Siffaliss

Most rural EMSE services here do their share of interfacility transfers, mainly due to the fact that the sending hospital doesn't have the appropriate equipment / specialized people for whatever Tx or exam the pt needs. For instance, not every hospital has a CT machine. There is a separate number for the hospital to call if they need a pt transferred, they do NOT call 911. Granted a lot of these transfers that are sent by ambulance are crap, paid for by WE THE TAXPAYERS, some are in genuine need of transport by ambulance. Some go BLS, others go ALS for obvious varying reasons. There is one company in particular I can think of here that does ONLY transfers, and when they're lucky the city may request them to go to a lodge or other such facility for a minor little e-call that unfortunately the city cannot do, due to red alert status. Now, some of these "EMT's" haven't even done an IV in years as their pt's are already set, so basically they are "ambulance drivers" with oxygen, a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer. Put one of those guys in a serious e-call and they'll crap the bed all over the place. They may have a registration number which allows them by law to call themselves an emergency medical technician (of varying levels). Only thing is, what's the emergency in driving someone to a doctor's appointment? Obviously, someone who has done let's say 500 e-calls and 30 transfers (just throwing numbers out there) can say they have experience in EMS. Someone who has done 400 transfers and 10 e-calls, I would say cannot.

Alberta College of Paramedics http://www.collegeofparamedics.org Info on GAP training, scope of practice, etc etc for our 3 disciplines: http://www.collegeofparamedics.org/continuing_competency.php Out Of Province Information: http://www.collegeofparamedics.org/registr...ait_process.php

Try contacting the college, I'm sure if they have it figured out for the rest of this year and next, they'll tell you ... Otherwise the information would likely be posted prior to an exam, or mailed directly to those registered.

No prob, and good luck to you

Hi 911Laurie, The 2 main texts we used were ... Mosby's EMT Intermediate Textbook Edition 2 Emergency Care And Transportation Of The Sick And Injured (9th edition) Published by Jones & Bartlett I would recommend contacting PMA prior to purchasing any books to verify they were used in the most recent courses, so ya don't waste your $$ Also, ask if you can even take the review course there if you took your EMT at another school. I wouldn't see why not, but of course methods/information vary from school to school.

I started the EMT program at PMA in Calgary in June 2006. Would rather have taken it in St. Albert as I live in Edmonton, however they didn't have enough applicants at the time so Calgary it was. We finished up around mid-September, had hospital practicums in Stony Plain the first week of October. I personally waited until the first week of January for my ambulance practicum, which of course pissed me off. The whole reason for me relocating everything was for the purpose of being able to write ACP in February, not in June as I recently did. I did however have a good practicum spot and an excellent paramedic preceptor, and was successful at ACP. My preceptor happened to have taken his medics at PMA, and I felt quite comfortable that he knew precisely what he was doing and knew his stuff. What you will find should you choose to take your EMT at PMA (St. Albert OR Calgary) is that they deliver a great program. They don't just teach you about how to treat a condition or disease, they teach you the how's/why's/what's about it, including how to treat and results of various tx's. Keep up with your studies, contribute intelligently in class and you'll end up with a fairly thorough EMT knowledge base. I am quite happy with the quality of education I have received from PMA as an EMT-A, and know that it will carry me forward one day into being a successful paramedic. Whether or not I choose to do my medics at PMA, well, I've still got a couple years to think about that. The administrative side of things however leaves a veritable plethora of questions unanswered, frustrations and concerns unaddressed, and a bad taste in one's mouth. (This is not unlike what I've heard about other smaller private schools). I didn't enjoy feeling like I was being bitched at if I called and someone had to answer the phone. One would think they had won the freakin' lottery if she was actually not "in a meeting" or even returned your phone call(s). Yes if you find yourself on Kim's bad side for whatever reason, time stands still and life becomes miserable at school. She is no different than a lot of people I've met in the industry, and our industry is one in which people eat their young. Sometimes we have to just smile and "take it up the ass". We each would of course as we further ourselves in EMS, make a conscious decision on how we treat the newbs and those who are perhaps not as quick on their feet. Kim is by far not my most favorite person in the world. She is however very intelligent, a great paramedic, and has been doing at least a few things right to make it where she is today. She won't baby anyone, but she does have her favorites as I think we all do. I personally think they favor the paramedic students as they pay far more for their course than we do, which makes it the "bread and butter" of PMA. Thing is, a lot of us EMT's who took our EMT at PMA will one day want to go further and go through the paramedic program. I know I will, and even now have narrowed the choice down between 3 schools with PMA being one of them. Not an instant decision for me due to the administrative experience as an EMT student being as crappy as it was. Good program however, so who knows. I've got time to think as this step is 2 years+ away for me. Gotta get a good solid grip on BLS before you do ALS. *pant pant* After all that babbling, if I were to rate my experience at PMA I'd give them a 10/10 for quality of education received. Expect to get your money's worth education-wise. They'd get a 3/10 for the administrative side of things. Thing is, someone is always going to piss you off at some point in this industry. I felt if I couldn't handle it at this level, how would I handle it later on? You have to decide which is more important ... feeling warm and fuzzy all over while you spend $5000+ on a course which teaches you nothing more than the underside of a stethoscope ... or getting a good solid education and learning to stand on your own two feet in one of the most difficult industries to enter, STAY & be HAPPY in. As for the textbook question, if I were to wager a guess it would be that the person wanted to see if they could find the books cheaper elsewhere?