# Best EMT School in Calgary Alberta?



## InsidiousStealth (May 10, 2010)

Hi there, I was wondering what the best school would be in calgary alberta. I took my EMR at sait and liked the instructors. I heard good things about Alberta health and safety institute. I also heard flatline respose wasn't very good. Can you recommend some others?

Also my buddy was saying since it said on the sait statistics that EMT there has a 100 percent employment so i was thinking does it really matter where you graduate from since you have to get certified at ACP anyways? Or does each institute you go to have an effect on employment?

Thanks


----------



## kristen (Jun 3, 2010)

Alberta health and safty for sure!!!!! and if you pass acp who cares what school you went to your obviously smart enough to be in the feild...... hopfully


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 3, 2010)

sweet yeah im applying there today coincidentally what makes them better then other schools? I heard they're the best too elsewhere

Also how hard is the entrance exam ? is it as hard as ACP was ?


----------



## kristen (Jun 3, 2010)

yeah im also applying there for emt i took my emr there and they were an awsome school they over prepare you for acp so acp seems like a breeze. entrance exam would be no harder then your emr  final exam wich was so easy i thought anyway. i dont think acp was really all that hard but it was more nerveracking then anything!


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 3, 2010)

When did you take ACP? I just finished mine on may 14th and im still waiting for my test results it sucks. I am like 70 percent sure I passed, I took my EMR at SAIT and I had a good teacher but there were some things that were barely taught in class and one thing i was taught failed my practical the first day and i took a prep class there and they gave us a test with a bunch of wrong answers so im really distrustful of them right now so I hope I get in.

I just went there today and handed in all my stuff their photocopier was broken so i couldnt give them my high school diploma or my drivers license and i have to wait a month to get my security clearance and im taking my written test there on tuesday.

Are you trying to get in for august first by chance? Hopefully we can get in together! i asked the secretary person there and they said that they have 26 applicants right now and 24 seats but they said they're in the process of denying some of them or something like that


----------



## kristen (Jun 4, 2010)

i took acp may 14th as well and passed my practical first try. there im pretty sure i passed the written but who knows  i know i got 3 questions wrong for sure and they were probly the easier ones on the test!!! what did they teach you at sait? and you took prep night at ahasti or sait? the emr instructor at ahasti is also an acp examiner and i do beleive he made some questions on the test cant really remember but yeah  i feel pretty good about it anyway.  a month to get your security clearance? umm thats rediculous  i guess it depends where you are i got mine don ein innisfail and it was done in 3 days and they dont charge you. yeah im trying to get in for august 1st if i dont get in  i might just try another school . yeah i talked to the emt coordinator a couple days ago she said theres been 26 applicants and only 8 accepted so far.


----------



## fortsmithman (Jun 4, 2010)

kristen said:


> i took acp may 14th as well and passed my practical first try. there im pretty sure i passed the written but who knows  i know i got 3 questions wrong for sure and they were probly the easier ones on the test!!! what did they teach you at sait? and you took prep night at ahasti or sait? the emr instructor at ahasti is also an acp examiner and i do beleive he made some questions on the test cant really remember but yeah  i feel pretty good about it anyway.  a month to get your security clearance? umm thats rediculous  i guess it depends where you are i got mine don ein innisfail and it was done in 3 days and they dont charge you. yeah im trying to get in for august 1st if i dont get in  i might just try another school . yeah i talked to the emt coordinator a couple days ago she said theres been 26 applicants and only 8 accepted so far.


My RCMP security clearance took a day to complete.  That's probably because I've had to get numerous clearances done.  I'm a member of my local Citizen's On Patrol group.  I'm on the board of director's of my town's friendship centre those required clearances, as well I've done security and mascot work for a the territorial sport's federation.  It seems everywhere I've volunteered requires a clearance.


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 4, 2010)

kristen said:


> i took acp may 14th as well and passed my practical first try. there im pretty sure i passed the written but who knows  i know i got 3 questions wrong for sure and they were probly the easier ones on the test!!! what did they teach you at sait? and you took prep night at ahasti or sait? the emr instructor at ahasti is also an acp examiner and i do beleive he made some questions on the test cant really remember but yeah  i feel pretty good about it anyway.  a month to get your security clearance? umm thats rediculous  i guess it depends where you are i got mine don ein innisfail and it was done in 3 days and they dont charge you. yeah im trying to get in for august 1st if i dont get in  i might just try another school . yeah i talked to the emt coordinator a couple days ago she said theres been 26 applicants and only 8 accepted so far.



oh really? Maybe I still have a chance then. How far along are you? Have you already done everything and handed everything in? I am taking the written test on tuesday. If you haven't taken it or anything we should maybe study or something


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 5, 2010)

Oh sorry I forgot to say what Sait did wrong...

Well my teacher who was a paramedic taught us to put a towel or cloth underneath the head of a trauma patient on the longboard and i did that. Also in class when we did scenarios no one EVER said anything about "headblocks" or towel rolls" to secure the head it was just tape. My buddy who took the course with me said that it was talked about but barely at all. I honestly don't remember it at all and even during the prep class i took there no one said that during their scenarios either....so i failed the first practical for not putting headblocks or towel rolls around the head and for putting a towel under their head...needless to say i was extremely upset about it.


----------



## RielHalfbreed (Jun 6, 2010)

kristen said:


> Alberta health and safty for sure!!!!! and if you pass acp who cares what school you went to your obviously smart enough to be in the feild...... hopfully



You guys might be wise to ask AHASTI about their post graduation employment rates. Someone close to me recently graduated from an EMT class there and less than half the class is employed in EMS a year later. Food for thought.


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 6, 2010)

After reading your "what happened to AHASTI" thread I probably won't be going there. If you read what someone commented on and confirmed your claims it really turned me off from going to there...I might just go to SAIT now....but it all depends really...I still have to see if i passed ACP first I am pretty sure i did but you  never know right


----------



## kristen (Jun 8, 2010)

really? i heard the emt teacher there is reaaallly good! what other good schools are in calgary then?


----------



## kristen (Jun 8, 2010)

I passed acp!! didnt do as good as i thought but a pass is a pass!! im a bit torn for what to do about school now....


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jun 8, 2010)

I'm in the same boat as you I am currently applied for sait and still might get in but i have to wait a little bit though to first see if i can get a spot. Me and my mom did a lot of research on schools in calgary for EMT and we came to the conclusion that Professional Medic Associates and SAIT are probably the best choices, we also looked at the accreditation leases or whatever they had for each one and flatline response, AHASTI, only have 1 or 2 year accreditation terms which seems kinda weird while PMA and Sait all have 5 year terms and just seem much more professional. I hope i get into sait cause PMA won't start til october when i called them

I passed ACP too what was your mark? Mine was 78


----------



## Binski (Jun 27, 2010)

Hi!!  I had to jump in here to give an opinion.  I took my course at Flatline Response.  They have an excellent program that is accredited with the Canadian Medical Association for 6 years.  You can chech their website at www.cma.ca and find all the alberta schools that are accredited.  What I liked about flatline was that the classes were small (we had 8 in our group) and I got plenty of practice time with lots!!! of equipment and access to the instructor.  Since it was more like an on-line program, I had plenty of free time to study and I even worked part-time while going to school.  I don't know about the other schools when it comes to practicum placements - I heard horror stories from others who went to sait, that it took them almost 6 months to even GET ON practicum - at flatline, I was on hospital a week after finishing the theory and I waited about 2 weeks after finishing that to get on ambulance.  Lastly, to help me out with the ACP exam, they put together an ACP Prep Day that gave me plenty of tips on how to write the exam and pass the practical.

Good luck in your search!!  All the schools are about equal, i would say.


----------



## AdhesiveMedicalStrip (Jul 6, 2010)

RielHalfbreed said:


> You guys might be wise to ask AHASTI about their post graduation employment rates. Someone close to me recently graduated from an EMT class there and less than half the class is employed in EMS a year later. Food for thought.




The same can be applied to other EMT classes due to hiring freezes and AH&S shenanigans. It's not specific to AHASTI students. I'm a SAIT graduate and have been busting my balls trying to find work.


----------



## InsidiousStealth (Jul 6, 2010)

AdhesiveMedicalStrip said:


> The same can be applied to other EMT classes due to hiring freezes and AH&S shenanigans. It's not specific to AHASTI students. I'm a SAIT graduate and have been busting my balls trying to find work.



Really? When did you graduate? What about industrial?


----------



## AdhesiveMedicalStrip (Aug 13, 2010)

InsidiousStealth said:


> Really? When did you graduate? What about industrial?



I'm doing industrial, now. Truck isn't bad if you're a self-entertainer, but I'm going to try to get in on some clinic openings. The only problem I'm having with truck right now is I can feel my skill-set eroding away every hour that passes.


----------



## aemtgal55 (Oct 8, 2010)

*Best School is what you make it*

I just finished my EMT at Flatline.  The best school is what you make it.  There were 9 people in our class 8 really happy and 1 not - she was always late, never handed in her stuff, and was always mad about not being able to text during class time.  then she just stopped coming to class.  We were glad when she quit she made some of the days just suck for the rest of us.

 I thought it was great I worked through the program there was lots of online study - It was great to study and to chat with other classmates online. I had to travel to class so the contact was good. There was no break between between practicum and school, went on hopsital 6 days after last class and only had 9 days before staring ambulance at City of Calgary. By the way Flatline has 6 year accreditation with CMA like SAIT and PMA. I would do it again I wish they had a Paramedic program.

When i did my research they all seemed about the same, it boiled down to the schedule for me since I had to travel and I have a family and kids to think about while going to school this was a good fit for me 

Cant wait for ACP and going to work. Hope everyone a good experience where ever you choose to go.


----------

