# Summer Paramedic Course



## Tennisball80 (Oct 28, 2009)

Which school has a paramedic course for EMT-B to get certified up to paramedic in one summer? 

I know a college in Nebraska has it. 

Any other places?


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## Wee-EMT (Oct 28, 2009)

Tennisball80 said:


> Which school has a paramedic course for EMT-B to get certified up to paramedic in one summer?
> 
> I know a college in Nebraska has it.
> 
> Any other places?



Any school that does that is a joke


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## spisco85 (Oct 28, 2009)

That would be really quick. The shortest school in CT that is offered is through Sponsor Hospital (Yale and St. Rapheals) and is 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for 10 months.

If you want to become a medic take the plunge and do it right. Dedicate the time involved to learn and understand the material.


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## ChicagolandIFT (Oct 28, 2009)

WOW... that would be a medic I don't want to work on me!  That being said there is a paramedic program that meets M-F from 8am-6pm for three months... but is somewhat of a joke from what I hear.


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## medichopeful (Oct 28, 2009)

Tennisball80 said:


> Which school has a paramedic course for EMT-B to get certified up to paramedic in one summer?
> 
> I know a college in Nebraska has it.
> 
> Any other places?



In medicine, speed is NOT the name of the game.  Find a legitimate course, and do it right.


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## firecoins (Oct 29, 2009)

I play a game called speed.  It is the name of the game.


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## rhan101277 (Oct 29, 2009)

I go three days a week 5:00PM-10:00PM for 12 months.

You have to have real college level A&P I and A&P II.

They have an excellent program and its been around 10 years, my supervisor at my part-time emt job said it was a good program.

Many days we stay late.


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## Griff (Oct 29, 2009)

I don't see how a person could even process that much information in one semester. The program I'm in is 15 months, four nights a week, 6:00-9:00 (and that is the "accelerated" program; the regular program is 18 months, three nights a week). All of our CEU courses here are one semester, however.


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## mct601 (Oct 29, 2009)

Every paramedic school I know of is on average three semesters not including EMT-B and any other prerequisites that program may specifiy. A SUMMER course is far too fast for what a paramedic does. That's shorter in length of time than my current EMT-B course and will give you no time to absorb the information. You'll be essentially performing the college study art of "cramming", and while it's acceptable for English Comp, its not when it involves a persons life in your hands.


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## wyoskibum (Oct 29, 2009)

There is a 6 month program in Denver, CO at Swedish Medical Center.  I don't know much about the program, but I think that is a  M-F all day program.


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## Griff (Oct 29, 2009)

Griff said:


> I don't see how a person could even process that much information in one semester. The program I'm in is 15 months, four nights a week, 6:00-9:00 (and that is the "accelerated" program; the regular program is 18 months, three nights a week). All of our CEU courses here are one semester, however.



Like mct said, this is assuming that you are at least EMT-B and have the other pre-reqs completed. From no education to EMT-P feasibly (more like minimally) takes ~2 years at every school in my county. I would surmise that it is next to impossible to cram two years of pharm, assessment, A&P, ALS skills, etc into a semester. I am not in a position to hire anyone, so I may be wrong, but I would bet that no service is going to hire a medic with only a one-semester education (even if the program is technically accredited). My $0.02


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## EMSLaw (Oct 29, 2009)

Griff said:


> I am not in a position to hire anyone, so I may be wrong, but I would bet that no service is going to hire a medic with only a one-semester education (even if the program is technically accredited). My $0.02



I think the unfortunate fact is that most places will hire anyone with a patch, and will probably never even look at where they went to school and for how long.  Of course, they might come to regret it later.


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## piranah (Oct 29, 2009)

you'll regret it when your sitting in that pearson vue center looking at a computer screen and your jaw hits the table hard and you get yelled at for making noise............just sayin


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## emp430 (Oct 29, 2009)

One summer... Wow. My class is 2 years for Para. I know there are bridge programs where you can become a Paramedic in a much shorter time. I think It's 6 months, but it maybe a little less. One of the Pre for that is you have to be a Critical Care(lvl 3/medic) for a min. of 3 years.


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## So Cal EMT (Nov 4, 2009)

So i guess someone who went to a Summer Accelerated Program would really have to prove themselves? It's very tempting I must admit. I just cant imagine taking a 12-15 week Paramedic course when I think my 7 week EMT course is crazy. But then I think well the people who graduate these programs cant be THAT much smarter than me.  At this time in my life I actually could move away for 3 or 4 months and not be bogged down with worries at home. Its a short window of ooportunity. Decisions, decisions. Has anyone here gone through a 12-15 week medic course? How was it?


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## VentMedic (Nov 4, 2009)

As long as the Paramedic programs(U.S.) continue to be measured in clock hours and not college semester hours, it can be done in a relatively short period of time. 

For the EMT-B, it is only 120 hours and can be done in 3 weeks by a clock hour system. If your program is 6 months in length without any other classes other than the 120 hours, some would say that is too long for a class that is basically first aid.

A Paramedic program that is under 1000 hours in length (660 in TX), it can be done 6 months or shorter depending on how the clincials are done. Those who say their program (U.S.) is 2 years in length could be going one night a week for 24 months since there is not a degree or credit hour of standard to adequately measure the length you are stating.


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## Griff (Nov 4, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> As long as the Paramedic programs(U.S.) continue to be measured in clock hours and not college semester hours, it can be done in a relatively short period of time.
> 
> For the EMT-B, it is only 120 hours and can be done in 3 weeks by a clock hour system. If your program is 6 months in length without any other classes other than the 120 hours, some would say that is too long for a class that is basically first aid.
> 
> A Paramedic program that is under 1000 hours in length (660 in TX), it can be done 6 months or shorter depending on how the clincials are done. Those who say their program (U.S.) is 2 years in length could be going one night a week for 24 months since there is not a degree or credit hour of standard to adequately measure the length you are stating.



Some programs (probably not most) do involve a degree and are measured using semester hours; USA has a BS - EMS program that is approximately 128 S/H and confers EMT-P and critical care certifications as a part of the degree itself (total education time is four years, just like every other baccalaureate program at South). This isn't to say that most programs are measured this way (clock hours, like Ventmedic said, sounds like a more common method of measurement for diploma programs). Nonetheless, if a well-known (around here, anyway  ) paramedic program feasibly takes four years to complete, it would stand to reason that a summer paramedic course is probably not adequate in the context of course length. For comparison, my program is four nights a week, 3-4 hours per night, plus clinical hours (~160/semester) and takes approximately two years. This is after pre-reqs have been met (EMT-B/I, medical terminology, A&P, etc).


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## VentMedic (Nov 4, 2009)

Griff said:


> Some programs (probably not most) do involve a degree and are measured using semester hours; USA has a BS - EMS program that is approximately 128 S/H and confers EMT-P and critical care certifications as a part of the degree itself (total education time is four years, just like every other baccalaureate program at South). This isn't to say that most programs are measured this way (clock hours, like Ventmedic said, sounds like a more common method of measurement for diploma programs). Nonetheless, if a well-known (around here, anyway  ) paramedic program feasibly takes four years to complete, it would stand to reason that a summer paramedic course is probably not adequate in the context of course length. For comparison, my program is four nights a week, 3-4 hours per night, plus clinical hours (~160/semester) and takes approximately two years. This is after pre-reqs have been met (EMT-B/I, medical terminology, A&P, etc).


 
Only Oregon and maybe one other state require a degree and it is only an Associates (2 year).

Is your Paramedic program an Associates degree from a college when finished?

Is the A&P college level with it being two semesters in length, each with lab?  Or, is it the overview version for Paramedics?


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## Griff (Nov 5, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Only Oregon and maybe one other state require a degree and it is only an Associates (2 year).
> 
> Is your Paramedic program an Associates degree from a college when finished?
> 
> Is the A&P college level with it being two semesters in length, each with lab?  Or, is it the overview version for Paramedics?



My program is a diploma program (so no, not an AS/AA, although the diploma is listed as a conferred degree on transcripts) and is measured in S/H, not clock hours. Students may choose between A&P I and II with lab or take an overview course for paramedics (both types of courses are listed with the university). If a student takes the overview option, he will not have a degree conferred (if he chooses to go the degree route) until he takes the full A&P sequence. Our EMS school is a part of the university's allied health department (along with every other health program offered by the school with the exception of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy), and the school's programs tend to be more rigorous and lengthy than the vocational programs offered elsewhere locally. Those programs tend to use the system you mentioned earlier (clock hours) and are not nearly as lengthy.


The A&P courses are the same A&P courses that every other health student takes (CLS114/115 with labs). Our cardiology course is the same one that every other health student (with the exception of the med students) takes. The only difference between us and the nursing students/cardiorespiratory therapists is that we have to maintain a 3.0 in the EMS college and they don't get unscheduled mock registry tests. Our courses are fairly well integrated with the other colleges at South, but maybe I'm a bit biased.


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## Theo (Nov 5, 2009)

Griff said:


> Some programs (probably not most) do involve a degree and are measured using semester hours.



The program that I am in is a degreed program (Associates) and the classes are measured in college credit hours including the EMT-Basic class. The prerequisites to get into the major aren't as extensive as the RN program though. It would certainly prepare students better for their future in healthcare if they were. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the diversity of classes in the major. By the time I'm done it will have taken almost three years to complete. 

Hopefully someday (soon) a degree will be required to become a paramedic. If we are to be considered professionals, we need the schooling to compete with other health care professions.


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## Griff (Nov 5, 2009)

Theo said:


> The program that I am in is a degreed program (Associates) and the classes are measured in college credit hours including the EMT-Basic class. The prerequisites to get into the major aren't as extensive as the RN program though. It would certainly prepare students better for their future in healthcare if they were. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the diversity of classes in the major. By the time I'm done it will have taken almost three years to complete.
> 
> Hopefully someday (soon) a degree will be required to become a paramedic. If we are to be considered professionals, we need the schooling to compete with other health care professions.



I agree; I think this is exactly what my university is moving towards. The idea is that requiring more rigorous pre-requisite courses such as A&P and cardiology can only improve the quality of EMS education and further legitimize the field. Some of my EMS professors are PhDs, and all of them have post-graduate academic training, at a minimum, in addition to their EMS certifications.


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## mct601 (Nov 6, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Only Oregon and maybe one other state require a degree and it is only an Associates (2 year).
> 
> Is your Paramedic program an Associates degree from a college when finished?
> 
> Is the A&P college level with it being two semesters in length, each with lab?  Or, is it the overview version for Paramedics?



is the other state mississippi, because an instructor told me last night that we need an AAS.


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## VentMedic (Nov 6, 2009)

mct601 said:


> is the other state mississippi, because an instructor told me last night that we need an AAS.


 
When did that change occur?


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## EMSLaw (Nov 6, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> When did that change occur?



Looking at their website, it hasn't.  Though they do require at least 8 credits of A&P before entering a paramedic program.  See Q&A here.


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## mct601 (Nov 6, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> When did that change occur?



I looked it up too, and it's false. The instructor made a mistake. As stated, A&P is required. However it's true that a few programs push or require an AAS to graduate. I talked to a few schools today.


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