I have a new opportunity which has fallen into my lap. I'm wondering if I should do it or pass it up.
I am a pre-medical student, and should be applying for medical school in a few months, but I've recently made the decision to put it off for one more year because I don't feel I've taken the proper care to organize my application materials well enough, nor do I think I can do so adequately between now and the application date.
Normally this would be a real problem as it basically puts my plans on hold for a full year longer, but because of this new opportunity I don't feel that bad about it.
My undergraduate degree (which I'll be finishing soon) is a health degree, which focuses on Emergency Medical Systems. You have to choose one of 4 tracks:
1. Education: you take courses certifying you to teach EMS classes, and you take some classes in the department of Education.
2. Management: You focus on EMS administration.
3. Wilderness response: You become EMT certified, and take courses in wilderness medicine and search and rescue techniques.
4. Community Response: You become a fully certified Paramedic (usually a 3 year process from start to finish).
I've chosen Community Response because I'm really interested in Trauma, this gives me access to trauma care during my undergraduate career.
Now I still have to take the full Paramedic course, I've been certified to an Intermediate EMT level. This means I have the ability to do things such as place ET tubes, run IV lines and administer a number of IV emergent medications. I also am trained to use a non-automatic defibrilator. Among other things.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. My church (not my congregation but the worldwide headquarters of the church) is partnering with the Navy this summer in a Pacific Partnership. It's a medical humanitarian mission that non-profits partner with the Navy to do from time to time. This will be at least the 2nd time my church has been involved.
Anyway, I looked into whether or not they need EMS personnell for the mission, and they do. Though they have quite a few who are interested. But when they found out that I speak Portuguese (which is the official language in East Timor where we would spend a month) they were very interested in having me participate. The trip would be completely free for me, with the church paying to fly me out, and the navy providing room and board on the ship.
This would be a great opportunity for my med-school application, a great experience for me personally, and good experience for my undergraduate work as well. Seems like a no-brainer right?
Well the main complication is that I have a wife and 2 young kids, and this trip will likely take me away for 3 months. I'll be in southeast asia while my wife stays home with the kids. It would be a long time away from the family. My wife is 100% supportive (it was she who saw the opportunity in the first place, and she who reccommended it to me).
What would you do in my situation.
SLC
I am a pre-medical student, and should be applying for medical school in a few months, but I've recently made the decision to put it off for one more year because I don't feel I've taken the proper care to organize my application materials well enough, nor do I think I can do so adequately between now and the application date.
Normally this would be a real problem as it basically puts my plans on hold for a full year longer, but because of this new opportunity I don't feel that bad about it.
My undergraduate degree (which I'll be finishing soon) is a health degree, which focuses on Emergency Medical Systems. You have to choose one of 4 tracks:
1. Education: you take courses certifying you to teach EMS classes, and you take some classes in the department of Education.
2. Management: You focus on EMS administration.
3. Wilderness response: You become EMT certified, and take courses in wilderness medicine and search and rescue techniques.
4. Community Response: You become a fully certified Paramedic (usually a 3 year process from start to finish).
I've chosen Community Response because I'm really interested in Trauma, this gives me access to trauma care during my undergraduate career.
Now I still have to take the full Paramedic course, I've been certified to an Intermediate EMT level. This means I have the ability to do things such as place ET tubes, run IV lines and administer a number of IV emergent medications. I also am trained to use a non-automatic defibrilator. Among other things.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. My church (not my congregation but the worldwide headquarters of the church) is partnering with the Navy this summer in a Pacific Partnership. It's a medical humanitarian mission that non-profits partner with the Navy to do from time to time. This will be at least the 2nd time my church has been involved.
Anyway, I looked into whether or not they need EMS personnell for the mission, and they do. Though they have quite a few who are interested. But when they found out that I speak Portuguese (which is the official language in East Timor where we would spend a month) they were very interested in having me participate. The trip would be completely free for me, with the church paying to fly me out, and the navy providing room and board on the ship.
This would be a great opportunity for my med-school application, a great experience for me personally, and good experience for my undergraduate work as well. Seems like a no-brainer right?
Well the main complication is that I have a wife and 2 young kids, and this trip will likely take me away for 3 months. I'll be in southeast asia while my wife stays home with the kids. It would be a long time away from the family. My wife is 100% supportive (it was she who saw the opportunity in the first place, and she who reccommended it to me).
What would you do in my situation.
SLC
. But in all seriousness, we have a lot of family nearby, her sisters and parents all live in the area, and my mother and siblings live nearby as well. She plans on spending a little bit of time with each of them if I do go. She is 100% supportive, like I said, she was the one who found the opportunity, and immediately told me I should do it, and not to worry about leaving her with the kids for that long. I think she wants me to be able to do these sorts of things, and she recognizes the impact this could have as well as the value it could be for my future plans in my professional career.
