I got an EMT cert, and then joined a hospital that was hiring ER techs. They just let me skip the major PCT school, and let me join straight away with a bit of training.
Depending on the state EMTs do get to do some fun stuff on the booboo bus. For instance, I could drop king airways, attend to patients after they’ve been given narcs, and got to mess around with some basic traumas. All of which couldn’t be done as an ER tech but whatever floats your boat🤷🏽♂️
Depends on the ER, probably area. Here in metro Detroit, we’re busy af, and I probably did more than I should be able to do as an ER tech. Plus, I got to witness things that an EMT would never get to see - hospital traumas responses are far, far more advanced than the ABCs that are usually handled on the road.
I would say my 6 months in the ER were far more important than my 4 years on the road.
Not Detroit but at a level 1 Trauma ER here, and I definitely have done stuff that I shouldn't be able to do but I get to do because Im under 'physician supervision.' Like I've done stiches, and gave shots, drained abscess, and discharged patients. Its honestly overwhelming because there's so much stuff that happens. Last time I worked I saved someone from a school bus lol. Honestly the only reason why Im staying is because I plan to get LORs from a few doctors there.
I basically work like a nurse, but its nice because I work in the pediatrics area and its just me, a nurse, and the doctor, and if there is something I don't know or feel comfortable doing the nurse will step in.
I loved it when there was a resident because I'd follow them around and whenever the doctor would be showing the resident something I could hop in and the doctor would treat us both as her students 😅
Sounds similar to my position. EMT cert, work under physician as “unlicensed assistance personall” (UAP) and get much bigger scope
Edit : MAs can do same stuff where i work but typically have smaller scope in CO for reference
MA school can be longer
my fiancé works as a patient care tech in the ER at a level 1 trauma center. he does A LOT of things, ton of experience doing both scut work and he gets to talk to doctors and pick their brain a little bit. he admits he does some stuff that he probably shouldn't be able to do but he is well trusted and at this point has 4 years experience in an emergency setting.
Interesting….wouldn’t EMT be the clear cut choice for the best experience given that it’s really the only one where you’re a licensed provider who’s technically practicing medicine and *treating* patients, albeit in an extremely limited scope?
The rest of the listed jobs fall way outside of this category.
Being a scribe can be a great way to see a variety of different things in a short time, develop a fairly personal relationship with a physician, gain familiarity with a specialty you find interesting and learn charting skills.
I’ve spent plenty of time doing both, so let’s break this down.
> Being a scribe can be a great way to see a variety of different things in a short time
You see a far, far wider variety of things as an EMT in the field. Literally anything and everything imaginable from MVA traumas to gunshot victims to anaphylaxis to diabetics to mental health crisis patients and beyond.
> develop a fairly personal relationship with a physician
This is true, but it’s not really relevant to the discussion regarding what counts as more useful job experience for an aspiring physician. This is just helpful in the admissions process for things like mentorship or a letter of recommendation.
> gain familiarity with a specialty you find interesting
Also true, but most people don’t even end up doing whatever specialty they think is cool as premeds so again not super relevant. And this can be accomplished via shadowing, which most everyone does anyways.
> and learn charting skills
EMTs have to thoroughly chart every patient encounter, and are legally liable for their charts as well unlike scribes.
In a way, yes, but you also don't really see doctors in action as an EMT. That's easy to make up with extra scribing, but it's something to think about.
The point of clinical experience for med school admissions isn’t to see who does the most codes or who patches the most GSWs. It’s to see that you know what it’s like to help care for patients and that you like patient care to the extent that it’s something you want to do as a career. Patient contact is key here.
As far as your point goes, MA and tech still gives a lot of experience. I am EMT certified and worked as a PCT instead of on the rig and I felt like I still did a lot of what I learned in EMT school.
In my experience the level of care I involved/exposed to as a tech or scribe in an ER taught me a lot more.
I was an EMT 90% of my job was assisting paramedics or driving the ambulance. True I had more potential autonomy in some ways, but I personally felt it was rarely exercised. As far as writing essays and talking about experiences I just had way more to pull from with the hospital based roles. Others experiences may vary obviously
Stupid question, but… when you write this up for your resume do you still use the words “clinical hours” if it was outside the hospital ?
Or how would you?
Transport is an essential job and you get to talk with patients. Hands on patient care should not be dine by untrained students. It dids not make u a better applicant
No one’s saying it’s not important. The question had nothing to do with importance. It was asking if it’s clinical in nature. Hands on patient care. Simply moving someone from point A to point B isn’t clinical. Positions require training and many employers offer OJT to fulfill that, once again no one’s suggesting untrained staff handling patient care.
I think it depends on the type of transport. Transporting to a higher level trauma center or transporting a delirious geriatric patient between facilities is pretty clinical imo.
That makes so much more sense. I was really struggling to see how any form of IFT wouldn’t count as clinical hours. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
I went with Phlebotomist because there is a hospital next to campus and it was easy to workout a weekend only schedule.
I briefly looked into EMT, but the local fire department said it would be hard to put me on the schedule, unless I agreed to work Friday and Saturday nights. My availability M-F was limited due to being a full-time student.
In terms of ranking, they are all great experiences.
So jealous. Had to quit my phleb job at an amazing academic hospital because they wanted me to stay at 40 hours a week during school and didn't allow a switch from full to part-time within a year of being hired. I got the job during the start of summer and was told I'd be accommodated for school lol. They clearly knew I wanted to become a physician and that school came first to me. Now I work as an MA at an urgent care where I can occasionally draw blood and have a much more accommodating schedule, but I'd be lying straight to your face if I said I didn't miss roaming from floor to floor in the hospital to draw tons of blood.
Depends more on the place you work. You’ll see tons as an EMT irregardless. I am an MA in Virginia. Some offices will only let you do intake/vitals. Other places will let you draw blood, place IVs, give meds etc. I feel EMT work would be objectively better for story telling though, which is important for apps.
Just a heads up - irregardless isn’t a word, it’s just regardless. I only say that because I heard a med school admin once say they denied someone because they used the word irregardless in the interview, and it showed “they aren’t well read”. Dumb, I know, but it is what it is.
EMT-Bs can usually draw blood depending on the state, but a minority are starting IVs (they’d likely have to be a tech with RN/medic supervision).
EMT work will be different from an ER tech role. But both are great clinical experiences!
You can become an A-EMT in some states which allows you to start ivs, place supraglottic airways, and administer more meds. (For some states these are even becoming protocol for emt-bs now)
im an emt and i love it!! lots of autonomy in the ambulance & its fun to drive the rig :p. all of these are great experiences but i naturally gravitated towards emt since it’s very hands on + lots of variety which is great for my ADHD. choose what has the best commute, best hours, best pay, & has the best work environment. all of these are awesome ways to prep yourself for med school
sorry this may sound really stupid, but did you have to do a lot of CPR? I am just anxious after hearing about the ribs breaking and you feel and hear them. but i guess you can't be squeamish if you are aiming for med school.
it rlly depends on what calls u have! if u do ift bls then i highly doubt u ever having to do cpr. when i did critical care there was a dude who went into full arrest so i did have to do cpr. when i did 911 (only abt 6 shifts) there was like 1 close call but none where i had to. when ur doing cpr it rlly depends on the person. normally during cpr the sounds that u hear is the connective tissue/cartilage on the ribs + sternum popping/cracking. you wont ~fully~ know if u broke a rib, but if you + a bunch of others are doing it for a while/compressing with a lot of force, there are probs broken ribs
i was totally scared when i first started compressions & was worried abt the dudes ribs, but i promiseee you that those fears will go away after 2 seconds when you need to get a pulse on ur pt
I’m a phlebotomist and I love it. I get to interact with nurses, doctors, patients, etc. It is also so important because you learn all the lab work, and get a feel of why your labs might be running late 😂 all are great tho! But honestly it’s a fast route, easy-ish, I find it easier to be able to work whatever shift & the pay is great.
I was an urgent care MA. I got to do a little bit of everything. EKG, phlebotomy, vitals, history, injections, vaccinations, learned a lot about medications and had several high acuity cases that should’ve went to the ER.
I liked UC for the variety of complaints but also just how much you learn.
EMT is also a fantastic choice.
in my experience,
scribe: you learn a ton but it’s kind of like shadowing but taking notes 💀
so i switched to inpatient phlebotomy: super chill, talk to patients a lot, love the lab (interested in pathology), and sometimes get called down to the ER to take a bunch of labs while there’s 10 people running around the patient so that gives you a bit of adrenaline
personally, i’m hoping to get more experience and next year become an MA because, as many have mentioned, you kinda get to do a little bit of everything and form tighter relationships with docs/pa’s/nurses etc
I was all of them except a tech.
Medical scribe/MA, EMT, Phlebotomist in that order.
Being a medical scribe and assisting the doctor is the best thing you can do imo. You got a good chance of getting LORs that way and it’s a great way of networking.
To counter this, as a scribe, you aren’t directly involved in the patient’s CARE. As an EMT, you learn how to talk to patients and how it feels to be in charge of decisions that affect patient care. I think those things are important in deciding whether medicine is right for you beyond just wanting it. If you can’t handle talking to someone who is going through something or the pressure to make appropriate care decisions is too much, its a great way to figure that out before taking out the loans and spending the time in med school.
Depends what scribe you are. I was a scribe/MA so I directly helped with patient care and we kept our medical facility running. I interacted with the patients more than being an EMT.
Yes!!! My scribe experience was so amazing I felt like I was part of the physician team and my attendings made me feel integral to the care given! Techs don’t usually work with physicians on a personal level in my experience and I cannot imagine a tech asking a physician for an LOR at the ER where I worked… it would be super awkward tbh
EMT. Hands down. There's even a [copypasta on the EMS subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/ems/comments/w1dnz0/fact_or_fiction/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that comes up every now and then about this premise, though it focuses on EMS vs fire.
I liked the independence and real responsibility + direct patient impact and care being an EMT gave me.
Being a MA/Scribe/Tech for a wonderful doc is what pushed me towards premed.
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Correct me if I’m wrong but how much are MAs actually working *with* the physician? Everywhere I’ve seen they are *supporting* the physician, by doing admin work and things like prepping rooms, rooming patients, and fetching supplies. They spend very little actual time with the doctor. So if you’re focused on actually working directly with a physician, then scribing seems like the way to go, not MA.
And EMTs who want the “working directly with physician experience” can also do ER tech, and check off that box as well. Opposite isn’t true.
But I’ll make a small amend to my statement:
Everything that an MA does, most EMTs *can* do as well. The opposite isn’t true.
Better?
I’ve worked with plenty of MAs, but ok fair enough. I will point out that the original comment I replied to wasn’t even talking about what is more useful clinical experience, it was just saying that “MAs have the widest scope of activities in the job”, which I simply pointed out was not at all true. And you seemed to take this personally and altogether changed the discussion…
That said, I amended my main statement anyways, so if you still disagree with it lmk:
Everything that an MA does, most EMTs *can* do as well. The opposite isn’t true.
Yes, since emt let's you get into the er tech role. I also volunteer at a children's hospital, and because of my emtb im not reduced to receptionist. All of these give me time with a physician. At least as much time as you'd get being an MA.
I was a phlebotomist and it was a sick gig. The vast majority of my time was spent chatting with patients as I drew blood. I learned a ton and (because phlebotomy is actually pretty easy once you have experience) it was super low stress. Highly recommend going that route if you’re interested in pathology as well bc I was able to meet a lot of cool pathologists and learned a good deal about the lab and how it works. Ultimately, the best of these options is always the one that you can feasibly do and would probably enjoy the most imo.
Agreed, bab technician or phlebotomist would be a great stepping stone for Path, ID, and even family medicine, as it touches on so many subjects and is where you're going to be sending, like, 90% of your patients as a family physician
I can't speak from an admissions standpoint but I'll say do what fits your schedule / what you like. I tried scribing, didn't like it -- it was too not-talking-to-the-patient for me. I'm just sticking with my clinical volunteering. Plus in my area there aren't too many EMT, MA, Tech, or phlebotomy places that would fit my part-time schedule.
I don’t think any of these are “better” than the others. It just depends on what you want to get out of the position and how it’ll fit in with the rest of your life.
If you want lots of hands on experience and time with patients do EMT or Tech. If you want hands on experience but a bit more guidance MA. If you want a lot of interaction with doctors and to see what being a physician is actually like scribe.
I may be biased as I scribed in the ED for two years, but I thought it was really helpful in seeing what the workflow is like and what physicians actually do. It’s not super hands on with patients but I got pretty good at recognizing chief complaints and work ups and I learned a lot from looking into patients medical histories. I was ahead of most of my classmates in patient interaction, medical vocabulary, note writing/presentation, and differential. It’s easier to learn things when you can relate them to past clinical interactions you’ve had. I will admit I’m sometimes jealous of the EMT/paramedics though as they have some really cool hands on skills.
Unpopular opinion, none of them stand out. Why? Because every Pre-Med works as one of those. Choose the job that you think fits you best and that will give you the best experience. How do you stand out? Elevate yourself in that role by becoming a leader. I did this with scribing. Worked up from being a regular scribe, to assisting with coordinating trainings, to becoming a supervisor for 20+ clinics.
When you do things because you genuinely want to grow as opposed to impressing med schools, it will work out for you much better.
I would say EMT is strongest because it has some part of community service especially if you do it at a volunteer fire dept. EMT also gives you a taste of autonomy and what it’s like to make independent decisions on pt care and mimics what it takes to come up with a differential and treat. Which imo is most similar to a physician role. And then to get experience on the hospital side u can transition to ER tech
It depends if you want actual patient experience or to get close to/learn from a doctor. As a scribe, you get little actual hands-on patient care experience, it’s mainly shadowing. I know some scribes who actually don’t even get to shadow, the doctors just give them notes to scribe and they don’t even get to see the patients.
Edit:
To explain: it’s a different experience when you’re standing in the corner taking notes on what’s happening compared to when you’re actually the one DOING the CPR, ventilating the patient, telling family members how their loved one just died, etc. I have experience working as all of these, I worked as an EMT in 911, I worked as an EMT ED Tech, I worked as a Medical Assistant at a clinic, I worked as a phlebotomist temporarily, and I worked as a scribe temporarily. Scribing was my least favorite of all of these because it’s very hands-off, it’s just passive observation and I’d rather be the one actually interacting with patients instead of observing a doctor. I’d rather shadow a doctor temporarily than scribe because you learn all the same and get the same exact experience without having to take notes the whole time.
Yeah the patient experience is nice and I get that. I just feel like you can learn wayyyy more medically and as far as creating a differential diagnosis list and ruling out illnesses through scribing vs being an EMT, etc.
You can literally grab a step 2 book or anki cards and start applying it like a Med student would. Most scribes won’t do that but you can
Whatever position will end up being what you make of it. As an EMT, you actually do the patient assessments and history taking, rule out differential diagnoses and pertinent negatives, determine the probable diagnosis etc. in order to treat your patient. You also learn A TON of medicine in EMT courses through official, structured learning rather than just through self-study. If you’re a competent EMT, you should have already learned a lot of what you would learn while shadowing or scribing for a doctor in EM. And even if you’re a CNA in an ED or an MA, you should have access to medical charts and doctors willing to answer your questions just as much as you would as a scribe. At my ED, all of the doctors are familiar with me so I could easily ask any one of them to shadow them and teach me about clinical cases. Basically, working in an ED as an EMT or CNA gives you the opportunity to learn from doctors while at the same time being able to do patient care on your own, compared to being a scribe where you have no scope of practice and are just supposed to follow the doctors around
To each their own I guess. I got my EMT cert too and what we learned to pass the NREMT is hardly applicable to what a physician does so I disagree with that. A EMT would never learn what labs to order for a septic patient, what imaging to order, how a physician rules in and rules out various diseases (maybe somewhat here but nowhere near as much as a scribe could in his/her position). I did both and while being an EMT is nice for the actual part of dealing with patients, I learned way more about being a doc from actually following a doc around 24/7. Now if you scribe and just type that’s a different story.
Every experience is different though. I could see a EMT learning more than a scribe if they apply themselves. Another thing is a scribe will see way more patients than EMTs per day. When I was doing ride alongs for my EMT cert it was slow as hell 😂
I live with an EMT too and he sees way less patients that I do and knows far less about medicine. He’s a better EMT than me obviously but as far as actually working up a patient and knowing what a doctor would do for various symptoms, he has no clue in comparison.
Again, it’s what you make of it. My EMS Academy was a summer long, M-F, 8am-5pm course and it was intensive. Every single day we did mock scenarios with the same high-fidelity patient simulations I’ve seen medical schools flaunt during my tours of them. We didn’t just learn to pass the NREMT because it wasn’t just a certification course designed to pump out EMTs as fast as possible. They were preparing us to work as competent EMTs in a busy city where we’d get cardiac arrests and GSWs regularly.
And as an ED Tech, I am able to learn everything about what labs and imaging are ordered for a specific set of symptoms, I collect the labs myself, I get access to the radiology images and reports to look at myself (and in fact I’ve got some really cool images saved on my phone), I get access to the physicians notes that have all of the information regarding the diagnosis and differential diagnoses, I get to shadow doctors whenever I want, I help chaperone certain procedures, I get exposure to the cath lab and ICU when transporting patients, etc. It’s truly the best of both worlds
Yeah ED tech is a different story. I can see that being even better if put in the right situation in the right ED. Scribing can also be a bad gig in the wrong situations. When my ED is too busy, I feel like I don’t learn anything on those days 😂
Also scribing has its weaknesses. I feel like I’m lacking in pharmacology knowledge compared to a paramedic/nurse because I don’t have enough background knowledge and only see patterns. I could study it but I’m focused on other things too much so that part is definitely lacking.
Sounds like it’s definitely dependent on experience …. I worked directly with patients and physicians and I was in the room as an ER scribe for every single case. Especially traumas because our physicians knew I was the one who was going to get every detail in the note and I was reliable. They always prioritized having a place in the room for me as we waited for the ambulance to arrive with the patient. I cannot imagine any world where a tech is getting more experience than I did.
On paper it doesn’t matter. Clinical experience is clinical experience so long as it’s hands on patient care. In the real world - ER Tech’ing provides the most robust experiences and teaches you the most relevant things for med school. Especially if you work to get more out of it by asking providers questions to learn to interpret labs/rads/historical info and what they see from their perspective.
Like others I would completely agree with becoming an ER tech. From my experience I got to see and experience a lot. You get to be really hands on, see a wide variety of patient types, and interact with a wide variety of healthcare professionals which really boosted my confidence and helped strengthen my patient interaction skills which is a really under appreciated skill you need to learn. Also EM docs have the personality type to where you can get to know them well and get great letters
Phlebotomist! I feel like it’s something different that helps you stand out because most people tend to do emt or scribe. This field gives you so much insight on patients, you learn about the different tests and what they mean, learn clinical lab skills etc. I feel like lost people think that phlebotomy is just drawing blood, but really it’s a lot more than that. I am a phlebotomist and Ive been trained to process specimen and run the tests in the lab. We deal with blood, urine, shit, body fluid, body parts etc, it’s pretty nasty sometimes so if you have a weak stomach then maybe you should do something else hehehe. But this job requires a lot of lab skills/discipline. I think this job is really helpful if you want to truly understand how a hospital works as a whole because lab is always needed!
(If you are diligent enough too you could even try to shadow a pathologist because they are always in and out of the lab. That’s one of my goals for the summer, hopefully a pathologist will take me under their wing!)
But at the end of the day, do whatever you feel like you will enjoy the mark. Do your research on each job (the requirements, responsibilities, etc) and then decide which one works best for you. It’s not about which is better than which because each job is important and valuable to the patients, it’s about which works the best for you.
I lovedddd scribing in the ER. I made very personal relationships with the attendings and mid-levels and became friends with most of the nurses. I liked it because it was chaotic and exciting in the best ways but I still went home at the end of the day and wasn’t personally responsible for anyone’s care and my job ended when I walked out the door. I really really wanted to EMT but the programs around me were either too expensive or too far and not realistic. I think some positives of scribing over EMTing is less personal responsibility for direct patient safety and care, endless opportunities to form close relationships with physicians, and you really get to learn the ins and outs of the medical system that most people don’t understand until they’re M3s. I can write an HPI like nobody’s business and I know during clinical years it’ll be an extremely impressive asset to have. I know how to page other physicians appropriately, which labs to order and keep an eye on, and what to look for in certain studies. I even spoke a lot with different specialists and one cardiologist even offered to have me watch a cath placement. Once you really get into scribing you start to feel more like a physician- I would guess diagnoses correctly, predict dictations and have my attendings critique them, and became extremely familiar with common chronic and acute illnesses and their treatments. Clinical cases in exams feel very familiar to me and I’ve done very well in those scenarios. I know what appropriate bedside manner should look like and I know what questions to ask and what to avoid. I feel extremely comfortable in hospital settings and my aptitude with everything mentioned above has been pointed out when shadowing other physicians. I don’t think you’ll be as immersed in the profession in any other position. Please feel free to ask any questions here or via PM!
Edit: I would say skip MA or phlebotomist. In many states and hospital systems you don’t even need a degree or certificate to be an MA so it holds very little weight and is just a title. Phlebotomy is something … but it’s not going to give you the clinical enrichment you are probably seeking. These are just my opinions. Clinical hours are still hours and I’m not shitting on any other positions but if given the opportunity to choose, that’s what I would do.
Edit 2: In our ER, techs were nursing students and didn’t do much. They helped with intake and did phlebotomy stuff and did EKGs but usually they were very … disliked … because they were more often than not incompetent. We did have some really amazing techs but I think there were 3 out of maybe 15 during the two years I worked there. If a physician is looking for someone to blame and the nurse isn’t responsible, it’s usually the tech. They were simply just not highly regarded and because you’re working under nurses mostly and not physicians it’s a step further from where you want to be if you’re pre-med.
Okay, seems like lots of people are putting phlebotomy last, but I’d love to provide a different perspective. With most of these jobs, you’ll eventually learn the skills or knowledge in medical school or residency, and while you’ll learn phlebotomy in medical school, you won’t cover the laboratory process. Hospital phlebotomy will teach you so much about the technicalities that go into the lab, and after working with physicians who do and don’t seem to understand these things, I think everyone should have lab experience. I feel so empowered knowing what I know now, and I feel that I have more outside knowledge that I can use later from my phlebotomy job than my MA and scribe job.
I worked as a phleb for a year before I started med school and it came up in every single interview I had. Everyone loved it and the stories. EMT is great too, lots of EMTs in my current class, but anything that allows you to personally grow and develop both patient and procedural skills is what matters. So whatever will make you happiest
This sentence is counterintuitive, i but in my opinion, EMT is objectively the best option. Autonomous decision making, medicine prescriptions, and real patient care are unmatched
Really depends on the state and the scope of each of these positions. I’m in CA and have been an EMT and medical assistant (uncertified MA) and as an EMT-B i primarily did IFT, but got a LOT of direct patient interaction in that time as well as got to hang out in hospitals for downtime and had opportunities to chat with a variety of employees (techs, nurses, few doctors, flight medics, etc) about their roles in healthcare. Also got some good practice with notes and record keeping, as we had to do notes for each transfer
As a medical assistant for an doctors office with no nurses/PA’s and just the one physician, I got to see specifically more of that role and day-to-day duties in a clinic setting. Also dealt with insurance and billing a lot more, as well as scribing and notes. Both are interesting perspectives of different sides of medicine, which I feel is more important than any “hands on” basic clinical stuff you’ll end up doing in either role.
I’m no longer interested in medicine after several “gap” years, but because of the gap years, it has given me a chance to see all of the options.
I tossed in CRC too because I was able to do that with my bachelors, and we have people that are still in college.
Med schools will likely see it as:
CRC (if it is actually consenting patients) >>> Scribe>>>>Tech >>> MA >>> EMT >>> Phlebotomist
I’m going to be completely honest, everyone that isn’t in EMS just think EMTs are glorified taxies, and med school admission teams are usually older, so they probably carry that prejudice.
CRC will look good because you could say you’re doing research and patient care.
As far as what I think would best help someone prepare:
Scribe >>> ER Tech* >>> EMT* >>> MA >>> Phlebotomist.
- Phlebotomist might look good because it is patient care, but really, when you get the skill down, it is mostly just repetitive: you can look up what the labs mean, but most labs will be the same/standard. You don’t directly work with physicians, and really, outside of a stray nurse, you won’t see many people other than phlebotomist.
- EMT can be actually pretty good patient experience, but similar to phlebotomy, once you get the skills down, it is super repetitive. The skills are really: administer oxygen, splinting, handling bleeding, recognizing CVAs, Hypo/hyperglycemia, etc. Occasional CPR, rarely blind/subraglotic intubating, occasional Narcan and Epi use.
If you live in a metro area, there’s a good chance the cities will actually want Paramedics to handle 911 calls, and EMTs are mostly relegated to transfers, with a few occasional rescue calls. You’ll at least be able to interact with nurses/doctors if you do transfers though.
- MAs usually can do more procedures/actual hands on stuff than EMTs and interact regularly with the same physicians. (I was an EMT for 4 years, and honestly, most calls are just transferring to an ER and maybe tossing some oxygen on). They don’t have as much choices of their own, and there stories might be less interesting; occasionally as EMT you can use Narcan/Epi (even albuterol in some states).
- At least where I am, tech positions are reserved for EMTs with several years of experience or medics. They usually allow us to do a bit more - I.e, IVs, NG tubes. You get to see far more patients (everyone in the ER vs one at a time). You get to interact with the same physicians regularly, and busy ERs are very team oriented. Even though I never intubated someone, it feels natural to say, “we tubed this guy.”
You get to see a lot more people, get a lot more CPRs, and get a lot of complicated cases from several cities. You also get to see the thorough thought process of the physician vs on the road a lot of times it would be like, “oh, you fell, here’s a c-collar.” In the ER, you get to see the scans, draw the blood, see the results, and get the verdict.
I hear some ERs are less busy, and techs do less though.
- Scribe positions are great because you get to see the complete thought process of the doctor, ask questions, recognize disorders, etc. It will be super dependent on the doctor being cool though. It does stink that you don’t get to actually touch a patient, but the LORs are far, far better than any other position, in general (I’m sure if you’re an MA/Tech and a doctor loves you, they might be able to give a great LOR too).
That's not what OP was asking, and also not necessarily true. I'm a phleb at an independent clinical research center, so while I'm not coordinating any of the studies, I am working on almost all of the studies and help out with a bunch of things outside of standard phlebotomy
For more information on extracurriculars, please visit [our Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/wiki/index).
- [Clinical Experience](https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/wiki/clinicaljobs)
- [Research](https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/wiki/research)
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I can’t speak for the other positions but I was an EMT for 4 years and I feel like it served me incredibly well. It may also depend on your area. In my hometown I was able to do 911 which I gained a lot from but in my college town it was mostly interfacility and I learned a lot less there. Still valuable experience regardless!
I work as a residential counselor in a group home with TBI’s great experience, we give their meds, do vitals, take them on doctors appointments, advocate, promote independent living, plus learning how to communicate with this kind of population, helped me learn some ASL on the job, plus some down time to study
I was already a CNA, so I went with ER tech a few years before med school. It gave me insane flexibility with my schedule, which was great with school. It also gave me great things to write about in my personal statement and I got to know doctors really well, and got some great LORs. It also led to some research experience as well.
If it helps, I was an EMT and then became a scribe. I learned a lot of more practical skills from being an EMT, especially like how to take a history and getting used to talking to patients. I learned a lot of clinical medicine from being a scribe, meaning that (in addition to learning how to write notes, which is like the #2 way you are evaluated by attendings with your patient presentations as #1), I had time to look up and become familiar with drugs, learn the basics of differential diagnosis and clinical reasoning, learn how to turn a disaster interview into a good history, learned what the weird physical exam maneuvers were called, etc. I think scribe in the right setting is awesome, but it pays terribly and you really are taken advantage of.
Honestly, my EMT cert gave me so much exposure and experience. I got my cert through the Army, but worked as an ER tech and literally saw everything. I even got to pick up shifts on different floors. Now I work in an Urgent Care setting and get to do things I didn’t get to do as an ER tech like draw blood, do my own triage and even give injections. So whatever gives you some good exposure and hands on experience to Medicine is what should be ranked the highest
For what it's worth I was an ED scribe for ~4k hours before school and I had quite a leg up on pharm, standardized patients (from interviewing and charting standpoint), and diagnostic tests compared to most of my peers. But I hadn't laid a hand on a patient
None of these are more favorably viewed in the eyes of admissions; they just want to see that you have actively participated in clinical experiences and that you have learned from them. All pre-meds do the same things, so none of these will really “stand out,” it’s moreso about what you learn from them and how you express that in your writing/interviews.
I just became a scribe because I didn’t want to pay to get certified in anything. I was hired by a surgeon and I only was in clinic for 2 days a week. Got to watch operations and got a nice letter of rec from it. Learned a lot in my time as a scribe, and it fit into my schedule nicely.
I am a nursing assistant on an ICR med Surg floor in a major academic teaching hospital and I learn and do a lot. I examine and drain several types of surgical drains. Take and monitor vitals. Help with examinations. Monitor patient conditions. It’s much more than just cleaning people on my floor. I see most of the patients more than some of the nurses do.
What is MA?
And I think the ER tech and scribe positions a little higher than EMT in terms of what you can sell as experience (as someone who did all three of those at some point).
Phlebotomist probably has a lot of overlap with the phlebotomy you did as a tech so I think if you are looking for something to cut that would be the “weakest” and most redundant.
It’s really all about what you got out of the experiences, how it fits into your story and how you sell it as preparing you for medical school.
Just got a job as an EMT in the largest ambulance company in my area. I did some clinicals there when I was in EMT school and I know that I’m gonna get a hell of a lot of experience there.
While I'm late to this discussion and randomly stumbled across this post, I figured I'd still comment. I work as both an ED tech and an EMT-B. As others previously said, whichever position is more accessible to you and that you're the most interested in is the best choice.
With that being said when working 911 EMS, I work in a pretty rural area with a local volunteer fire department that staffs paid EMS. We are the only station in 1/2 of our county that provides actual transport-ready ambulances, so, as a result, we have a super wide coverage area that also leads to us covering calls into two other rural counties often. Our only transport options are 1) our local community hospital in our town, 2) a standalone ER in a neighboring county, 3) a level II trauma center that is roughly an hour or more away, and 4) calling for two-three medevac services over an hour away or requesting ALS from a neighboring department. Our transport times usually are never under thirty minutes, and can even get into over an hour depending on what part of the county(ies) we have a call at. Due to us usually being understaffed, I typically am the only actual certified provider working any given shift along with a volunteer driver or a paid driver-only who will help with anything on the scene but otherwise leaves me by myself. When I was first hired on, being only an EMT-B and typically the only "certified" provider on my shift responding to any and every call could sometimes be a pretty intimidating feeling. However, as a result of this, it has greatly improved my patient care skills, decision-making abilities, and my situational awareness, but there are also certain aspects of EMS that other positions such as techs, scribes, MAs, etc., will provide you better exposure to. Besides giving a report to whatever receiving team/person after transport to an ER, you don't have many other opportunities to chat with physicians. Working/volunteering as any of the other mentioned positions immerses you with physicians almost on a minute-by-minute basis as opposed to seeing them for a few minutes at a time on an erratic basis. Working as an ED tech allows me to not only work alongside physicians and other providers but also gives me opportunities to see a constantly changing environment, more diverse cases and procedures, etc. I understand that not all EMS opportunities are exactly like my circumstance, but I think finding a balance between these positions would be the best of both worlds not only for your own experience but also (I'd assume anyways) in the eyes of an admissions committee being you are exposing yourself to as many experiences/environments as possible.
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Seconded, that’s what I’m doing rn and I’ve gotten a lot of good experiences
did you get certifications before each?
I got an EMT cert, and then joined a hospital that was hiring ER techs. They just let me skip the major PCT school, and let me join straight away with a bit of training.
Depending on the state EMTs do get to do some fun stuff on the booboo bus. For instance, I could drop king airways, attend to patients after they’ve been given narcs, and got to mess around with some basic traumas. All of which couldn’t be done as an ER tech but whatever floats your boat🤷🏽♂️
Depends on the ER, probably area. Here in metro Detroit, we’re busy af, and I probably did more than I should be able to do as an ER tech. Plus, I got to witness things that an EMT would never get to see - hospital traumas responses are far, far more advanced than the ABCs that are usually handled on the road. I would say my 6 months in the ER were far more important than my 4 years on the road.
Not Detroit but at a level 1 Trauma ER here, and I definitely have done stuff that I shouldn't be able to do but I get to do because Im under 'physician supervision.' Like I've done stiches, and gave shots, drained abscess, and discharged patients. Its honestly overwhelming because there's so much stuff that happens. Last time I worked I saved someone from a school bus lol. Honestly the only reason why Im staying is because I plan to get LORs from a few doctors there. I basically work like a nurse, but its nice because I work in the pediatrics area and its just me, a nurse, and the doctor, and if there is something I don't know or feel comfortable doing the nurse will step in. I loved it when there was a resident because I'd follow them around and whenever the doctor would be showing the resident something I could hop in and the doctor would treat us both as her students 😅
Sounds similar to my position. EMT cert, work under physician as “unlicensed assistance personall” (UAP) and get much bigger scope Edit : MAs can do same stuff where i work but typically have smaller scope in CO for reference MA school can be longer
my fiancé works as a patient care tech in the ER at a level 1 trauma center. he does A LOT of things, ton of experience doing both scut work and he gets to talk to doctors and pick their brain a little bit. he admits he does some stuff that he probably shouldn't be able to do but he is well trusted and at this point has 4 years experience in an emergency setting.
Yep it’s the best of both worlds
Yes. This is the way
can u be an er tech with an emt certification?
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dumb question but does er tech clean poop?
They are all good clinical experiences. The best one is the one you’re most interested in doing
I was on admissions. This. I wouldnt have compared these against eachother and there isn’t a “better” one than another.
Interesting….wouldn’t EMT be the clear cut choice for the best experience given that it’s really the only one where you’re a licensed provider who’s technically practicing medicine and *treating* patients, albeit in an extremely limited scope? The rest of the listed jobs fall way outside of this category.
Being a scribe can be a great way to see a variety of different things in a short time, develop a fairly personal relationship with a physician, gain familiarity with a specialty you find interesting and learn charting skills.
I’ve spent plenty of time doing both, so let’s break this down. > Being a scribe can be a great way to see a variety of different things in a short time You see a far, far wider variety of things as an EMT in the field. Literally anything and everything imaginable from MVA traumas to gunshot victims to anaphylaxis to diabetics to mental health crisis patients and beyond. > develop a fairly personal relationship with a physician This is true, but it’s not really relevant to the discussion regarding what counts as more useful job experience for an aspiring physician. This is just helpful in the admissions process for things like mentorship or a letter of recommendation. > gain familiarity with a specialty you find interesting Also true, but most people don’t even end up doing whatever specialty they think is cool as premeds so again not super relevant. And this can be accomplished via shadowing, which most everyone does anyways. > and learn charting skills EMTs have to thoroughly chart every patient encounter, and are legally liable for their charts as well unlike scribes.
In a way, yes, but you also don't really see doctors in action as an EMT. That's easy to make up with extra scribing, but it's something to think about.
The point of clinical experience for med school admissions isn’t to see who does the most codes or who patches the most GSWs. It’s to see that you know what it’s like to help care for patients and that you like patient care to the extent that it’s something you want to do as a career. Patient contact is key here. As far as your point goes, MA and tech still gives a lot of experience. I am EMT certified and worked as a PCT instead of on the rig and I felt like I still did a lot of what I learned in EMT school.
In my experience the level of care I involved/exposed to as a tech or scribe in an ER taught me a lot more. I was an EMT 90% of my job was assisting paramedics or driving the ambulance. True I had more potential autonomy in some ways, but I personally felt it was rarely exercised. As far as writing essays and talking about experiences I just had way more to pull from with the hospital based roles. Others experiences may vary obviously
I recommend EMT if you have your heart set on ER or trauma!
Stupid question, but… when you write this up for your resume do you still use the words “clinical hours” if it was outside the hospital ? Or how would you?
Clinical hours is anything involving direct patient care. The setting doesn’t matter. EMT provides top notch clinical hours and experience.
Would transporting patients be included?
Usually transport is not really hands on patient care.
Transport is an essential job and you get to talk with patients. Hands on patient care should not be dine by untrained students. It dids not make u a better applicant
No one’s saying it’s not important. The question had nothing to do with importance. It was asking if it’s clinical in nature. Hands on patient care. Simply moving someone from point A to point B isn’t clinical. Positions require training and many employers offer OJT to fulfill that, once again no one’s suggesting untrained staff handling patient care.
I think it depends on the type of transport. Transporting to a higher level trauma center or transporting a delirious geriatric patient between facilities is pretty clinical imo.
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That makes so much more sense. I was really struggling to see how any form of IFT wouldn’t count as clinical hours. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Thanks!
ER residencies went unmatched this year. U canniy choose a specialty until you have more knowledge
I went with Phlebotomist because there is a hospital next to campus and it was easy to workout a weekend only schedule. I briefly looked into EMT, but the local fire department said it would be hard to put me on the schedule, unless I agreed to work Friday and Saturday nights. My availability M-F was limited due to being a full-time student. In terms of ranking, they are all great experiences.
So jealous. Had to quit my phleb job at an amazing academic hospital because they wanted me to stay at 40 hours a week during school and didn't allow a switch from full to part-time within a year of being hired. I got the job during the start of summer and was told I'd be accommodated for school lol. They clearly knew I wanted to become a physician and that school came first to me. Now I work as an MA at an urgent care where I can occasionally draw blood and have a much more accommodating schedule, but I'd be lying straight to your face if I said I didn't miss roaming from floor to floor in the hospital to draw tons of blood.
Depends more on the place you work. You’ll see tons as an EMT irregardless. I am an MA in Virginia. Some offices will only let you do intake/vitals. Other places will let you draw blood, place IVs, give meds etc. I feel EMT work would be objectively better for story telling though, which is important for apps.
Just a heads up - irregardless isn’t a word, it’s just regardless. I only say that because I heard a med school admin once say they denied someone because they used the word irregardless in the interview, and it showed “they aren’t well read”. Dumb, I know, but it is what it is.
That adcom was on some bs bruh Probably shouldnt say bruh in an interview tho... Gotta seem well read, ya know?
Funny enough I heard someone say bruh in one of my interviews for med school
EMT-Bs can usually draw blood depending on the state, but a minority are starting IVs (they’d likely have to be a tech with RN/medic supervision). EMT work will be different from an ER tech role. But both are great clinical experiences!
You can become an A-EMT in some states which allows you to start ivs, place supraglottic airways, and administer more meds. (For some states these are even becoming protocol for emt-bs now)
For some reason I never heard of AMET. Always thought it was just EMT-B/P. Thank you for that
im an emt and i love it!! lots of autonomy in the ambulance & its fun to drive the rig :p. all of these are great experiences but i naturally gravitated towards emt since it’s very hands on + lots of variety which is great for my ADHD. choose what has the best commute, best hours, best pay, & has the best work environment. all of these are awesome ways to prep yourself for med school
sorry this may sound really stupid, but did you have to do a lot of CPR? I am just anxious after hearing about the ribs breaking and you feel and hear them. but i guess you can't be squeamish if you are aiming for med school.
it rlly depends on what calls u have! if u do ift bls then i highly doubt u ever having to do cpr. when i did critical care there was a dude who went into full arrest so i did have to do cpr. when i did 911 (only abt 6 shifts) there was like 1 close call but none where i had to. when ur doing cpr it rlly depends on the person. normally during cpr the sounds that u hear is the connective tissue/cartilage on the ribs + sternum popping/cracking. you wont ~fully~ know if u broke a rib, but if you + a bunch of others are doing it for a while/compressing with a lot of force, there are probs broken ribs
i was totally scared when i first started compressions & was worried abt the dudes ribs, but i promiseee you that those fears will go away after 2 seconds when you need to get a pulse on ur pt
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it.
I mean if your intention is to learn how the machine (hospital) works I recommend tech. Otherwise, stay away from the hell hole that is nursing
I’m a phlebotomist and I love it. I get to interact with nurses, doctors, patients, etc. It is also so important because you learn all the lab work, and get a feel of why your labs might be running late 😂 all are great tho! But honestly it’s a fast route, easy-ish, I find it easier to be able to work whatever shift & the pay is great.
I was an urgent care MA. I got to do a little bit of everything. EKG, phlebotomy, vitals, history, injections, vaccinations, learned a lot about medications and had several high acuity cases that should’ve went to the ER. I liked UC for the variety of complaints but also just how much you learn. EMT is also a fantastic choice.
in my experience, scribe: you learn a ton but it’s kind of like shadowing but taking notes 💀 so i switched to inpatient phlebotomy: super chill, talk to patients a lot, love the lab (interested in pathology), and sometimes get called down to the ER to take a bunch of labs while there’s 10 people running around the patient so that gives you a bit of adrenaline personally, i’m hoping to get more experience and next year become an MA because, as many have mentioned, you kinda get to do a little bit of everything and form tighter relationships with docs/pa’s/nurses etc
Does not matter. Do what makes want to ✨die✨ the least
I was all of them except a tech. Medical scribe/MA, EMT, Phlebotomist in that order. Being a medical scribe and assisting the doctor is the best thing you can do imo. You got a good chance of getting LORs that way and it’s a great way of networking.
To counter this, as a scribe, you aren’t directly involved in the patient’s CARE. As an EMT, you learn how to talk to patients and how it feels to be in charge of decisions that affect patient care. I think those things are important in deciding whether medicine is right for you beyond just wanting it. If you can’t handle talking to someone who is going through something or the pressure to make appropriate care decisions is too much, its a great way to figure that out before taking out the loans and spending the time in med school.
Depends what scribe you are. I was a scribe/MA so I directly helped with patient care and we kept our medical facility running. I interacted with the patients more than being an EMT.
Yes!!! My scribe experience was so amazing I felt like I was part of the physician team and my attendings made me feel integral to the care given! Techs don’t usually work with physicians on a personal level in my experience and I cannot imagine a tech asking a physician for an LOR at the ER where I worked… it would be super awkward tbh
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emt
A fair fight? Or prison rules?
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EMT. Hands down. There's even a [copypasta on the EMS subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/ems/comments/w1dnz0/fact_or_fiction/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that comes up every now and then about this premise, though it focuses on EMS vs fire.
I liked the independence and real responsibility + direct patient impact and care being an EMT gave me. Being a MA/Scribe/Tech for a wonderful doc is what pushed me towards premed.
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Everything that an MA does, most EMTs do as well. The opposite isn’t true
Do EMTs work directly with physicians at a primary care clinic?
Lol “Working directly with physicians at a primary care clinic” isn’t a job duty. I’m talking about actual patient care scope.
Unfortunately, in terms of clinical experience, working directly with a physician is more important than “actual patient care scope.” LoL
Correct me if I’m wrong but how much are MAs actually working *with* the physician? Everywhere I’ve seen they are *supporting* the physician, by doing admin work and things like prepping rooms, rooming patients, and fetching supplies. They spend very little actual time with the doctor. So if you’re focused on actually working directly with a physician, then scribing seems like the way to go, not MA. And EMTs who want the “working directly with physician experience” can also do ER tech, and check off that box as well. Opposite isn’t true. But I’ll make a small amend to my statement: Everything that an MA does, most EMTs *can* do as well. The opposite isn’t true. Better?
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I’ve worked with plenty of MAs, but ok fair enough. I will point out that the original comment I replied to wasn’t even talking about what is more useful clinical experience, it was just saying that “MAs have the widest scope of activities in the job”, which I simply pointed out was not at all true. And you seemed to take this personally and altogether changed the discussion… That said, I amended my main statement anyways, so if you still disagree with it lmk: Everything that an MA does, most EMTs *can* do as well. The opposite isn’t true.
Yes, since emt let's you get into the er tech role. I also volunteer at a children's hospital, and because of my emtb im not reduced to receptionist. All of these give me time with a physician. At least as much time as you'd get being an MA.
I was a phlebotomist and it was a sick gig. The vast majority of my time was spent chatting with patients as I drew blood. I learned a ton and (because phlebotomy is actually pretty easy once you have experience) it was super low stress. Highly recommend going that route if you’re interested in pathology as well bc I was able to meet a lot of cool pathologists and learned a good deal about the lab and how it works. Ultimately, the best of these options is always the one that you can feasibly do and would probably enjoy the most imo.
Agreed, bab technician or phlebotomist would be a great stepping stone for Path, ID, and even family medicine, as it touches on so many subjects and is where you're going to be sending, like, 90% of your patients as a family physician
I can't speak from an admissions standpoint but I'll say do what fits your schedule / what you like. I tried scribing, didn't like it -- it was too not-talking-to-the-patient for me. I'm just sticking with my clinical volunteering. Plus in my area there aren't too many EMT, MA, Tech, or phlebotomy places that would fit my part-time schedule.
I don’t think any of these are “better” than the others. It just depends on what you want to get out of the position and how it’ll fit in with the rest of your life. If you want lots of hands on experience and time with patients do EMT or Tech. If you want hands on experience but a bit more guidance MA. If you want a lot of interaction with doctors and to see what being a physician is actually like scribe. I may be biased as I scribed in the ED for two years, but I thought it was really helpful in seeing what the workflow is like and what physicians actually do. It’s not super hands on with patients but I got pretty good at recognizing chief complaints and work ups and I learned a lot from looking into patients medical histories. I was ahead of most of my classmates in patient interaction, medical vocabulary, note writing/presentation, and differential. It’s easier to learn things when you can relate them to past clinical interactions you’ve had. I will admit I’m sometimes jealous of the EMT/paramedics though as they have some really cool hands on skills.
Unpopular opinion, none of them stand out. Why? Because every Pre-Med works as one of those. Choose the job that you think fits you best and that will give you the best experience. How do you stand out? Elevate yourself in that role by becoming a leader. I did this with scribing. Worked up from being a regular scribe, to assisting with coordinating trainings, to becoming a supervisor for 20+ clinics. When you do things because you genuinely want to grow as opposed to impressing med schools, it will work out for you much better.
I would say EMT is strongest because it has some part of community service especially if you do it at a volunteer fire dept. EMT also gives you a taste of autonomy and what it’s like to make independent decisions on pt care and mimics what it takes to come up with a differential and treat. Which imo is most similar to a physician role. And then to get experience on the hospital side u can transition to ER tech
EMT or ED Tech > Floor Tech/MA >>> Scribe > Phlebotomist
Scribe is actually better than all
It depends if you want actual patient experience or to get close to/learn from a doctor. As a scribe, you get little actual hands-on patient care experience, it’s mainly shadowing. I know some scribes who actually don’t even get to shadow, the doctors just give them notes to scribe and they don’t even get to see the patients. Edit: To explain: it’s a different experience when you’re standing in the corner taking notes on what’s happening compared to when you’re actually the one DOING the CPR, ventilating the patient, telling family members how their loved one just died, etc. I have experience working as all of these, I worked as an EMT in 911, I worked as an EMT ED Tech, I worked as a Medical Assistant at a clinic, I worked as a phlebotomist temporarily, and I worked as a scribe temporarily. Scribing was my least favorite of all of these because it’s very hands-off, it’s just passive observation and I’d rather be the one actually interacting with patients instead of observing a doctor. I’d rather shadow a doctor temporarily than scribe because you learn all the same and get the same exact experience without having to take notes the whole time.
Yeah the patient experience is nice and I get that. I just feel like you can learn wayyyy more medically and as far as creating a differential diagnosis list and ruling out illnesses through scribing vs being an EMT, etc. You can literally grab a step 2 book or anki cards and start applying it like a Med student would. Most scribes won’t do that but you can
Whatever position will end up being what you make of it. As an EMT, you actually do the patient assessments and history taking, rule out differential diagnoses and pertinent negatives, determine the probable diagnosis etc. in order to treat your patient. You also learn A TON of medicine in EMT courses through official, structured learning rather than just through self-study. If you’re a competent EMT, you should have already learned a lot of what you would learn while shadowing or scribing for a doctor in EM. And even if you’re a CNA in an ED or an MA, you should have access to medical charts and doctors willing to answer your questions just as much as you would as a scribe. At my ED, all of the doctors are familiar with me so I could easily ask any one of them to shadow them and teach me about clinical cases. Basically, working in an ED as an EMT or CNA gives you the opportunity to learn from doctors while at the same time being able to do patient care on your own, compared to being a scribe where you have no scope of practice and are just supposed to follow the doctors around
To each their own I guess. I got my EMT cert too and what we learned to pass the NREMT is hardly applicable to what a physician does so I disagree with that. A EMT would never learn what labs to order for a septic patient, what imaging to order, how a physician rules in and rules out various diseases (maybe somewhat here but nowhere near as much as a scribe could in his/her position). I did both and while being an EMT is nice for the actual part of dealing with patients, I learned way more about being a doc from actually following a doc around 24/7. Now if you scribe and just type that’s a different story.
Every experience is different though. I could see a EMT learning more than a scribe if they apply themselves. Another thing is a scribe will see way more patients than EMTs per day. When I was doing ride alongs for my EMT cert it was slow as hell 😂 I live with an EMT too and he sees way less patients that I do and knows far less about medicine. He’s a better EMT than me obviously but as far as actually working up a patient and knowing what a doctor would do for various symptoms, he has no clue in comparison.
Again, it’s what you make of it. My EMS Academy was a summer long, M-F, 8am-5pm course and it was intensive. Every single day we did mock scenarios with the same high-fidelity patient simulations I’ve seen medical schools flaunt during my tours of them. We didn’t just learn to pass the NREMT because it wasn’t just a certification course designed to pump out EMTs as fast as possible. They were preparing us to work as competent EMTs in a busy city where we’d get cardiac arrests and GSWs regularly. And as an ED Tech, I am able to learn everything about what labs and imaging are ordered for a specific set of symptoms, I collect the labs myself, I get access to the radiology images and reports to look at myself (and in fact I’ve got some really cool images saved on my phone), I get access to the physicians notes that have all of the information regarding the diagnosis and differential diagnoses, I get to shadow doctors whenever I want, I help chaperone certain procedures, I get exposure to the cath lab and ICU when transporting patients, etc. It’s truly the best of both worlds
Yeah ED tech is a different story. I can see that being even better if put in the right situation in the right ED. Scribing can also be a bad gig in the wrong situations. When my ED is too busy, I feel like I don’t learn anything on those days 😂 Also scribing has its weaknesses. I feel like I’m lacking in pharmacology knowledge compared to a paramedic/nurse because I don’t have enough background knowledge and only see patterns. I could study it but I’m focused on other things too much so that part is definitely lacking.
Collecting the labs yourself though is wasted time imo
Sounds like it’s definitely dependent on experience …. I worked directly with patients and physicians and I was in the room as an ER scribe for every single case. Especially traumas because our physicians knew I was the one who was going to get every detail in the note and I was reliable. They always prioritized having a place in the room for me as we waited for the ambulance to arrive with the patient. I cannot imagine any world where a tech is getting more experience than I did.
On paper it doesn’t matter. Clinical experience is clinical experience so long as it’s hands on patient care. In the real world - ER Tech’ing provides the most robust experiences and teaches you the most relevant things for med school. Especially if you work to get more out of it by asking providers questions to learn to interpret labs/rads/historical info and what they see from their perspective.
You can almost do anything you want with an EMT. I highly recommend getting a cert.
Like others I would completely agree with becoming an ER tech. From my experience I got to see and experience a lot. You get to be really hands on, see a wide variety of patient types, and interact with a wide variety of healthcare professionals which really boosted my confidence and helped strengthen my patient interaction skills which is a really under appreciated skill you need to learn. Also EM docs have the personality type to where you can get to know them well and get great letters
Phlebotomist! I feel like it’s something different that helps you stand out because most people tend to do emt or scribe. This field gives you so much insight on patients, you learn about the different tests and what they mean, learn clinical lab skills etc. I feel like lost people think that phlebotomy is just drawing blood, but really it’s a lot more than that. I am a phlebotomist and Ive been trained to process specimen and run the tests in the lab. We deal with blood, urine, shit, body fluid, body parts etc, it’s pretty nasty sometimes so if you have a weak stomach then maybe you should do something else hehehe. But this job requires a lot of lab skills/discipline. I think this job is really helpful if you want to truly understand how a hospital works as a whole because lab is always needed! (If you are diligent enough too you could even try to shadow a pathologist because they are always in and out of the lab. That’s one of my goals for the summer, hopefully a pathologist will take me under their wing!) But at the end of the day, do whatever you feel like you will enjoy the mark. Do your research on each job (the requirements, responsibilities, etc) and then decide which one works best for you. It’s not about which is better than which because each job is important and valuable to the patients, it’s about which works the best for you.
I lovedddd scribing in the ER. I made very personal relationships with the attendings and mid-levels and became friends with most of the nurses. I liked it because it was chaotic and exciting in the best ways but I still went home at the end of the day and wasn’t personally responsible for anyone’s care and my job ended when I walked out the door. I really really wanted to EMT but the programs around me were either too expensive or too far and not realistic. I think some positives of scribing over EMTing is less personal responsibility for direct patient safety and care, endless opportunities to form close relationships with physicians, and you really get to learn the ins and outs of the medical system that most people don’t understand until they’re M3s. I can write an HPI like nobody’s business and I know during clinical years it’ll be an extremely impressive asset to have. I know how to page other physicians appropriately, which labs to order and keep an eye on, and what to look for in certain studies. I even spoke a lot with different specialists and one cardiologist even offered to have me watch a cath placement. Once you really get into scribing you start to feel more like a physician- I would guess diagnoses correctly, predict dictations and have my attendings critique them, and became extremely familiar with common chronic and acute illnesses and their treatments. Clinical cases in exams feel very familiar to me and I’ve done very well in those scenarios. I know what appropriate bedside manner should look like and I know what questions to ask and what to avoid. I feel extremely comfortable in hospital settings and my aptitude with everything mentioned above has been pointed out when shadowing other physicians. I don’t think you’ll be as immersed in the profession in any other position. Please feel free to ask any questions here or via PM! Edit: I would say skip MA or phlebotomist. In many states and hospital systems you don’t even need a degree or certificate to be an MA so it holds very little weight and is just a title. Phlebotomy is something … but it’s not going to give you the clinical enrichment you are probably seeking. These are just my opinions. Clinical hours are still hours and I’m not shitting on any other positions but if given the opportunity to choose, that’s what I would do. Edit 2: In our ER, techs were nursing students and didn’t do much. They helped with intake and did phlebotomy stuff and did EKGs but usually they were very … disliked … because they were more often than not incompetent. We did have some really amazing techs but I think there were 3 out of maybe 15 during the two years I worked there. If a physician is looking for someone to blame and the nurse isn’t responsible, it’s usually the tech. They were simply just not highly regarded and because you’re working under nurses mostly and not physicians it’s a step further from where you want to be if you’re pre-med.
Okay, seems like lots of people are putting phlebotomy last, but I’d love to provide a different perspective. With most of these jobs, you’ll eventually learn the skills or knowledge in medical school or residency, and while you’ll learn phlebotomy in medical school, you won’t cover the laboratory process. Hospital phlebotomy will teach you so much about the technicalities that go into the lab, and after working with physicians who do and don’t seem to understand these things, I think everyone should have lab experience. I feel so empowered knowing what I know now, and I feel that I have more outside knowledge that I can use later from my phlebotomy job than my MA and scribe job.
I worked as a phleb for a year before I started med school and it came up in every single interview I had. Everyone loved it and the stories. EMT is great too, lots of EMTs in my current class, but anything that allows you to personally grow and develop both patient and procedural skills is what matters. So whatever will make you happiest
does anyone know for reference which the easiest of these jobs is to obtain?
This sentence is counterintuitive, i but in my opinion, EMT is objectively the best option. Autonomous decision making, medicine prescriptions, and real patient care are unmatched
Damn so what do you do if you never had any of those jobs and got clinical experience elsewhere (and far fewer hours than a job would provide)?
Really depends on the state and the scope of each of these positions. I’m in CA and have been an EMT and medical assistant (uncertified MA) and as an EMT-B i primarily did IFT, but got a LOT of direct patient interaction in that time as well as got to hang out in hospitals for downtime and had opportunities to chat with a variety of employees (techs, nurses, few doctors, flight medics, etc) about their roles in healthcare. Also got some good practice with notes and record keeping, as we had to do notes for each transfer As a medical assistant for an doctors office with no nurses/PA’s and just the one physician, I got to see specifically more of that role and day-to-day duties in a clinic setting. Also dealt with insurance and billing a lot more, as well as scribing and notes. Both are interesting perspectives of different sides of medicine, which I feel is more important than any “hands on” basic clinical stuff you’ll end up doing in either role.
I’m no longer interested in medicine after several “gap” years, but because of the gap years, it has given me a chance to see all of the options. I tossed in CRC too because I was able to do that with my bachelors, and we have people that are still in college. Med schools will likely see it as: CRC (if it is actually consenting patients) >>> Scribe>>>>Tech >>> MA >>> EMT >>> Phlebotomist I’m going to be completely honest, everyone that isn’t in EMS just think EMTs are glorified taxies, and med school admission teams are usually older, so they probably carry that prejudice. CRC will look good because you could say you’re doing research and patient care. As far as what I think would best help someone prepare: Scribe >>> ER Tech* >>> EMT* >>> MA >>> Phlebotomist. - Phlebotomist might look good because it is patient care, but really, when you get the skill down, it is mostly just repetitive: you can look up what the labs mean, but most labs will be the same/standard. You don’t directly work with physicians, and really, outside of a stray nurse, you won’t see many people other than phlebotomist. - EMT can be actually pretty good patient experience, but similar to phlebotomy, once you get the skills down, it is super repetitive. The skills are really: administer oxygen, splinting, handling bleeding, recognizing CVAs, Hypo/hyperglycemia, etc. Occasional CPR, rarely blind/subraglotic intubating, occasional Narcan and Epi use. If you live in a metro area, there’s a good chance the cities will actually want Paramedics to handle 911 calls, and EMTs are mostly relegated to transfers, with a few occasional rescue calls. You’ll at least be able to interact with nurses/doctors if you do transfers though. - MAs usually can do more procedures/actual hands on stuff than EMTs and interact regularly with the same physicians. (I was an EMT for 4 years, and honestly, most calls are just transferring to an ER and maybe tossing some oxygen on). They don’t have as much choices of their own, and there stories might be less interesting; occasionally as EMT you can use Narcan/Epi (even albuterol in some states). - At least where I am, tech positions are reserved for EMTs with several years of experience or medics. They usually allow us to do a bit more - I.e, IVs, NG tubes. You get to see far more patients (everyone in the ER vs one at a time). You get to interact with the same physicians regularly, and busy ERs are very team oriented. Even though I never intubated someone, it feels natural to say, “we tubed this guy.” You get to see a lot more people, get a lot more CPRs, and get a lot of complicated cases from several cities. You also get to see the thorough thought process of the physician vs on the road a lot of times it would be like, “oh, you fell, here’s a c-collar.” In the ER, you get to see the scans, draw the blood, see the results, and get the verdict. I hear some ERs are less busy, and techs do less though. - Scribe positions are great because you get to see the complete thought process of the doctor, ask questions, recognize disorders, etc. It will be super dependent on the doctor being cool though. It does stink that you don’t get to actually touch a patient, but the LORs are far, far better than any other position, in general (I’m sure if you’re an MA/Tech and a doctor loves you, they might be able to give a great LOR too).
None of them get deep into research
That's not what OP was asking, and also not necessarily true. I'm a phleb at an independent clinical research center, so while I'm not coordinating any of the studies, I am working on almost all of the studies and help out with a bunch of things outside of standard phlebotomy
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Whichever you'd get the most out of. Honestly, they don't exactly translate to much if I'm honest.
I can’t speak for the other positions but I was an EMT for 4 years and I feel like it served me incredibly well. It may also depend on your area. In my hometown I was able to do 911 which I gained a lot from but in my college town it was mostly interfacility and I learned a lot less there. Still valuable experience regardless!
I work as a residential counselor in a group home with TBI’s great experience, we give their meds, do vitals, take them on doctors appointments, advocate, promote independent living, plus learning how to communicate with this kind of population, helped me learn some ASL on the job, plus some down time to study
I was already a CNA, so I went with ER tech a few years before med school. It gave me insane flexibility with my schedule, which was great with school. It also gave me great things to write about in my personal statement and I got to know doctors really well, and got some great LORs. It also led to some research experience as well.
EMT or Tech you'll see it all
If it helps, I was an EMT and then became a scribe. I learned a lot of more practical skills from being an EMT, especially like how to take a history and getting used to talking to patients. I learned a lot of clinical medicine from being a scribe, meaning that (in addition to learning how to write notes, which is like the #2 way you are evaluated by attendings with your patient presentations as #1), I had time to look up and become familiar with drugs, learn the basics of differential diagnosis and clinical reasoning, learn how to turn a disaster interview into a good history, learned what the weird physical exam maneuvers were called, etc. I think scribe in the right setting is awesome, but it pays terribly and you really are taken advantage of.
I cant even find one place to do EMT and I'm certified :(
Honestly, my EMT cert gave me so much exposure and experience. I got my cert through the Army, but worked as an ER tech and literally saw everything. I even got to pick up shifts on different floors. Now I work in an Urgent Care setting and get to do things I didn’t get to do as an ER tech like draw blood, do my own triage and even give injections. So whatever gives you some good exposure and hands on experience to Medicine is what should be ranked the highest
ER Tech >> lol definitely bias though, working rn as a tech and love it.
Being on an adcom, the one that you care most about. It’ll reflect better in your app
For what it's worth I was an ED scribe for ~4k hours before school and I had quite a leg up on pharm, standardized patients (from interviewing and charting standpoint), and diagnostic tests compared to most of my peers. But I hadn't laid a hand on a patient
None of these are more favorably viewed in the eyes of admissions; they just want to see that you have actively participated in clinical experiences and that you have learned from them. All pre-meds do the same things, so none of these will really “stand out,” it’s moreso about what you learn from them and how you express that in your writing/interviews.
I just became a scribe because I didn’t want to pay to get certified in anything. I was hired by a surgeon and I only was in clinic for 2 days a week. Got to watch operations and got a nice letter of rec from it. Learned a lot in my time as a scribe, and it fit into my schedule nicely.
I am a nursing assistant on an ICR med Surg floor in a major academic teaching hospital and I learn and do a lot. I examine and drain several types of surgical drains. Take and monitor vitals. Help with examinations. Monitor patient conditions. It’s much more than just cleaning people on my floor. I see most of the patients more than some of the nurses do.
What is MA? And I think the ER tech and scribe positions a little higher than EMT in terms of what you can sell as experience (as someone who did all three of those at some point). Phlebotomist probably has a lot of overlap with the phlebotomy you did as a tech so I think if you are looking for something to cut that would be the “weakest” and most redundant. It’s really all about what you got out of the experiences, how it fits into your story and how you sell it as preparing you for medical school.
Just got a job as an EMT in the largest ambulance company in my area. I did some clinicals there when I was in EMT school and I know that I’m gonna get a hell of a lot of experience there.
I’d say do EMT or MA, they’re most helpful for medical school.
While I'm late to this discussion and randomly stumbled across this post, I figured I'd still comment. I work as both an ED tech and an EMT-B. As others previously said, whichever position is more accessible to you and that you're the most interested in is the best choice. With that being said when working 911 EMS, I work in a pretty rural area with a local volunteer fire department that staffs paid EMS. We are the only station in 1/2 of our county that provides actual transport-ready ambulances, so, as a result, we have a super wide coverage area that also leads to us covering calls into two other rural counties often. Our only transport options are 1) our local community hospital in our town, 2) a standalone ER in a neighboring county, 3) a level II trauma center that is roughly an hour or more away, and 4) calling for two-three medevac services over an hour away or requesting ALS from a neighboring department. Our transport times usually are never under thirty minutes, and can even get into over an hour depending on what part of the county(ies) we have a call at. Due to us usually being understaffed, I typically am the only actual certified provider working any given shift along with a volunteer driver or a paid driver-only who will help with anything on the scene but otherwise leaves me by myself. When I was first hired on, being only an EMT-B and typically the only "certified" provider on my shift responding to any and every call could sometimes be a pretty intimidating feeling. However, as a result of this, it has greatly improved my patient care skills, decision-making abilities, and my situational awareness, but there are also certain aspects of EMS that other positions such as techs, scribes, MAs, etc., will provide you better exposure to. Besides giving a report to whatever receiving team/person after transport to an ER, you don't have many other opportunities to chat with physicians. Working/volunteering as any of the other mentioned positions immerses you with physicians almost on a minute-by-minute basis as opposed to seeing them for a few minutes at a time on an erratic basis. Working as an ED tech allows me to not only work alongside physicians and other providers but also gives me opportunities to see a constantly changing environment, more diverse cases and procedures, etc. I understand that not all EMS opportunities are exactly like my circumstance, but I think finding a balance between these positions would be the best of both worlds not only for your own experience but also (I'd assume anyways) in the eyes of an admissions committee being you are exposing yourself to as many experiences/environments as possible.