# What other Certs should a Emt-b get?



## Zalan (Sep 25, 2010)

Just wondering what other Certs should an Emt-b get to make the resume look better?

I`m just an Emt-B student currently. I`m taking a ACLS course that my instructors recomended. They said if you don`t have that AMR won`t even consider your application as a new Emt. Any other recommendations on certs or courses?


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## fortsmithman (Sep 25, 2010)

How about after completing the EMT-B program go to a Paramedic program and become a paramedic.


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## Zalan (Sep 25, 2010)

Paramedics not an option for a few years do to the program structure in my area.


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## clibb (Sep 26, 2010)

IV cert? 
You're allowed to do ACLS on an AMR ambulance as an EMT-B? Well, you learn something new every day..


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## Zalan (Sep 26, 2010)

Checked my notes its not ACLS its ATLS

Advance Trauma Life Support


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## LucidResq (Sep 26, 2010)

In general I agree with Fort, but as far as your resume, a lot of that is going to depend on what services in your area are looking for. Ask around. 

A good pediatric course such as PEPP or PALS is usually helpful. 

Some agencies like to see Basic EKG Interpretation.

PHTLS. 

I absolutely loved Basic Disaster Life Support... which also satisfies HazMat Awareness requirements. 

A free, relatively quick and easy thing to do is complete all of your NIMS stuff online. Many agencies require these courses, so even if they don't help you get hired, you'll have a head-start if you do get a job. At a minimum, complete IS-100, 200 and 700.


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## MMiz (Sep 26, 2010)

As has already been mentioned, get all of the easy NIMS online courses out of the way, then start working your way through the alphabet soup.

ACLS, PHTLS, BTLS, PEPP, PALS, and they even offer ACLS courses for EMT-Basic students.  The AHA Instructor training was also a nice resume-builder.

Good luck!


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## Zalan (Sep 26, 2010)

Thanks for all the Information. I`ll start checking into the stuff. ^^


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## MrBrown (Sep 26, 2010)

Chem 101
Biochem 101
A&P I
A&P II
Pharmacology
Developmental Psychology
English Composition
Scientific Research Methods

Then you can look at 12 lead ECG interpretation and perhaps a cardiology class.  These will serve you and the patient 1,000,000x more than some 24 hour whacker certificate for Paramaybes and Medicfighters


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## LucidResq (Sep 26, 2010)

Of course I agree with you, Brown, but higher education around these parts is not so easy to come by. I'm not sure how accessible and affordable it is in New Zealand, but saying "well just take this, that and this" is easy to say until you have to debate going to school or putting food on the table. I don't blame people out here for seeking employment before seeking education, because it's often necessary.


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## Zalan (Sep 26, 2010)

Brown I was asking for things that would be a good certs for an emt-b. A list of college classes was not requested. Enough of that advice was given in another thread.

In the State of Indiana Emt-b are not allowed to perform EKG`s let alone read them. We`re not even allowed to use Glucose Monitors.

Have you ever heard the saying "The only stupid question is the one not asked."


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## clibb (Sep 26, 2010)

Zalan said:


> Brown I was asking for things that would be a good certs for an emt-b. A list of college classes was not requested. Enough of that advice was given in another thread.
> 
> In the State of Indiana Emt-b are not allowed to perform EKG`s let alone read them. We`re not even allowed to use Glucose Monitors.
> 
> Have you ever heard the saying "The only stupid question is the one not asked."



He was just trying to help out. Be thankful that anyone is helping you out because this has probably been covered hundreds of times. Also, if you would had used google, you would had received a ton of answers.

What I would do is study a ton of pharmacology, it's always good to know. Especially if you're the EMT in an ALS ambulance and the medic needs help with assisting medications. Do continuous education. Our hospital pays for ours. We can attend any class that is offered at the hospital.

So you're not allowed to check BGL even if you're IV certified? So you can't take care of any patients that have an Altered Mental Status?


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## medicRob (Sep 26, 2010)

Zalan said:


> Just wondering what other Certs should an Emt-b get to make the resume look better?
> 
> I`m just an Emt-B student currently. I`m taking a ACLS course that my instructors recomended. They said if you don`t have that AMR won`t even consider your application as a new Emt. Any other recommendations on certs or courses?



EMT-B can't take ACLS, at least not here in TN. They won't even let you take the class if you are not RN, PA, Paramedic, NP, etc. 

Try BLS-Instructor, that was always a good one.


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## JJR512 (Sep 26, 2010)

I don't think there's much point for an EMT-B to take certain classes, such as ACLS, ATLS, PALS, and some others. The _A_ in each of those stands for _Advanced_, just like the _A_ in _ALS_. That's not a coincidence.


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## JPINFV (Sep 26, 2010)

^
To be fair, paramedics can't take ATLS either. Well... some programs might let them audit it.


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## JPINFV (Sep 26, 2010)

As far as to answer the OP's question, I like the diploma cert. It normally has something along the lines of "Associate of Science." Paramedic is another good option as well.


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## ZombieEMT (Sep 26, 2010)

A couple other courses that could be beneficial to a new EMT-basic are the IS-100a and IS-700a which are the introductions to the incident command system and NIMS. They can be found at http://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.asp. They are courses created by FEMA, free of charge, and can be completed online. I have looked into several agencies and IS-100a is almost always a requirement, and IS-700a is also common on a lot of agencies.


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## gicts (Sep 26, 2010)

Zalan said:


> Brown I was asking for things that would be a good certs for an emt-b. A list of college classes was not requested. Enough of that advice was given in another thread.
> 
> In the State of Indiana Emt-b are not allowed to perform EKG`s let alone read them. We`re not even allowed to use Glucose Monitors.
> 
> Have you ever heard the saying "The only stupid question is the one not asked."



You didn't ask for college classes, but those would be wise to take to better yourself, pad your resume, and up your chances of succeeding in paramedic school. At the very least you could get away with doing them cheaply at a community college or online. If your paramedic class is with a college they will require several of those if you want to peruse a degree anyway.

You all can't do glucose testing but can use King tubes?


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## EMS49393 (Sep 26, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> Of course I agree with you, Brown, but higher education around these parts is not so easy to come by. I'm not sure how accessible and affordable it is in New Zealand, but saying "well just take this, that and this" is easy to say until you have to debate going to school or putting food on the table. I don't blame people out here for seeking employment before seeking education, because it's often necessary.



When there is a will, there is a way.  I've been cheaply chipping away at another degree in history for three years.  I'm just now ending my sophomore semester.  I didn't have to sell drugs or anything, but I've had to put in some 90 hour weeks, plus study, plus once in a while eat whilst doing this, and it's only going to get worse after I transfer to a university and my tuition is jacked up 1000%.   

If a person wants an education, they'll put in the work and figure out how to do it, period.


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## Level1pedstech (Sep 26, 2010)

Zalan said:


> Just wondering what other Certs should an Emt-b get to make the resume look better?
> 
> I`m just an Emt-B student currently. I`m taking a ACLS course that my instructors recomended. They said if you don`t have that AMR won`t even consider your application as a new Emt. Any other recommendations on certs or courses?



 What do your two and five year plans look like? You do have a plan don't you? If you don't take my advice and get one going. It will be a tremendous help if you can set some goals for your future and work towards reaching them.  Also most people find it easier to get positive results if they have a path laid out and can keep track of their progress.

 Education should be your number one priority especially if you plan on continuing up the ladder. Chipping away at your pre reqs over a couple of years is a good way to stay in the education game and start accomplishing goals. Extra certs are fine but don't drop alot of your hard earned cash on anything unless your sure its going to benefit you. There are always going to be people that want to separate you from your cash so be aware. Most agencies whether its a fire/EMS department or your local ER will usually pay for your classes or at the least meet you halfway on the cost. You should be able to look at your plan and know what you will need and when you need to get it done.

 One thing that you should do sooner rather than later is get your CPR instructor cert. The red cross will help you with this and its a program that will allow you to give back to your community which is something that always looks good on your resume. 

  Knowing a little more about your direction if you have one will help us to better help you. Learning to network not only here but in your community is a skill that will always be a great help. Depending on your situation you may change your plans more than once during your life and having people available to help guide you is a plus.

 Don't mind Brown I think he was dropped on his head when he was a baby. Plus he is one of them there foreigners that while he appears to be very educated and well versed at how things work at home he is often clueless and very stubborn when it comes to the way many of our US agencies operate especially the smaller ones. But he is a good source so don't discount him when he drones on about how inferior he thinks many of us are because we don't have an above average educational pedigree.


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## 46Young (Sep 26, 2010)

Level1pedstech said:


> What do your two and five year plans look like? You do have a plan don't you? If you don't take my advice and get one going. It will be a tremendous help if you can set some goals for your future and work towards reaching them.  Also most people find it easier to get positive results if they have a path laid out and can keep track of their progress.
> 
> Education should be your number one priority especially if you plan on continuing up the ladder. Chipping away at your pre reqs over a couple of years is a good way to stay in the education game and start accomplishing goals. Extra certs are fine but don't drop alot of your hard earned cash on anything unless your sure its going to benefit you. There are always going to be people that want to separate you from your cash so be aware. Most agencies whether its a fire/EMS department or your local ER will usually pay for your classes or at the least meet you halfway on the cost. You should be able to look at your plan and know what you will need and when you need to get it done.
> 
> ...



+1. My advice for the long term is to seek out a local EMS AAS program, and start at their pre reqs. Do the ENG, PSY, A&P, Pharm, etc. Your area may require you to go from EMT-B to EMT-I and then EMT-P. However, if you go to a college and do their EMS AAS, you'll be a medic afterward. That's how you get around regions that make you progress with baby steps. Think about it, I never took an "I" program. I went straight from B to P. If I were to apply for a job in a region that required their B's to first go to I school before a medic program, would they not hire me since I "skipped" the I program? Of course not. Besides, can't you enroll in a college EMS AAS with just a B cert? In my region, you can start out as a lay person. The first semester has EMT-B and a couple of pre reqs. 

Why is it that you need to wait before taking the EMT-P program? How are things structured where you live?

Also, for quick resume boosters, take a foreign language, preferably Spanish in most areas. Progress to conversational Spanish if possible. You can then claim some fluency in that language, a definite plus. Also take the ICS courses. I think the ones to have are 100, 200, 700, and 800. At the interview you can tell them that you're positioning yourself for entry into an EMS AAS (degree paramedic). You wouldn't put down individual classes you've taken on the resume, maybe only that you're an undergrad at the college. What you can do is talk about the classes you've taken. They'll like that a mere EMT has already taken ENG, A&P, pharm, a foreign language, etc. Other than AHA CPR, don't worry about the alphabet cards too much at the EMT level.


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## 46Young (Sep 26, 2010)

LucidResq said:


> Of course I agree with you, Brown, but higher education around these parts is not so easy to come by. I'm not sure how accessible and affordable it is in New Zealand, but saying "well just take this, that and this" is easy to say until you have to debate going to school or putting food on the table. I don't blame people out here for seeking employment before seeking education, because it's often necessary.



Around my way, a class costs about $120 per credit, plus a few hundred for books. If someone is living bill to bill, they'll be ill able to afford the classes. Maybe one at a time, tops. Sure, you could get a loan, but it's not free money. It has to be repaid. Not easy to do on an EMS salary. We're not exactly know to be affluent. Why do you think many of us have second and third jobs?

In my case, the county pays for only one class a semester. After I close on my house, and get a clear picture of my finances, I'll probably double up on my own dime.


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## LucidResq (Sep 26, 2010)

That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying getting an education is impossible, but not everyone is in a position where they can immediately start going to college full-time or even half-time. 

I can tell you out here we are consistently ranked 48th-50th in the nation for funding higher education. Funding has been cut by about 60% in the past year alone.  State-funded and locally-funded financial aid programs are also notoriously bad/non-existent. Inability to afford it any more is one the primary reasons I am no longer in school, despite having had a Pell Grant. 

As far as why one would need to wait to start... some programs out here require a minimum of a year of field experience.


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