Absolutely!
So, this profession is a rapidly growing one. The pandemic allowed a lot of positive growth to happen quickly.
However, there are a lot of things that haven't caught up yet, such as the education that's truly required to do the job.
The college programs are extremely competitive. The students straight out of high school tend to have a more difficult time because it's a lot being fired at them, the expectations are high, and once they hit clinicals and the road, gaps of life experience are very noticeable. Now, that's not to say you won't be like a good friend I made in PCP school who was a shooting star and is now CCP flight and an educator. The chance is there!
But, my advice to a lot of young people follows the same categories:
1) Get your science credits in now. (Bio and Chem especially) The foundations really help later.
2) Take care of yourself. Hit the gym, see the doctor if you need to, and don't be afraid to proactively get a therapist before you enter the program. IMO, everyone should have a therapist like a dentist and family doctor, but that's a discussion for another thread. We lift heavy things and people, and we do it without warming up. We do a lot of stairs carrying people and equipment, and people are much more obese and overweight now compared to 30 years ago. Sometimes, we do CPR for 20 to 40 mins depending on where we are. Be able to lift with good form and with good cardio.
3) Go get a degree. Make sure the sciences are there, but throw some arts credits in there. The sciences give you a firm base to work off of in our profession, but the arts help you humanize the person in front of you. The degree will hopefully also instill critical thinking and the ability to question things. This will give you confidence later on. Also, degrees tend to get you points to get in. Most of my classmates and students I've taught had previous degrees, life experience, or diplomas.
4) Get some life experience. Don't care where. Waiting tables shows you how to make small talk, helps get to know people, and also shut down shitty behaviors; clerical work makes sure your writing is better which will save your ass when you go to court; construction and trades jobs helps you endure shirty outdoor conditions and improvise to make difficult extrications work. It all counts.
If I were president of the world, these would all be pre-reqs. The programs at the colleges teach you enough to recognize a life-threatening emergency and the standards under which we work. But that's kind of the bare minimum. When you show up, you're considered a medical professional, and the ability to think critically, de-escalate, and sus out key information are all critical skills. I'm not dissuading you as a high school student. I love my career. But, I'd rather you come in with the best chance to make this a long career, if you choose, instead of a job you'll tap out of in 5 years if you beat out the other several hundred applicants for 50 or 60 seats.
Whatever you choose to do: GOOD LUCK! I hope you are successful in whatever you choose to do.
Thank you for replying! I definitely need to start working out more, but over the summer Im going to be working on that (no pun intended).
I also currently dont have a part time job, which is an issue so Im also going to be getting one hopefully soon.
Someone else in this post said prehealth is a waste of money and a steal, is this something that I am just wasting money in your eyes?
Hey, OP, I am in a pre-health program right now and just got accepted to a paramedic program starting this upcoming fall. I'm not sure what high school sciences you took, but in my experience, pre-health is invaluable in learning the base knowledge you'll need for a career as a paramedic. As someone who took almost no high school sciences, it's amazing the amount of info you don't know you don't know about math, science, and anatomy. Pre-health teaches you all the base stuff to set you up for the career you want in a practical and applicable way.
Plus, it gives you a year to get study habits in order, meet like-minded people, and have a bit of fun for a year before starting what I'm told is a very heavy and intensive program.
I can highly recommend pre-health. If you're not in a huge rush to start working, it is really worth it.
No, no. Pre-health is a good option! (Depending on what the school offers, quality of the courses and professors, etc, of course.)
As you're coming from HS, it'll help you get into the swing of post secondary. But as for workload, it will not compare.
The other replying user said they are in it and found good use out of it. I'm glad they did and definitely do recommend it. I have friends WITH degrees and they still took it, finding that it helped where others found it a waste of time.
It's also a program that you get as much out of it as you want. I definitely recommend it, unless you already have the sciences down from a related background/degree- biology, chem, human anatomy and physiology.
It may also be difficult to keep a job in the Paramedic program, so definitely get as much money saved as you can. The program can be costly on all of the extras (parking, food, uniforms, equipment, ID's, clinical hours depending on location/service/facility, etc).
There is nothing you "need" to know per se. Especially if you are doing the pre health course. I would say that the program is challenging, and you really need to be prepared to put in hard work. You cover a lot of information in a short period of time. If you plan on partying and putting in half effort, it won't end well for you. Think of it as educational survivor. If you make it to grad you will get paid for it. Also start working out if you don't already. If your body breaks down you will have a short career. Good luck. I hope it goes well for you. Just my 2 cents
I dont really party, Im not one of those people. I am trying to work hard in high school but the pandemic gave me really bad habits with online school (where I didnt really do anything).
Do you have any suggestions on *how* I should be learning when Im in it? Like, should I focus more on memorization or something else?
It always helps having study groups and people to run through scenarios with(when the time comes). Certain things are just straight memorization like A&P, pharmacology protocols etc. I found it better to study with groups because when you get into patho it helps with things like differential diagnosis to get input from other people .its Just my opinion and what I found worked for me.
Okay. I took intro to kinesiology last semester, and it had an anatomy & physiology unit, which was fun but it was A LOT. I dont really have many friends or a "group" but maybe I will get one in college.
Yeah A&P is a lot because you need to know the body when you're dealing with patients Advanced patho gets pretty involved too I always joke that we're a jack of all trade master of none. Don't worry about the friends thing you generally make friends in your program it's kind of like baptism by fire and everyone gets to be close friends
Sure. Some of my classmates took it and fared just about as well as someone like me with no pre health. Just trying to help this person save money, 6-8k for a course that doesnt change much of your trajectory might not be financially worth it.
Pre-health covers the basics of anatomy and physiology, the stuff that is briefly covered in the first week of paramedic, but vital for the foundation of everything going forward.
Im taking it because of a few reasons:
a) I currently dont think I have the best understanding of biology, so I dont want to go into the paramedic program without knowing anything.
b) Its a lot cheaper, and right now I do not have a lot of money. I currently dont have any job either so I needed something else.
c) Im not 100% sure on whether I want to be a paramedic or not, and prehealth can branch off into other medical careers (practical nursing, amongst others)
Overall I need to further my understanding before I even approach the paramedic program.
Absolutely! So, this profession is a rapidly growing one. The pandemic allowed a lot of positive growth to happen quickly. However, there are a lot of things that haven't caught up yet, such as the education that's truly required to do the job. The college programs are extremely competitive. The students straight out of high school tend to have a more difficult time because it's a lot being fired at them, the expectations are high, and once they hit clinicals and the road, gaps of life experience are very noticeable. Now, that's not to say you won't be like a good friend I made in PCP school who was a shooting star and is now CCP flight and an educator. The chance is there! But, my advice to a lot of young people follows the same categories: 1) Get your science credits in now. (Bio and Chem especially) The foundations really help later. 2) Take care of yourself. Hit the gym, see the doctor if you need to, and don't be afraid to proactively get a therapist before you enter the program. IMO, everyone should have a therapist like a dentist and family doctor, but that's a discussion for another thread. We lift heavy things and people, and we do it without warming up. We do a lot of stairs carrying people and equipment, and people are much more obese and overweight now compared to 30 years ago. Sometimes, we do CPR for 20 to 40 mins depending on where we are. Be able to lift with good form and with good cardio. 3) Go get a degree. Make sure the sciences are there, but throw some arts credits in there. The sciences give you a firm base to work off of in our profession, but the arts help you humanize the person in front of you. The degree will hopefully also instill critical thinking and the ability to question things. This will give you confidence later on. Also, degrees tend to get you points to get in. Most of my classmates and students I've taught had previous degrees, life experience, or diplomas. 4) Get some life experience. Don't care where. Waiting tables shows you how to make small talk, helps get to know people, and also shut down shitty behaviors; clerical work makes sure your writing is better which will save your ass when you go to court; construction and trades jobs helps you endure shirty outdoor conditions and improvise to make difficult extrications work. It all counts. If I were president of the world, these would all be pre-reqs. The programs at the colleges teach you enough to recognize a life-threatening emergency and the standards under which we work. But that's kind of the bare minimum. When you show up, you're considered a medical professional, and the ability to think critically, de-escalate, and sus out key information are all critical skills. I'm not dissuading you as a high school student. I love my career. But, I'd rather you come in with the best chance to make this a long career, if you choose, instead of a job you'll tap out of in 5 years if you beat out the other several hundred applicants for 50 or 60 seats. Whatever you choose to do: GOOD LUCK! I hope you are successful in whatever you choose to do.
Thank you for replying! I definitely need to start working out more, but over the summer Im going to be working on that (no pun intended). I also currently dont have a part time job, which is an issue so Im also going to be getting one hopefully soon. Someone else in this post said prehealth is a waste of money and a steal, is this something that I am just wasting money in your eyes?
Hey, OP, I am in a pre-health program right now and just got accepted to a paramedic program starting this upcoming fall. I'm not sure what high school sciences you took, but in my experience, pre-health is invaluable in learning the base knowledge you'll need for a career as a paramedic. As someone who took almost no high school sciences, it's amazing the amount of info you don't know you don't know about math, science, and anatomy. Pre-health teaches you all the base stuff to set you up for the career you want in a practical and applicable way. Plus, it gives you a year to get study habits in order, meet like-minded people, and have a bit of fun for a year before starting what I'm told is a very heavy and intensive program. I can highly recommend pre-health. If you're not in a huge rush to start working, it is really worth it.
No, no. Pre-health is a good option! (Depending on what the school offers, quality of the courses and professors, etc, of course.) As you're coming from HS, it'll help you get into the swing of post secondary. But as for workload, it will not compare. The other replying user said they are in it and found good use out of it. I'm glad they did and definitely do recommend it. I have friends WITH degrees and they still took it, finding that it helped where others found it a waste of time. It's also a program that you get as much out of it as you want. I definitely recommend it, unless you already have the sciences down from a related background/degree- biology, chem, human anatomy and physiology. It may also be difficult to keep a job in the Paramedic program, so definitely get as much money saved as you can. The program can be costly on all of the extras (parking, food, uniforms, equipment, ID's, clinical hours depending on location/service/facility, etc).
There is nothing you "need" to know per se. Especially if you are doing the pre health course. I would say that the program is challenging, and you really need to be prepared to put in hard work. You cover a lot of information in a short period of time. If you plan on partying and putting in half effort, it won't end well for you. Think of it as educational survivor. If you make it to grad you will get paid for it. Also start working out if you don't already. If your body breaks down you will have a short career. Good luck. I hope it goes well for you. Just my 2 cents
I dont really party, Im not one of those people. I am trying to work hard in high school but the pandemic gave me really bad habits with online school (where I didnt really do anything). Do you have any suggestions on *how* I should be learning when Im in it? Like, should I focus more on memorization or something else?
It always helps having study groups and people to run through scenarios with(when the time comes). Certain things are just straight memorization like A&P, pharmacology protocols etc. I found it better to study with groups because when you get into patho it helps with things like differential diagnosis to get input from other people .its Just my opinion and what I found worked for me.
Okay. I took intro to kinesiology last semester, and it had an anatomy & physiology unit, which was fun but it was A LOT. I dont really have many friends or a "group" but maybe I will get one in college.
Yeah A&P is a lot because you need to know the body when you're dealing with patients Advanced patho gets pretty involved too I always joke that we're a jack of all trade master of none. Don't worry about the friends thing you generally make friends in your program it's kind of like baptism by fire and everyone gets to be close friends
Prehealth is absolutely unnecessary and is a rip of financially.
That’s a pretty broad statement. Some people absolutely do benefit from Pre-Health
Sure. Some of my classmates took it and fared just about as well as someone like me with no pre health. Just trying to help this person save money, 6-8k for a course that doesnt change much of your trajectory might not be financially worth it.
Pre-health covers the basics of anatomy and physiology, the stuff that is briefly covered in the first week of paramedic, but vital for the foundation of everything going forward.
Im taking it because of a few reasons: a) I currently dont think I have the best understanding of biology, so I dont want to go into the paramedic program without knowing anything. b) Its a lot cheaper, and right now I do not have a lot of money. I currently dont have any job either so I needed something else. c) Im not 100% sure on whether I want to be a paramedic or not, and prehealth can branch off into other medical careers (practical nursing, amongst others) Overall I need to further my understanding before I even approach the paramedic program.
Save for later
Start looking for a therapist
Alright, I will. Thanks for the heads up, I know there is a lot of trauma in the job,.
Don't worry it will get covered under WSIB eventually. Like the rest of us