General Discussion

@MandiblesInferno no problem at all! happy to chat more too :) i mean. plague is all about organs and death and grossness so THEORETICALLY autopsies are okay. but you never know LOL

also hello again @hypercoaster HAHAHA thought about tagging you here!

@Hypercoaster dang I have genuinely never heard about this stuff before, i just googled FISH and it seems really cool, it seems like it falls under the umbrella of personalised medicine? Do correct me if I'm wrong there. But it's so cool how medschool stuff is only the tip of the iceberg.

It's nice hearing about people in the field talk openly about their strengths and struggles, since it makes me feel less small if that makes sense? I found the entrance exam awful but for different reasons, but mostly because I hate test conditions since they make my inner monologue a lot more distracting. Interviews were also difficult for me since I've always struggled with following instructions and talking too much when I get nervous. Not a fun time.

It's nice that your were able to land on a job that perfectly suited what your strengths are, and what you want to achieve! It inspires me to want to be as reflective of what I truly want to achive in my profession.

That's a really good question. While I don't want to pigeon hole myself too much at the moment, I'm really interested in going into pathology. The medical examiner route has always been at the back of my mind. The idea of going into gynaecology also interests me. I empathise heavily with the struggles woman and afab people's face just to be taken seriously by the healthcare system, especially with being a woman myself. Though of course, I want to keep my mind as open as possible at the moment!

I'm neither a worker or a student yet but I'm hopefully going to attend EMT school fall 2025! And move up to paramedic eventually. In the meantime I have prerequisite classes I need to take, and I plan on volunteering and learning as much as I possibly can in the meantime. I'm doing the american heart association BLS training next week. I know my scope of practice will be more limited as an EMT, so I plan to focus on what I can do and do it very well

Oooh congrats on getting a medical offer!

Not entirely sure if this counts since it's more healthcare adjacent administrative work, but I just started my second year of training to be a clinical coder (specifically in Australia's ICD-10-AM and ACHI coding systems)! Was really worried I wouldn't make it into my 2nd year since, as it turns out, having unmedicated ADHD while trying to do a very fast-paced course that basically requires you to remember everything about the human body, as well as diseases, procedures, and acronyms is a very very bad idea ^^' ended up failing my first exam attempt but after cramming for about 3 months I managed to pass my retake!

It's definitely been a tricky little course so far but this year we're actually gonna be getting into the coding side of things instead of "hey. you. wanna see a picture of polycystic kidney disease? no? lmao too bad" which I'm really excited for! It also looks like there's a slightly longer period of time to do study and assessment work which is great.

Hoping that I'll be able to get my exam for this year done on the first try. The aforementioned ADHD will be medicated at some point around the middle of this year so I should be able to actually focus and commit things to memory. I'll also be able to bring my medical dictionary and acronym book + my five clinical coding books into the exam which is a welcome change from the last one :p

@happy99soups woah that's awesome! EMTs and paramedics do such crucial work but nobody around me seems to be looking into that side of healthcare, which is a shame since health emergencies wait for no one. It's good that you're putting a lot of effort into volunteering and learning before you go to EMT school. And you're right, striving to do what you can do, and doing it well, is so important. With your mindset, I don't doubt you'll be able to get to where you want to be. Good luck! @Amieg Administration is crucial to any good healthcare service, so It counts to me! "clinical coder" is also such a cool job title. It's nice to learn about roles outside of the treatment aspect of healthcare. Sorry to hear you 1st year in training went that way, memorising such a volume of information is always a momentous task and I can't begin to imagine the extra burden of ADHD. Good to hear you passed your retake though, and that you will eventually get your medication! It's also nice to hear that you're getting to the actual coding part of the course. It's always nice to have more revision time too :) and hopefully less medical images [emoji=gaoler scared size=1] I'm sure you'll smash this next exam! Wishing you all the best with your clinical coder journey :)

Heyo! I just have to snag this chance to gush about random stuff. This summer I'm actually going to shadow a family doctor who owns a clinic in my area and I'm getting more excited the closer it gets. Next year I'll be getting my CNA license which is also something I'm looking forward to.
Endocrinology is incredibly interesting to me and due to some medical issues, few of my family and I have, I've gotten to see how important the field really is. It's also insane how difficult it is to find an endocrinologist in my area- actually, it's more apt to say there aren't any in my area. I wanted to speak to one in person but that makes it hard. It kind of sucks but it's not like that'll stop me. I know I can (and I do) look stuff up online but it's so different to actually having a productive conversation with a real person. The first time I got to speak to my endocrinologist it kind of changed my life, and I can't wait till my next appointment to speak to them again!

Ultimately though, I haven't decided what specialization, and probably won't for a while. It just feels daunting with all the questions from my family. Makes me feel like I have to choose now ack- Anyway, thanks for the spot to ramble.
I really hope your exams go well Mandible! It was really interesting to scroll through this thread. Espically the bits from you and Quincely :)

@ohwowimcool No way that's so cool!! Shadowing is an amazing experience and I hope you enjoy it! I have personally shadowed in a hospital in my city so I'm not familiar with the the more personal clinic experience. It must be nice for the doctor you're shadowing to get to know and care for a family long term :) It's also really cool to hear about your CMA! It must be so nice to know your hard work will pay off soon. I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling to get ahold of endocrinologist in person. Communicating online is nothing like in person, so I completely understand your choice. That being said, I'm glad you've gotten appointments with one now!! I'm so happy for you, it can be a frustrating thing to wait so long to be seen by the correct specialist! It's nice that you've developed an interest in the field through your own life experiences. The endocrine system is really interesting, and I don't learn or hear a lot about it. I hope your next appointment comes swiftly [emoji=undertide happy size=1] As someone who hasn't even began her healthcare education, I fully understand that. There's just soooo many fields to specialize in, and ultimately it's your decision to make in your own time. I hope your family can understand. Whatever decision you make will be the best one for you! No worries, I'm glad this thread gave you the opportunity to talk, and I'm glad it was interesting to look through :)). Also, thank you! I'll try my best [emoji=guardian laughing size=1]

@MandiblesInferno
Thank you for the encouraging words! Ive been really struggling with self doubt and the fear that I can't do it but I'm determined to get the courage to push thru and do it well anyways :armflexemoji:
I've just found the podcast ems 20/20 (not affiliated or sponsored) and I'm really liking the peek into the EMS world. they're two paramedics who take real calls submitted by real EMS workers (with names and identifying details changed ofc) and review them, (go over what was done well, what was done poorly, what could have been done differently, what to do next time that happens, etc). I'm recommending them bc I feel like almost anyone interested in anything medical would enjoy them too. i especially like when they're discussing a difficult call that would be best for paramedics to handle, they'll spend the time to go over what a BLS provider could do to help that situation if they were there.
they had an episode where there was a pretty rare and scary call, (warning kinda gross, description of a weird birth)a breach birth that was almost all the way out but the baby's head was still stuck, and it was handled very well, and they really emphasized how almost everything that crew did was just BLS level stuff. it makes me confident that even as a relative beginner who knows only a few skills I can still do those few skills well and make myself extremely useful in many situations!

@happy999soups hey its no problem! I completely understand the struggle. Imposter syndrome is a pretty universal feeling in healthcare related fields from what I've seen, I know I've definitely felt it during the application process. But you definitely have what it takes to get through EMT school! As long as you #believeinyourself B) (but seriously, you're putting the effort to get where you are, so you definitely deserve it!)

Woah I've never heard of this podcast before, but it sounds really interesting, I've never heard of anything like it. The format they seem to use is really well structured, I like how they go through what went well and what could be improved. From your description, it seems like they cover a lot of quite scary cases, which are always good to get exposure to. Thank you got through recommendation! I'm glad that case in particular went well. And it's even cooler to know that you have quite a few of the skills used in many of these situations! All the more reason to have more faith in yourself, I think :)