CC64 Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 There are a few of us in my medic class that are actually being hurt by our EMT-B experience. When it comes to things like patient assessments, we do it how we've worked out works best for us, not the "by the book" way that the instructor wants. It is incredibly frustrating and difficult to reconcile the two different ways! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaO925 Posted December 16, 2007 Author Share Posted December 16, 2007 There are a few of us in my medic class that are actually being hurt by our EMT-B experience. When it comes to things like patient assessments, we do it how we've worked out works best for us, not the "by the book" way that the instructor wants. It is incredibly frustrating and difficult to reconcile the two different ways! OMG 1st, I LOVE your avatar... Second, here is what my school offers, as a JC LMC-Medic Program I just want to get this right. I want to make sure that once IM on the path, that I dont have any set backs, esp. ones that were easy to avoid. I guess the best thing to do is set down with the instructor that night and tell him what I want, and where I want to be. I talked to my CPR instructor today whos a medic for my area. He mentioned a 20K paramedic program in a town near by that he went through. But, hes not married, has no kids, and could afford to do nothing but eat, sleep, breathe school. But he almost made it sound like it was the ONLY way to go. Ive herd of people going to adult ed classes to for EMT-B and working. IM sure that anywhere from EMT-B I can get into Paramedics. I just want to make sure that once I have eveything complete, said and done, that I will be able to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Straight to Paramedic. I wasted way to much time at lower levels. Nothing I have done or learned in the field has benefitted my Paramedic class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 OMG 1st, I LOVE your avatar... Hehehe... that's what I said! Second, here is what my school offers, as a JC LMC-Medic Program I just want to get this right. I want to make sure that once IM on the path, that I dont have any set backs, esp. ones that were easy to avoid. Then I seriously advise that you forget about Los Medanos. There are plenty of accredited medic schools in Nor Cal, but that isn't one of them. Lame curriculum. Caters to the firemonkeys. Find a professional, degree granting programme, or you'll end up behind the 8-ball from the start. Start looking here ---> http://www.caahep.org/Find_An_Accredited_Program.aspx Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vs-eh? Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 I agree 100% with p3medic. I don't think the analogy that ERDoc made is valid. I have said this multiple times in multiple threads. Yes, I am in a different country/province, with different didactic, clinical, and preceptorship requirements (more, basically on all counts), but that doesn't mean that core aspects of the job are different. Without repeating myself for probably the tenth time, there is more to EMS than just assessment and intervention. Other core aspect that encompass all levels of prehospital care need to be honed IMHO prior to being the hero. mobey - Are you ALS? You certainly don't appear to have a high opinion of Alberta's BLS system it seems. This seems odd considering I believe there was a recent post praising PCP/EMT in Alberta and saying how much they exceed the CMA PCP and should be recognized as such. What you are saying is total BS. Any PCP worth anything will not see the move between PCP/ACP as "completely different entities". It is not a "crock" to learn a good BLS assessment prior to ALS. Maybe it's just me and the system that I am a product of. My formal paramedic education (2 years PCP + 1 year ACP) exceeds 99.99% of this board, and I still think it's bullshit when this point comes up. Sure, go straight to ALS with your 24 hours road time as an EMT-B and your 300 hours road time as an EMT-P. I'm sure your interaction with patients, reports to hospital, patches, dealing with family, dealing with allied services, making non-medical decisions (or even medical),etc will be top notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPINFV Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Sure, go straight to ALS with your 24 hours road time as an EMT-B and your 300 hours road time as an EMT-P. I'm sure your interaction with patients, reports to hospital, patches, dealing with family, dealing with allied services, making non-medical decisions (or even medical),etc will be top notch. Yet all of those will have to be honed while working on real patients as a basic. The only difference is that basics have an even more substandard educational/clinical experience before being certified/licensed (yes, I am licensed as a basic. Well, techincally, I'm licensed as an "ambulance attendant," but the prereq for that is my EMT-B cert) to work off of. Saying that EMT-B experience is needed is flawed on the simple basis that EMT-Bs aren't expected/required to have an educational base that could be built upon by experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Any PCP worth anything will not see the move between PCP/ACP as "completely different entities". It is not a "crock" to learn a good BLS assessment prior to ALS. Yes, it is. Patient care should be learned as one big picture, not two separate pictures that you are to put together later. It is a crock if your school didn't teach you good BLS assessment to begin with. Sure, go straight to ALS with your 24 hours road time as an EMT-B and your 300 hours road time as an EMT-P. I'm sure your interaction with patients, reports to hospital, patches, dealing with family, dealing with allied services, making non-medical decisions (or even medical),etc will be top notch. Okay... do it your way and go to PCP school, work for two years, then go to ACP school, work for another two years, and be a great medic. Total time invested: 7 years. Or, do it my way. Go to PCP school, then go straight to ACP school, work for two years, and be a great medic. Total time invested: 5 years. Resulting quality: the same. Two years faster. Do the math, dude. Although, yes, I realise that there are so few schools and so many applicants in Ontario that it is almost impossible to go straight from PCP to ACP without first working. But what we are talking about here is CAlifornia EMS, not CAnadia EMS. And that is why your argument is so completely invalid. The basic level in Ontario actually teaches quality BLS assessment and care. There is not an EMT school in the United States that does that. Consequently, what you recommend simply cannot be done. In order to get any useful education upon which to build with experience, one must first go to paramedic school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaO925 Posted December 16, 2007 Author Share Posted December 16, 2007 Thank you everyone.. I really dont want to rehash anything, or start anything. I am sure this will all fall how its supposed too. I need to first get my EMT-B. I have to do that to even go to Paramedics regardless. So, I will just keep asking around, and talking as I complete my EMT-B. I found a good school through the link Dust provided... I will keep everyone informed. Again, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobey Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 mobey - Are you ALS? You certainly don't appear to have a high opinion of Alberta's BLS system it seems. This seems odd considering I believe there was a recent post praising PCP/EMT in Alberta and saying how much they exceed the CMA PCP and should be recognized as such. What you are saying is total BS. Any PCP worth anything will not see the move between PCP/ACP as "completely different entities". It is not a "crock" to learn a good BLS assessment prior to ALS. Maybe it's just me and the system that I am a product of. My formal paramedic education (2 years PCP + 1 year ACP) exceeds 99.99% of this board, and I still think it's bullshit when this point comes up. Sure, go straight to ALS with your 24 hours road time as an EMT-B and your 300 hours road time as an EMT-P. I'm sure your interaction with patients, reports to hospital, patches, dealing with family, dealing with allied services, making non-medical decisions (or even medical),etc will be top notch. Ok gonna need some american help here!! Perhaps you don't know that an american EMT-B would not even pass first aid in Ontario. (I presume 2 yr PCP means you are from ontario) When I talk about BLS in this thread I am talking about American EMT-B. I put them on the same level as the old canadian EMT course I was talking about when I was bashing Alberta for calling us all EMT's. And for the record I was not praising AB EMT'S in that thread I was commenting on how undereducated the ones were I have had contact with since I have been in AB. I don't care where you work...You will pick up bad habits and take them to class, therefor you will be distracted by trying to break your routine, instead of learning from scratch. And I cannot explain myself further on my previous post about approaching patients differently, but if you took your PCP in ontario I would not expect you to understand. I completly agree a PCP to ACP is not completly different entities. Too bad the poster isn't a PCP, could have saved all the fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts