Very interesting, I appreciate you taking the time to break it down for me.

So i get that for CCT, but are places in SoCal requiring people who are doing, at base, BLS IFT's to have it as well?

What EMT-B job requires you to get ACLS? Even if some do, not all do so you could do those

Starting med school, gonna wanna end up back on the truck way down the road but with more debt

I believe they took 1 UIUC student in their inaugural class. If you look at past years, the student profile there is exceptionally unique. UIC is IL's biggest public medical school, it's somewhat separate from Carle.

A certain big-name liquor store in IL got rid of their EMS/Med discount and retained Fire/PD, oh how quickly COVID has left us....

Never get high on your own supply

I'd argue the peanuts in Dothan make it a more desirable area

Not a paramedic but these seem like straightforward questions I can give surface level answers to. Yes more emt experience/familiarity makes becoming a paramedic easier (arguably it should be a requirement but the TL ain't ready for that), I don't think connections will like give you a huge edge or anything. Paramedic courses are a lot harder, theres significantly more information (a lot), more practical training, clinicals etc etc. Lots of people do medic school while working full time, some places offer evening classes which can be great if you do 12s. Most of the ones I've seen follow the Kelly schedule so everyone in the class is on one of the 2 other shifts.

Someone who has done it can talk about the nuances between paramedics and emt's and the experience of transitioning between them.

A medical school will never say that have a top cap on stats. That being said, there have been verified individuals in admissions departments who have discussed yield protection on SDN. I've met some professional pre-med advisors who were admissions staff who now work for some of the well-known third party services. That being said, there is nuance to the idea. A perfect stat applicant don't often get denied out the gate, it seems to be more of a thing later in the cycle when they're weighing different apps and deciding which one is worth the investment of offering an interview or A to. With limited interview dates/spots and a sea of applicants saying they would love to go to every school they apply to, an admissions dean is in a position to pick through them for someone genuinely committed to the school rather than someone who is just playing the game of overapplication we're forced into.

Edit: I also heard from them that it happens a lot less often than people expect. People more likely have a weakness in their app that will keep them out rather than being too perfect.

That's neat!

Assisted in surgeries before med school?

Stigma can exist amongst PD's and pre-meds with a chip on their shoulder lol, outside of that I don't tend to see it. Unless you like OMM a lot, MD seems to be the prudent move with the current state of residency selection HOWEVER, this process is constantly and rapidly shifting. We are in the young stage of the unified ACGME, more DOs are graduating. I'd wager to say we are at the point where if one had significant geographic preference and cost benefit at the DO school, it would be a better choice than the alternative MD program (uber-specialized goals non-withstanding)

In EMS, not really an option most of the time. Working in an addiction OTP, only time I was able to get someone removed was them using the n-word and threatening to shoot up the place. Any other further threats of violence or aggression have been laughed off by admin who don't deal with pts every day.

He’s good. Obvi, you synthesize your own path towards admission by using all the available informational resources available to you. This means professional advisors, SDN, Reddit, etc. When you see people take issue to any which thing (unless it’s certainly problematic) it’s because it’s easy to get caught up in all the information and it can weigh an applicant down who is already stressed, then becoming harmful.

Yeah you (atleast I) can only really do it effectively for like a minute until you fatigue out, after which one should direct someone else to hop on (that is if we're transporting a code). Lucas seems like it would've been smart to use. I do think there is an element of pride/insecurity for some of the dudes in the field who aren't willing to step aside/lean on the rest of the team for help in general, hopefully that's changing.

Were they standing on the side of a moving stretcher?

Ooof...I mean, if people dealing with depression or ADHD are considered iffy by adcoms, idk if furries will have greater understanding (I'm aware it's for different reasons). With some of the sensationalism around the group popping up in the news over the last few years, I'd struggle to imagine the chances of having a sympathetic reader are that high.....If you can be vague about it or you emphasize the cosplay/art/costume-making part of it....maybe? Feels like something you may want to share more once you're in imo

Seeing as you're living there, I don't think they will care about these hours either which way tbh.

Uh have you talked to your doctor about this? They may have some ideas/advice. Could get you a referral for specialists if you need it like if you had sleep apnea or something.

Shadow a doctor and see if that's the job you'd want to have

If you don't have time for a job, you can always try to find clinical volunteering as it's usually more flexibly scheduled. You could also scribe or do other jobs at nights if you really really really wanted to work.

I'd explain away bad grades maybe in a secondary or if you like totally bombed an MCAT if theres a question about academic hardships/overcoming. Other than that, I never had my Multi-CAT mentioned in an interview.

Do you know how many people, including med students, aren't familiar with the idea of ICD codes? You are also getting experience with an EHR and real-life charting. I'm sure you're learning a bit about the ways the doc approaches conversations and the way they assess/rule out things. You're learning....if you're not, may need to reconfigure how you're looking at these mundane moments as opportunities. (Ofc it does get boring at times and there are many forgettable moments, but you do get a unique exposure)

Yeah I don't think it helps to hedge your bets