Is EMT worth it?

[med etudiant]

Im an undergrad who is about 1/2 through all of my pre-reqs. I have a 2.7 and no MCAT (planning on this spring) I know that GPA and MCAT is most important( of course) however, extra-currics do help ( a little) I have an oppertunity to train as an EMT in a small town. They offer an 1 day a week accelerated 6week EMT certification. Should I bother- or stay grounded as a student? Thanks.

[eastern2western]

Basically, you just have to evaluate this by yourself. If u are looking this from a monetary perspective, emt does not make a lot of money at all. Even paramedic(which requires year training) makes about 3000 average. EMT works as the driver of the crew and they do get to observe a lot emergency stuff but it just depends on who u work for. I know a emt who works for a hospital and gets 15/hour and gets to observe a lot of weird medical conditions. However, other emts who just work for the ambulance service gets minimum wage.

[Scott1981]

so its basically a 6 day emt certification course? that sounds awfully short.

[med etudiant]

Yea I know its short (kinda scary) however, this is in a small (and I mean small) rural village. Its completely voluntary.

[eastern2western]

Well, most emt courses are very short. In california, fire fighters take a emt course as part of their job requirement.

[longtimewaiting]

mellsworth21,
I agree with eastern2western. You need to evaluate the pros and cons of becoming an emt especially if you are concerned with school. If you plan on attending a US school you really need to watch your gpa and maintain or improve it. your MCAT must also be in good standing. this is also important for offshore schools especially since they are getting more competitive and popular. becoming an emt will look good for you when you start to list your activities and volunteer stuff on you med school applications. I had people on admissions committee tell me that even if a person has all the volunteer activity in the world and their grades are not what the school expects then they will seriously question the applicants abiltiy to complete med school or from harsher committee members ..they tell me they outright reject the applicant if the applicant's grades are not what the school requires, regardless of the many volunteer experiences the applicant has. the EMT class does sound really short so it doesn't look like you will lose much time from taking the course, unless they require that you do some clinical rotation (just a couple of hours) to secure your certification. if you feel that this won't interfere with school then maybe you should try it. however you also have to consider if you get an EMT certification and don't do something with it (ie: work in hospital or join an ambulance corps) it looks strange. I hope this help. All the best to you . Good luck with school and applications :)

[med etudiant]

thanks for the advice.