Former Paramedics and EMTs who are now PAs, this question is for you!

Hi! I worked in EMS for 4 years, 3 as a paramedic and while I'm not in PA school yet (Accepted to Emory Class of 2017, offered interviews with George Washington and Baylor), I hope I can offer some insight.

There are parallels between the structure of PA and Paramedicine practice, and numerous benefits to becoming a medic. As a Paramedic you will: - Have a scope of practice set by a medical director within the limits of your training. For example, my service did not allow RSI or Foley cath placement, even though those are within the national scope of practice and we were trained on it in school. However we did allow needle thoracostomy, humeral IOs and needle cricothyrotomy, which many services do not. Similar to PAs and their supervising physician.

  • You will be working as part of a medical team, whether it's your partners, police, fire, or even helpful bystanders, and you must learn to give clear directions to people with different levels of medical training and knowledge. Communication is paramount to patient care. PAs work with every level of medical provider, and you'll need their help to provide good care.

  • You'll hone your assessment and diagnosis skills. You'll have a glucometer, BP cuff, stethoscope and maybe a thermometer. The only advanced diagnostic equipment you'll likely have is a monitor, which provides 12-leads, EtCO2, SpO2 and heart rhythms. For everything else, all you have to go on is patient presentation, history and objective findings. If you can function in an austere environment like that, having access to bloodwork and imaging machines will seem like a luxury.

  • The breadth of patients you see will be second to none. You'll get patients from all walks of life, some with medical conditions you've never even heard of. If you take a genuine interest in these people, most are happy to discuss their condition and treatment history. If you're a self-directing learner you can really improve on your general medical knowledge in a short time.

  • Perhaps most importantly, as a medic you'll be the lead medical provider on calls. The buck stops with you, and you must learn to act decisively and trust your judgement and training. Sometimes people will die, despite you doing everything in your power to help them. You'll second-guess every minute detail of the call afterwards, wondering what you could have done differently, and you'll feel partly responsible and guilty. It happens to everyone, and some people can't deal with it. It's unfortunate, but if you have a career in medicine it will happen. Learning how to cope and taking care of your own mental health will help you in the long run, so learn it early.

Hope you got something from all this. Good luck!

/r/physicianassistant Thread