Any EMT's in here?

[chuckman]

My two drachmas: I retain my EMTP, although I rarely work the field any more (full time RN). I started EMS in 1990. It is a great job, but heed the advice to get your EMTP. EMTB is part of the curriculum, so you'll get that, but the pay is a fraction of what you will make as a paramedic.

Sadly, there is less reliance on math than there used to be. Is it 'easier' now? Yes. Does that make people more mistake-prone? Yes.

In my area there is such a shortage of medics that some services have started their own 'medic academy,' training them to be medics and then having them sign an employment contract (3 years, I think). The local 911 services are hiring just about anyone, many with zero experience.

Starting pay in my area is around $30k, maybe a bit more, but OT abounds...many of my buddies make $50k-$75k easy.

Tats haven't been a prob so far as I have seen. I will say that generally the local services like mil guys as they already, generally, have situational awareness and a culture of safety. I am former Navy (FMF corpsman), and I know the local services snatch corpsmen and medics as quick as they can.

I loved it, and had they payed me what I make now, I never woulda left the field.

I am in central NC, any questions about this area PM me.

[Fetep]

I was a FF/Paramedic for several years, it's a fantastic job! If you can swing it go the college route, if not get your EMT-B and get hired, your employer will most likely either pay for or reimburse you for the Medic classes!

I loved the job but hated the political BS that went on, it was ridiculous! I'm not sure what part of the country you're in but an EMT-B here makes about 25-30k to start, not great but if they continue your education that makes up for it....mostly!

Don't sweat the math, use a calculator! Theres really not that much math. Nothing above pre-algebra, not even that high really;-).

Either way thank you for you service and good luck in whatever you choose. At least try the emergency medicine thing I think you'll be a great fit!

Fetep

[Ouroborous]

EMT-B here working with the local rescue unit.

When I first entered the field, I thought I would go the paramedic route at some point but after seeing how much of dead end it can be, I decided to set my sights higher and work towards an RN license.

In my area, there is no 911 contracts for privates so that means IFT's all day long, from one hospital or Nursing facility to the next. Also, unless you're working for an FD, the pay is barely enough to get by (<$30K/Year).

Additionally, Paramedic to RN bridge programs are few and far between here and even if I did go that route it'd take the same amount of time to go through an RN program (not including the two years of medic school).

On the other hand, RN to Paramedic bridge programs are much easier to find. In my state, an RN can challenge the exam portion outright (an RN's scope of practice is higher than a Medic's) and then find a way to do your 440 hours of preceptorship on your own to work as both an RN and a Medic.

In my opinion, the sky's the limit with an RN license and you can continue in a vast array of specialties while Paramedic is just that: Para-medicine. With an RN you can challenge the Medic exam or move into a higher scope of practice as a NP or PA.

My Advice: Take full advantage of that GI Bill and get at least an AA degree as a Paramedic or even better, an RN.

Get your EMT-B at a local community college, work part-time on an ambulance while you continue taking medically related pre-req's i.e chem, anatomy, physio, micro which you can apply to either Paramedic or RN pre-req's. You'll get a feel for it that way while still continuing your degree oriented education.

[Hizzie]

Left 12yrs of LE for EMS. Currently an EMT-B. Love it. Class was just challenging enough. It is a hands-on job. If you cant grope a dirty smelly stranger then it's not for you. Gonna go back for my Paramedic as soon as finances allow.

There is more than just ambulance work available. ER's need EMT's for ER Tech positions.

Good luck.

[NCMedic]

NCMedic, I get what you are saying about working your way up, and its something I am more than willing to do. In your experience, are employers reluctant to hire fresh paramedics because they had no medical experience as EMT's first?[/QUOTE]

HSLD: There's a lot of great advice in this thread for you, but I would encourage you to find out about the area you want to work in, and go from there to determine your options for employment and then do some research on the agencies.
Alot of agencies used to require 1-2 years of experience before they would consider you for employment with a 911 service, now that depends on the need for EMTs and Paramedics, some places are just looking for meat in the seat and someone with a pulse and a patch, which translates to poor patient care. I am not a proponent of the "zero to hero" paramedic student mills that crank out 30 students every 9 months who haven't even set foot in a ambulance nor seen a sick person, I believe that the turn over rate for those people is substantially higher than someone who has had some experience and then advanced themselves. The last hiring process that we did where I work was for 9 positions, We had 150+ applicants, so having some experience probably is beneficial. Check with the services in your area, some may even run their own in house paramedic program or partner with a community college, so you may be able to work as a EMT and take their paramedic program. I'd look into the paramedic programs in your area, find out about them and see if they are reputable, find out what programs do clinicals with what agencies... You can be sure that if I find a sharp paramedic students who does their clinicals with me, I'm going to try and get them to come work for me, if they act like a tool, I'll note their name and make sure they don't make it through the application process. Treat your clinicals like a great big job interview, it will pay off in the end.


Sent from this... Using that...

[Texas42]

I'm not an EMT, but I have a slightly different perspective. I'm just about to graduate medical school, and as one of my 4th year electives I spent about a month with EMTs and Paramedics. There were affiliated through the fire department. To advance in the fire department, they had to go through EMT/paramedic until a position opened up. This practice led to some paramedics who don't want to be paramedics. But practices are changing and they are hiring people who want to be paramedics.

Anyway, there is a reason there is a lot of turnouver in departments. The work has long hours and full of BS calls. Your lucky to have one maybe two, good calls in a night (also depends on your area too). Their scope of practice is pretty limited . I did get the feeling that other paramedics did more in other places. I talked to a firewoman who had recently moved from Austin. She knew her shit better than the other guys. Things are changing and they are gettign more training, but the transit times are so short here that I don't the medical directors felt like they needed to change very quickly. From talking with her, the benefits/retirement/pay were better here, but she prefered Austin (I didn't ask specifics, but she did mention it was a money issue.)

The pay is usually low. You add in lots of hours and lots of overtime, and you make decent money. The EMS/paramdeics here do 24 hour shifts q 3. The firemen 24 hours q 4. With chances at additional OT, to give you an idea of their schedule.

I would not consider EMT to be a good stepping stone to RN, PA, MD, DO, nurse pratitioner or whatever conglomeration of letters of medical professionals. Heck, PA school is more competative in many ways then medical school. A couple people in my class were EMT's, but that isn't very common.

It really depends on what your goals are in life. How many hours you want to work, how much money you want to make, and how much time/money you want to spend training. Get some real experience before you make any real time/money committments. Call your local fire department/EMS service and ask to do some ride alongs.

Personally, I'd recommend looking into RN or at least something with more options and better pay for the work. Figure out what training, college, and grades you need. Get a plan, and work your butt off to get what you need to get where you want to go.

But this is comming from the guy who spent that last 8 years in college and med school, getting his first paying job next month, and is looking at 3 (more like 6 years of (paided) training to get where he wants to go. 95% of the EMT's, paramedics, firemen, and LEO I worked with were good, professional guys. It was a fun month. The fire station is a lot like a dorm. . . . (don't fall sleep where they can get you, you'll wake up to an air horn). I had no real previous experience with EMS before. I'm glad I did.

Good luck!

[jwfuhrman]

Im currently taking a EMT-Basic class here in Indiana with the plan to move on to Paramedic, maybe. We have a RN in our class who is working on his paramedic. He is currently a FLIGHT Nurse for one of the hospitals in the city to the north of us, and is working on his Paramedic because how Indiana works, he literally has to ask permission to do anything while on a call since he is RN and not a RN/Paramedic.

[Ouroborous]

I would not consider EMT to be a good stepping stone to RN, PA, MD, DO, nurse pratitioner or whatever conglomeration of letters of medical professionals. Heck, PA school is more competative in many ways then medical school. A couple people in my class were EMT's, but that isn't very common.

Care to elaborate on this at all? I don't know if "prior medical experience" applies to med students but it sure does for anyone trying to get into an RN program and obviously is a pre-req for a medic too.

An EMT-B is one of the most basic (hence the B) Medical certifications you can obtain in a single semester. It was my intro into the ER which not surprisingly is where I want to work as an RN so I'd have to disagree on it not being a good stepping stone.

[Texas42]

Care to elaborate on this at all? I don't know if "prior medical experience" applies to med students but it sure does for anyone trying to get into an RN program and obviously is a pre-req for a medic too.

An EMT-B is one of the most basic (hence the B) Medical certifications you can obtain in a single semester. It was my intro into the ER which not surprisingly is where I want to work as an RN so I'd have to disagree on it not being a good stepping stone.

I think working full time in a lower paying profession when you could be getting closer to a higher paying profession is taking away years you work (eventually) in your higher paying profession.

If you worked, part time, while training to be an RN, and it didn't require you to prolong your training to become an RN, then it really wouldn't matter.

But working a few years, full time as an EMT before going to RN school isn't usually the best idea, financially speaking. Your making less money and you are taking years away from practising as an RN.

I'm not explaining this well, but if you don't NEED to, why do it? It won't help you as an RN. It will give you experience dealing with patients and some healthcare professionals, but you'll get that quickly as an new RN, too.

[kiwi57]

LSHD,

I'm a family medicine PA and former Dustoff flight medic (USAEUR) who 35 years ago was faced with a similar set of choices. This link from a few months ago (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=88444) covered similar ground for ICANHITHIMMAN and may be worth a look.

The comments in this post contain great information that must seem a bit overwhelming. This is related to the fact that the health professions are incredibly diverse in their scope, training requirements, and regional differences. They even have their own vocabulary and alphabet soup of acronyms (not unlike the service).

The bottom line for me in advising prospective health profession students has been to suggest coat-tailing with professionals in different disciplines to see a glimpse of what they do and then ask those you grow to respect: "Knowing what you know now, would you still make the same choice, or do something different?" This can be pretty revealing and may help to inform your decision.

Kiwi57