How important is volunteering?/ EMT v. shadowing

College5812
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:42:15 +0000

I am currently applying to medical school and can probably answer this question pretty well. If you will gain clinical experience WORKING as an EMT, then the EMT course definitely looks better. If you will only be getting “certification” by the time you apply for programs, I would spend your time shadowing. Medical schools are looking for CLINICAL EXPOSURE as their number one most important extracurricular activity. As an EMT, you would have much more responsibility (which med schools love), but this responsibility can only come after 150 hours of training. Something you may want to consider is getting certified as a “first responder” so you can do ride alongs (WHILE ASSISTING IN PATIENT CARE). It is a much shorter process, but will require more work on your part to secure an internship prior to enrolling in the class (you don’t want to waste your time getting certified if you won’t end up using it).

~JW