mrmeaner Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I guess the amount of practice time as an EMT would depend on the type of service you can get in to as an EMT. A slow paced, low volume service might require more time, where as a fast paced busy 911 system will afford alot of experience in a short time. I have always recommended at least 1 year to "get your feet wet" while under the proctorship of an experienced partner, preferrably a medic to offer guidance and education. That is assuming you get a good partner. The four years between basic and medic I consider lost opportunities to better treat patients and make more informed decisions regarding patient care. You can always work while in class if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 If you can get in a service as an EMT that run's 911 calls and you can attend some calls then yeah you can wait and get some experience but if you consider the experience gained from working for a transfer service where you transfer bessie from the ER to the nursing home or lucy from home to dialysis and back then that's just a waste of time. The only time I'd advocate that you get experience as an EMT is if you are working for a high volume ems system that allows EMT's to attend patients in a bls role. Yes there are some services like that. But I know that I wasted 1 and a half year on getting that elusive experience and I had to break myself of some bad habits I got into during that time. You are not going to lose anything if you go right to paramedic school and you have much to gain. Don't daudle. You get 1 year of ems experience under your belt, so what, you have to relearn your assessment skills and the like during paramedic school so why spend extra time in your life learning one way to do things and then having to relearn it when you go to medic school. It's just a waste of time if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 These guys are right. There is absolutely no significant benefit to getting "experience" before going to paramedic school. It's a farce. It's old skool, 1970s, Neanderthal thinking. Any educator who tells you it's a good idea is way behind the times and probably not to be trusted. And there are plenty of drawbacks to delaying paramedic school, so don't do it. That said, you absolutely should not start paramedic classes before you have completed the necessary prerequisite support classes. Even if your school doesn't require them. Three years of working as an ambulance driver will add nothing to your success as a paramedic, but a year of Anatomy & Physiology, Psychology, Sociology, Algebra, Microbiology, English Composition and Communications are essential to your ability to maximise your paramedic school experience. If you want to work as an ambulance driver for a year while you get those classes done -- and can actually do both without flunking out -- then go for it, but those classes should be your number one priority above all else. And yes, this is absolutely THE most frequently asked question at EMT City, so it should have taken you less than three minutes to find it. Basic research (and reading rules) is a skill you will need to become a decent paramedic. This is a good place to start practising. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Why is EMS the only health care field that I can think of that requires their students to spend time as a glorified first aid'er before accepting them? Doctors have a bigger trick bag then paramedics, yet they accept students right out of college, and in some cases [bS/MD combined programs] right out of high school.Medical students are broken in getting about two year's worth of internship equivalency while in medical school (might depend on school?). Afterwards, a few more years of residency where they're still learning. It's hard to compare them because so much of their learning is both on-the-job and concurrent book study. (Might be a good model for paramedic school in the future....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedygodzilla Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 If you are sure about your choice to become a paramedic go to school right away. If you are like me and you want to get your feet wet before you jump in the pool get a job in EMS, see what it is like. I looked at it as I am young and I don't need to rush into paramedic until I am sure that is what I am interested in. After working in the hospital as an ER Tech it reinforce the idea of earning my paramedic license, and I have put an application into the local community college paramedic program. I think if I would of went right after EMT-B class I would of failed due to the expectation that the class would be simple like the EMT-B classes. Working brought me to the realization that paramedic is much much much more advance and that I need to be more academically prepared as I feel I am now. It is a personal decision on how long you wait, but bottom line is when you are sure that you want to be a paramedic that is the time to go. Second thing is when you have the $$$ Of course you do need the prerequisites. For my local college all that includes is Intro to Anatomy and Physiology and EMT-B. If you feel you need more than that is a personal choice. Personally I plan on getting many of the extra classes that Dustdevil mention after the paramedic program. I have most of them already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Speedy, your comment cannot go unrewarded. Here is what you said. I think if I would of went right after EMT-B class I would of failed due to the expectation that the class would be simple like the EMT-B classes. Working brought me to the realization that paramedic is much much much more advance and that I need to be more academically prepared as I feel I am now. This comment has just eliminated the need for any more discussion on the issue. the emt school curriculum(if you can call it school) has been so dumbed down that even a caveman or a monkey could do it. Your comment is very very telling and Rings so very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 If you are sure about your choice to become a paramedic go to school right away. If you are like me and you want to get your feet wet before you jump in the pool get a job in EMS, see what it is like. I looked at it as I am young and I don't need to rush into paramedic until I am sure that is what I am interested in. That's a good point that I frequently forget to mention. It is really about the only intelligent justification there is for delaying paramedic school. Some people really aren't cut out for EMS. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Just saying that there are a lot of people who come to EMS all wide-eyed and excitement, expecting it to be like it is on television. After a little exposure, they find out it's really a shitty job with low pay, low benefits, low opportunity, low career potential, high demands, high stress, and a lot less excitement than you are expecting. There is no denying that it is better to figure that out before investing two or three years in a very focused education. If you are not absolutely convinced that this is what you want for a long-term CAREER, then sure.... a little exposure (not to be confused with experience) to test that commitment can't hurt and may help. But again, this is not really going to contribute to making you any better of a paramedic in the long run. It may hurt. But at least you'll know this is what you want to do. I think if I would of went right after EMT-B class I would of failed due to the expectation that the class would be simple like the EMT-B classes. Working brought me to the realization that paramedic is much much much more advance and that I need to be more academically prepared as I feel I am now. Again, this is why they call them PRErequisites. Those classes are not merit badges to be pinned on after becoming a paramedic. They are an essential foundation for your paramedic education to build upon. Waiting until after becoming a paramedic to establish an educational foundation is about as smart as pouring concrete on top of your home. With those classes behind you, you will have no doubts about your academic preparedness. Timing is everything! Of course you do need the prerequisites. For my local college all that includes is Intro to Anatomy and Physiology and EMT-B. If you feel you need more than that is a personal choice. This is an illustration of why not to take educational advice from somebody who does not yet have an education. Dude, don't screw him up with bad advice just because your school sucks. The problem with this "personal choice" crap is that ninety-percent of all people who come to EMS think they are just so uber smart that they don't need all that book learnin to be teh awesom3. It isn't until after many years of whining that they are just as good as any medic with a degree that they finally come to the realisation that they really know a LOT less than those medics who got that foundation first. By then, it's too late for most of them. They never go back, and they finish their career as a substandard medic. Do it right. Go get ALL those classes out of the way, and give 110 percent to taking the greatest amount of knowledge possible from them. If you still want to be a medic after that, you will start school one-hundred percent confident in passing, because you've already proven yourself capable, and layed a sound foundation. If you don't still want to be a medic, well you have still finished all the prerequisite education for about a dozen other healthcare degrees including nursing, lab, x-ray, or respiratory therapy, all of which have much more career potential and pay a lot better. If you decide to take the shortcut to paramedic, you will have NOTHING to show for it when you decide to leave the field, and you'll be too old and too broke to go back to school. There is NO time like the present! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaramedic Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 After a little exposure, they find out it's really a shitty job with low pay, low benefits, low opportunity, low career potential, high demands, high stress, and a lot less excitement than you are expecting. Oh yeah, now you tell me!! Do you want to ruin my Nursing career too!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedygodzilla Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 This is an illustration of why not to take educational advice from somebody who does not yet have an education. Dude, don't screw him up with bad advice just because your school sucks. The problem with this "personal choice" crap is that ninety-percent of all people who come to EMS think they are just so uber smart that they don't need all that book learnin to be teh awesom3. It isn't until after many years of whining that they are just as good as any medic with a degree that they finally come to the realisation that they really know a LOT less than those medics who got that foundation first. By then, it's too late for most of them. They never go back, and they finish their career as a substandard medic. Do it right. Go get ALL those classes out of the way, and give 110 percent to taking the greatest amount of knowledge possible from them. If you still want to be a medic after that, you will start school one-hundred percent confident in passing, because you've already proven yourself capable, and layed a sound foundation. If you don't still want to be a medic, well you have still finished all the prerequisite education for about a dozen other healthcare degrees including nursing, lab, x-ray, or respiratory therapy, all of which have much more career potential and pay a lot better. If you decide to take the shortcut to paramedic, you will have NOTHING to show for it when you decide to leave the field, and you'll be too old and too broke to go back to school. There is NO time like the present! My school rocks thank you very much. They offer Paramedic degree and certificate. I would rather get the certificate first than go back in get my degree. This doesn't make me a "substandard medic." There is more to being a paramedic than education and you can't earn everything in school. You have to get a career and learn it on the streets. You can take all the classes that the college offers and still be a substandard medic or you take the bare minimum and be a above average medic. Education does help and determine the type of medic you will be but it is not the only thing, I believe experience beats all those extra classes. Dude if you just want the certificate for now that is reasonable, just don't let that be the end of your learning experience are you will be a "substandard medic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akroeze Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 My school rocks thank you very much. They offer Paramedic degree and certificate. I would rather get the certificate first than go back in get my degree. This doesn't make me a "substandard medic." There is more to being a paramedic than education and you can't earn everything in school. You have to get a career and learn it on the streets. You can take all the classes that the college offers and still be a substandard medic or you take the bare minimum and be a above average medic. Education does help and determine the type of medic you will be but it is not the only thing, I believe experience beats all those extra classes. Dude if you just want the certificate for now that is reasonable, just don't let that be the end of your learning experience are you will be a "substandard medic." Yes, there is more to being a paramedic than just education.... but you still need a cerain level of education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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