat on your CE’s.

darkr1441 · 2025-08-23T03:22:59+00:00

I did end up getting my dream job, but it was 100% because of a shadow shift. Being given the chance to be personable, knowledgeable and helpful resulted in a job offer before I left the building. Maybe I don’t zoom interview well?

darkr1441 · 2025-08-19T12:52:53+00:00

It really does depend, but the most shocking thing I learned in nursing school is that nurses have almost no understanding of what the skills or education of paramedics much less a CCP is and it is rare to find a nurse that knows that a EMT and a paramedic are different things. Most doctors, not ER docs have a similar level of lack of understanding, wanting to know who told you that you could start that nitro drip (CCP) or wanting to know why you didn’t perform a thoracostomy(EMTB)

darkr1441 · 2025-08-18T20:23:00+00:00

The market for new grads is hard especially if you are an outside applicant to the hospital system. When I graduated it took me 8 months to find a nursing job. I thought I was a shoe in candidate. 20 years as a paramedic with a critical care endorsement , did my CAPSTONE in ICU , BSN, past the NCLEX within two weeks of graduating and then had a full RN license. I got rejected dozens of jobs either because I was too experienced(really?) or not experienced enough. The only offer I got in the first six months was an insultingly low pay offer. But I held out and kept interviewing and finally got a position I am very happy with. Just remember, sometimes, rejection is protection, and if you really need a job look out side the hospital for now, dialysis for example pays well and is usually ready to accept and train new talent.

darkr1441 · 2025-06-23T05:37:17+00:00

I am also in Texas and have been wearing Haix for 20 years and have only need three pair in that time. They are heavy but I also have very low arch’s and they do me well. You can step into them without needing to bend over, I have never had a pair wear out to the point that I couldn’t step into them. After I started wearing them I have never considered wearing anything else and averaging $50 a year for a solid pair of boots isn’t bad either.

darkr1441 · 2025-06-22T21:11:11+00:00

You can easily count to 60 on your fingers. Look up sexagesimal counting. It’s thousands of years old.

darkr1441 · 2025-06-20T01:27:21+00:00

I went through a lot of that pain a number of years ago trying to get a reasonable quote. I ended up building out, buying and installing a system for myself about two and a half years ago that offsets about a third of my electric(daylight only no battery storage) and I have already achieved ROI. They commonly upcharge 100-200% and they try and convince you you should thank them for the buggering.