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Question on EMT-B/Paramedic Training


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Lone Rider, are you aware that there really are no real EMS jobs for you in the Orlando area unless you become a fireman? Floridia is much like California, in that about 95 percent of the state has their EMS run by firemen. There are maybe half a dozen counties in Floridia that employ paramedics to be only paramedics, and they aren't anywhere near Orlando.

I'm curious why exactly you want to be a paramedic. A great many people enter EMS with completely mistaken notions of what it is like and what it is all about, as well as delusions about the job prospects and potential to make a living at it. I'd just like to make sure you know exactly what you're getting into, and not thinking this is anything like you see on TV. It is not.

If you decide to go this route, you can probably finish it all off in two years, depending upon the program. Most programs don't start the actual paramedic classes until the second or third semester, so you can get your EMT-B class done during that first semester, while beginning your prerequisite classes (already noted by VentMedic). Ideally you should have ALL of those classes (which is three semesters worth) before beginning paramedic classes, so you can have a complete foundation established, and focus solely on the paramedic classes. In the schools that have all their paramedic classes in the second year, you can do this all in two years. In schools that have paramedic classes in the first year, you cannot.

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Lone Rider, are you aware that there really are no real EMS jobs for you in the Orlando area unless you become a fireman? Floridia is much like California, in that about 95 percent of the state has their EMS run by firemen. There are maybe half a dozen counties in Floridia that employ paramedics to be only paramedics, and they aren't anywhere near Orlando

DustDevil. Reconnaissance of Orlando and Florida EMS has revealed that data and I am well aware of it. I'm really not bothered by the prospect of having to be a fireman to have a decent EMS job and am well aware fire departments have decent benefits and retirements and pay.

I'm curious why exactly you want to be a paramedic. A great many people enter EMS with completely mistaken notions of what it is like and what it is all about, as well as delusions about the job prospects and potential to make a living at it. I'd just like to make sure you know exactly what you're getting into, and not thinking this is anything like you see on TV. It is not.

I became interested in EMS after attending Surface Rescue Swimmer School in the Navy last year. The idea of saving people's lives as a firefighter/paramedic appeals to me. Of all the Navy and recently Army schools (I'm a Navy IA) I attended SAR and CLS training were the most rewarding.

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Are you still in the Navy? Seems weird they would put you through the training a year before you were finished.

I'm betting they do not yet know he's almost finished. ;)

Okay, cool LR. Since you didn't mention anything about firefighting (which I appreciate, lol), I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting in to. It just upsets the heck out of me every time I see another wide-eyed n00b get suckered into $10k worth of education just to find out that there are no jobs because s/he didn't bother to do ten cents worth of research.

Sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders and a good plan ahead of you. Coming here to ask for advice is a good move, and we're very happy to help you out in any way we can. The advice you have thus far received is golden. Be sure to choose a school that is on the CAAHEP and CoAEMSP accreditation list. Your prior education has obviously helped you to become an effective communicator, and communications is absolutely the most important skill a paramedic can have. That gives you a huge advantage over most who enter our field. Now you just need to build a scientific foundation from which to build your medical education. That means all of those courses that VentMedic mentioned, and even if the school you choose does not require those particular courses. Unfortunately, many schools dumb-down the curriculum because of the low quality of candidates we usually attract. Rise above that and strive to be the best you can be.

It is refreshing to see someone whose primary passion is medicine, and not firefighting, or simply landing a civil service job. I wish we saw many more like you. I wish you the very best of luck, and am happy to support you in any way I can. Well, almost any way. Just don't ask for money. ;)

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Your prior education has obviously helped you to become an effective communicator, and communications is absolutely the most important skill a paramedic can have.

I will gracelessly accept your absentminded compliment to my original post Dusty, and will pronounce myself vindicated. :P

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I will gracelessly accept your absentminded compliment to my original post Dusty...

As well you should. There are few faces I am happier to see occasionally revisit us here than yours. You always raise the level of intelligence in the discourse here, as well as usually cracking me up. This thread is yet another example of that. While I may disagree with the minor point of basic experience being a necessary or advisable component of paramedic development, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of what core human skills are most important to one's professional development as a medical practitioner. And I only wish that more in EMS recognised this as keenly as you do. It's just that most non-EMS transport employers that an EMT-B can work for in this country simply do not provide the quality of experience to foster those characteristics. And definitely not in the Orlando area.

None of this is to diminish the quality of your observation, and I hope that we can count on you to provide such quality input more regularly.

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Thanks Dustdevil and all others who have replied to this post. I'm actually going to serve three more years active duty (this time in the Army with the Corps of Engineers) before I transfer to Florida's Army National Guard as either an Engineer Officer or put myself through Selection.

The reason I chose to do three years active in the Army instead of the Navy was this last tour ISO an Army battalion. I had a tremendous respect for the professionalism and camaraderie that the all ranks in my unit showed and I was able to understand their methodology, culture, and language within two weeks and functioned well as a member of that team.

I figure I'll do three more years active duty in addition to the five in the Navy I already have to remove IRR time and then transfer to the Guard.

How understanding are EMT/EMS programs or fire departments towards military reservists?

I became interested in EMS after attending Surface Rescue Swimmer School in the Navy last year. The idea of saving people's lives as a firefighter/paramedic appeals to me. Of all the Navy and recently Army schools (I'm a Navy IA) I attended SAR and CLS training were the most rewarding.

I attended the US Navy Surface Rescue Swimmer School in 2008 and Army CLS as part of pre-deployment as an attached member to an Army Battalion.

On the firefighting end I served as a repair locker officer for two years on a Navy surface ship so I've got a little practical knowledge on firefighting (admittedly from drills) and I accept that firefighting like military service is a constant learning process. According to a wise old Master Chief: "The day you quit learning is the day you die."

Your prior education has obviously helped you to become an effective communicator, and communications is absolutely the most important skill a paramedic can have.

That's why I chose my degree to be in English. The professors in the Humanities department where I studied were some of the best people I learned from (minus my NCOs and my family) in years.

Now you just need to build a scientific foundation from which to build your medical education. That means all of those courses that VentMedic mentioned, and even if the school you choose does not require those particular courses. Unfortunately, many schools dumb-down the curriculum because of the low quality of candidates we usually attract. Rise above that and strive to be the best you can be.

Do community college training programs do as you stated? And will prior training in military trauma management (I paid a lot of attention and keep my CLS certificate current with the help of our Battalion surgeon and Medical NCOIC) help?

Be sure to choose a school that is on the CAAHEP and CoAEMSP accreditation list

Forgive the dumb questions but what is CAAHEP and CoAEMSP?

Edited by LoneRider
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Forgive the dumb questions but what is CAAHEP and CoAEMSP?

Did you follow the links I posted earlier or the comment I made?

CoAEMSP is under the auspices of the CAAHEP and is concerned with the EMS specialty.

Okay, cool LR. Since you didn't mention anything about firefighting (which I appreciate, lol), I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting in to. It just upsets the heck out of me every time I see another wide-eyed n00b get suckered into $10k worth of education just to find out that there are no jobs because s/he didn't bother to do ten cents worth of research.

I think the FF certs were covered in the previous thread as were the medic mills.

http://www.emtcity.com/index.php?showtopic=14350&hl=

Edited by VentMedic
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Yes. I just followed them recently, thanks. Thanks to jetlag and a little sleep deprivation together with the great logistical moving machine that is military personnel transportation I'd almost totally forgotten the links before I clicked on them this morning.

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I hope that we can count on you to provide such quality input more regularly.

What do you mean? I've been a member hear for only five years... and I'm already up to almost 200 posts! ;)

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