How do I become an EMT in Florida?

[ucfknight407]

After getting rejected because of EC's. I feel my heart is set on this to do on my year off to improve my application's strength. I'm having trouble finding clear info on what it takes to become one and more importantly HOW LONG it takes to become one. Any help or ideas? I'm just starting to gather info and finals are going on but i need to know what im doing soon because my lease needs to renewed soon.

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[RevivedPreMed]

Are you first responder certified? if not, you have to do this first. Then EMT training which can be done in a summer (some schools have an intensive 6 week training)

 

[FuSoYa]

You can usually find EMT courses at community colleges. If you're in more of a rush, there are private companies that offer classes, but they cost a lot more. After you pass the course you're eligible to take the EMT cert exam.

Googling "EMT certification florida" popped up tons of pages with requirement, course, testing info. Here's a couple.

http://www.fireacademy.org/msc_info.htm

http://degreedirectory.org/articles..._Schools_Offer_EMT_Certification_Courses.html

 

[ucfknight407]

Are you first responder certified? if not, you have to do this first. Then EMT training which can be done in a summer (some schools have an intensive 6 week training)

sigh another thing to do lol. Guess I need to look that up

You can usually find EMT courses at community colleges. If you're in more of a rush, there are private companies that offer classes, but they cost a lot more. After you pass the course you're eligible to take the EMT cert exam.

Googling "EMT certification florida" popped up tons of pages with requirement, course, testing info. Here's a couple.

http://www.fireacademy.org/msc_info.htm

http://degreedirectory.org/articles..._Schools_Offer_EMT_Certification_Courses.html

Thanks for the links. I will read them over tonight. When im done studying

 

[RevivedPreMed]

Becoming first responder certified is a 40 hour course I believe. It's no biggie!

 

[ucfknight407]

Becoming first responder certified is a 40 hour course I believe. It's no biggie!

where do they typically offer it?

 

[EpiIV]

1st, check if the community college in your area requires it. Some only want CPR. Valencia doesn't require it, and that's in Kissimmee. If there is another school in your area that does require this course, talk to them about your circumstances. They will guide you to where you can take it or maybe even waive the requirement. I've seen it happen. You need CPR before you do anything. Get it out of the way.

EMT takes one semester. Paramedic takes two years.

Some programs fill up so you need to act swiftly if you're looking for summer classes.

 

[ceng2doc]

After getting rejected because of EC's. I feel my heart is set on this to do on my year off to improve my application's strength. I'm having trouble finding clear info on what it takes to become one and more importantly HOW LONG it takes to become one. Any help or ideas? I'm just starting to gather info and finals are going on but i need to know what im doing soon because my lease needs to renewed soon.

How did you list your ECs so that you got rejected due to lack/insufficient ECs in your application? Which schools rejected, in the first place?

 

[AnthroMD]

As others have pointed out, it may depend on your specific location whether or not the First Responder certification is required. Here in north Florida, it is required. You may want to contact your local Medical Director, as they oversee EMS operations and EMT and Paramedics in their particular region. They are, of course, physicians themselves.

Luckily, my university offered a First Responder course through the COM. CPR certification was part of the course, but getting the First Responder certification was not as it was an extra $200 for us (that may have included extra course fees unrelated to the actual testing fees). So you may want to check UCF or local CCs for classes. To reiterate what epiIV said: it is a 40-hour course so it should be a semester long.

After getting rejected because of EC's. I feel my heart is set on this to do on my year off to improve my application's strength. I'm having trouble finding clear info on what it takes to become one and more importantly HOW LONG it takes to become one. Any help or ideas? I'm just starting to gather info and finals are going on but i need to know what im doing soon because my lease needs to renewed soon.

 

[ahowardmd]

Hey UCF Knight,

Some of these posters seem uninformed. I also go to UCF, and I've been EMT certified for 2 years now. All you need to do is apply to Valencia's EMT program, hopefully for you it isn't full yet. You do not need to take a first responder class, what would be the point? The summer course is 12 weeks long, and then you could try getting a job with American Ambulance or try to volunteer with the fire dept, or even get a job with Florida Hospital as an ER tech. I know of a few classmates from my EMT course who work as ER techs. I worked with American Ambulance, it's a great EC.

12 weeks goes pretty fast, and it's a lot of fun learning about this stuff.

Good luck!