Confusion on EMT-B Certification

[FutureERDoc2013]

I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to clear this up for me. I just started an EMT-B Certification class yesterday in Maryland. I'm a current resident of DC and wish to work in DC, however there are no EMT-B programs in DC (that I can afford) so MD was the next best thing. OK that's the background. The instructor informed us that in order to be certified, actually have the card you have to be affiliated with someone. They emphasized volunteer ambulance services; however I wish to work in an emergency room of a hospital, not ambulance. I'm confused as to the affiliation portion. Does it have to be an ambulance volunteer organization, or can you become affiliated with a hospital. What are my options?

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[Compass]

OK, here's the deal. In order to be a card-carrying EMT in the state of Maryland, you need to be affiliated with a fire station in the state of Maryland. You can take the test, but they won't give you a card until you affiliate. And you pay for your test if you're not affiliated.

Your training includes this:

Field Internship

You will need to get a MINIMUM of 5 patient assessments (as in you check patient, ask questions, ASSESS (not take) vitals) and 5 transports. The only way to do this is through actual fire stations.

You will get a 2 hour hospital orientation where you watch transfer of patient care from EMS to definitive hospital care.

As much as I know you probably want to be an ER doc, YOU would do best in the field. Why? You will get so much more out of being in the field than cooped up in a hospital at this point. Think about how many pre-meds out there have actually gone on ambulances. If I am up to speed on my averages, possibly only 1 in 10. Most people in the ER are doctors, PAs, RNs, techs. I have yet to find a hospital that will take me.

However, being an EMT is VERY beneficial to you being a doctor, especially an ER one.

You get both clinical experience and volunteer service, and you get stories. My thread's a few below yours about trying my hardest to save a person and not succeeding. You get a lot of firsts in EMS. Before you dive into medicine, see how you like EMS. Because I guarantee you, if you do not enjoy EMS, you may have a difficult time working hours in the ER. Unlike most of your peers, you will have been out there, doing REAL care, and you're not getting a dime.

If you have any questions about EMS affiliation in Maryland, just ask. I can recommend a few stations for your ride-ons. I suggest you buddy up with stations ASAP. I'm familiar with a bunch of local ones in Rockville.

Ah, yes, if you are taking classes, you might want to set aside a lot of long weekends or nights doing calls. Murphy's Law guarantees that the county becomes safer when EMT-B students are riding. I got 3 calls in the morning of one day, when our unit's AC was broken, and when we fixed it, no more transports...

You might be able to get away with affiliating in DC.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

My suggestion would be PG County.....most stations seem to be willing to let someone affiliate and then you can basically just do your own thing (read as: run whenever you want, no demands on minimum hours). I was affiliated with them when I was in the Air Force.....they pretty much kissed my ass because I wanted to run EMS calls and that left the other guys free for "real" calls. However, there is no love lost between myself and the cluster**** that is EMS in Maryland......but that's a topic for another thread......

 

[Compass]

Rockville has good stations to practice in. It's pretty strict, applying, but, me being through the EMT class before affiliating, we've got some of the non-EMT probies convinced they have to insert NPAs into themselves as part of EMT class

 

[jkelly2]

You should be sure that EMT-Bs can work in the hospital setting in DC. I can't get a job as a tech in the hospitals near me in Maryland because although I am an EMT-P, I am not a CNA. At least in Maryland, the Bored (...) of Nursing requires that techs take the CNA class despite previous experience. It always seems foreign to me when I read in these threads how someone becomes an EMT-B to work in the ED in other parts of the country. O Maryland, my Maryland!