EMT training as part of medical school

[ERDoc]

Thoughts?

[ShockDoctor]

Medical school is hard & complex enough without this added annoyance. Unless you're planning to work in an ER, EMT training is going to be of little practical use. Granted, all students should know BLS & ALS practices, but why if somebody wants to be a dermatologist, then why should they have to ride an ambulance to do so? Hell, if somebody wants to be a general practitioner, why should they have to ride an ambulance?

Remember when you guys jumped on me for carrying LE equipment and having combat training? This is similar to that. Doctors and EMTs have very different jobs, and I think it's silly to require that doctors learn how to be EMTs.

Plus, I'd probably hate to ride with a med student. I have a strong feeling they'd be full of themselves.

[ERDoc]

Medical school is hard & complex enough without this added annoyance. Unless you're planning to work in an ER, EMT training is going to be of little practical use. Granted, all students should know BLS & ALS practices, but why if somebody wants to be a dermatologist, then why should they have to ride an ambulance to do so? Hell, if somebody wants to be a general practitioner, why should they have to ride an ambulance?

Remember when you guys jumped on me for carrying LE equipment and having combat training? This is similar to that. Doctors and EMTs have very different jobs, and I think it's silly to require that doctors learn how to be EMTs.

Plus, I'd probably hate to ride with a med student. I have a strong feeling they'd be full of themselves.

There is no reason for a medical student to know the difference between BLS and ALS because in the hospital there is no such thing, in the hospital it is called practicing medicine. This is not even close to your situation with the buff equipment. As for the last comment, yeah whatever, because most paramedics and EMTs aren't full of themselves. Nice stereotype there. Most med students who have never had pt contact are scared as hell of it because they respect what they don't know.

[Kiwiology]

During year two of the MBChB you have to do one shift with the ambulance service

I reckon a PGY1 house officer is more use on an ambulance than a paramedic in some circumstances tbh

[chbare]

Seems a rather low yield exercise in terms of patient contact and procedures. I could see a shift or two, but anything more could take away from the hospital experience, an experience that has already been cut back with newer hourly guidelines for residents. IMHI of course.

Also, I've never ran into a PGY-1 who was full of themselves. Every year, my college runs a new group of PGY-1 family practice residents through a week of ACLS and PALS training in the summer, prior to starting their residency. Never ran into somebody too full of themselves.

Take care,

chbare.

[Kiwiology]

I concur and have yet to run into a medical student, house surgeon or registrar that is full of themselves

Now I dare say they do exist .... but when they do they are usually called Consultants by then

[BEorP]

Most med students who have never had pt contact are scared as hell of it because they respect what they don't know.

I think that that is the key benefit to the program right here. EMT clinical exposure in the pre-clinical years (or before) will surely make the patient interaction aspect of patient care easier in the beginning. The clinical aspect could also be beneficial, but I think this would depend very much on the ambulance service and whether there are experienced, knowledgable paramedics to learn from and discuss cases with. I think there may also be something to be gained by medical students "getting their hands dirty" in a position like this, but I can'r claim that doctors who were EMTs will be better doctors.

I certainly think that it is an interesting idea, but I think that from an EMS perspective it further degrades the occupation by showing just how easy it is to do a 120 hour course as a side project to any other major focus. I also have reservations about it being mandatory since there is a degree of risk involved with being an EMT, and it would be terrible for a student to become injured while doing it because they had to (though I guess if it was made clear to them during the admissions process then that is what they signed up for).

[ERDoc]

Im curious about what type of classes and stuff you have to take..

www.myrescueteam.com

I'm sure you are. Maybe you should check out a med school site if you are really that curious.

www.spammer.com

[Paramagic]

I'm sure you are. Maybe you should check out a med school site if you are really that curious.

www.spammer.com

Go easy on the poor little spammer doc, he can't help being a firefighter, it's just the chromosomal defect he was born with.

Good fireman! You go put the wet stuff on the hot stuff! Good boy! Good boy!

[Richard B the EMT]

At a recent Continuing Medical Education seminar, the lecturer was the Doctor in charge at an ER of a major teaching hospital. He told all of us EMTs and Paramedics he demanded all his MD students do at least a week of "Ride Along" with the hospital based 9-1-1 EMS ambulances from his facility.

I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on if student doctors benefit from ride-alongs, or not.

Wait one moment...

I've had student military medical personnel doing ride-alongs on my FDNY EMS ambulances, presumably to experience more medical calls than the "Knife and Gun Club" calls.

(Side-note: I'm disappointed that the powers that be have decided to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and combine with the Bethesda Naval Hospital, and another hospital in Virginia, for services provided. Momma B is a WW2 Army PFC Veteran, who, if needed, will go to the Brooklyn V. A. Hospital at Fort Hamilton, but all military and Veterans hospitals are needed due to the number of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in infinitely worse shape than when they left the US))