Volunteer EMT (911 or transport)?

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frodo25

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I can either work for a company that mostly does transports or I can volunteer at a FD that responds to 911? Which would be a better experience? I already have my EMT and can also work for my campus group, but I feel like working outside the campus would be better than drunk calls on campus.

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It can depend on the time and level of commitment. Some places require 8 - 24 hours of volunteer hours weekly. But have limited direct patient care contact.
Jobs require between 12 - 32 hours of work weekly.

It depends on the amount of time you have while working on your application. I heard EMT work is helpful in medicine. There have been a few people in medicine who went for EMT work just for experience. If your program requires direct patient care experience, EMT work may be the best way to go.
 
I agree, whatever is more feasible with your schedule
 
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Hey and those drunk calls can save a life!
 
Campus 911 preferably, then FD 911. Maybe even both. I wouldn't recommend transport companies for the BLS level.
 
Two cents: Select the experience that will expose you to people less like you. Challenging yourself and your mindset allows for more significant reflection and personal growth than what is possible when comfortable.
 
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Depending on your area, the call volume for the FD might not be very high. I volunteered with a very rural FD and we did maybe one or two medical calls a week (not considering 'volume' weeks like 4th of July.)

Transport you will most likely have a constant stream of patients and paperwork. You will use your skills less for each patient (most don't even have to be monitored). Instead, you should be spending more time communicating and building connections with both patients and the area hospitals.

If I were to go back and do it again, I would try to get a position as an ER tech. Even see if some place has volunteer opportunities in that role. It's a very competitive field that requires multiple years of experience in metro areas, but many more rural hospitals are almost desperate to the help (they hire CNAs, even, if they can't get EMTs.)
 
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I would recommend the company that doesn't primarily answer calls for transporting drunk college kids. I've worked in both capacities and I've gotten a lot more out of my experience when I'm working as part of the community and not as a campus EMT. It's nice to have that sense of giving back and belonging to the community and guards against the insularity of college life.

But it depends on your personality. Can you deal with stressful situations and think on your feet? Do you enjoy it? Can you handle the stress of being on call and hearing the dispatch bell?
 
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I would recommend the company that doesn't primarily answer calls for transporting drunk college kids. I've worked in both capacities and I've gotten a lot more out of my experience when I'm working as part of the community and not as a campus EMT. It's nice to have that sense of giving back and belonging to the community and guards against the insularity of college life.

But it depends on your personality. Can you deal with stressful situations and think on your feet? Do you enjoy it? Can you handle the stress of being on call and hearing the dispatch bell?

You can join a community company any time but you only have a limited window to join a campus org. It's a rare opportunity to get to work with your classmates and there's usually the possibility to gain a leadership position in a short period of time. The college campus is your community that you get to serve, especially if you're at school away from home compared to the town the school is in that you likely have no long-term connection to. You'll have the option to branch out to a "professional" service later.
 
@cidem2065 I respectfully disagree. I think it is dangerous to neglect the local community that you operate on top of to receive a higher education. I believe the OP should seriously consider interacting with the population outside of their educational peers and that if she/he does, they may have the chance to confront a wider range of challenges -- and therefore more opportunities to learn and grow.
 
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You can join a community company any time but you only have a limited window to join a campus org. It's a rare opportunity to get to work with your classmates and there's usually the possibility to gain a leadership position in a short period of time. The college campus is your community that you get to serve, especially if you're at school away from home compared to the town the school is in that you likely have no long-term connection to. You'll have the option to branch out to a "professional" service later.

Good point, but you work with your classmates every day. You're part of campus groups, part of various departments, etc. You volunteer with classmates in school-sponsored events. I think one of the greatest failures of colleges today is the insularity of the college campus - the same insularity you refer to as "the town the school is in that you likely have no long-term connection to." People have lived and prospered in the college town long before you came and they will live on long after you leave. Part of any liberal education is learning how to get along with other people - all sorts of people - and not to limit your own world outlook. It gives you a look at real-life outside of transporting drunk college kids - instead, you deal with people who are dealing with real-life problems, people who might not be able to afford a hospital visit, people whose injuries could seriously hinder their making a living. I think university-community ties are a neglected part in today's world of higher education.
 
I don't know if maybe AdComs would see the volunteer gig as being more altruistic or whatever... But I vote for the job at the IFT company.

You'll learn a lot from the patients, nurses, doctors, etc, of course, but it might also be eye opening for you to have such a blue collar job. At least for me, I lived my whole life in the ivory tower, and it was a bit of a shock to suddenly be spending 12 hours a day sitting in a truck talking with coworkers who didn't graduate high school and had no plans to ever go to college. I learned a ton about myself, how to interact with people, how to be an employee, etc, from that job. I think a lot of the most important things I took away, I wouldn't have gotten if it was a college EMS service or a volunteer FD.

Also, despite being a paramedic and having all the toys and drugs and going to the cool calls with acutely sick patients... My favorite call I've ever done was a BLS discharge of a hospice patient where we basically did nothing medically.
 
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