soccer35

Ive got nothing against making requirements for fire departments (that do not provide ambulance service) to have EMTs or MRTs... but the responsability of paramedics is far to great to "force" them to weild if they really want a job. Frankly Id like any firefighter whos assisting me to have at least some knowledge of what they are doing... but if Im the one bringing the ambulance, theres really no reason they should be outranking me.

I don't either

If that's what they want then go for it

My issue is with the guys/gals that have no interest in medicine other than passing the EMT-P exam to get the ticket and then never think about it again

I can see it now... we will sometime in the next 20 or 30 years be on an engine or pickup-utility like squad and funeral homes will be back in the ambulance business. Dont have to worry about to few ambulances... since death is garunteed there is plenty of herses out there, and as far as staffing... well there are lots of people who want to be firefighters, we can just make them "want" to be paramedics also.

Sounds like about 3/4 of my medic clas

The common phrase is " i just wanna fight fires, this medic crap is so i can get hired"

That's just the mindset I want in my prehospital providers !

As a former EasCare employee, I would avoid them

There is a good reason they are called "SleazeCare"

Their interview process, if you can call it that, is to see if you are alive and breathing. No drug tests, no lift tests etc

Professional EMS is EMS that is not part of the fire department

Part time is not professional

Imagine if the ER nurses and Docs worked one week/month/shift in the ED, then the next as janitors or in the cafe

First, the bad news. There is not a single nationally accredited <http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/results.php?searchTerm=paramedic&submit=submit>Paramedic</a> school in the state of Massahoweveryouspellit. Not to say that there are no quality programmes there. Just saying that, if you ever leave Mass, you may be leaving without your licence. If there is the slightest chance you will ever move away, then that is something you would do well to consider carefully.

Aside from that note, longer is better. Do the math. A programme that results in 900 hours of instruction is always going to be seriously inferior to one that runs 2300 hours. There is no such thing as "good enough" in medicine. And if you start with a low-hour, fly-by-night course for your foundation, your professional development is sabotaged from the starting gate. Choose wisely, not expediently.

Of course, that does not mean that the two year programme is necessarily better than the 9 month programme if they both result in the same number of hours, so don't be fooled by calendar length. Hours are hours. And if you are Mr. Ubersmart Superbrain, and can digest and understand two years of information in a year, more power to you. But honestly, most people in EMS cannot, so you had better HONESTLY evaluate your own learning style and potential before choosing a short calendar course. I have had many a good laugh over guys who pay thousands of dollars for an "accelerated" medic course only to fail, and then have to go back and pay for another, longer course later on just to pass.

Also, any school that lets you in without first taking science foundation courses in college first -- like Anatomy & Physiology -- sucks. They are attempting to build your career without a foundation, resulting in significantly decreased understanding, comprehension, retention, and competence for you. <http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/results.php?searchTerm=paramedic&submit=submit>Paramedic</a> education is about much more than a patch. You don't have to stick around EMT City very long to realise that not everybody who earns that patch knows WTF they are doing. Do it right from the beginning. Build a foundation before building your career.

Dust

You may call me one of you disciples, I already looked for an nationally accredited program here in the Bay State after seeing one of your posts, and came up with the same dry well.

I would have already gone the medic route, were it not for the wedding, so I already know I learned next to nothing in EMT class, and most of what I know now has been from books I've bought and read on my own.

The NU program looks good, but its full time, and costs a fortune. And I cant afford to pay for that and work and earn enough to support myself, let alone a wife, our cars, the house etc.

The part time route is my plan. The problem is there are so many courses here, that they all sound the same. And you cant distinguish quality from a website.

I dont want a patch. I want a career based on a super solid foundation

I could order a freakin patch of e-bay, and be a useless whacker like anyone else

I want more

Yep. Supply and demand. When you have a dozen schools cranking out hundreds of new, wide-eyed EMTs who are more than happy to work for free just for the chance to play with the siren and get on an FD waiting list, there is no way wages will ever go up.

Truer words have never been written

Of my EMT class of 30, there were THREE of us that wanted to work in medicine in some degree, the rest were all FD wannabes.

Which is fine, but the class is geared more towards those that want to punch something off on the FD hiring list, and not for those that really want to learn something

That being said as a Basic I make $12.33 an hour. Thank god I found another full time gig that pays a ton more and lets me use the barebones medical knowledge I have. Otherwise I'd have to give up.

It's a shame really that it makes it hard for people who really want a career in this field, the current system of needing your Basic first is indeed a hinderance

Hey all

Had my EMT-B since October and have planned all along to make the leap to medic. Would have done it sooner but I'm getting married in June and the thought of being in medic school and trying to deal with the bride was a bit too much.

So I am looking for a program here in Mass starting in the fall.

I know what programs there are out there, I want to know your thoughts on what the good ones and the bad ones are, and why.

I plan on visiting the ones I've heard good things about to do some hands on research, and even take a con-ed class with each to see just how they really are as teachers.

But any other input would be much appreaciated.

Sure there are downright nasty nurses. But really think about all the knuckleheads that you've worked with over the years and imagine that the nurse sees you as one in the same until you prove yourself otherwise.

My favorite nurse story has to be the triage nurse who because my patients name is Jose, talked LOUD and asked him over and over "SIR DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH", even after he had answered her several times. He wound up looking at me and saying "Can you take me somewhere else......I don't trust this b**ch"

I took my test ( NREMT-B ) yesterday and it also stopped me at 70 and I passed

The proctor at the test site said most people told him they seemed to hit around 70 and stop as well

Feels good to have it done.

Living in Mass I didn't need it, but as it was out there I figured I should go for it