# advice for a aspiring emt



## hoeyxd (Jan 23, 2011)

hi, My name is nick and this is my first post on these forums, but definitely not the first time i've looked around on emtlife. i've been struggling to find a career i would really enjoy doing, and i've finally decided that i want to be involved in emergency health care, and i'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me give me advice on my plan; good and bad. i'm 20, turning 21 in july and i am taking the ucla prehospital care center's emt-B and emt prep course in march.

my plan:
i'm going to order the books required for the course ahead of time and just studying my butt off in anatomy, medical terminology and physiology before the prep and actual emt course, but it will have to wait because the actual courses have drained my savings. 
i just moved to arcadia, california (for personal reasons) from bothell, washington, and am enrolled in ucla course because it's near impossible to get science and emt courses in a california community college as a new out of state student. i've heard good things about the ucla program on emtlife and i plan on quitting my waiting job and living off of savings while i take the class (11 weeks) so i can dedicate all of my time to studying the course material. after passing the class, the national registry, earning my certification in la county and obtaining my ambulance license i'd like to find another waiting job and volunteer at the sierra madre fd or any local volunteer service and gain a little experience before i apply to a paying emt position (unless i find a paying emt position) and enrolling in p school. 

my doubts: 
first off i willingly moved to california, fully aware of how crappy the economy is here and am afraid that i won't get a job. i've found atleast 5 threads of californian emt's struggling to find work, i don't even know if volunteer positions are available. the thing that makes me feel like i can make this work is that all my friends told me it would be impossible to get a job and get classes in california, and i've been unable to get classes in the 5 months i've been here but i found a job 2 weeks after moving here, because i'm the type of person fills out 100 applications, goes to every interview and keeps trying until i get what i need. secondly, i will not have anything to put on my resume that would matter, i only have 15 credits done at a community college done in washington because i'm on my own financially and i've been struggling with money and don't quality for ny financial aid because i'm in an ab540 program (which doesn't even matter because i can't get priority as an out of state student) although i am in no way giving up on a college degree, i'd like to go back to school as a paramedic because i figure they get paid more than emt's (and by then i'd definitely be a california resident). 

if all fails, i plan on moving back to washington with my mom (in king county) and living under her roof while trying to get into that UW paramedic aa degree program. i know paramedic certification varies with every state, but is it wrong to assume a nationally registered emt can be certified to work in different states? 

so can anyone give me advice on what i'm doing? will i be able to find a volunteer position or job as an emt-b w/o college experience ? do fire departments hire emts/paramedics w/o college degrees? i'd really appreciate some guidance.

thanks! and sorry for the long post.


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## HotelCo (Jan 23, 2011)

I'm at work, so I'll have to wait until I get home to type out a longer reply, but the big thing is: DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB.

You have no other source of income. Just keep the job. You can drop down to part time if you HAVE to (wait until a few weeks in the course to find out), but don't outright quit.


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## Ewok Jerky (Jan 23, 2011)

HotelCo said:


> I'm at work, so I'll have to wait until I get home to type out a longer reply, but the big thing is: DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB.
> 
> You have no other source of income. Just keep the job. You can drop down to part time if you HAVE to (wait until a few weeks in the course to find out), but don't outright quit.



good advice, I would just like to add: DONT QUIT YOUR JOB!!

I was lucky enough to get a n EMT-B job right after certification but it still took 1 month for the hiring prices, and then it was 4-5 months before I was consistently getting enough hours to quit my non-ems job. Your plan is solid but don't quit, EMT-B class is not so difficult that you can't work at the same time, and you can always drop to part time.


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## clibb (Jan 23, 2011)

I'm the same boat as you. I have to pay for all of my education by myself. I like that though. Why? Because, I'll take school more serious since I can't afford to take the classes twice. 
I volunteer on an ALS rig right now since I'm not 21 yet and can't be hired by the company. So I work another job where I make $$ and volunteer at the same time.
I was thinking about going out to Cali too, but since I don't want to be a medic I decided not to.
I wish you the best of luck and always keep the job that gives you the $$.


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## Aprz (Jan 23, 2011)

To reiterate: *DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB!!!!!!!* I saw it on tv once, and it didn't work out to well for that guy.

Other than that, good luck. o/


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## hoeyxd (Jan 23, 2011)

thanks for the responses, the idea of quitting my job isn't set in stone, i was going to decide after the emt prep course (which gives you a taste/general knowledge of the sciences involved), which is a couple weeks before the emt course. 


i guess i said it because everyone i talk to tells me physiology equivalent to hell and the last class i took that had anything to do with science was lifespan psychology (and before that, highschool bio and chem). 

i don't know, i just want to put my all into it


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## Pittma (Jan 23, 2011)

DO NOT quit your job. You can still study and pass the course with ease if you work at it. Just be prepared to not have a social life for awhile. Good luck looking for a job, the good thing about Cali is they accept NREMT, so if you don't have luck in California, try anywhere and everywhere. Best of luck to you, welcome to the forums, and let us know how everything goes.


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## dixie_flatline (Jan 24, 2011)

hoeyxd said:


> thanks for the responses, the idea of quitting my job isn't set in stone, i was going to decide after the emt prep course (which gives you a taste/general knowledge of the sciences involved), which is a couple weeks before the emt course.
> 
> 
> i guess i said it because everyone i talk to tells me physiology equivalent to hell and the last class i took that had anything to do with science was lifespan psychology (and before that, highschool bio and chem).
> ...



I'm really a little confused about this... there isn't really any A+P (anatomy+physiology) in an EMT-B curriculum beyond what is taught in 9th or 10th grade bio (unless I was an extraordinarily gifted teenager, which my mother assured me was not the case).

That is, you learn how many vertebrae there are, and what the regions are called, but nothing more.  You learn about the major structures of the heart - ventricles/atria, blood vessels - but don't even begin to cover valves, nodes, or arrhythmias.  In EMT-B land, there is pulseless, tachycardia, bradycardia, and "good".  They might teach you v-tach and v-fib, since those are "shockable" rhythms for a B using an AED, but I doubt they'll get into anything deeper.  I'll give you $10 if you hear the words Wenckebach or Aschoff-Tawara during class.

That also leads me to question the purpose of an "EMT prep course".  Are these common?  An EMT class (especially one that only takes 11 weeks) is short enough that a prep course seems a little strange.  How long is the prep course?  My edumacation came from MFRI/MIEMSS; maybe this type of thing is more common in the CC/College EMS programs?  Saying that one needs 'prep' for the 'science' in EMT-B seems kind of laughable.  My partner in class dropped out of high school with a 0.8 GPA and she was at or above my scores on all the tests (and we were the #1 team).

Anyway, my advice also consists of KEEP YOUR INCOME.  Is there a counselor or someone with career services that you can speak to as a student of UCLA?  A lot of people overlook these types of people, when they are in fact extremely valuable due to their knowledge and connections in various industries.


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## Veneficus (Jan 24, 2011)

dixie_flatline said:


> That also leads me to question the purpose of an "EMT prep course".  Are these common?  An EMT class (especially one that only takes 11 weeks) is short enough that a prep course seems a little strange.  How long is the prep course?  My edumacation came from MFRI/MIEMSS; maybe this type of thing is more common in the CC/College EMS programs?



These prep courses are usually college based programs and more common for paramedic. They were  often added to teach basic science that is applicable to EMS in order to give the foundation for material that many students coming right from high school didn't have. It has had the effect of increasing first time pass rates substantially in all the programs I know that use them.

As more basic science was added to the curriculums for EMS, many of the instructors (most) do not have any academic science background at all and this is also a way to get science faculty to teach this material instead of the EMS instructor just telling people to memorize stuff they didn't understand.

For institutions serving agencies that have to send their people to paramedic class, this is a much cheaper alternative than requiring science prereqs. Strangely enough, it has significantly helped cut down on medic mills where I have seen the programs implemented.

I expect it to become the norm sooner or later.


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## hoeyxd (Jan 24, 2011)

hmm it appears that i am making way too big a deal over something that really isn't. the "prep course" is a 2 day class that familiarizes you with basic subjects that they will be teaching in the actual emt course, which seems a little pointless now that i think of it. on the ucla website, anatomy and physiology is "strongly suggested" for the emt course, but i guess i'm just freaking myself out because i want to be the best emt i can be out of the program (which according to alot of people seems to be a glorified taxi driver). 

thanks for the input! i'll keep my job if my boss lets me, he told me that he might let me go if i can't work atleast 20 hours because we have so many part timers.


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## Tommerag (Jan 24, 2011)

Is the class your thinking of taking full time days? Or is it a part time class?


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## hoeyxd (Jan 24, 2011)

the emt class at ucla is 11 weeks, tuesday, wednesday and thursday.


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## U2623 (Jan 26, 2011)

*King County*

Not to sound like a broken record, but like every else has said, DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB.

Now, as someone who moved from Seattle, to LA, and back to Seattle let me tell you that you will get infinitely better experience as an EMT-B in LA (IF you can get a 911 response company) than you will anywhere in Washington, especially King County.

I worked with the North Los Angeles County operation for a private company, with two separate battalions of LA Co FD running simultaneous dispatch first-in 911 response. Once rapport was established the majority of the calls were MY scene with fire standing by to assist. Medics were also dispatched on every call but a lot of times coming from different stations so they usually arrived after us. Also, with the way LA Co works, I got time in the back with tons of ALS exposure: major GSW's, nasty windshield taste tests, prom queen who drank bleach, blah blah blah. Less than 6 months in I had performed every LA Co EMT-B Expanded Scope skill multiple times except OB (thank God). I found that the majority of LA County medics loved to teach and helped me in so many ways with fine tuning my assessments, operations and therapies. I really felt we worked as equals (yes, yes with different capabilities, but on the same team) in the back, and the mutual respect felt great.

Then...

Fast forward a couple years and I and my fiancee were anxious to get back to Seattle, which is home. I had heard King County Medic One talked about in hushed whispers and revered tones, so I figured that it'd be a good place to take my EMS career. It was win-win. Well 18 months later I am stuck working as an ACLS/PALS tech in an ER in south seattle.

The first issue is King County, it took forever to reciprocate my EMT-B license up here, and while the paperwork was in process my NREMT-B lapsed so I had to take a refresher course, retake NREMT and then apply for my state card all over again. It was a total of about 9months process. Now onto the job opportunities for a Basic.

The EMT-B's up here make me shudder. Only one company runs 911, the rest are all 2nd-in response. And the one company that DOES run 911 is simultaneous dispatch with fire, and while on scene they stand by their rig while fire puts the patient on their gurney. They have almost zero experience even after years on the job. I trained one of the private EMT's when he came to work in the ER, and after five years on the rigs (a "911" rig at that) he had never once done CPR or dressed a wound!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fire dept up here degrade EMT's like they are the lowest life form. There is a huge political feel to the EMS up here, with Medic One walking all over FD, and FD walking all over single function EMT's. FD will often deny a medic eval to a sick patient, and then the inexperienced EMT's bring in a critically hypotensive pt sitting straight up w/o O2. I have also had the FD EMT's tourniquet an "arterial bleed" and then send the patient by private auto!!!!!! (And no, it wasn't an art bleed, it just was in the vicinity of where you palp the radial). Pierce or Snohomish counties aren't much better. EMT-B's drive 1-1 staffed rigs, and get no time in the back. 

I'm currently working on my medic through Pierce County, but until I get it I have vowed never to work as an EMT-B in King County!!! I know this was a rant, but I think you have an awesome opportunity to cut your teeth down in LA. I know the job market is tough, but keep trying. You will gain so much knowledge and capabilities down there that will form an excellent foundation for your EMS future. Just make sure that whoever you work for runs 911. From what I can remember Schaffer, AMR and Care Ambulance all have 911 contracts, though I think they all have their own separate transport (non-911) divisions, so be thorough! Best of luck, be careful and always let LEO clear your "Possible Drug OD" calls ;-).


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