Thoughts or words of advice on becoming an EMT?

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guitarguy23

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I'm thinking about getting my EMT certification after applying this cycle, because I may not get accepted this time and I would like to work with patients, boost my application a bit, and of course make some money.

It seems like only good things would come out of this in order to help my path to medical school.

Any thoughts or advice from current EMT's or paramedics or even other applicants about being/becoming an EMT? I haven't even looked at when I would get certified and such.

Finally, I know it is a different process from state to state so I will say I am from South Carolina if anyone can give some info about that. Thanks all!

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well, where i live, you have to take classes to become certified. they usually have them at community colleges and maybe hospitals. i think there are three classes to take (2 if you are already cpr certified) in order to get an EMT certification. i tried to get emt certification but classes were full. oh well.
 
In most states, the EMT-B curriculum is a single course that typically lasts 4-5 months depending on the frequency of the course. The overall length of the course is state-dependent however is typically 130-150 hours of classroom training. This isn't something I would go into unless you are truly interested in it. I started out in the fire department in high school, and went through the EMT-I curriculum before deciding I wanted to attend medical school (and will be my alternate career choice if I don't get into medical school).

As far as a job, just be aware that it will take 4-6+ months to get certified depending on classes, agency affiliation, administrative stuff, finding a job, etc. You will probably have to start out working commercial EMS (non-emergency stuff; nursing home transports, dialysis pts).

I am not sure about the value of a fresh EMT cert on an application, maybe southerndoc or LizzyM could give you a little input on that.
 
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OP, the only advice I would offer is to do it if you really have an interest in it, and not just as an application boost.

If you haven't yet, try to "ride along" as an observer for a shift or two with a corp. and see what the agencies in your area offer. Some places will even pay for your certification if you meet certain conditions.

And don't expect it to be all "going red" and exciting. Just like working in an ED you are going to be dealing with a lot of stuff that's really pretty mundane (arranged transports, lift assists, etc.).

It can be a very rewarding job if you go into it with the right attitude.

:luck:
 
I would definitely call around and see if anyone is hiring new EMTs right now. I think it could be very rewarding with or without a job, but you might want to be prepared for the latter. The job market absolutely sucks in some areas.
 
I also live in SC and just got certified last year if you have any specific questions. I did it through a company that just teaches EMS classes...so not through a CC or anything, and it took about 8 months total. I had class twice a week for 4 hours for 6 months, and then you have to take a skills test and then a national registry test. After you pass the national tests you get fingerprinted and all that and finally get your SC certification. I started in October and finished everything by May...it cost me about $500. If there is a chance you could be accepted this cycle, it might not be worth it, because you probably wouldn't be able to start working until halfway through the year, but if you are genuinely interested, it definitely won't hurt you. If you have any other questions you can PM me :).
 
I'm actually starting the emt-b course on the 22nd of this month. I signed up for it through the community college as it was the only place that offered the course. I'm taking the accelerated version so I'll be certified, if I pass, by sept 3. It'll be nice to have it done by the end of aug but classes are twice a week 7 hours each so it'll be quite intense. It's costing me like 1700 dollars in total. I signed up for it because I realized that I wanted more hands on experience than just volunteering and making beds and such.I talked to the emts who work during my volunteer shift in the Ed and they told me the only downside is that jobs are kind of hard to find ESP as only a basic emt. But it prob varies from state to state. Anyways good luck with everything.
 
I got my EMT-B many years ago, as I was involved in Fire / EMS services for 15 years. I just finished my Paramedic and thats what convinced me to go the route of becoming an MD.

Since your probably already in the middle of Pre-med classes, being a Paramedic just wont work time wise. Unless you have a full year of nothing to do, in that case going to Paramedic school ( after getting your EMT-B ) would be an excellent choice.

The amount of hospital time, patient contact, MD shadowing etc that you get from Paramedic school I think rivals what most people do to make their resumes shine.

You are also forced to take A&P 1 and 2 during the class in most programs, so that also helps with your degree.

However, its a 1.5 - 2 year process to get your EMT-B and Paramedic.
 
Doing the EMT-B thing this late is probably not going to boost your application much if that's what you are thinking. It will likely take you at least 8 months in total from the start of your EMT-B course to the time that you get your state and national cert and then find a job. A few years as an EMT-B with some exciting stories to talk about would be great, but as we can all warn you, you will start off doing very basic, very mundane things like transfers, bring pt.s to dialysis, etc. If you have only a year, or even two before you would be going to med school I'd say just go volunteer in an ER. Paid EMT doesn't count for clinical volunteer experience, the pay sucks (~$10/hr in CT for a private company), and the shifts can be VERY slow depending on which shifts you can take and where you live. I will say, the class was fun, I enjoyed it very much while I was taking it, but the actual experience I was able to get in the short time frame I had didn't really lead to anything great for medical school. I actually talked to the assistant dean of admissions at Uconn shortly after I got certified and he said that many many people get their EMT cert and while it's a good way to get your feet wet, he wasn't all that impressed by it. Could just be his personal view of EMT-B, but I figured it was worth noting...
 
I was in the same boat, not too sure if I would get in to med school, so I went and took an EMT-Basic course from May to Dec. It definitely didnt help me the next application cycle but in the next year I was able to get a job working as an ER tech at my local hospital even without the national certification for EMT. They let us do quite a bit (phlebotomy, vitals, foleys, CPR) but that job led to my current clinical research position which will help me immensely this next cycle. I would say that, looking back at 4 application cycles, I'm glad I took the course because it helped me out in the long run, but for a quick clinical fix, it definitely won't help.
 
OP, this topic is discussed almost weekly...use the search feature as there were a few posts about this subject in which LizzyM weighed in on and if I remember correctly she implied that EMT cert isnt really a big help on your app. and in some cases was looked down upon due to the gung-ho personality which medics often have.

I can say that having an EMT cert. + working in the field for a year probably didnt do me too much good in the application process and definately isnt worth doing unless you have time to work in the field for atleast a year after getting your cert.
 
OP, this topic is discussed almost weekly...use the search feature as there were a few posts about this subject in which LizzyM weighed in on and if I remember correctly she implied that EMT cert isnt really a big help on your app. and in some cases was looked down upon due to the gung-ho personality which medics often have.

I can say that having an EMT cert. + working in the field for a year probably didnt do me too much good in the application process and definately isnt worth doing unless you have time to work in the field for atleast a year after getting your cert.


Or because I need a form of income if I don't get into medical school this cycle.
 
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