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A little confused on which EMT class to take


Jake666

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On the accreditation thing, you'll have to clarify exactly what kind of accreditation you are talking about. There are several.

National Accreditation applies only to Intermediate and Paramedic schools, I believe. EMT-B is just a no-brainer advanced first aid course, not medical education, so there really isn't much to accredit.

State accreditation is pretty much guaranteed. I mean, nobody would put on a course that didn't qualify their graduates for registration in the end. They'd be left for dead in an alley after that first class if they did that.

Then there is regional accreditation for the college itself, if it is an actual college or university, that grants it degree granting authority. Again, this isn't a factor for EMT school, which certainly isn't going to earn you any college degrees.

Only when you get to paramedic school do you have to start looking into those sorts of things. But yes, at that point, all three become extremely important factors, so good for you for thinking ahead.

As already mentioned, the difference between the two schools is probably mostly just in they way they are taught. If you are an uber smart person who aced high school in his sleep, then getting it crammed down your throat, rapid fire, over just a few weeks may work well for you. It is especially well suited to those who are already guaranteed to go directly to work in real EMS, putting the education to use and solidifying it in the field. But if you do not have an immediate EMERGENCY EMS job (real job, not volunteer nonsense) lined up, you are much better off taking the longer course, which is taught at a pace that allows you much better retention of the knowledge in the long term.

Higher tuition does not necessarily equal higher quality in EMS education. And neither does shorter or longer class lengths guarantee quality either. As JPINFV said, the longer class is much more doable for somebody who has to work, go to school, or take care of a family while attending class. That is most likely your best bet.

Before you go spend $250 or $1000 dollars on any school of any kind, I suggest you do some very serious job market research and see if you can even get a job with EMT-B after graduation. Chances are, any job you can get will not be in Emergency Medical Services. And, if by some chance you can actually get a job at all with it, see how much money it pays (you're going to be seriously disappointed, I can assure you that), and decide whether minimum wage is worth a one-thousand dollar investment to you.

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While I can't offer any sort of analysis on the program quality or the reasons behind the cost, it is important to note that EMS education is based off of clock hours of class time and not length of the course.

The first program, roughly calculated, has about 192 course hours (given an hour for lunch each day), while the other course has 144 course hours. Honestly, I don't feel that 50 hours is really that much more time. It's only about 8-9 more days of classwork [2 weeks using their schedule]. Essentially both are the same length, just one is spread out over several more months and is more friendly to working adults and college students.

Thats exactly how my school is run. Pass or fail basically, but whats most important are the amound of hours you have of class / lab time.

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You might want to call JeffStat and find out what actually goes on during those extra 50 hours.

The Generic EMT class in PA (which by law is "administrated" by a college, but not acredited) just gives you an EMT and CPR card after passing the tests.

Some classes (like the one we run in Lancaster) also include EVOC, hazmat, BTLS, and (don't freak Dust) ALS assist.

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