# Whats the best school to go to for EMT?



## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

So I'm planning on starting school for EMT-B in august. I was planning to go to my community college, which has good reviews for the program. But some people are telling me to go to a university, or somewhere else. So which schools would be better, a community college or a university?


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## Medic One (Jun 15, 2011)

It really depends on the state you live in. Be sure to take a program that will test for the National Registry.  

Also check with your state department of EMS, they usually list a program calander and you can get pass/fail stats on instructors/programs.

Many local Volunteer organizations also offer the training sometimes for free if you join the service.


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## nwhitney (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> So I'm planning on starting school for EMT-B in august. I was planning to go to my community college, which has good reviews for the program. But some people are telling me to go to a university, or somewhere else. So which schools would be better, a community college or a university?



I don't think a university is better just because it's a university.  Just like I don't think one school is better than another because it cost more money.  To me what makes a school good is the faculty, students, equipment, # of lab techs., and lab time.  Talk to the faculty at both the university and the community college.  What is their educational background?  Experience working in the field?  Ratio of instructors to students? How much lab time can you get?  Access to ambulance & ER rotations is another area to look at.  Talk to former students of both programs and find out their likes & dislikes of each. What is the professional relationship between the schools and the EMS community?  Do they offer a cert. or a degree?  Just some of my thoughts.


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## nwhitney (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> So I'm planning on starting school for EMT-B in august. I was planning to go to my community college, which has good reviews for the program. But some people are telling me to go to a university, or somewhere else. So which schools would be better, a community college or a university?



Why do some people think you should go to a university?


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## jgmedic (Jun 15, 2011)

For basic, it really doesn't matter what school you go to, providing it can get you the NREMT-B


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> Why do some people think you should go to a university?


i don't know, like people are telling me for the county community college, their saying that the certification would only be good for the county. which makes no sense.


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> I don't think a university is better just because it's a university.  Just like I don't think one school is better than another because it cost more money.  To me what makes a school good is the faculty, students, equipment, # of lab techs., and lab time.  Talk to the faculty at both the university and the community college.  What is their educational background?  Experience working in the field?  Ratio of instructors to students? How much lab time can you get?  Access to ambulance & ER rotations is another area to look at.  Talk to former students of both programs and find out their likes & dislikes of each. What is the professional relationship between the schools and the EMS community?  Do they offer a cert. or a degree?  Just some of my thoughts.



The labs are really awesome, they have the best equipment. I know at the school they have their own fire house for training. The program is competitive and really strict on just getting into the program. But they offer a certificate, and then they have a degree called an AAS Degree. Which I think is what you can get after becoming a paramedic. But the school has a really good background from what I know of.


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## TransportJockey (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> i don't know, like people are telling me for the county community college, their saying that the certification would only be good for the county. which makes no sense.



TX does not do county by county certs. If you get your certification as an EMT-Basic, it's good in the whole state, plus you'll have your NREMT cert as well


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## nwhitney (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> The labs are really awesome, they have the best equipment. I know at the school they have their own fire house for training. The program is competitive and really strict on just getting into the program. But they offer a certificate, and then they have a degree called an AAS Degree. Which I think is what you can get after becoming a paramedic. But the school has a really good background from what I know of.



This sounds similar to the program I'm in.  Is there anything the university offers that the community college does not?


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## bigbaldguy (Jun 15, 2011)

I went to a for profit for my basic and I really regret it. If I had it to do again I would go with a community college program. On the other hand if you need to get through the program fast so you can start working and have the money to drop a for profit school will get you through faster in most cases.


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> This sounds similar to the program I'm in.  Is there anything the university offers that the community college does not?


Yeah the school also has a police academy, nursing, dental hygene, and I think some other stuff but I can't think of it. But I know it just turned into a 4 year school about a year ago.


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## nwhitney (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> Yeah the school also has a police academy, nursing, dental hygene, and I think some other stuff but I can't think of it. But I know it just turned into a 4 year school about a year ago.



Sorry I meant does the university offer anything different then the community college regarding the Basic program.


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> Sorry I meant does the university offer anything different then the community college regarding the Basic program.


I have no idea, my friend said that like someone he knew went to university of Austin. I haven't even looked into a university just cause there isn't any near by, and I can't afford to live on my own. The only difference is probably just money.


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## nwhitney (Jun 15, 2011)

taylorhoss1 said:


> I have no idea, my friend said that like someone he knew went to university of Austin. I haven't even looked into a university just cause there isn't any near by, and I can't afford to live on my own. The only difference is probably just money.



Sounds like the community college might be the best choice for you.  Of course only you can make that decision.  If you can and haven't done it already go to the school and ask the EMT-B students any questions you might have.  Talk to an advisor and/or instructor in the EMS/EMT program.  The faculty there might have info about the program at the university.


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 15, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> Sounds like the community college might be the best choice for you.  Of course only you can make that decision.  If you can and haven't done it already go to the school and ask the EMT-B students any questions you might have.  Talk to an advisor and/or instructor in the EMS/EMT program.  The faculty there might have info about the program at the university.


Yeah I really like the school and the paramedics I talked to seem like they really like the school. So hopefully it works out, and I'll just talk to an academic advisor. Thank you for the information.


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## Chief Complaint (Jun 16, 2011)

nwhitney said:


> Sounds like the community college might be the best choice for you.  Of course only you can make that decision.  If you can and haven't done it already *go to the school and ask the EMT-B students any questions you might have*.  Talk to an advisor and/or instructor in the EMS/EMT program.  The faculty there might have info about the program at the university.



Great advice right there.  I would absolutely do that, or maybe even go to some local fire departments and ask people what they think of the EMT-B program at said school.

Honestly, i dont think it makes a huge deal where you go for Basic school.  Im sure there are some cruddy schools out there, but i dont really see how a Basic program could be THAT bad.  There isnt really a ton of information to learn and as long as you have a good text book, you could almost teach yourself.


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## taylorhoss1 (Jun 17, 2011)

Chief Complaint said:


> Great advice right there.  I would absolutely do that, or maybe even go to some local fire departments and ask people what they think of the EMT-B program at said school.
> 
> Honestly, i dont think it makes a huge deal where you go for Basic school.  Im sure there are some cruddy schools out there, but i dont really see how a Basic program could be THAT bad.  There isnt really a ton of information to learn and as long as you have a good text book, you could almost teach yourself.


if I went to community college just for basic, would it be better if I went to a different school for paramedic? Or would community college be fine for paramedic also? Cause I'm not sure where I would even start to look for a different school


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## glock22brent (Jun 20, 2011)

i went to a community college for my basic course simply because it was $1100 cheaper than it was at the 4-year university down the road. 

thinks to note:

university pass rate was 91%
cc pass rate was 67%

university made you pay for health insurance
cc didnt

university had city FD contract
cc didnt so you had to do them with either private companies or out of town FD's (mine was about 30 miles away, but loved it)

my cc course seemed very unorganized, but the actual instructors were great, which lead to me getting certified.
I cant comment on the efficiency and organization of the University


now that doesnt necessarily mean that the cc had a worse program, quite possibly just worst students. the three people in my class that never missed a single day and actually studied for our tests passed the NREMT on the first try.  its really not hard to pass the course, a monkey could do it. its the NREMT exam that you will fail if you dont pay attention in class and study your books. besides, would you really want to just barely pass the NREMT exam and then totally screw up in the field? proly not.

finally, this all took place here in Texas as well, and if there is one major tip I could give you........FILL OUT STATE APP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! I HAVE BEEN NATIONALLY CERTIFIED SINCE MAY 11TH AND IM STILL WAITING FOR TEXAS!!!!!
my background check was done april 19th and online app was done may 11th, the day i was nationally certified. if youre planning on getting a job right out the gates, you can forget about it......


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