- Joined
- Sep 15, 2008
- Messages
- 64
- Reaction score
- 0
What is the best and cheapest way to become a emt? Anyone got any online certification programs or anything that they did?
What is the best and cheapest way to become a emt? Anyone got any online certification programs or anything that they did?
Some states may have volunteer training funds that will pay for the class as long as you are part of a volunteer squad. When I got my cert in NJ, the state training fund paid for my entire class. Unfortunately, this program was cut last year so you'll have to do some research on the topic. Good Luck
What costs are involved other than the class cost? I mean I have all classes paid for. Should I expect to pay anything?
That cost you 2500?My extras included: books, uniform (2 shirts and 2 pants,) boots, scrubs, stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, trauma shears, national registry exam prep book, national registry exam fee, state certification fee, FBI background check/fingerprint scan fee.
The FBI background check and fingerprinting is a new addition since I was certified.
I've been working for an actual 911 service (not a transfer service) since I graduated two years ago, and I can tell you EMS is not for everyone. BTW, unless you know someone at a 911 service or you get your firefighter certification you will have a hard time finding a job running 911 calls. But you can almost always find a job at a transfer service. 😉
So what you're saying (without being asked) is...you're a pretty big deal, huh.
Why are there so many obese medics that smoke?
Why do so many fire fighters die from heart attacks?
So what you're saying (without being asked) is...you're a pretty big deal, huh.
Why are there so many obese medics that smoke?
Why do so many fire fighters die from heart attacks?
Edit:
Quick commentary. If you can't hack EMS as an EMT, then you need to find something other than medicine to go into. Working as an EMT requires 2, maybe 3 brain cells.
Good EMT's are nearly as hard to find as good paramedics, unfortunately. No one seems to stick with it long enough to gain any real experience. The ones that do tend to be burnt out from all the crap that comes with being an EMT.
Paramedics are such serial offenders of being total arrogant clowns with zero cause for it. I think it's because they have reached the ceiling of their profession and there is actually a finite amount of information in their scope of practice, so once they are comfortable with that, they think they are total hot shots who get to arrive at a scene and start barking out orders.
Funny, they never do that in the ER. That would be hilarious though.
EDIT: Bamamedic - none of this was targeted at you, and taking pride in your job and doing it well, regardless of the level, is something to be valued. You just got me thinking of all the encounters when I was in EMT-B class at community college and all my encounters in the medical world.
To be honest, if the state of EMS wasn't at it's current level of poor education (albeit increasing, but not nearly enough. Paramedics should have at least an AS, ideally having a BS), "mother may I" system design, a culture with complete aversion to any decision making ("just call medical control, let them have the liability"), and, "Why not, what could (supplemental oxygen/spinal immobilization/use of emergency lights for transport/many more) hurt?" contempt for evidence based medicine, I'll admit that I would have a hard time choosing between EMS and medicine. However I'm not about to double down on getting onto one of the handful of truly progressive EMS systems across the country where between completing school and actually snagging one of those relatively few jobs (in addition to moving since there's absolutely nothing progressive about Southern California medicine) I'd be miserable.
As such, I'd argue that the brain drain out of EMS, especially to nursing and medicine, is much much worse than the burned out providers because, in the end, the ones who left are those who have an extremely deep passion for prehospital care, the fire fighters forced to be paramedics (not characteristic of all paramedic-fire fighters, but characteristic of a lot of them), and the much more numerous ones who couldn't hack it at anything else. Unfortunately, when systems are designed to support those who are forced into the role and those who can't do anything else, the system becomes untenable for the people that EMS needs most, so they go elsewhere.
Paramedics are such serial offenders of being total arrogant clowns with zero cause for it. I think it's because they have reached the ceiling of their profession and there is actually a finite amount of information in their scope of practice, so once they are comfortable with that, they think they are total hot shots who get to arrive at a scene and start barking out orders.
Funny, they never do that in the ER. That would be hilarious though.
EDIT: Bamamedic - none of this was targeted at you, and taking pride in your job and doing it well, regardless of the level, is something to be valued. You just got me thinking of all the encounters when I was in EMT-B class at community college and all my encounters in the medical world.
hehehe...
I for one, am tired of cleaning out cigarette ashes out of the ambulance...
As an EMT-Basic, unless you get really, really lucky and work for a service that lets EMT-Basics run 911 calls (very rare), you'll either be paired with a medic, or another EMT-Basic. If you're paired with a medic, your patient care interaction will be what the medic says it is. If she's pretty cool and lets you assess patients under her supervision, check vitals, and come up with a treatment plan, then you'll get loads of experience. Unfortunately, a lot of medics get a "paragod" attitude, and then you're pretty much just a glorified driver/stretcher lifter.
If you're paired with another EMT-Basic, then you'll be stuck doing interfacility transfers all day....taking dialysis patients from nursing homes to dialysis centers, taking bedbound patients from nursing homes to doctor's appointments. While it can be medically interesting (some of these patients are ridiculously sick), and you can still develop your patient assessment skills, you're not going to have one hell of a lot of unique stories to tell in your med school interview.
There's a ton of other ways to pad one's application without EMS, and you'd probably get a lot more out of volunteering at a free clinic somewhere or something. I love my job, but if I were doing it to try to get into med school, I'd pick something that involves interacting with patients in a clinic or hospital setting.
So what you're saying (without being asked) is...you're a pretty big deal, huh.
Why are there so many obese medics that smoke?
So what you're saying (without being asked) is...you're a pretty big deal, huh.
Why are there so many obese medics that smoke?
It's easy to bash a paramedic or EMT until you find yourself in their shoes...
There aren't all that many people who can handle the crap we see on a regular basis without going completely insane (of course, some of the nurses I interact with at the ED would argue that I'm already there LOL)
👍 I doubt most people would care to see an evisceration, much less try to treat the patient with the limited resources on the ambulance. Especially when it's just you, your partner, and a cop on scene.
Yep, I saw my first evisceration this morning. I had to reach way back in my memory to remember what I learned in my class about what to do. lol
Not sure why this thread turned into a bashing of EMS providers but...
I noticed your profile says you are in CA so I found this link to CA EMT programs.
http://www.emsa.ca.gov/personnel/files/emt/EMT-I_II_P_MICN_Approved_Trng_Pgms.htm
I don't think there are any online programs but when it comes time to practice your practical skills you may find youtube useful. There are a bunch of skills on there.
If you have a medical emergency you probably would rather have an experienced Paramedic arrive than most Physicians(with the exception of ER docs)
Not sure why this thread turned into a bashing of EMS providers but...
Oh, fun. Just remember the "rules" of EMS...
1. If it makes you sick to look at it, cover it up with a trauma dressing and Kerlix 🙂
I'll never forget a few calls....notably, one "burned to a crisp" patient who was dead onscene. Stuff like that will stay with ya for a lifetime.
I'd say any MD except a Pathologist or Radiologist would be much more useful, but hey keep thinking that.
EDIT: Oh and Dermatologist, throw them on there with Rads and Path hehe.
Well it didn't make me sick, but I covered it with a moist trauma dressing and did all the other indicated procedures while my partner did all the stuff that this "big deal" 🙄 EMT can't. The flight medic & nurse were happy with what we did, so I was happy with it. 😀
It's definitely something that will stick with me for a looooong time, like my first motorcycle wreck. 😱
I'd say any MD except a Pathologist or Radiologist would be much more useful, but hey keep thinking that.
EDIT: Oh and Dermatologist, throw them on there with Rads and Path hehe.
It all just depends on the type of emergency and the personality of the MD responding...
There's a world of difference in having to deal with an emergency in the hospital setting and dealing with an emergency "out in the streets".
The other day, I ran on a multi-car MVA; patients were lying in the streets, people screaming, bystanders gawking.
If you contrast that with a code in the ICU...sure, both are emergencies, but they require a completely different skill set. I'm really good at creating order out of chaos, but if you put me in a hospital and asked me to deal with a crashing patient in DKA, I'd be utterly clueless as to how to manage him (I know insulin is involved somewhere LOL). Similarly, if you put an interventional cardiologist in the middle of my MVA scene, he'd probably feel as clueless as I would trying to manage a DKA patient.
We all have our specialties...prehospital emergency medicine is only part of what I do. Extrication, scene management, etc is also a large part of my job.
Now, if it were a cardiac chest pain type of call, I'd happily defer to the expertise of a cardiologist...if it were a multi-car MVA and a dermatologist stopped by to help, I'd certainly make use of his medical training, but to a lesser degree than I would the cardiologist.
This bears repeating. I've been on EMS scenes with a doctor there enough to know that they mostly just freak out and get in the way unless they work in the ED, in which case I'm damn happy to have them there.
Why would a doctor hang around an EMS scene if they just freak out and get in the way? Logic would say they would either help out in whatever way they could or just stand on the side and let you do what you had to do.
I just don't see a doctor showing up, then freaking out and getting in your way. It doesn't make sense.
EDIT: Now that you're in med school, has your attitude towards doctors changed? I'd surmise that since you made it to med school you were always smart enough to not become one of those cocky "I am God" medics because you knew this wasn't your ceiling.
What is the best and cheapest way to become a emt? Anyone got any online certification programs or anything that they did?
In terms of Doctors on scene, I welcome The Doctor anyday, provided that Ms. Pond rides up front with me...
That becomes a scene safety issue right there. lol Never turn your back on a proctologist.![]()
Why would a doctor hang around an EMS scene if they just freak out and get in the way? Logic would say they would either help out in whatever way they could or just stand on the side and let you do what you had to do.
Because it has nothing to do with logic. A truly chaotic pre-hospital scene is something that needs to be experienced to appreciate how difficult everything becomes, regardless of what letters come after your name.