# Georgia Recertification



## allen griggs (Aug 12, 2010)

My license expired 16 years ago.
 I worked as a Basic EMT for 3 years, and as a Paramedic for 11 more years.

I'm thinking I would like to get back into EMS work.
What all would be involved in getting my Paramedic license back?


And, would any EMS hire a guy who is 59 years old, and has been out of the field for 16 years?


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## Shishkabob (Aug 12, 2010)

Your license expired WAY too long ago.  We no longer use rotating tourniquets for CHF 


Your best bet is just to go back to school, as I highly doubt any agency will re-certify you without you being up to speed on what is done today... a lot has changed.


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## FF-EMT Diver (Aug 12, 2010)

What part of Ga. are you from?

You would have to go back to school and redo all of your stuff. At your age I would recommend intermediate.

I would imagine you stand a pretty good chance of getting a job per se as long as you're in good health.


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## allen griggs (Aug 12, 2010)

I was a Paramedic in Baldwin County.

Y'all are right, I checked with the state.
All my on the job experience would count for nothing, I would have to start back to school, I guess, basic school first.

No way I'm going back to basic school.


I can see them requiring me to go back to Paramedic school, being out of the field for 17 years.
However, the rule is that if you license has been expired for 4 years you have to go back to school, you can't renew.
That  is unfair, if my license had been expired for only 5 years I would have been fully  qualified to get right back on the ambulance, with only a refresher course.

I wonder, if an RN's license has expired for 5 years if they are kicked out of their profession.


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## reaper (Aug 12, 2010)

No offense man, But 17 years out of the business means you know nothing any more. A lot has changed in the last 20 years in EMS. You would need to start over, just to know what you were doing.


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## FF-EMT Diver (Aug 12, 2010)

Agreed. I can't say I see it as unfair, there is doubtless very much the same as it was 20 yrs ago.


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## AtlantaEMT (Aug 12, 2010)

There is a 5week accelerated EMT-I couse at Rescue Training Inc in Savannah, GA.  A lot of former EMTs were in my class who have been out for as little as 4-5 years and they said that everything has changed big time.  It's worth checking into.


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## allen griggs (Aug 13, 2010)

Give me a rundown on the changes over the past 17 years.
Or, if the list is too long, give me the top five.


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## FF-EMT Diver (Aug 15, 2010)

Cardiology.
Pharmacology.
Trauma.
Peds.


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## akflightmedic (Aug 15, 2010)

allen griggs said:


> I wonder, if an RN's license has expired for 5 years if they are kicked out of their profession.



First, I find it amazing that you feel above going back to school. If it is soooo beneath you, take a boot camp crash course and get it done in a couple weeks. I think you are going to be quite surprised at what has changed and how little you know and thought you knew.

Second, I am so tired of seeing the comparison to nursing. We are NOT nurses, we do not do the same job and we do not have the same education foundation.

If a nurse has been lapsed for 5 years and wanted to re-enter the profession, do you think he/she would jump straight into an ICU or ER or do you think she would ask for a job and request something "slower paced or less demanding" such as med-surg or an ortho floor?

I seriously doubt any nurse would ever try to jump right back into the heat of the battle after 5+ years away, not to even think about your 15+ years. It is foolish to think you are even up to speed knowledge wise.

If you are interested, go through the motions, go back to school. Your story would be a great one to tell and we would all love to hear the perspective of then versus now.


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## medicdan (Aug 15, 2010)

OP, I challenge you-- do you want a medical practitioner taking care of you (whether it be EMT, Paramedic, RN, MD, RT, etc) who has not seen a textbook in 15+ years, seen a patient, or seen a piece of equipment? Do you expect to be given Carte Blanche with patient care? How about after a 24-hour refresher? Would you go under the knife with surgeon who has taken a "refresher" course? How about a paramedic who hasn't seen the inside of a truck for two decades?
Do you truly know current protocols? ACLS dosages? Pediatric weight based calculations? Ventilator settings? ECG proficiency (identification of a STEMI)? How about basic BLS CPR? How to use a stretcher?


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## allen griggs (Aug 15, 2010)

I didn't say I didn't need to go back to school.
I said it is absurd to think that I would need to go back to basic school.

There is no substitute for 11 years of full time field experience as a Paramedic.

I doubt that there is any change that I couldn't get proficient at in a 120 hour recert course, if only one existed, plus, of course an ACLS course.


Well, my EMT boys, it is a moot point,  I am not going back to school for 2 1/2 years.
I did enjoy my many years as an EMT and I always  tried my best. There are people alive today because I was there to save their lives.
Y'all keep up the good work.


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## akflightmedic (Aug 15, 2010)

Glad you have made the right decision...there will be an equally or greater number of lives saved because of the choice you have made today.


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