EMT Certification

[Dr. Geoff]

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Dear SDN'ers,
I would like to get my EMT certification and was wondering if that could be completed over the summer? How many classes are needed and do most Colleges offer them? Thanks...

Jeff

 

[RT]

yes. no.

EMTB class offered by Community Colleges is usually a semester long. Your County Training Academy might have a compressed EMT course which takes about 5 wks. You could even get it for free if you join the Fire Department first.

RT

 

[UCLA2000]

UCLA has a 2 week intensive program. I took it a few years back. If you look hard enough you'll find one...

 

[Sweet Tea]

check out what's available in your area. most EMTB classes last a semester. i was able to get a refund for my class fees by committing to our volunteer squad for a year.

 

[Firebird]

I found it to be a complete waste of time. But it was a nice five hours of easy credit. And it might look nice for the adcoms, but I'm not going to work as an EMT.

I think it might be fun and all, and it would be great to help people in need, but the summer job I have has too many goodies and much better compensation.

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Firebird:
•I found it to be a complete waste of time. But it was a nice five hours of easy credit. And it might look nice for the adcoms, but I'm not going to work as an EMT.

I think it might be fun and all, and it would be great to help people in need, but the summer job I have has too many goodies and much better compensation.•••••This is awfully judgmental of you-- I found it the furthest thing from a waste of time. Indeed, it may not have conferred all of the skills that you wanted to possess from watching too many episodes of ER, but many find that it leads to rewarding work during their college years. For me, it led to Paramedic certification and what amounted to thousands of patient contacts.

My work as a medic has been amazingly rewarding and solidified my desire to go into medicine and into trauma, specifically. . .

But to answer Dr. Geoff's questions--

To reiterate what UCLA2000 said, UCLA does offer a course that can be completed in two weeks, from M-Sa from about 8a-6p -- but, indeed, that is sort of rare because the powers at be want to discourage classes from offering certification so quickly.

Usually, the courses do take nearly a semester and few colleges offer such courses (the rate is obviously higher for universities).

Best of luck and feel free to PM me with add'l questions! 🙂

 

[Bikini Princess]

I think most community colleges have a special summer condensed class, depends on the state. EMT-B's are better trained in some states, so their certification sometimes lasts 2 semesters.

It's a generic premed thing to do, and it's not that much like being a doctor. But it is medical experience.

Just remember the atmosphere of a fire station and that of a hospital is quite different. :

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Bikini Princess:
•It's a generic premed thing to do, and it's not that much like being a doctor. But it is medical experience.•••••I, for one, am thankful for this seeing as how it can be completed in two weeks. . . :wink:

 

[Dr. J?]

Getting your EMT-B is all about what you make it. In my case, I did a semester course which was paid for by the rescue squad that I worked for. I have been certified for 3 yrs now and I have run hundreds of calls with both volunteer and paid services. I have triaged and transported hundreds of PTs. Sure, I could make more delivering pizzas to people, but it's not about the money now, is it? Getting your EMT-B can be a great gateway to advanced training and opportunities. You can go on to become a paramedic; get certified in PHTLS, etc. In my case, I worked at a Level One trauma ctr. as an ER-tech. Working there gave me great experience, better than you could get just by shadowing a doc. I have also run with a couple flight crews, on a pediatric transport rig and many interfacility RN runs.

The trend in medical education is to get the student into the clinic early. Why not get a jump on everyone by getting hands-on experience in the clinic prior to med school?(Emphasis on hands-on where you have the responsibility of the PTs condition till you pass him/her off to higher level of care, not just observing a doc in clinic) Many of the docs that I thought were the best at what they did in the clinic were EMT's or paramedics prior to matriculating at a med school. Its a shift in perspective that makes them able to extract more from their med school courses and subsequently become better physicians. That is why one should really consider becoming an EMT.

My 0.02