First Day Of Class

[tskstorm]

Thanks for the replys everyone, I looked into taking a course in anatomy and physiology at the local community college in addition to what I will be learning in class. Their website says its 2 days a week for four months and the times are perfect since I work in the evening. I am going to visit with a school rep monday and see about registering.

One question I have is about the practical time we need to have, 5 hours in a hospital and 5 in an ambulance. Do they usually set people up with an ambulance company or do I need to seek one out on my own? I will definitely ask my instructor saturday but I wanted to see what most schools do in this situation.

Most of NYC paramedic programs have a minimum of 6 months, or 200 hours (with a patient, not 200 hours of time at work, not 100 driving 100 with the patient 200 documented with patients.)

Do not let that discourage you, most paramedic programs start in September, so if you started class now, you should have a good 7-8 months after your class before paramedic class begins. If you take a course that begins sooner thats good too.

A few things I thought I would clear up. NY recognizes, First responder, EMT-B, AEMT-I, AEMT-CC, and AEMT-P. The curriculum's for these certifications can be found here; http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/educ.htm

If paramedic school is what you wish to pursue, here is a list of all the paramedic courses for the state of NY, including who to contact and phone numbers. http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/p...dicsponsors.pdf

If you need anymore information about anything feel free to send me a PM, and/or ill check the thread.

[Dustdevil]

There is a mixed message going out here that I want to clarify for you.

Yes, you should wait a year before going to paramedic school. But no, you should not wait just for the sake of getting EMT-B experience. That's pointless and quite possibly harmful.

Take the next year getting your college prerequisites out of the way first. Now, I call them "prerequisites" even though I know that most paramedic schools in NYS aren't through a college, and don't require any prerequisites other than EMT-B cert and experience. But they are truly prerequisites in the sense that, without them, you have no hope of maximising your paramedic school educational experience. Sure, you can finish the school in ten months and get a patch just like everybody else. But once you are in the field, we don't measure you by the colour of your patch. We measure you by, among other things, your knowledge. They simply don't teach you everything you need to know in most of the non-degree paramedic schools that don't require the prerequisites. Since you specifically talk about wanting to make this a career (as opposed to a hobby, like the idiots taking up space in your class), then I am hoping that you want to take this as seriously as it deserves to be taken.

If you truly want to be the best you can be, and you want to come out of school with the best possible preparation for practice in the field, then don't even think of starting paramedic school until you have successfully completed at least both semesters of college Anatomy & Physiology, collge algebra, and intro psychology. Preferably, you should also have microbiology, developmental psychology, and sociology behind you too, but those can be completed simultaneously with paramedic classes without detracting too much from the process. They should certainly all be done before you finish paramedic school.

The only people who will tell you differently are those people who do not have that serious education and don't want anybody else too. They simply do not know what they do not know. And it shows.

What kind of "trade school" did you complete? Is it something that will allow you do make a decent living during the next two years of school as you study to be a paramedic? I hope so!

And what paramedic school are you considering attending that does not require EMT-B experience as a prerequisite? That's actually a good sign. But beware. NYC is full of unaccredited patch factories posing as paramedic schools. Choose your school carefully and wisely. And don't fall for the temptation to take one of those intermediate "AEMTCC" or other silly half-arse courses. Those are nothing more than baby steps for volunteers who don't have the time, money, or professional devotion to go all the way. Go straight to paramedic without any detours!

Best of luck! :thumbright:

[hmmike]

Thank you for the replys, let me address a few things. I plan on taking the paramedic course at Stony Brook hospital which is a big learning hospital (I honestly don't know a better term to use than that sorry!) lots of students there and its gigantic. I'm not sure what the pre-requisites are but I am very interested in attending some classes that will be beneficial to my career I want to learn as much as I can, I've always had this fear about not knowing my stuff so that drives me to learn.

As for the trade school I was a draftsman, it wasn't for me and I knew it from the first day of work but I stuck with it for a year and I'm here now. I have a good paying full time job and because of a family situation I am still at home and have very supportive parents so I have no problems with going back to school.

On a quick side note, I mentioned reading a few paragraphs in my book about the history of EMT, I'm on the search now for some good historical EMT books but I'm coming up somewhat dry. Can anyone recommend a few titles?

[mediccjh]

Stony Brook is a great place to go. Paul Werfel still teaching there?

Follow Dust's advice. Get a degree. Take the classes.

And stay out of the NYC politics.

[scott33]

Stony Brook is a great place to go. Paul Werfel still teaching there?

I believe he is still there.

StonyBrook, as a whole, does have a good reputation, but it has always baffled me why they don't offer their Paramedic course as at least an associates degree :? Perhaps it is a NY thing :roll:

[Dustdevil]

I hear good things about Stony Brook. Of course, I take all second-hand reports with a grain of salt. While I would definitely not call Stony Brook a "patch factory," there are a couple of negatives to consider. First, you will not get a degree from that programme. You'll have to transfer over to CUNY or something after completion to finish up your degree, and that takes a lot of commitment. Most guys never do it. Make sure that CUNY (or whatever else is around you) will accept Stony Brooks programme for college credit. And second, Stony Brook is not nationally accredited (see http://www.caahep.org/ ). This may or may not be a particularly big deal. It depends on WHY they aren't nationally accredited. Do your homework and find out why. Ask them point blank. If they are totally ignorant (or pretend to be) of the whole process, I'd be worried. But, more than likely, they aren't deficient. They just haven't bothered to apply yet. Still, find out for yourself. If they aren't motivated to excel and show it through accreditation, then how motivated are they to help YOU excel?

I'm glad to hear that you are in a stable personal situation right now. Full time school -- especially a hard school -- is a real challenge. How you handle it is a good indicator of how well you will handle your career. Give it 110 percent. Don't take shortcuts. Be the best you can be. We'll be here for you, and I'll be interested in hearing of your progress!

[hmmike]

I will be sure to ask Stony Brook why they aren't accredited but as I already have my associates it really doesn't matter. Although going to school full time should help you works towards a degree of some kind, if paramedic is my goal than I think it works out great. The fire dept I'm taking my class out now is maybe a mile away from Stony Brook so I assuming I will spend my 5 hours of practical there, maybe get a feel of the program if i can find any students, the hospital is MASSIVE but I've only been to one other so I'm not the best judge!

Quick side note I mentioned to one of my supervisors who is a volunteer that I started class and he was grilling me big time, telling me it was a waste if I didn't volunteer and pursuing a paid career was a crapshoot. I really didn't know what to say and even worse if I didn't have you guys I'd be following his advice and heading down to the :roll: station to volunteer ...

[tskstorm]

Most including myself will tell you volunteering is the reason we as health care providers get paid next to nothing. Why pay people a good high wage if significant amounts of people are willing to give away the service for free.

I know a lot of long island is volunteering however, if you come down to the city most is paid.

[hmmike]

I've been looking for employment opportunities on Long Island and they're next to one. My uncle mentioned the city and the need of competent workers, can you vouch for that tskstorm? I hate living on the Island, my parents both have good jobs and still feel the stress of prices out here, I don't know the difference in the city but it has to be somewhat better!

[tskstorm]

I've been looking for employment opportunities on Long Island and they're next to one. My uncle mentioned the city and the need of competent workers, can you vouch for that tskstorm? I hate living on the Island, my parents both have good jobs and still feel the stress of prices out here, I don't know the difference in the city but it has to be somewhat better!

Yes the city does need competent EMT's and future Medics. The price of the city is certainly not cheaper then LI and the pay isn't outstanding, but you can make a meager living on it.