# Ucla center for prehospital care



## bwg (May 9, 2011)

Is anyone on here a graduate of the EMT or Paramedic program at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care. Any info would be helpful.


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## fafinaf (May 9, 2011)

I graduated from the EMT program. It's a great program. It taught me a lot and I feel like I got a great education there. It's taught by medics that are currently working and medics who have had a lot of experience. There is plenty of tutoring available if you need it and they are very helpful. People that I kept in touch with after class all got a job and passed their NREMT first try. I think that says a lot about the program. If you have any other questions, let me know.


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## bwg (May 9, 2011)

I wanted to know if there is anything I should know before I start the course. Do I need to brush up on anatomy or will it I learn most of these things in the course anyway. Did you find a job soon after you passed the test? Also are you planning to attend the paramedic program?


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## HelpatUCLACPC (May 10, 2011)

BWG, 

My name is Rosa and I work at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care.  I work closely (11 years now) with all of our programs including EMT and Paramedic so I hope that I can be of help to you!  

You are welcome to come to our Student Information Sessions where we talk about how to prepare for careers in EMS and how to prepare for the courses (e.g., what to study, prerequisites, etc.).  We also invite past students and the faculty to speak so you can hear from them directly - and of course, ask them questions.  

If you are interested, you can learn more and sign up for free at cpc.mednet.ucla.edu/cpc/student-information-sessions.  

Of course you are always welcome to call us, e-mail us, or visit us.  You can get more details at cpc.mednet.ucla.edu.

I hope this information helps you.  Good luck on your search!

Rosa


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## Acetone (May 10, 2011)

bwg said:


> I wanted to know if there is anything I should know before I start the course. Do I need to brush up on anatomy or will it I learn most of these things in the course anyway. Did you find a job soon after you passed the test? Also are you planning to attend the paramedic program?



I'm a graduate of the program.  In fact, I know two other people from my current job that graduated from the UCLA program and we all passed the NREMT on the first try.  They really set the standards for written tests and skills test very high, for good reason though.  

As for anatomy, I think most of it you can learn and study during the course.  All the anatomy we learned in the class is pretty basic stuff, so there's no need to go too in depth.  

If you're not picky with your company, jobs are pretty easy to find so long as you have your ambulance certificate.


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## mycrofft (May 10, 2011)

*And UCLA offers a RN to EMT bridge*

As I found out online when I was looking into it for EMTLIFE purposes...and my own!B)


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## Death_By_Sexy (May 11, 2011)

I took a bunch of extra classes at the CPC (ACLS, PHTLS) and am currently in the Paramedic program. Great school. I don't know much about the EMT program, but I assume is more of the same. The cost for the programs all seem high to me, since I pay for everything out of my own pocket, but every one has turned out to be worth every penny. Instructors are all top notch, the level of education is great. They list some of the statistics on graduation, the sheer number of people that pass registry for EMT/EMT-P is amazing. In my humble opinion, you can't do much better in SoCal for EMS education.


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## bwg (May 11, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your replies. I am already signed up for the EMT program at UCLA, but unfortunately I have to wait until October. I'm really looking forward to the EMT course and eventually plan to attend the paramedic program. Also thank you Rosa. I went to the EMT information session and I plan to attend the paramedic session as well even though I have a long way to go before I'm eligible for that. I had one question that I was curious about. I know all firefighters in LA are require to be EMT's, but are all paramedics who work for the fire department required to be firefighters? I've heard in NYC that even though EMS is part of the FDNY firefighters and paramedics are separate from one another.


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## jgmedic (May 11, 2011)

bwg said:


> Thank you everyone for your replies. I am already signed up for the EMT program at UCLA, but unfortunately I have to wait until October. I'm really looking forward to the EMT course and eventually plan to attend the paramedic program. Also thank you Rosa. I went to the EMT information session and I plan to attend the paramedic session as well even though I have a long way to go before I'm eligible for that. I had one question that I was curious about. I know all firefighters in LA are require to be EMT's, but are all paramedics who work for the fire department required to be firefighters? I've heard in NYC that even though EMS is part of the FDNY firefighters and paramedics are separate from one another.



There is only one FD in LACo that has single role medics(outside of the old LAFD blue helmets)


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## hoeyxd (Jun 14, 2011)

i just finished the emtb program at ucla cpc a couple days ago (i need to schedule my nremt...), and i really enjoyed the class. very fun, fast paced and challenging, it was hard to manage with being a waiter. anyone who is considering ucla cpc, i recommend memorizing all of the a&p before the start of the class because all the anatomy and physiology is covered in a day, the rest of the class is applying it to how/why certain things happen to the body & it makes you figure out why you treat someone a certain way instead of memorizing what to do if you see a certain pair of vital signs. the tests are set at a really high standard, so if you take the course then study as much as you can outside of the classroom, take advantage of all the resources they provide and make the most of the labs/lectures because the class goes by in a flash.

so anyone considering uclacpc, i'd recommend it! very friendly/knowledgeable instructors, alot of hands on equipment (even an ambulance for sims lol) and if you put the effort in the material will be grilled into your brain. the only major con is that parking sucks and parking meters destroyed my wallet


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## Acetone (Jun 14, 2011)

hoeyxd said:


> i just finished the emtb program at ucla cpc a couple days ago (i need to schedule my nremt...), and i really enjoyed the class. very fun, fast paced and challenging, it was hard to manage with being a waiter. anyone who is considering ucla cpc, i recommend memorizing all of the a&p before the start of the class because all the anatomy and physiology is covered in a day, the rest of the class is applying it to how/why certain things happen to the body & it makes you figure out why you treat someone a certain way instead of memorizing what to do if you see a certain pair of vital signs. the tests are set at a really high standard, so if you take the course then study as much as you can outside of the classroom, take advantage of all the resources they provide and make the most of the labs/lectures because the class goes by in a flash.
> 
> so anyone considering uclacpc, i'd recommend it! very friendly/knowledgeable instructors, alot of hands on equipment (even an ambulance for sims lol) and if you put the effort in the material will be grilled into your brain. the only major con is that parking sucks and parking meters destroyed my wallet



How much did you pay for parking?  I got a monthly permit for hte lot right next to the CPC, which was only about 60 bucks.


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## Death_By_Sexy (Jun 14, 2011)

Is the EMT course not at the actual CPC in Inglewood? Or is it in Westwood?


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## Acetone (Jun 14, 2011)

Death_By_Sexy said:


> Is the EMT course not at the actual CPC in Inglewood? Or is it in Westwood?



I took it at Westwood.


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## 8jimi8 (Jun 14, 2011)

i'm not trying to be ultra critical, but 

how is covering a&p in a single day at all thorough, or a high standard?


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## bwg (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks for your input and advice. I'm really looking forward to starting the class. Did you guys take the accelerated 3 week course? I will be taking the two month weekend course starting in October.


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## Acetone (Jun 15, 2011)

Yeah, I took the 3 week accelerated course.  It was a lot of fun.  That's also the reason my A and P was one day.


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## terrible one (Jun 15, 2011)

8jimi8 said:


> i'm not trying to be ultra critical, but
> 
> how is covering a&p in a single day at all thorough, or a high standard?



Because most people that take an EMT or paramedic program only take one and have nothing to compare it to. Sorry a 2 or 3 week EMT class is by no means a great program. All they did is cram enough info into your mind so that you can pass a test.


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## hoeyxd (Jun 16, 2011)

acetone, i lost count at 120 $ but i know i spent well over that amount for parking

8jimi8, the class website "strongly" suggests taking or atleast being familiar with a&p prior to the start of the class, so i guess they assume the classes have followed their suggestion  

i took the weeknight class in westwood


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## EMT1222 (Jul 29, 2011)

I liked that they offered an intense 1 month class where you were there every day (yes, Saturdays!  Can't remember if Sundays, maybe not) from like 8-5 but you were done in a month.  I know most people from my class passed the NREMT on the first try.


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## AnthonyM83 (Mar 15, 2012)

8jimi8 said:


> i'm not trying to be ultra critical, but
> 
> how is covering a&p in a single day at all thorough, or a high standard?


 It's totally okay to be critical....the answer is that it's more time than I got at my EMT program which was two quarters long. I came out knowing very little and didn't really know what to do on scene. Don't think I could have even passed the skills and written testing for the UCLA refresher program (which they say is a little more lax than their actual EMT program)

Remember, EMT programs may be 3 weeks or 3 months or 6 months....they're OFTEN the same amount of hours.

I'll tell you that I can guess that a ride-along is from UCLA within the first 1-3 hours, because of their knowledge and attitude about EMS.


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## Woodtownemt (Mar 15, 2012)

I'm in a pickle about the ucla cpc program. I currently work in a clinic mon thru fri and on a rig on saturdays. My week job pretty much takes up my whole week as far as fre time while when working on a rig full time I had more free time......the pickle is I want to get my extra certs in prep for hopefully attending the ucla medic program but can't working at the clinic what would you guys do run with the clinic and wait for school out go back to a rigg full time and get the certs and hopefully prep for medic school. Any advice would help I have been loosing sleep over it. By the way this website is by fast the best I encounter as far as seem different pov on different issues its great. Thanks everyone
Woodtown emt


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## AnthonyM83 (Mar 16, 2012)

My brain had a mini seizure trying to read that post. Perhaps, re-write with punctuation and proofreading. I understand what you were asking exactly.


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