As a curious freshman on a large college campus, it can get quickly intimidating when it comes time to pick your major. Should you do Neuroscience and follow the bold or stick to the generic Biology concentration along with the crowd? Both are viable options, but which major will truly prepare you for a long and arduous career in the medical field? As undergraduate students, we do everything in our power to get as much clinical experience as possible, including involvement in research projects or job shadowing across various medical specialties. While all these avenues serve to boost our resume in a considerable manner, allowing us to showcase our clinical exposure to medical schools, there is one up and coming major that will completely blow your mind in all these arenas: Emergency Medicine. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I thought that was a professional field. How can it be an undergraduate major?” Well, it turns out that it CAN be an area of study in today’s brave new world. There are few schools in the United States who have embraced this field for their students, but it is undoubtedly growing in renown and recognition. In its essence, an Emergency Medicine major trains you to become a paramedic, which marks the highest level of pre-hospital care. As you see those ambulances whiz by in full throttle and adrenaline on the streets, haven’t you ever wondered what they do and how they can do it? While paramedic training programs have been offered in small educational settings in the past, the concept is now being welcomed by large academic institutions, which incorporate the finesse of an expert faculty and excellent advising towards a fruitful career. As a student in one of these programs, you will be put to the test to undergo a rigorous educational and practical curriculum that challenges you to learn the various intricacies of the human body from the perspective of emergency management. From dealing with simple cases of sickness to high-powered cardiac codes, students are trained to handle pressure and act in a systematic and confident manner to ensure the survival of their patients in an out-of-hospital setting that may not always have the necessary resources. Encompassing simple tasks such as taking vitals to complex endeavors including starting intravenous lines, conducting endotracheal intubation, and carrying out accurate physical exams for differential diagnoses, this major sets the students on a track of success, whether it be in the paramedic profession or any other niche of the medical field. The most unique aspect about the major lies in its commitment to providing a well-rounded experience that strikes the right balance between in-class lectures, labs, and outside the classroom rotations in hospitals and with ambulance agencies, putting the students at the forefront of patient care. While all the medical knowledge and skills will definitely be taught in medical school, the one thing this program provides is perspective. Few possess the ability to talk to patients as fellow human beings, treating them as a person rather than a disease state. By being granted the unparalleled opportunity to carry out patient care with compassion while juggling limited time constraints and limited resources in a pre-hospital setting, you are prepped to the highest level of skill as a future medical student. source
