# paramedic degree vs certificate?



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

Im trying to find the pro and cons of getting a paramedic degree or certificate, the schooing ; for a certificate is about half of what a degree would take and i dont want everything crammed into a short amount of time, and i want the best schooling. Im also wondering what the chances for hiring are. Anyone have any insight?


----------



## medicRob

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> Im trying to find the pro and cons of getting a paramedic degree or certificate, the schooing ; for a certificate is about half of what a degree would take and i dont want everything crammed into a short amount of time, and i want the best schooling. Im also wondering what the chances for hiring are. Anyone have any insight?



Degree programs are eligible for Federal funding. Degree programs have general education requirements resulting in the student getting a more rounded education. Degree programs offer articulation and transfer opportunities to other programs. These are just a few things.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

I was actually surprised at the curriculum of the degree really there aren't alot of general education classes mainly english no math or science, and it is considered a science major haha


----------



## medicRob

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> I was actually surprised at the curriculum of the degree really there aren't alot of general education classes mainly english no math or science, and it is considered a science major haha



Bachelors and Associates degree programs differ greatly in the general education requirements. This is true in many degree programs, not just EMS.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

How easy is it to become an RN after becoming a paramedic i've heard a little bit about bridge over classes, but not much..


----------



## nwhitney

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> Im trying to find the pro and cons of getting a paramedic degree or certificate, the schooing ; for a certificate is about half of what a degree would take and i dont want everything crammed into a short amount of time, and i want the best schooling. Im also wondering what the chances for hiring are. Anyone have any insight?



I'd go degree.  From my understanding (I could be wrong) more and more places are requiring a degree.  They do here in Oregon for Paramedics.  While in reality there may not be much of a difference between the two there is a perceived difference and the degree holder often has advantage over someone with a certification.


----------



## medicRob

nwhitney said:


> I'd go degree.  From my understanding (I could be wrong) more and more places are requiring a degree.  They do here in Oregon for Paramedics.  While in reality there may not be much of a difference between the two there is a perceived difference and the degree holder often has advantage over someone with a certification.



Not really. 90% of services pay degreed medics the same as non-degree. This might change in the future. The question to ask yourself is, are you okay with the absolute minimum? Why not expand your knowledge and bring a more informed care to the field? I got my AAS in paramedicine, so I am not speaking blindly on the topic.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

That's what im thinking Im not sure if i want to work closer to a big city or more towards the rural side of things i didn't know if where i wanted to work would affect what i should do or not.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

medicRob said:


> Not really. 90% of services pay degreed medics the same as non-degree. This might change in the future. The question to ask yourself is, are you okay with the absolute minimum? Why not expand your knowledge and bring a more informed care to the field? I got my AAS in paramedicine, so I am not speaking blindly on the topic.



Thats also another reason i was leaning more towards degree, i think i may take the EMT-PM which is a management major im indecisive between the science major or the management major.


----------



## Navajib

I chose the local, two-year degree program to allow further time to study more in depth about each course we cover in the program. IMO, it gives me a better framework to work from as opposed to other one-year certificates. As a current student now that has just completed the first year, I can't imagine placing all the information we have covered into 1 semester. Another aspect is I could transfer credits to apply toward a bachelors. But then again, I have limited EMS experience as a basic--as I just converted to EMS last summer enrolling in an emt-basic course at the local college.


----------



## mgr22

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> Im trying to find the pro and cons of getting a paramedic degree or certificate, the schooing ; for a certificate is about half of what a degree would take and i dont want everything crammed into a short amount of time, and i want the best schooling. Im also wondering what the chances for hiring are. Anyone have any insight?



None of us knows how long we'll be doing EMS. A degree in almost anything will give you opportunities you probably won't have with just paramedic certification.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

mgr22 said:


> None of us knows how long we'll be doing EMS. A degree in almost anything will give you opportunities you probably won't have with just paramedic certification.



Yeah I'm considering a degree in healthcare management also maybe after I get my paramedic degree


----------



## usafmedic45

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> How easy is it to become an RN after becoming a paramedic i've heard a little bit about bridge over classes, but not much..



It's effectively the same as if you were going to go straight into nursing school.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

usafmedic45 said:


> It's effectively the same as if you were going to go straight into nursing school.



So being a medic won't help me class wise at all still have to do the same amount?


----------



## medicRob

Strokin&SmokinGirl97 said:


> So being a medic won't help me class wise at all still have to do the same amount?



Yep. Why shortcut it? Apples and oranges.


----------



## medicstudent101

Go the degree route if you plan on pursuing any further eduction past your paramedic. If you don't plan on going anywhere, just get your certification.


----------



## mgr22

medicstudent101 said:


> If you don't plan on going anywhere, just get your certification.



Plans change, sometimes due to necessity. I wouldn't want to lock myself into one career.


----------



## medicstudent101

mgr22 said:


> Plans change, sometimes due to necessity. I wouldn't want to lock myself into one career.



Of course. It's the very nature of life. Just because you don't have a degree doesn't mean you're locked in a certain career. It just means others will have a slight advantage changing their's.


----------



## Strokin&SmokinGirl97

medicstudent101 said:


> Go the degree route if you plan on pursuing any further eduction past your paramedic. If you don't plan on going anywhere, just get your certification.



Im just going with the degree, i change my mind so much i dont know if i will do it for a lifetime or not, but i think a degree would be worth more school and all, did you get a degree or cert?


----------



## mgr22

medicstudent101 said:


> Of course. It's the very nature of life. Just because you don't have a degree doesn't mean you're locked in a certain career. It just means others will have a slight advantage changing their's.



If you have paramedic certification instead of a degree (the alternative you offered), I'd say people with degrees would have much more than a slight advantage over you, in qualifying for non-EMS opportunities.


----------



## Newmedic20

The school im attending for my EMT-b is non accredited at the moment he will be in about two months, And the instructor told me that this school could give me my degree after it becomes accredited as long as my emt-b liscense hasn't expired. I'm planning on going to this school for paramedics as well by that time he will be accredited and able to offer degrees.


----------



## AMF

Related Question:

I know many of you tend to hate on the shorter certification programs but I'm a premed so I already will have an excellent grasp on the bio chem (premed has, amongst other things, 5 semesters of it), so would doing a cert program still be a hinderance?

I guess this is more a question of curriculum makeup (i.e. nothing that I learned in school helped me get my b, but I've heard evidence to the contrary in regard to paramedicine).


----------



## medicsb

AMF said:


> Related Question:
> 
> I know many of you tend to hate on the shorter certification programs but I'm a premed so I already will have an excellent grasp on the bio chem (premed has, amongst other things, 5 semesters of it), so would doing a cert program still be a hinderance?
> 
> I guess this is more a question of curriculum makeup (i.e. nothing that I learned in school helped me get my b, but I've heard evidence to the contrary in regard to paramedicine).



Concentrate on doing well on the MCAT, getting a high GPA, and padding your resume with superficial extracurriculars (e.g. research on rodents or volunteering).  Unless you get some real medic experience, as in years of work, I don't see a medic cert putting you that much ahead (if at all) of the other applicants.


----------



## motivation15

i never knew you could either get a degree or a cert for a paramedic does anyone know of any schools thats offer and degree?


----------



## fortsmithman

Go for your Bachelors degree.


----------



## AMF

medicsb said:


> Concentrate on doing well on the MCAT, getting a high GPA, and padding your resume with superficial extracurriculars (e.g. research on rodents or volunteering).  Unless you get some real medic experience, as in years of work, I don't see a medic cert putting you that much ahead (if at all) of the other applicants.



Haha opinion on extracurriculars noted.
But I am taking several years off after college and it's not about pulling ahead; I love my job (as a basic) but I could make three times as much with my hypothetical degree and getting a full-time job as a new basic is very difficult.


----------



## nwhitney

AMF said:


> Related Question:
> 
> I know many of you tend to hate on the shorter certification programs but I'm a premed so I already will have an excellent grasp on the bio chem (premed has, amongst other things, 5 semesters of it), so would doing a cert program still be a hinderance?
> 
> I guess this is more a question of curriculum makeup (i.e. nothing that I learned in school helped me get my b, but I've heard evidence to the contrary in regard to paramedicine).



If you already have a degree in something then I feel a paramedic cert. is just fine.  The main thing is having an actual degree in something.  In my experience many agencies/businesses favor people with degrees regardless of what the degree is in.  Always exceptions though and I'm sure some place out there doesn't really care.


----------



## AMF

nwhitney said:


> If you already have a degree in something then I feel a paramedic cert. is just fine.  The main thing is having an actual degree in something.  In my experience many agencies/businesses favor people with degrees regardless of what the degree is in.  Always exceptions though and I'm sure some place out there doesn't really care.



The degree program doesn't actually make you a better paramedic?


----------



## Handsome Robb

If you have a BS in Bio there's no reason to get an AS in Paramedicine...Now if you have Bachelors in something random, non-science related it would benefit you to get the AS in Paramedicine for the science prereqs they require.


----------



## nwhitney

AMF said:


> The degree program doesn't actually make you a better paramedic?



I don't think having a degree would make someone a better medic than someone with a cert.  Rather it's the perception that the business world has of degree holders vs. cert. holders.  Because of this perception I would recommend getting a degree over a cert.  Many other factors determine who is a good medic and who is not.


----------



## medicsb

AMF said:


> Haha opinion on extracurriculars noted.
> But I am taking several years off after college and it's not about pulling ahead; I love my job (as a basic) but I could make three times as much with my hypothetical degree and getting a full-time job as a new basic is very difficult.



Well then.  Toss all those superficial extracurriculars aside.  Actually some type of volunteer work could actually be valuable, but you don't have to spend time in some clinic in a jungle of a 3rd world country if you really don't care about whatever 3rd world country.  Having interviewed med school applicants for my school, I can say it is pretty obvious most only did research or certain volunteer work to "impress" schools and as far as I can tell the faculty interviewers can see right through all that.  kladjhglakj enough about that.

If you're taking time off to actually work, then great.  A certification program would probably be best.  The benefit of the degree programs is that they give a medic a general educational foundation that certification programs do not do, or do poorly.  You have that educational foundation and then some.  A degree worth going for maybe something like a masters in disaster planning/preparedness or EMS management (a lot of these can be done over the internet).  Aside from advancing the profession as a whole, I see degrees being important in EMS if you want to gain supervisory or administrative positions (in my area many of such positions require at least an AAS, but a masters in something relevant to the field is often preferred).


----------



## AMF

medicsb said:


> Well then.  Toss all those superficial extracurriculars aside.  Actually some type of volunteer work could actually be valuable, but you don't have to spend time in some clinic in a jungle of a 3rd world country if you really don't care about whatever 3rd world country.  Having interviewed med school applicants for my school, I can say it is pretty obvious most only did research or certain volunteer work to "impress" schools and as far as I can tell the faculty interviewers can see right through all that.  kladjhglakj enough about that.
> 
> If you're taking time off to actually work, then great.  A certification program would probably be best.  The benefit of the degree programs is that they give a medic a general educational foundation that certification programs do not do, or do poorly.  You have that educational foundation and then some.  A degree worth going for maybe something like a masters in disaster planning/preparedness or EMS management (a lot of these can be done over the internet).  Aside from advancing the profession as a whole, I see degrees being important in EMS if you want to gain supervisory or administrative positions (in my area many of such positions require at least an AAS, but a masters in something relevant to the field is often preferred).



Aaahh Engineering is sort of like that in that you can get a PhD but most opt for an MBA or Masters in Engineering Mgmt (MEM) and all the good engineers go into business eventually which I can't stand..... but anyway, thanks for the advice.


----------



## jccilm

If you get your certification through a community college, sometimes they'll give you credit towards your AAS, so you just have to round out a few courses to qualify for the degree. That's what I'm basically doing right now. You just need to research things and find out if something like that is available to you.


----------



## mikeward

*Paramedic AAS to Bachelor's in Health Science/EMS Management*

When you take the community college route to get paramedic certification there are general education gaps when you  want to get a bachelor degree.

Most paramedic programs issue an Associate of Applied Science or a Technical Associate.  These are considered vocational programs that are not designed for transfer to a four year college or university.

Attached is an program of study between a community college AAS EMS degree and a university Bachelor of Science in Health Science.

The GWU program starts at the junior level and assumes all of the lower division (1st and 2nd year) general education courses are complete.

There is a 9 to 12 semester gap between the AAS degree and the general education expectations at the university.  

For this example, six of those hours (Math and second English course) MUST be completed prior to admission to the university.

Fall 2011 changes in university general education requirements and in Health Science curriculum make this form obsolete.

*Strokin&SmokinGirl97*
Go for the degree:

Nursing - best clinical approach

Health Care Management - most flexibility

Check jems.com "Education & Training Resource" and a 2010 article in EMS World by Skip Kirkwood 

Good luck

Mike


----------

