So I recently became a certified EMT-B (AHA BLS naturally included) but I have not had any luck with getting a job. None of the Emergency Medical Services around me are really hiring at the moment. I'm in desperate need of a job and patient contact hours. Anyone have any ideas on what else I could do with an EMT-B certification? I was thinking of trying to get into an emergency room but I keep getting told that they want paramedics over an EMT. Anyone with an EMT-B certification worked in an urgent care before?
EMT-B Job ideas
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Do EMTs staff UC centers? There certainly are lower-tier healthcare provider positions, but none that you need an EMT-B cert to qualify for.
For what purpose are you trying to get an EMT job anyway? You said "patient contact hours" but you can do that as a volunteer. Your best bet is to find your school's campus EMS and try to volunteer there, but if you don't have one then don't break your back trying to land a job as an EMT with a service.
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According to Goro, EMT-B are "glorified taxi drivers" and he is very biased against them because they don't really interact with patients.
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If you want to use your EMT cert, look for volunteer EMS positions as others have mentioned. An EMT-B certification isn't going to do you much good in a clinic/urgent care really - most of the jobs you could do there, while good experience, wouldn't have required an EMT certification in the first place. And the certification alone is a minor resume booster at best if you don't actually put it to use. If you're just looking for any patient contact job you've gotten some good advice above.
Goro is very helpful, but this is not one of his best pieces of advice imo. Is being an EMT as good of patient contact as a paramedic? hell no. There are huge limitations to what you can do as an EMT, so it's not something to get cocky about. But there are actually a lot of opportunities (on BLS rigs, in rural systems, etc) for an EMT-B to have significant hands-on patient interaction and decision making responsibilities. EMS systems vary wildly, and I don't think Goro has very much experience or understanding of prehospital care.
Goro is very helpful, but this is not one of his best pieces of advice imo. Is being an EMT as good of patient contact as a paramedic? hell no. There are huge limitations to what you can do as an EMT, so it's not something to get cocky about. But there are actually a lot of opportunities (on BLS rigs, in rural systems, etc) for an EMT-B to have significant hands-on patient interaction and decision making responsibilities. EMS systems vary wildly, and I don't think Goro has very much experience or understanding of prehospital care.
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I'm an EMT-B right now, and I will agree that there's not much that we can actually do out in the field without a higher provider. I do disagree with Goro and others that say it isn't quality patient or clinical experience , as I consistently get to interact with patients, connect with them, and every once in awhile I actually get to perform some interventions that save someone's life. So don't be detered by what other people say, becoming an EMT and working as one is great clinical experience.
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yeah, this is exactly it - as long as you recognize that you're not going to be some big hero all the time, and that your options for interventions are limited, you can get really good clinical experience as an EMT in the right circumstances. Are there EMTs who spend most of their time driving around paramedics and make that out to be more important than it really is? certainly, but that's not true across the board. I'm just always surprised when people cite things like scribing as better patient contact experience, when you're not actually making your own patient care decisions there (though scribing is definitely a better way to learn about hospital/clinic based medicine than EMT).
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I have a friend who has true patient interactions as an EMT. She doesn't drive around. She works or volunteers in a clinic.
Awesome ideas everyone. I am still in school and trying to pay for it. So I was hoping to knock out two birds with one stone so to speak. Get paid and get patient contact at the same time.
Definitely not something to be overly proud of. I just figured an EMT cert would be a quick way to get into patient contact jobs. Especially over a CNA (no offense to CNA's of course). I agree though. I now have plenty of ideas I never thought about.
Definitely not something to be overly proud of. I just figured an EMT cert would be a quick way to get into patient contact jobs. Especially over a CNA (no offense to CNA's of course). I agree though. I now have plenty of ideas I never thought about.
Excellent advice. I never considered those before but I certainly am now. Thank you for that input. I applied to a few EMS jobs but I immediately found a job as a Dialysis care tech near my area. I'll apply to there as well.
Honestly I was getting patient contact hours for either PA school or Med school. I was hoping to knock out two birds with one stone. I need a job (as I am paying for school out of pocket) and I need patient contact hours. I like all the advice I have been given so far. I have a better idea of what to look for now.
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I'm an EMT-B out in Southern California. I worked on a rig for 2 years responding to 911 calls. It was hands down one of the best experiences in my life. Although working with medics that have larger scopes of practice, working as an EMT does allow you to have a lot responsibility at times. There were countless calls where we arrived on scene before medics and we had to use our skills, think critically, and make decisions. Many people get their emt license as a resume booster, but it doesn't really help much if you never used it. If you do use it, you should definitely try to work on a 911 rig, the IFT side of ambulance companies will kill your morale and all you do is take vitals and drive. Aside from the clinical aspect, you learn to communicate by speaking to patients and giving reports to nurses, which is a great foundation to build. You'll understand how prehospital care works, which for me was great because I want to go into EM.
At times, we are definitely just transporting and not doing much. However, not all patients have life or limb threatening injuries/illness. This job is really what you make of it. I've had partners who wanted to drive the entire 24 hr shift and wanted nothing to do with patients. I liked interacting with patients and medics, I enjoyed being able to do interventions whenever I could, and I loved the calls where we were first on scene and being put to the test.
The hours were conducive for school, at least for me. I would work two 24 hr shifts a weak and then have the rest of the week of. Luckily we had set days, whereas fire dept or other ems agencies do a rotating schedule. I digress.
I transitioned to an ER/Trauma Tech position at a hospital and it's been amazing so far. However, it's pretty difficult as a EMT-B to get hired at a hospital ER without at least a year of ems experience and knowing someone.
Best of luck to you in your endevours! If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them via PM.
At times, we are definitely just transporting and not doing much. However, not all patients have life or limb threatening injuries/illness. This job is really what you make of it. I've had partners who wanted to drive the entire 24 hr shift and wanted nothing to do with patients. I liked interacting with patients and medics, I enjoyed being able to do interventions whenever I could, and I loved the calls where we were first on scene and being put to the test.
The hours were conducive for school, at least for me. I would work two 24 hr shifts a weak and then have the rest of the week of. Luckily we had set days, whereas fire dept or other ems agencies do a rotating schedule. I digress.
I transitioned to an ER/Trauma Tech position at a hospital and it's been amazing so far. However, it's pretty difficult as a EMT-B to get hired at a hospital ER without at least a year of ems experience and knowing someone.
Best of luck to you in your endevours! If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them via PM.
I appreciate your insight and will definitely keep it in mind. I did come across two positions on a local EMS squad and applied immediately. Hopefully I will land one of the positions.
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You are most welcome, please feel free to PM if you have any other questions along the way. Best of luck to you!
