kthanid

I'm not familiar with the head of this school or the school itself, but I think that there are some significant questions you need to consider before you choose this path....

Why would you choose to take an online course as opposed to getting a brick and mortar education? Is it that it's cheap? In my experience you often get what you pay for. More convenient? If you were to discover that it is a half asses school (which I'm certainly not claiming that it is) would you still choose to take it instead of making the necessary sacrifices to go to a community college? If the answer is yes then you've just become part of the EMS problem instead of part of the solution.

I went through the site pretty well, at least the paramedic portion, though I could have missed much, and though I can find pages of information concerning payments and refund explanations, which I think is honest and relevant, I couldn't find any information really concerning the education. They claim to have a higher than average first time pass rate for NREMTP, but you really should be able to teach a dancing monkey to pass the NR without a whole lot of trouble if that is your focus. What I didn't see were any prerequisites. I truly believe that college level anatomy and physiology are vital to becoming a skilled provider, and it doesn't appear that those are necessary here, nor could I find where it showed to be a significant part of the online education. Again, I didn't read every page and if I've missed it I have every confidence that spenac will point it out for me.

It's not clear what the clinicals consist of either. Who supervises them? Who will you spend your ride time and hospital time with? Will there be any hospital time? As I don't believe it is required by the DOT curriculum, though again I'm not sure. If the rest of your education is going to be spent alone, you really, really need to be sure that your clinical time will be high quality and focused.

There are significant questions here I think. You might even want to call around to your local agencies and see if they are willing to hire paramedics that have graduated from an online course. I would be terribly hesitant to do so.

EMS is a contact sport. It requires people that are able to touch patients, use their hands, confront others when necessary, lead groups, manage human and mechanical resources. Those things can not be learned in any significant way behind a computer. I believe that many mature adults will come to EMS education with a significant part of these particular skill sets, but those that are a bit younger...well, I just don't see them developing those skills in a vacuum. A huge part of AAS degree EMS education involves learning while doing. Thinking about doing is not even in the same universe as the actual doing.

Tcripp and spenac both claim to have a personal relationship with the woman that runs the school and say that she is honorable. Spenac and I aren't exactly buddies, but I've nothing but respect for tcripps opinions to date and have no reason to dubt her, the problem is that there are honorable people turning out whackers every day.

Unless you simply have a hardon for a patch that allows you to run lights and sirens in an ambulance I believe that a very close look is warranted here.

Dwayne

I have a hardon for more pay on oilrigs, and an online course with you yanks is the perfect solution

As to A&P the site says their A&P course needs to be passed before you can start the EMS itself.

An email reveals all the rest. I don;t have full details, another chap looking into it told me second hand but its 400hrs or so itemised into transport/hospital Obgyn, ER etc. with minimum successful intubations, IV's etc. Hands on training at two community colleges.

Regards online training my take is this.

If a lot of people end up dying or a lot of online paramedics starve to death without finding work , then natural selection will wipe these courses out.

As it stands this has not happened, they have increased ,so these courses are working at least 'okay'.

Either that or they must be controlling the media and hiding bodies their students create or something

You want to take the full extreme, try a commonwealth country(UK, Aus, NZ, canucks) where things are going to 3-4 year fully degreed Paramedics with higher protocols, no med control needed, tons of drugs available, same pay as RN's. And needing logbooks, references, interview boards just to get licenced etc

And having visited most these countries as safety officer I don't see what the big fuss is.

As I said no one is killing a great deal more people than any other, and people are getting jobs with whatever their required national training was.

Is this online Vs community classroom Vs bach degree student argument really that big a deal?

There is never a sure way to make a computer test work for everyone. Adaptive testing is more to see what you actually know then what you think you know. Many times people know the material they just don't know or understand the testing system. The NREMT test system is a good system to make sure you can think on your feet. You are only as good as the person who thought you the course material in the first place. The EMT class I took had a very high pass rate and the instructor was top notch. In fact he would not even let us test if he felt we were not ready both for the written and the practical. EMS is not for everyone but I'm a firm believer that being an EMT Basic is something most people can do.

Any org that can afford human examiners and graders uses them.

The computer marked multiple choice test is still what it always was, the cheapest option to get some sort of result, and only used for low level testing, or where the course had low fees.

The 'adaptive computer marked multiple choice test' is 1 step better but just means your org bought from the second lowest software bidder.

Let me put it this way.

when they start assessing students college exams for degrees/bachelors/PHD's worth $20,000-100,000 by giving them computer adaptive tests you will know they are a great idea.

Until then they are only sold to people who are worth an expendable $70 entrance fee and $15-20 an hour maximum wage.

Period.

Now getting off pure objective academic factand back onto my subjective opinion of a computer adaptive test is

They stink, they are disempowering, and they collect money for the cheap org in control by retesting people.

Guys the reason people fail CBT adaptive tests is because they stink.

When you having something a warcraft addict who lives in his room all day could pass with two months study and never leave the room, yet however a combat medic with say 2000 hours on the job/same time studying might fail more often, you have something that stinks.

Adaptive tests are an old 1950's fashion that thankfully went out of fashion mostly as you needed another person real time choosing the questions. Thanks to computers and internet its come back into fashion for underfunded orgs who want something " cool and technical and ADAPTIVE" to try and make up for poor practical standards.

Adaptive tests stink for all the same reasons they originally went out of fashion for.

If they were any good the whole academic world would be using them.

But the real world knows they can't afford to have college students who have spent 4 years and a lot of money studying their butt off, and knowing 100% of the subject matter, completely fail some lunatic adaptive test on the last day.

I haven't taken the test but probably will soon.

However my objective opinion of CBT adaptive tests in general, of which I have done several in other areas is-

They stink.

The cognitive/assimilation/evaluation based pyramid garbage is a 1950's fashion that went in and out of fashion, mainly 'out' since to do it properly you need a guy on the other side of the window asking the questions real time.Now we have computers that can do that , coupled with online ability, its back in fashion for now.

At the end of the day it offers nothing that pen and paper set question question doesn't already.

Except its real cheap and its overly 'complicated and technical and pro-active' so it looks good to underfunded orgs who don't have the money to organise something like decent practical standards and testing.

And personally I hate them, though I can do them okay. Because they really do disempower and frustrate, even when you are passing. We all run around telling everyone "how great it is, and how special I was to pass and how easy it is bla bla bla"... but they really are still a crap experience to undergo.

I agree with fiznat if you are in school for less time you are not getting the education you deserve and pay for. The shorter the time you spend in school the less time you have to gain the knowledge you need to make it on the streets.

To make it on the 'streets' gee they sound tough. I am just a security operator in Afghanistan, i'll make sure I get all the training I deserve and pay for lol . Actually most of it was free, in the military

Seriously as to the EMT-B, the cert is all I need, to match on paper what I already do, since I am not from the US.

Now ,anyone actually used these guys or know if they are still in business? (Don't be afraid to speak up- short course bashers please restrain yourself just for a short window)

K

www.emtinc.net aka Pelham training. Has anyone used these guys recently or know about them? Am thinking of doing their EMT-B + some tactical emt training extras and was just making sure they are not some really nice website with no actual people behind it, or gone out of business or anything.

Thanks for any replies.

I am working in Afghanistan.As to what I do and why I want the EMT-B I am happy to tell you but it won't make any difference to my two main questions.

1. Do the WEMT groups such as Solo, NOLS, WMA etc who claim to offer an NREMT approved course, actually do so?

2. Has anyone heard of RMI?

I'll break it down. I want an NREMT-B cert and I want somewhere to live(as in on campus, or live-in facility with lodgings) while I do it.

Therefore my best option is.....?

PS thanks Kate and 4c6 for your info.

K

Hi forum, I work in hostile environments so to speak. Looking to get US medical quals. Probably ask a lot of questions about fastracking and accelerated programs. Don't hate me for it

Hi Forum,

I am a non US citizen operating in hostile environments and thinking of getting some US medical quals on leave. First is NREMT-B.

To take the hassle/cost out of hotels/daily travel etc was thinking one of those live-in 1 month WEMT courses would be the way to go.

As to certificates/reg, the NREMT-B(or however its said, you know what I mean I hope) is all I am really after. The wilderness/remote aspect is just icing on the cake(or maybe useless fluff?) and somewhere to live.

Main question is do the groups like NOLs, solo, WMA etc indeed lead to the whole NREMT thing?

Also has anyone heard of www.remotemedical.com and their WEMT course in WA? as their website indicates they seem to have nice lodgings...

Thanks for any opinions on my masterplan

K