First Post - Just graduated and passed the NREMT!

[jmdjax]

No such thing as a 3 month RN Program from EMT-P to RN. I'm doing that and there are 8 Nursing Courses at Excelsior College; I'm on my seven. You can do one every month but can't complete in 3 months. After the Nursing Courses; you have to wait for the FCCA Practicals then CPE. After this then you'll receive an ASN; w/ this u can take ur NCLEX for ur RN; which can be a 3 month waiting process. Don't buy into quick schemes; you will lose ur money and time.

You should be vollying or working; gain exp as an EMT-B first. EMT to EMT-P is not a step; its not a flight; its many floors apart.

RN and EMT-P are not the same. Nursing is a field centuries ahead. Paramedics would be closing the gap if EMS ppl stuck together and strive 4 change.

Hey thanks Alex. That sounds a LOT more reasonable, and a lot more interesting. While I am seriously interested in EMS, the lack of advancement opportunities past paramedic *may* pose an issue long down the road. The option for nursing is definitely not a bad one, although at least (while I'm still kinda young) I can do the field stuff and be happy.

Why do you say EMT-B to EMT-P is not a step? I understand there is a vast difference in the two, but in another thread it was recommended to apply for paramedic school as soon as you can.

[medicgirl05]

I think he was saying that ultimately EMT-B to EMT-P is worlds apart. In my opinion it would be a good thing to get your feet wet as a basic before beginning paramedic class. There are things they just can't prepare you for in school or on a transfer truck. It will just be easier on you. One example: it is hard to tell family members that someone has died, however if you've had the opportunity to watch another medic do that then you will be better prepared to do it yourself.

I'm not saying it's not possible, just not easy. Though nothing about EMS is easy.

If you have a guarantee of a dual medic truck thats a completely different story.....

[Just Plain Ruff]

I don't understand why you wouldn't just go on to medic school right after you get your emt?

The reason why you have over 400 hours of clinical time on the ambulance (that was my number of hours needed in my class in 1990) is to get to train with a seasoned medic.

To say that you need the experience as a basic to tell someone their loved one has died or what not is poppycock thinking.

Let's look at it a different way. Do physicians start out as nurses because they need to get experience in taking care of patients? No they don't

Do nurses start out as medics so they can learn how to take care of patients and get experience? No

Why would you waste(my choice of words) your time working as an EMT when in the end you are going to go to medic school and learn it all over again?

I sometimes wonder why we even have EMT certifications but a friend of mine said the reason why we have EMT's is for those emt's to be firemen and also IFT transfer crews.

Why waste your time by so called learning to take care of people as an EMT when your time and effort are better spent going to medic school.

Now if you do not have the financial means to go to medic school right out of emt school then by all means get a job as an emt and save up the money. But if you can go directly to medic, I don't know why you would wait.

I love the EMT's I work with, they are truly the best. don't get me wrong. But most of them are unhappy because they didn't go to medic school and are stuck driving the ambulance and not getting to do patient care. Once those I've worked with have gotten their medic they are a happier bunch.

This is all my opinions and some may agree, others may not but take these words of advice however you want to take them.

But my opinion is if you are on the fence about going to medic school versus getting your "feet wet as an EMT" then I say get your medic. Or you can be a driver for a year and then get your medic.

[medicgirl05]

The basic class I attended only had 80 hours of clinicals with only 40 of them being on the ambulance. I did double those hours as I did not feel 40 was adequate.

I guess it depends on the person, but in my case I'm glad I learned to deal with certain scenarios before becoming a medic. However, I work in a rural environment without much option for a back-up unit. I guess my opinion would be different if I was A) closer to a hospital, or B)had the option of a back-up truck.

To say that you need the experience as a basic to tell someone their loved one has died or what not is poppycock thinking.

That is just one example, and I learn better after seeing something done in the field.

[paramedicmike]

Ruff has it right.

A solid paramedic program will offer sufficient clinical and ride along time to adequately prepare a paramedic candidate. To make it sound like you will gain the needed experience to be a paramedic only after having spent time as a basic is disingenuous and demonstrates a pretty thorough ignorance of the educational preparation of paramedics.

I disagree, too, with the idea that "nothing about EMS is easy." There are a lot of things in EMS that are easy. This isn't rocket science. This isn't to say it doesn't offer a challenge from time to time. But you're not engaged in neurosurgery, either.

Paramedic education, in an established and accredited program, will offer the foundation needed to produce an entry level paramedic. Just like nursing school will offer the academic foundation to produce an entry level RN. Just like medical school will provide the academic foundation to prepare entry level MDs (who are prepared for specialty training in a residency program).

There's a reason other educational programs don't require experience at a lower educational level first. It's a waste of time and does nothing to prepare students for the rigors of educational training at the level required for the profession. Just like everything else in EMS, why do we insist on thinking differently?

[medicgirl05]

Maybe for some people going straight through is a great option, however I dont think that is the best option for everyone.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I guarantee that seeing someone tell a family member that their loved one has died does not require being in the field prior to being a medic. I stand by my statement of that thinking being wrong.

Nothing prepares you to tell that type of news to a family member, no matter how many times you see it done.

It depends on how you do it. Can you parrot the person you saw do it previously, sure you can but you need to get your own flow and rhythm. To think that you will be comfortable doing it or you will be used to doing it after working in the field, that is wishful thinking.

So what happens if you are working as an EMT and you never get to see this telling someone their loved one has died thing happen.

I know plenty of EMT's out there who have never run a cardiac arrest because they are on a transfer car only. Are you saying that unless you get the examples you alluded to in your post, that you should hold off on being a medic until you get those examples?

A good paramedic program should prepare you for these examples. Your 400 hours of ride time in an ambulance with a seasoned paramedic should prepare you. Being an EMT prior to getting your medic is just wasting time if being a medic is truly what you WANT to be!!!

As for "nothing in EMS is easy" I disagree with that too. mike has it right, it's not rocket science. You see something happening to a patient and you give them medications or support to help them through it. That's easy. See v-fib shock and drugs, that's easy. CPR - easy, hives - they get benadryl.

What is not easy is to understand why something is happening to that patient and being able to correctly give the right treatment. EMT school does not adequately prepare you for understanding the reason why this is happening to the patient.

Disagree with me or agree with me, either or, it's your life and you can do whatever you want to do with it.

Maybe for some people going straight through is a great option, however I dont think that is the best option for everyone.

you didn't read all my post did you?

Here is what I said

Now if you do not have the financial means to go to medic school right out of emt school then by all means get a job as an emt and save up the money. But if you can go directly to medic, I don't know why you would wait.

[paramedicmike]

There are even ways around the financial issues surrounding going to paramedic school. There are plenty of financial aid, grant and scholarship programs out there to help reduce to out of pocket expenses associated with going to school. Many schools even have financial aid offices to help with the process.

While there may be a brief wait for the applications to go through, it shouldn't be so long as to drastically limit one's ability to enroll in the program.

[Just Plain Ruff]

There are even ways around the financial issues surrounding going to paramedic school. There are plenty of financial aid, grant and scholarship programs out there to help reduce to out of pocket expenses associated with going to school. Many schools even have financial aid offices to help with the process.

While there may be a brief wait for the applications to go through, it shouldn't be so long as to drastically limit one's ability to enroll in the program.

But I do see the posters point about not being able to sometimes.

Some new emt's do not yet have the confidence to go on to medic school. They think that being an EMT even if it is as a dispatcher, or a transfer jockey will give them the confidence to go to medic school. Sadly, I know of a lot of emt's who are still working transfer or dispatch because they have waited too long that they are set in their ways and will always be a dispatcher or emt transfer member.

[jmdjax]

There are things they just can't prepare you for in school or on a transfer truck. It will just be easier on you.

Where would I get experience as an EMT that was not on a transfer truck or hospital setting without being a fireman? In my area, fire and rescue are the same. I don't want to do fire school (yet, at least) in Florida because I don't want to limit myself here.. There is one "county" EMS that does do 911 calls, but they are way booked up

honest question though, I don't see what else you can "do" as an EMT, and less so, a paramedic, unless you are a fireman also. (Again maybe that is just my location)