Becoming a Doctor: 19YO Starting College in Spring

[RazorRose]

not sure what kind yet, but I'm starting college in the spring, and I'm only nineteen.
i'm most interested in neurology, and infectious diseases, any words or advice or some such?

 

[berkeman]

not sure what kind yet, but I'm starting college in the spring, and I'm only nineteen.
i'm most interested in neurology, and infectious diseases, any words or advice or some such?

Have you had patient contacts yet? Maybe volunteered at a hospital or with your city's fire department as a CERT member? How long have you been CPR/AED/First Aid certified? If you enjoy patient contacts, the I think medicine is a fine career to go for.

 

[RazorRose]

i have been CPR/AED/First Aid certified for about a year now.
and i work at united general hospital, (recently started) as a CNA.
i don't know what you mean though patient contacts. as in contact with patients? if so yes.

 

[berkeman]

Great! Yes, you are doing the right things. I'm an EMT part time (full time EE), and have found that I enjoy working with patients. Even the ones who are PO'ed, or very sick, or terminal. Some patient contacts can be very challenting and sometimes difficult, but there is a lot of value in being able to help out folks who really need the help.

Good goals, Razor. Enjoy the ride!

 

[RazorRose]

I Don't know what your referring to when you say EE.
Thats Cool I've met a couple guys here that work down in ems. they all really seem to like it.
what did you have to do to get your EMT... license?

yeah i definitely know what you mean.
I Really like working here and in this field cause i directly impact peoples lives and sometimes even save them,

 

[cronxeh]

I wish they made all future doctors become medics first before getting into med school, and then working for a year in a 911 EMS system. It seems everytime I see one of the med students they look like an antelope in the headlights, catatonic from the first time they saw a dead body in anatomy lab. Please don't be one of those people who take up a spot in med school just to 'find themselves'. Dont go thru 4 years just to realize you would rather do something else.

That being said, a medical doctor is not really a scientist. If you want to get into 'neurology, and infectious diseases', perhaps you would rather be doing research as a PhD student instead of going to medical school.

 

[berkeman]

I Don't know what your referring to when you say EE.
Thats Cool I've met a couple guys here that work down in ems. they all really seem to like it.
what did you have to do to get your EMT... license?

yeah i definitely know what you mean.
I Really like working here and in this field cause i directly impact peoples lives and sometimes even save them,

EE is electrical engineer -- my day job. To get your EMT cert takes about 160 hours of class with tests, a national exam (NREMT), Healthcare Provider CPR/AED certification, and a background check. We re-certify every 2 years with at least 48 hours of continuing education classes (CEs) and more tests.

To get your Paramedic certification, it's more like a couple thousand hours of classes and tests, and a probationary period in the field.

To be a doctor, ... well, you already know that.

 

[cronxeh]

To get your Paramedic certification, it's more like a couple thousand hours of classes and tests, and a probationary period in the field.

To be a paramedic you can either go through a certificate program that lasts about a year (16 hours of classroom hours a week, and about 24 hours of clinical rotations a week for a year). Another option is an Associate in Applied Science degree from a community college. The training is not too hard, but has a certain degree of stress associated with it. The way you are tested and pushed in the classroom are meant to create muscle memory, and the added stress is there so that you don't 'freeze up' in the field. Obviously no classroom can prepare you for the real deal, so the field rotations (approximately 300 hours) are meant to guide you through each possible scenario on a real life ambulance with seasoned paramedics. You will respond with them in the field and gradually perform most of the procedures on the patients under their supervision.

You can take NREMT-P exam after you finish the program, and with that certificate you can work in most states. You will also have to pass ACLS, PALS, and in most places PHTLS certificates. But those are mostly easy 16 hour courses meant to rehash the material you already know from the class.

 

[RazorRose]

Cool.
yeah i just looked into it and i can take a course called Basic-EMT Next semester and its like a prep course for nremt i thinks.
hmmmm...
so it sounds like that's a good step to take.

hmmmm i like what i find out about science but i don't know a lot yet.
i really get fascinated particularly by those two topics and i'd like to be able to help peope and directly impact other peoples lives.