EMT-B Overkill For A Lay Person?

[DDH200]

I wanted to see if you all think I'm crazy to consider getting an EMT-B education and certification as a lay person. If I do it, I'll probably also go for one of the wilderness upgrade certs.

Why I'm considering it:
1) I'm 44, in an established business career, but looking for something new to learn. I have a general belief that something worth learning well, usually takes some substantial effort, so I'm not afraid of the putting in the hours.
2) My son's starting to get into a lot of camping/travel with Scouts, and I will usually go along.
3) I'm getting older, and the chances that I would be in a scenario where a family member or friend needed emergency care are increasing
4) It would be kind of nice to have a more grounded understanding of medical terms and conditions as I, and people I know, get older and more frequently ill.
5) While the chance of any one person being in the situation of a natural disaster are low, were that situation to actually happen, I'd rather be in a position to help people, instead of standing there watching.

Question #1: This a stupid idea?

Question #2: Am I reading correctly that the national recertification requires 24 hours of annual training? If so, is there an alternative? While I'm more than willing to put all the initial time and lost vacation in to get certified, my wife might kill me if I told her that 3 days of vacation will be going toward this for years to come. Some hybrid between night time self study with weekend practicals would be much easier to sell to her.

Thanks for any insights/info you all might be able to offer.

 

[bw2529]

Taking the class to get the education is not a bad idea, however the EMT-B class is definitely, at least in NYS, geared towards those who will be doing transports. As a "lay person" you will not be doing transports, and you open yourself up to a lot of liability if you come upon a scene and identify yourself as an EMT. Again, this is from a NYS perspective, but if you identify yourself as an EMT you are required by law ("Duty to Act") to stay with that patient and provide care at the level you are trained for until you can transfer care to another provider of the same or higher level.

I'd say it is an excellent class to take, you just have to be careful.

You may also want to look into a Certified First Responder class.

I forgot to answer the last part of your question... What you need to do to re-cert and how often that comes up is entirely state dependent. There is no reason you should have to do the NREMT.

 

[Chris07]

If you have no intention of pursuing a career in healthcare, which I'm sure you are not as you have stated you have an established business career already you may want to consider an easier option. EMT-B for personal use may be a bit of overkill.

You may want to look into First Responder (Emergency Medical Responder). The educational difference between EMT-B and FR is typically only 70-80 hours as opposed to 120-150 hours for EMT-B. In a first aid situation, you would operate in the same fashion regardless of level (911, and BLS until EMS arrives). The REAL difference between the two levels is that EMT-B goes more in depth with the science and a little more involved in assessment skills. I believe the Red Cross is rolling out Emergency Response courses all over the place now. (It's 60 hours or so and goes well beyond basic first aid. I would go as far as saying that FR is advanced first aid).

If you plan on spending some time in remote areas (camping or hiking), you may want to consider a WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course. The course is typically 80 hours and may suit your needs perfectly. Not only do you get those advanced first aid skills you crave, but you also learn how to apply them in remote locations where resources are low.

 

[Anjel]

I don't think it is a stupid idea

However, there are some things you need to realize.

You cannot act as an "EMT" without the supervision and direction of an MD which you would get through working at an agency.

You can take the class, be certified and then just don't get a license. You will still have the knowledge without any obligation.

I think for the purpose you are wanting, an EMR course would be more beneficial. You learn some advanced first aid, the CPRs, signs and symptoms of things to look for so you can call an ambulance.

For your sons thing you will have all the first aid knowledge you need.. And there is no licensing so no annual education requirements.

If you do however want to do the whole EMT-B thing. Then you will need your continuing ed credits. There are a lot of ways to get those. You can do some online. A lot of companies will hold a 1-2 day refresher class. It's all day and you get all your credits.

So it's up to you. I suggest an EMR class. No need to go any further if you aren't planning on working as an EMT.

 

[bw2529]

To add, if you do decide to go for it, you could sign up with a volunteer agency, and they will likely pay for your tuition. Most agencies don't expect a huge amount of time from you -- my agency appreciates it if you take one 12 hour shift every 10 days (or two 6 hour shifts), and show up for the half hour meeting once per month.

I live in a county where the majority of the EMS provided is by volunteers.

 

[Brad Z]

I wanted to see if you all think I'm crazy to consider getting an EMT-B education and certification as a lay person. If I do it, I'll probably also go for one of the wilderness upgrade certs.

I'm 38, but pretty much in the same situation as you, seeking a life skill. I looked into the EMR course, but none was available locally so I did the full EMT course. Initially, I wasn't planning on serving as an EMT in any official capacity, but after taking the class I have been motivated to search for volunteer EMT oportunities locally.

As others have mentioned, in order to act as an EMT you must work with an agency under medical direction. Otherwise, you are a first aid provider.

That said, the EMT course is geared to evaluation and transport of a patient. You'll spend a lot of time learning skills such as oxygen use, suctioning, backboarding, traction splints, KEDs (used for vehicle extractation), etc., that won't be all that useful as a first responder. On the other hand, you'll cover more physiology in an EMT course than you will in a EMR class. The backbone of the EMT course is the patient assessment, which may be a helpful skill in determining what a patient needs "right now" and passing on critical information to rescuers.

If you don't mind spending a lot of time learning when to use a non-rebreather mask versus a nasal cannula, then go for the full EMT course.

 

[Steam Engine]

I wanted to see if you all think I'm crazy to consider getting an EMT-B education and certification as a lay person. If I do it, I'll probably also go for one of the wilderness upgrade certs.

Why I'm considering it:
1) I'm 44, in an established business career, but looking for something new to learn. I have a general belief that something worth learning well, usually takes some substantial effort, so I'm not afraid of the putting in the hours.
2) My son's starting to get into a lot of camping/travel with Scouts, and I will usually go along.
3) I'm getting older, and the chances that I would be in a scenario where a family member or friend needed emergency care are increasing
4) It would be kind of nice to have a more grounded understanding of medical terms and conditions as I, and people I know, get older and more frequently ill.
5) While the chance of any one person being in the situation of a natural disaster are low, were that situation to actually happen, I'd rather be in a position to help people, instead of standing there watching.

Question #1: This a stupid idea?

Question #2: Am I reading correctly that the national recertification requires 24 hours of annual training? If so, is there an alternative? While I'm more than willing to put all the initial time and lost vacation in to get certified, my wife might kill me if I told her that 3 days of vacation will be going toward this for years to come. Some hybrid between night time self study with weekend practicals would be much easier to sell to her.

Thanks for any insights/info you all might be able to offer.

Nothing wrong with increasing your knowledge and obtaining some practical and potentially very valuable skills along the way. First Responder wouldn't be a bad choice, but personally if it were me I'd go for the EMT-B certification. You'll learn a little more, and it will allow you to work on an ambulance if you end up deciding it's something you might like. As someone else mentioned, if you're in an area with a volunteer ambulance service or volunteer fire department they may pay for your training in return for a volunteer commitment.

As to the second part of your question, it's entirely state-dependent. My state requires 28 hours of continuing education and a 24 hour refresher course every two years, but there is the option to complete the majority of it online.

Another option you may be interested in would be a more wilderness-oriented ceritification since you spend a fair amount of time outdoors with your son. I'm certified as a Wilderness First Responder through Wilderness Medical Associates, and can highly recommend their program and curriculum.

 

[systemet]

If you're interested, by all means, go and do it. Who knows? You may decide you want to do EMS part-time.

Just consider what your expectations are from a basic EMT class, and whether this particular training is going to meet them. I think you're going to get:

* A very very basic introduction to the organ systems of the body, and how they inter-relate. You should learn knowing what side of your body the spleen is on. It's not going to get that much more complicated than that.

* A fair bit of knowledge about patient extrication and movement, splinting, and controlling arterial bleeding. But most of the extrication and movement will be done using devices you don't have access to in an austere environment.

* A little bit of useful information on how to recognise an a major allergic reaction (people will forgive me for describing anaphylaxis this way, right?), or what to do if someone has a seizure (answer: pretty much nothing).

* A little bit of information about what someone presenting with a stroke or an MI, or hypoglycemia might look like.

* A very brief introduction to emergency childbirth. (answer: mostly do nothing, but pretend like you're doing lots)

* A lot of practicing physical assessments at a pretty basic level, and running scenarios where the answer to most situations will be oxygen and go to the hospital.

If this is stuff that interests you, go right ahead. If you're particularly looking at being prepared in the wilderness, as Steam Engine suggested, one of the Wilderness courses might be a good alternative. I would imagine this would cover a lot more about patient movement, improvised extrication / splinting devices, and the recognition of various environmental emergencies, e.g. heat stroke, hypothermia, etc.

If you don't have a need to provide EMS in a paid or volunteer environment, I wouldn't worry about having a certification that needs yearly continuing education.

 

[Jon]

To the OP,

No, you aren't crazy in the slightest. I'm not sure where you are located, but around me, there are a number of us that assist with medical coverage for larger District/Council scout events. All of us were active EMS volunteers at one point, but several of the folks pretty much only use their EMT with Scouting anymore.

Depending on where you are, you might be able to volunteer somewhere. This helps in many ways. First, some states won't certify you as an EMT unless you're affiliated with a group. Second, some agencies are able to pay for, or assist with, training costs for initial and/or continuing education. Third, it's an opportunity to get some experience.


As for recert requirements - I believe National Registry is 24 hours / 2-3 years. Some states have similar requirements, others are different.




Jon
Life for Life
Jamboree Medical Staff 2010, 2013
A good old Owl, too.

 

[mycrofft]

Your basic question about age and taking EMT is not as uncommon as you may feel it is. Probably once a quarter or more, someone posts asking about taking it on, although often due to being between jobs and deciding to "follow their bliss", so to speak.

I'd do it. You may want to "search" stuff on scope of practice and doing event standby to read about some other viewpoints. A major point is that you cannot freelance as an EMT-dash-whatever, you need equipment and medical direction/protocols. That said, someone providing first aid with the EMT knowledge base in their mental footlocker can be a better provider than the basic first aider.

NOTE: we had someone who was convinced he could take EMT-B and then provide all the bells and whistles to allow him and family members with serious medical conditions to go traipsing into the back woods.h34r: We tried hard to dissuade him...