Why Advance to an EMT-I for All Volunteer BLS?

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catskills

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I am a volunteer EMT-B on a local all volunteer BLS Fire and Rescue agency. I have been doing this on and off for a number of years and enjoy helping our community. I was thinking about becoming an EMT-I. Give me some reasons why I should advance to EMT-I :unsure: . I don't plan to quit my day job and/or work part time as a paid EMT. The only time I could actually use intermediate EMT skills on my BLS agency is "maybe" assisting paid medics working in the back of our BLS rig, which does happen a lot.

Give me some reasons???
 
so, you are saying that time really isn't a problem...

and you should just stay a basic instead of maybe being able to do more and help save someone's life?

really!

if you plan on being a part of your association, and you have the ability to get a higher cert, why wouldn't you do it?

it's not about you... it's about the pt in the back of the rig, who you WON'T be able to help, because your were feeling sorry for yourself that you will only be helping paid medics, etc blah blah..

the work we do is not about us... it's about our patients. they don't care too much about our issues... they just want to be helped in the best way possible.

is that a good enough reason for you?
 
The only reason seems because you want the extra education. Its a very good reason. You will be able to help medics more because you can do an IV if a medic needs an extra set of hands while he handles airways. Of course he heas to let you do that. But the more education the better.
 
skyemt said:
so, you are saying that time really isn't a problem...

and you should just stay a basic instead of maybe being able to do more and help save someone's life?

really!

if you plan on being a part of your association, and you have the ability to get a higher cert, why wouldn't you do it?

it's not about you... it's about the pt in the back of the rig, who you WON'T be able to help, because your were feeling sorry for yourself that you will only be helping paid medics, etc blah blah..

the work we do is not about us... it's about our patients. they don't care too much about our issues... they just want to be helped in the best way possible.

is that a good enough reason for you?
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Having the ability to obtain a higher certification and being able to perform at that higher certification are two very separate and distinct issues. So before you start with the dramatical writings, consider perhaps that it would NOT benefit the patient if Catskills couldn't initiate an IV or intubate. If your squad is BLS, then you cannot initiate ALS therapy without your medical director's and/or state's approval. All that she would be is an EMT with the rote knowledge of some additional skills. The intermediate course really doesn't offer any additional educational value, so unless there is an interest in pursuing advancement into an ALS environment, then no I see no benefit from it.
 
Flight-LP,

respectfully, i could not disagree with your more...
no one can convince me that more education is not beneficial...

thinking about it the terms you are is very linear...
perhaps, a jump to paramedic from intermediate is not nearly as daunting as jumping from basic. Perhaps a decision to pursue higher learning leads one to say, i'll just take the CC course instead of the intermediate, and become ALS...
i have seen both of these happen...

your advice to catskills is, imho, shortsighted, and doesn't consider the bigger picture, or the collateral benefits down the road to such a decision.

talking someone out of continued education and higher certs is a dangerous thing, and should be done responsibly, not flippantly.
 
Like others have stated continuing your education is always something to look ahead on. My only concern is the amount of calls that you recieve that would require ALS? How far away is ALS?

If you are in an area that has a higher call volume I would say that yes the intermediate class would probaly be a good choice. But if it isn't and you use your intermediate skills a few times a year it is going to be hard to keep up and be efficent in those skills.

Our fire dept has been considering this same thing. There are both pros and cons. I would talk to your surrounding Paramedics and see what they recommend. It depends on the type of calls you recieve along with the volumes if you ask me.

-Angela
 
I loved Intermediate school. Learned so much. Would go to medic school if I had the time. Becoming an Intermediate also honed my Basic skills and gave me much better clinical skills in general. I now have much better knowledge than just "sick, not sick". I highly suggest it.
 
Flight-LP said:
Having the ability to obtain a higher certification and being able to perform at that higher certification are two very separate and distinct issues. So before you start with the dramatical writings, consider perhaps that it would NOT benefit the patient if Catskills couldn't initiate an IV or intubate. If your squad is BLS, then you cannot initiate ALS therapy without your medical director's and/or state's approval. All that she would be is an EMT with the rote knowledge of some additional skills. The intermediate course really doesn't offer any additional educational value, so unless there is an interest in pursuing advancement into an ALS environment, then no I see no benefit from it.
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This is a good point, but some systems have provisional licenses. They may be licensed as a BLS service but may operate at an Intermediate level if certified staff is on the call. For example, my agency is licensed by the state as a BLS ambulance but whenever any of our Intermediate certified personnel are in the rig on the transport, we become a Intermediate level ambulance and are expected/required to operate accordingly.

Catskills, the decision to pursue an Intermediate level is going to depend upon a lot of factors, several of which are not listed here.

Will your state/Med director allow you to operate at an intermediate level? Will your agency fund the necessary equipment for you to operate at this level? Do you have the call volume/transport times to justify the advancement? Will the ALS services you operate with allow you to perform your skills in their rigs when you rendezvous with them (some won't as this is a liability issue)?

Another thing to remember is that an IV, by itself, has never saved someone's life. A poorly placed IV can, however, be a severe problem to the patient. Do you want the additional liability associated with the advanced skill set?
 
For me, it isn't even all about being able to use the advanced skills. As with each progression in EMS, the higher you go the more you learn. As an Intermediate you will learn much more about pathophysiology/pathology. You may not be able to use any of your intermediate skills, but you may better understand the signs and symptoms of a patient in distress much better.

If there is no obstacle in your way and you enjoy being involved with EMS, then I recommend you continue your education. You can never learn so much that it becomes pointless. It can only benefit you and your future patients and quite probably your agency.

In our system, the FD is EMT-B certified. While a number of the firefighters are personally trained at a higher level, as an agency they function as Basic's. However, on serious calls that they respond with us on, we often rely on them to assist us with establishing an IV or other such typically higher skills.

Really, it isn't so much about what you can do as it is (or should be) about how much more you can learn. Can learning more really hurt?
 
Knowledge is power...even if you don't use it on a day to day basis... it will one day pay for itself.
I am a nationally registered EMT-B... however, I work as a 911 dispatcher (mainly because I cannot live on the EMT-B income)... I still LOVE the education I got, and it's actually helped me identify medical situations when the call comes in, and I am better prepared as far as asking questions and sending the right help...

If you have the time, money and dedication... I say go for it. I would LOVE to go to paramedic school or nursing school.... but, I don't have the money or the time to commit to it right now. I envy you for having what I don't have...
 
skyemt said:
so, you are saying that time really isn't a problem...

and you should just stay a basic instead of maybe being able to do more and help save someone's life?

really!

if you plan on being a part of your association, and you have the ability to get a higher cert, why wouldn't you do it?

it's not about you... it's about the pt in the back of the rig, who you WON'T be able to help, because your were feeling sorry for yourself that you will only be helping paid medics, etc blah blah..

the work we do is not about us... it's about our patients. they don't care too much about our issues... they just want to be helped in the best way possible.

is that a good enough reason for you?
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skyemt - You are absolutely correct. This is not about me. This is all about helping others. The reason I asked this question is I don't want to waste instructor's time, limited state money for EMT-I school and wasted class room space, if there is no value add in helping others. Being able to brag I am EMT-I, without being able to help anyone with those advanced Intermediate skills, is not something I want to waste my time on or any instructors time on. It sounds like there is some value for EMT-I which will make the next leap that much closer.

I want to thank everyone for their comments. Thanks
 
catskills said:
...The reason I asked this question is I don't want to waste instructor's time, limited state money for EMT-I school and wasted class room space, if there is no value add in helping others. Being able to brag I am EMT-I, without being able to help anyone with those advanced Intermediate skills, is not something I want to waste my time on or any instructors time on.
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Improving upon your knowledge is never a waste. I promise you that you'll be a much more effective EMT once you have furthered your education. It sure won't make you any less effective.
 
I recently made the move to -I and highly recommend it. You may plan on never leaving your day job, but "stuff happens" a lot these days and you never know what tomorrow may bring. Yes, you will rehash a lot of -B skills, but you will also learn about many things that will make you a stronger EMT with a greater understanding of how the human body works, even if you never start a line. My .02 would be a recommendation to go for it, and don't worry about wasting anyone's time or resources. Never pass on an opportunity to learn and grow!
 
adding to your knowledge is good but you won't be able to do them in a BLS rig. Maybee you can work per diem for an als service? do 1 shift with them and 1 with the vollie BLS?
 
An issue we have run into is the training. If your system is a BLS only system, where will you get the ongoing ILS training to keep your cert active. Also, in our state, IV cert requires a certain number of sticks per year to remain valid. If your call volume won't support the number of sticks you will need, do you have an alternate plan to keep up your skills?

Just more data to input into the equation.
 
BossyCow said:
If your call volume won't support the number of sticks you will need, do you have an alternate plan to keep up your skills?
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Bossy,
Not to go off on a tangent, but this is exactly why I am leaving my part-time job with the transport service who have been so good to me for a job with County EMS. I felt my skills were slipping fast and decided that I had to make the change that was best for me. While I am a better provider for taking the -I curriculum, I felt that I shouldn't waste a chance to get on with EMS and have the opportunity to grow a little more.
 
I'm starting my EMT-I class on Jan. 15th and very proud to be doing so.
 
Not knowing what your education is outside of EMS, if you will not be able to function at a higher certification level, than have you considered taking science courses (anatomy, physio, general chem, etc) to supplement your Basic training?
 
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