# Paramedic Programs in SOCAL.



## RandoMedic (May 19, 2017)

I am currently looking around for paramedic programs that I do hope to attend next year or in 2019 since I do want to save up as much as possible to avoid getting a big loan or a loan alone. 

I live in LA County but I would be willing to go as far as Bakersfield College since I heard they have a pretty good program. There are schools like MT. SAC, UCLA, PTI, and I think there is one in Ventura. I also heard of University of Antelope Valley by Palmdale/ Lancaster. 

Has anyone attended any of these schools? If so, what was the experience but most importantly, costs of the program and if possible, what is the scheduled days if any?


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## NPO (May 19, 2017)

My personal opinions: skip mtsac, UCLA, PTI and NCTI. Each has made good medics. But I've heard a lot of complaints from each.

Ventura and Bakersfield have great programs. Ventura has requirements including verified 911 EMT experience, and academic prerequisites including biology, chemistry, math, anatomy and physiology. You will get an associates degree.

Bakersfield is a 1 year didactic program and will get you everything (less general education) for an associates. Only entry requirement EMT and CPR certification.

If money is an issue, as it was for me. Hall Ambulance will pay for you school. There are lots of threads on Hall. Message me for details or use the search function.

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## Qulevrius (May 22, 2017)

1) MtSac - AAS in Prehospital Medicine. Cons - somewhat hard to get into.
2) NCTI - avoid at all cost.
3) Ventura - avoid. I've spoken to several people who went through their programme and the consensus was that it's a death-by-Power Point, you-make-your-own-programme type of deal.
4) UCLA - it's a LAFD medic mill. Pros - the medic programme will count as academic credits for West LA/Santa Monica colleges. Cons - very limited # of seats for non-FD applicants.
5) Bakersfield - good programme all around. Cons - have to either move to Bako or commute. HALL has a good reputation, but getting sponsored is not guaranteed.
6) Antelope Valley - avoid. It's a few multitude of times worse than Ventura.
7) Victorville - good programme. Cons - same deal as with Bako, only without HALL.

These are the ones people usually apply to. I'm sure I missed a couple.


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## RocketMedic (May 24, 2017)

Y'all should try Houston.


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## DesertMedic66 (May 24, 2017)

If you are able to commute I would consider giving Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa a look. They offer an AAS in Emergency Medical Services. It's around $4,000 from your first payment till the time you have your state medic license in hand. 

It's 3-4 days a week for 10-12 months depending on which program you are in (full time or part time). They have never had any student wait for more than a week to get a preceptor for internship. They have no contracts with ambulance companies or fire departments so everyone is on the same level. There is no "we have 15 spots for county fire and the rest are for anyone". 

The cons are right now the program is going thru some staffing changes so there will be some new faces in the department.


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## CALEMT (May 26, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> It's 3-4 days a week for 10-12 months depending on which program you are in (full time or part time).



Its all the same now. 3 days for 4 months and around finals is when you start going 4 days a week. If the OP is still watching the tread theres a couple dudes in my medic class at crafton that commute from LACo.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jun 6, 2017)

I'd steer you towards bakersfield college if money is an issue. It's a good program, typically Mon-Wed with a few Thursdays, and if I remember correctly it's less than $1000 and that's before financial aid. They have good clinical and internship sites. Every year theres a few people in class who will be commuting from LA so carpooling and splitting a motel room isn't an issue. I went thru a couple years back and know a few people in the most recent class if you have any other questions. 
I'll second what everyone else has said about ncti, ucla, and ventura. And I've got a coworker at Victor valley college right now who says it's a fairly good program.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 6, 2017)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> I'd steer you towards bakersfield college if money is an issue. It's a good program, typically Mon-Wed with a few Thursdays, and if I remember correctly it's less than $1000 and that's before financial aid. They have good clinical and internship sites. Every year theres a few people in class who will be commuting from LA so carpooling and splitting a motel room isn't an issue. I went thru a couple years back and know a few people in the most recent class if you have any other questions.
> I'll second what everyone else has said about ncti, ucla, and ventura. And I've got a coworker at Victor valley college right now who says it's a fairly good program.


Less than $1,000. Is that a typo?


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jun 6, 2017)

Not unless i got something mixed up. It was 5k for tuition when i went through. And they drastically reduced the cost a year ago, but that's just tuition (doesn't include uniforms, books, backgrounds etc). But unless the last 3 guys i talked to who went through the last program were bullshitting me, yeah, it's stupid cheap. I remember one of them paid $600 out of pocket for tuition.


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## NPO (Jun 6, 2017)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Not even a little. They drastically reduced the cost a year ago, and that's just tuition (doesn't include uniforms, books, backgrounds etc). But unless the last 3 guys i talked to who went through the last program were bullshitting me, yeah, it's stupid cheap.


Yep. It's now an accredited program so the unit prices are set by the state. It's about $1500 if I recall for a one year program. That should include both clinicals and internship I believe. 

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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jun 6, 2017)

I had my internship paid for by my employer, but all of our interns from BC have been paying for an internship site out of pocket. The school arranged a site for them, just didn't pay for it. So that's another 2-3k easily. But even so, way cheaper than anywhere else nearby.


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## CahoonHollow (Jun 23, 2017)

I thought the UCLA program was great. I went to it last year as a private (non-Fire) student, so most of the instructors I had are probably still there. The lead instructor is a former ground and flight paramedic from Illinois, program director worked on a ground ambulance and as a medic at a small community hospital in Colorado, and most of the instructors are current LAFD medics or work for AMR in San Bernardino or Riverside. All of the instructors are medics. Didactic was engaging and in depth - Wheeler, the lead lecturer, was as interesting a professor I ever had in 4 years of college. He and the other lectureres went in-depth into the pathophys and treatment for real patients commonly and uncommonly encountered in the field and I can still vividly recall some of the lectures (in contrast to one of the above posts that called one of the programs "death by powerpoint"). We had a full cadaver lab as part of the initial A&P unit. The testing was rigorous and high stakes with failing out a real possibility if you scored less than 80% on 2 block exams or 10 daily quizzes.

People like to trash talk LA County prehospital medicine for its limited scope of practice, pretty universally short transport times, and other critiques that I don't really agree with. The program taught and tested a national registry scope of practice, even despite the groans from some LACo firemen who lamented the fact that they'd never need to know some of the stuff since it'd been taken out of their scope. I had busy internship shifts, treated a lot of critical patients. Got tubes, ROSC, got to pace and needle-T, treated anaphylaxis, breathers, overdoses, suicides, homicides, hypoglycemia, strokes, STEMI, seizures, sepsis, MVAs, pedestrians struck, auto vs. bicyclists thrown, GSWs and stabbings. My clinical rotations started on time and there were ample shifts available to schedule as it was practical to me. I got to rotate through busy emergency rooms and every kind of specialty center, got paired up with cool anesthesiologists in my OR rotations who actually let me intubate - it blows my mind when some people say they only get to observe in the OR. My internship started on time as well, and the school facilitated the whole process without putting it on me to find a preceptor.

I've talked to other medics whose programs dragged on for *well* over a year due to gaps between didactic, clinicals and internship, and that astounded me. The UCLA program lasted just over 9 months. It was essentially full time - 36 hours most weeks 0800-1700 Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri and sometimes Wednesdays during didactic. Clinicals lasted 5 weeks or so, and internship was 20-30 24 hour shifts (2-3 months) with one of the ALS fire ambulances in the county. It was expensive - over $12,000 from the deposit to getting my CA EMT-P card after everything including books, uniform, tuition, and testing fees. I basically went for broke and spent all my savings making it through that year, but I feel it was totally worth it. I totally recommend it. There's limited spots for private students, and its a requirement that you take their paramedic prep program, but I applied once and got lucky that the next session had 9 or 10 private students.


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## CALEMT (Jun 23, 2017)

CahoonHollow said:


> It was expensive - over $12,000 from the deposit to getting my CA EMT-P card after everything including books, uniform, tuition, and testing fees. I basically went for broke and spent all my savings making it through that year, but I feel it was totally worth it. I totally recommend it. There's limited spots for private students, and its a requirement that you take their paramedic prep program, but I applied once and got lucky that the next session had 9 or 10 private students.



I'm sorry but this is just absurd. I don't doubt that UCLA has a great program but why go broke just to go to UCLA? A p-card is a p-card is a p-card. It's still the same regardless if you went to UCLA, RCC, Crafton, IVC, NCTI, VVC... etc. Why pay so much for only limited spots? I'm paying less than half of what you paid to go to medic school. Mine is about 12 months and I have/had no problems in didactic, no problems with shifts in clinicals, and nobody in the class before me has had trouble finding preceptors for internship. Save money and go to a JC, the curriculum is all the same in CA and people tend to forget that every paramedic program doesn't teach protocols. They teach national registry standards.


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## GMCmedic (Jun 23, 2017)

CALEMT said:


> I'm sorry but this is just absurd. I don't doubt that UCLA has a great program but why go broke just to go to UCLA? A p-card is a p-card is a p-card. It's still the same regardless if you went to UCLA, RCC, Crafton, IVC, NCTI, VVC... etc. Why pay so much for only limited spots? I'm paying less than half of what you paid to go to medic school. Mine is about 12 months and I have/had no problems in didactic, no problems with shifts in clinicals, and nobody in the class before me has had trouble finding preceptors for internship. Save money and go to a JC, the curriculum is all the same in CA and people tend to forget that every paramedic program doesn't teach protocols. They teach national registry standards.


This. 

Anything less than 2 years is practically unheard of in my area. I took a hybrid year long self study/lecture course. In that year i had maybe 30 days of classroom time.  

You know what happened? I got the same paramedic license as everyone else and nobody cared where I took my course, They care more about how good of a medic you are. I spent half the money the 2 year students spent at the community college.

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## Qulevrius (Jun 24, 2017)

Not 100% relevant, but Rio Hondo is planning on creating a medic programme within few years. And, most likely, they'll have the same type of deal with CARE as BC has with HALL.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 24, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> Rio Hondo is planning on creating a medic programme within few years. And,* most likely, they'll have the same type of deal with CARE as BC has with HALL*.


Interesting. "Come be an IFT-paramedic until you get your dream FFPM gig. Either way, you won't need your paramedic know-how".

Ha, sorry couldn't resist. IIRC, Rio Hondo's Fire Academy was a paramilitary hotbed of retired, and active LACoFD goons "molding" the next generation of oh-so-humble fyre_MEN.
_
Sincerely,
One Former Often Abused LA AMR EMT.


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## Qulevrius (Jun 24, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Interesting. "Come be an IFT-paramedic until you get your dream FFPM gig. Either way, you won't need your paramedic know-how".
> 
> Ha, sorry couldn't resist. IIRC, Rio Hondo's Fire Academy was a paramilitary hotbed of retired, and active LACoFD goons "molding" the next generation of oh-so-humble fyre_MEN.
> _
> ...



Funny in a sad kind of way  Just a few points - CARE is already partnered with Rio Hondo (both academically and clinically), and they don't have exclusivity with the paramilitary crap. Other than that, bienvenido al sur de california.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 24, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> Funny in a sad kind of way  Just a few points - CARE is already partnered with Rio Hondo (both academically and clinically), and they don't have exclusivity with the paramilitary crap.


One of my first, and most truly knowledgeable EMT partners cousin/ roommate did his police academy there and would echo the sentiments to us weekly.

Rio Hondo Paramedic Program-aka-PTI...East.


Qulevrius said:


> Bienvenido al sur de california.


_Claro que sí._


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## Qulevrius (Jun 24, 2017)

For the record, I was talking about the Rio Hondo College. They actually offer all CARE hires a whooping 4 transferrable credits (UC) after 300 approved work hours on a rig. That's their EMT290, and the programme director did say in a non-uncertain way that they're trying to expedite their medic programme. But yes, everything else (i.e. fire cadre) applies.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 24, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> For the record, I was talking about the Rio Hondo College. They actually offer all CARE hires a whooping 4 transferrable credits (UC) after 300 approved work hours on a rig. That's their EMT290, and the programme director did say in a non-uncertain way that they're trying to expedite their medic programme. But yes, everything else (i.e. fire cadre) applies.


I knew what you were implying (for those who didn't). It's just so remarkable how nothing will ever change in, and around my stomping grounds. At times it makes me sad, but only flashes in the pan...

Anyhow, I'd seen something somewhere about  CARE offering some ties to an EMT program for EMT students, so that makes sense. 

Maybe it's just the bitter old fogie in me who can recall as if it was yesterday the cocky brodozer-driving, giant-white-Broakley-glasses-wearing EMT who had life all figured out. None of which included anything more than chasing badge bunnies, and nowhere in that equation were the words "prehospital medicine" massaged into their brotein-guzzling minds.

Yeah, it may crank out the occasional solid paramedic-to-be, and to them I say "fight the fight", and know there are systems, jobs, and higher learning opportunities abound. Don't get swallowed in the sea of merit-badge-medicine and "cool stories".

-_Mono del Vent_


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## Qulevrius (Jun 24, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> I knew what you were implying (for those who didn't). It's just so remarkable how nothing will ever change in, and around my stomping grounds. At times it makes me sad, but only flashes in the pan...
> 
> Anyhow, I'd seen something somewhere about  CARE offering some ties to an EMT program for EMT students, so that makes sense.
> 
> ...



ROFL  so true, every single word...


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 24, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> I knew what you were implying (for those who didn't). It's just so remarkable how nothing will ever change in, and around my stomping grounds. At times it makes me sad, but only flashes in the pan...
> 
> Anyhow, I'd seen something somewhere about  CARE offering some ties to an EMT program for EMT students, so that makes sense.
> 
> ...


If you're going to call me out I'd much rather you did it in private....


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## CALEMT (Jun 24, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> None of which included anything more than chasing badge bunnies, and nowhere in that equation were the words "prehospital medicine" massaged into their brotein-guzzling minds.



Bro...


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## VentMonkey (Jun 24, 2017)

I just actually read this post, so let's see here...


CahoonHollow said:


> I thought the UCLA program was great. I went to it last year as a private (non-Fire) student, so most of the instructors I had are probably still there. The lead instructor is a former ground and flight paramedic from Illinois.


Pretty sure he also does some of their refresher stuff as well. A very smart guy for sure. That said, I paid good money to take this refresher twice only to hear the same war story ver batum from him.

I think I will stick to seeking out forward thinking critical care CME's from here on out. A room full of nozzles asking _Jems_-style questions, no thanks.


CahoonHollow said:


> I had busy internship shifts, treated a lot of critical patients. Got tubes, ROSC, got to pace and needle-T, treated anaphylaxis, breathers, overdoses, suicides, homicides, hypoglycemia, strokes, STEMI, seizures, sepsis, MVAs, pedestrians struck, auto vs. bicyclists thrown, GSWs and stabbings. My clinical rotations started on time and there were ample shifts available to schedule as it was practical to me. I got to rotate through busy emergency rooms and every kind of specialty center, got paired up with cool anesthesiologists in my OR rotations who actually let me intubate - it blows my mind when some people say they only get to observe in the OR.


Good on you? Many paramedics on here have had the same either during internships, in the field as paramedics, or both. How does this set Freeman apart? It doesn't. How will this make you a better paramedic if you go to, say, Idaho? a year later and hardly see any inner-city violence? It doesn't. Unnimpressed; moving on.

I don't doubt that some good paramedics come out of their program, but I am with @CALEMT. A medic school is a medic school. Put two paramedics from the same program in the field a year later- one with stellar work ethic, and one who just made it to get their card for some other gig. You tell me who the strongest clinician of the two will most likely be?

UCLA is full of themselves as a program plain, and simple. If you want a "challenging" paramedic program in LA County go to Mt. Sac.


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## Tony Maximilian (Jun 25, 2017)

Apart from it being difficult to get into as well as academically rigorous,  what legitimate, specific complaints to people have about the Mt SAC program??


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## gonefishing (Jun 25, 2017)

Tony Maximilian said:


> Apart from it being difficult to get into as well as academically rigorous,  what legitimate, specific complaints to people have about the Mt SAC program??


The Mt Sac program actually has changed from what it once was.  Word was their were some academic issues of some sorts.

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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

gonefishing said:


> The Mt Sac program actually has changed from what it once was.  Word was their were some academic issues of some sorts.


Elaborate without the heresay.


Tony Maximilian said:


> Apart from it being difficult to get into as well as academically rigorous,  what legitimate, specific complaints to people have about the Mt SAC program??


Those were them. The attrition mainly. I gave it a stab in '05? but DOR-d because my med-math sucked arse. Now, as far as what it once was, @gonefishing is right there. There has been some changing of the guards.

The course director/ lead instructor is no longer in charge of it, nor is another stern primary instructor who was a brilliant nurse, and just all around sharp lady. Together they made for a somewhat intimidating cadre.

They're actually not hard to get into, as they don't (didn't) require you show your desire to be an FFPM. They sought out those interested in self-dedicated style learning, and prided themselves on having their students reach their paramedic preceptors with a "ya' made it this far" gleam.

They have/ had a wall of past graduating  classes at the very back of the room with typically anywhere from 5-10 people. People would go there for the "Mt. Sac challenge", that is, bragging rights to say that you went there.

As far as why they used to complain about it: they did not hold anyone's hand, it wasn't PTI's death by block PowerPoint for the worlds shortest didactic. And they did not pompously brag about their rich history while even then charging an-arm-and-a-leg for a branding "affiliation" with a prestigious university that's home to the _Wizard of Westwood_. 

They were (I still hope are) a no frills, bust your hump junior college condensed paramedic program. Many of their students are still respected out in the field. They challenged you to challenge yourself, and I honestly regret not reapplying like I had initially intended to.

Put it this way: fire departments still won't pay to put their guys through the Mt. Sac ringer. A lot of the dialed in FD guys in SoCal went there...themselves...before landing getting on with a department. 

It used to be an auditorium full of people for a precourse, then they'd select the top 20-30 who'd scored the highest overall. You got your uniforms--which were cool because all they wanted you to wear was a t-shirt, blue uniform pants, and comfortable sneakers for didactic. You got different uniforms, and wore boots for clinicals/ field internship--then were given a date, your books, and began a fast-paced odyssey of in-depth paramedic learning.

Again, this was well over 10 years ago and I don't know how much has changed since. Lol, most people from the other two SoCal paramedic programs would cackle about Mt. Sac students being "book smart only". I found this amusing as I don't know what other kind of "smart" one should be after actually learning from, well, paramedic books. 

Every Mt. Sac medic I know is, or was dialed in. Again, self-motivation, that was huge there.


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## Tony Maximilian (Jun 25, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Elaborate without the heresay.
> 
> Those were them. The attrition mainly. I gave it a stab in '05? but DOR-d because my med-math sucked arse. Now, as far as what it once was, @gonefishing is right there. There has been some changing of the guards.
> 
> ...



Thanks for sharing your experience and insight! Tremendously helpful. This is the program I very much have my eye on for 2018. Mind if I pick your brain a bit more later down the line?


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## Jim37F (Jun 25, 2017)

If I wasn't being picked up by an out of state BLS dept, I'd totally be applying for Mt SAC right now. Even so, I'm still kind of kicking myself for having not tried to get in a lot sooner.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

Tony Maximilian said:


> Mind if I pick your brain a bit more later down the line?


Not at all.


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## CALEMT (Jun 25, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> med-math sucked arse



Hated med math.


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## Qulevrius (Jun 25, 2017)

My hopes are that, somewhere down the line, one of the good medic schools in CA will be approved for a RN-medic bridge so I won't have to go to AL.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 25, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> My hopes are that, somewhere down the line, one of the good medic schools in CA will be approved for a RN-medic bridge so I won't have to go to AL.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't know any nurses who want to be medics. With better working conditions, better benefits, and starting pay in the $90,000 why would one want to go medic? The ones who do want to go in the field will usually do HEMS where (at least in my area) they can do everything I can as a medic and more. 

I could see a college doing a medic to RN bridge because there are a decent amount of medics in nursing school.


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## Qulevrius (Jun 25, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't know any nurses who want to be medics. With better working conditions, better benefits, and starting pay in the $90,000 why would one want to go medic? The ones who do want to go in the field will usually do HEMS where (at least in my area) they can do everything I can as a medic and more.
> 
> I could see a college doing a medic to RN bridge because there are a decent amount of medics in nursing school.



It's about having simultaneous experience in both fields. HEMS universally requires at least 2-3 years of clinical experience, so having a F/T floor job and a P/T medic gig will go a long way with learning. Plus, it'll look very juicy on the resume.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't know any nurses who want to be medics. With better working conditions, better benefits, and starting pay in the $90,000 why would one want to go medic? The ones who do want to go in the field will usually do HEMS where (at least in my area) they can do everything I can as a medic and more.





Qulevrius said:


> It's about having simultaneous experience in both fields. HEMS universally requires at least 2-3 years of clinical experience, so having a F/T floor job and a P/T medic gig will go a long way with learning. Plus, it'll look very juicy on the resume.


Speaking from firsthand knowledge- going the "traditional" medic route without proper channels, a degree, and/ or no augmented licensing (i.e., nursing degree) is not fun. 

Fighting tooth and nail for nearly a decade was by no means the easiest way, and is all but going the way of the dinosaur. I could have been had my RN by now and back, but have no affinity for nursing, so there is that.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 25, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> It's about having simultaneous experience in both fields. HEMS universally requires at least 2-3 years of clinical experience, so having a F/T floor job and a P/T medic gig will go a long way with learning. Plus, it'll look very juicy on the resume.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Or you could do what HEMS providers actually want and get a minimum of 3 years full time experience in the ED or ICU. I do not know of any nurses who got into HEMS who work full time on the floor. To me that would set off many red flags.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> Or you could do what HEMS providers actually want and get a minimum of 3 years full time experience in the ED or ICU. I do not know of any nurses who got into HEMS who work full time on the floor. To me that would set off many red flags.


 Correct you are. Many are looking for a "new challenge" or, "change of pace".


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## Qulevrius (Jun 25, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> Or you could do what HEMS providers actually want and get a minimum of 3 years full time experience in the ED or ICU. I do not know of any nurses who got into HEMS who work full time on the floor. To me that would set off many red flags.



I'd be very lucky to land my 1st nursing gig in ICU or ED. If that happens, I agree with you that having a P-card is redundant. But if it doesn't, I'll have to try and fight for a spot, and that's where the P-card might come in handy.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 25, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> I'd be very lucky to land my 1st nursing gig in ICU or ED. If that happens, I agree with you that having a P-card is redundant. But if it doesn't, I'll have to try and fight for a spot, and that's where the P-card might come in handy.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Is your area not hurting for nursing staff? My girlfriend got picked up as an ICU nurse as a new grad with her BSN. One of our local ICUs is still hiring nurses without a BSN and with no prior experience.


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## Qulevrius (Jun 25, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> Is your area not hurting for nursing staff? My girlfriend got picked up as an ICU nurse as a new grad with her BSN. One of our local ICUs is still hiring nurses without a BSN and with no prior experience.



LACo. I have both my significant other and my mother working as ICU/PICU  nurses in 2 different hospitals in LACo, and painting a pretty gloomy picture.

You're in Riverside, correct ?


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 25, 2017)

Qulevrius said:


> LACo. I have both my significant other and my mother working as ICU/PICU  nurses in 2 different hospitals in LACo, and painting a pretty gloomy picture.
> 
> You're in Riverside, correct ?
> 
> ...


Correct. The girlfriend is in LACo.


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## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2017)

I too lack an affinity for nursing, @VentMonkey . It's just not my cup of tea. I honestly partly want to teach high school or college. Dream job would be the Army medic course.


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## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2017)

As for the original question, you ought to consider schools outside of CA as well. Let's be honest here: national registry is a national standard you can earn and is essentially nationally accepted, so it doesn't really matter whether you go to Freeman like my dad or a generic online hybrid like me. I'm no TEEX fan (four months is WAY too little time to learn this job) but Texas has quite a few good paramedic programs at our cheap community colleges and our internship process is typically screaming-fast. You'll also generally get a glimpse of life without asking for orders all the time.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

RocketMedic said:


> I too lack an affinity for nursing, @VentMonkey . It's just not my cup of tea. I honestly partly want to teach high school or college. Dream job would be the Army medic course.


I don't know if I have a knack for teaching. I do know I absolutely love critical care paramedicine, and really want to master that the best that I can. Maybe become a critical care paramedic instructor. That seems like it would draw more of the "inclined-to-stick-around-this-field" types such as myself.

As far as the degree, let's be honest, I'm just being a lazy turd at this point.


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## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2017)

Oklahoma State University OKC has an online AAS Paramedic that awards 49 credits out of 66 you need for your AAS. An overload semester of general education gets you an AAS. And it can be completed online. Just show your P card


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

RocketMedic said:


> Oklahoma State University OKC has an online AAS Paramedic that awards 49 credits out of 66 you need for your AAS. An overload semester of general education gets you an AAS. And it can be completed online. Just show your P card


It is completely and utterly online?


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## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2017)

I went to Rose State College, but I have heard that OSU OKC can be completed completely online. Www.osuokc.edu . Since you've already done the hard part, why not take the easy way to papering those walls?

They also have a medic program if there's any prospective students lurking and EMSA, although not a stellar place to make a career, will both hire you as an EMT and beg for you as a medic.


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## gonefishing (Jun 25, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Elaborate without the heresay.


Per a very good friend, former partner, paramedic and current skills instructor for SAC they we're asked not to be as harsh as once was.  It's still a great program that demands your full attention and in imho superior to pie aka pti any day of the week.


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## VentMonkey (Jun 25, 2017)

gonefishing said:


> Per a very good friend, former partner, paramedic and current skills instructor for SAC *they we're asked not to be as harsh as once was*.  It's still a great program that demands your full attention and in imho superior to pie aka pti any day of the week.


Millennials, ugh.


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## Qulevrius (Jun 25, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> I don't know if I have a knack for teaching. I do know I absolutely love critical care paramedicine, and really want to master that the best that I can. Maybe become a critical care paramedic instructor. That seems like it would draw more of the "inclined-to-stick-around-this-field" types such as myself.
> 
> As far as the degree, let's be honest, I'm just being a lazy turd at this point.



Don't you already have your gen ed credits for nursing ? I am pretty certain that you can convert these towards an AAS in prehospital medicine.


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