Ok, i get the whole "this post has been...." but i just want to thank Asysin2leads for responding with a complete, non self-fish remark. Until his reply, the only EMT/Para view i saw was that of how minors are irresponsible, etc. I admit i never stepped in your shoes....i can't imagine how damaging it is to a patient to see a 16 year old alond with a 21/22/23+ jump out of an ambulance, and think they both have the same training.
Believe me, i don't think its cool that some PT's think I may be a paramedic. I know I am no where near trained to be even an EMT, and don't ever want someone to think that I can provide that level of care. With the EMT-B/I/P's that I have worked with, they respect my view on that. However, there is one kid in my class who is cocky, who does think he knows everything, and it has intereferred with PT care. He even refused to give control to the EMT-B who responded, believeing that sicne he was first on the scene, he can be in control. Those types of students scare the $** out of me, simply because I know that it has, and will again, interfere with the care of a patient. I realize after what Asysin2leads said, that can be really degrade the PT's view and trust of the ACTUAL EMT-/I/B/P who is responding.
As for protecting us, that may more or less be subjective. I know there are some very mature people in my class that can handle it, and know how to talk about it in way that it doesn't become traumatizing. Then again, most people in my class would not be able to handle it in a mature matter. It should be up to the emt's on the rig to decide if they need to make the student stay behind at the station because the incident may be very traumatizing. That "solution" is not the best, as it is a very grey area, and depends on many different factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyways, to get back on the topic of how were only sharing ideas on what cadets are like in a different country... The one program I am in in the US, OEC, we meet 5x a week for 90 minutes. To get the most basic certification, we are rigorusly tested, to a point of where our insturctors believe we could provide the best care possible. For us, simply "good enough" is not enough. During our CPR testing, our isntructors changed the scenario on us 3-4-5 times to see if we really do know what to do.
Our group also does volunteer medical work. We worked the post-race areas at the Twin Cities marathon in MN. We worked our butts off, as there was a sheer number of patients (100+) who all had some form of heat exhaustion/stroke. We were with teams of three, most of us first responders, with 3 EMT-B's on stand-by in case there was something we couldn't handle. Being out in the field, we treated as neccesary and arranged transport to the medical tent located at the finish line.
I hear that there is an well known cadet program in Austraila called St. Johns Ambulance ( i think). That seems like an interesting cadet program....