Universal Careers; 14-day emt boot camp

bigjs20

Forum Ride Along
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Hello everyone. My name is James. I did the search for my question but nothing really came up that helped. I also search in real life, at a hospital, fire stations, ambulance companies, and some friends, but either didn't get enough info or no one was avaliable.
I was on Craigslist and saw an offer from
UniversalCareers.org
offering 14-15 day training to become an Emt. Now, I'm in the Navy, and the navy offers this type of training also, and coincidentally, also happens to be about two weeks, give a few days maybe. So I send an e-mail, and they get back to me with a contact phone number. Here's the dealio:
-It's an over the phone recruit. It was pretty fast to which was fishy to me...
-For 450.00 dollars, they send you books, along with a CD-rom to complete a course online, (which must be passed with at least a B or higher before you go to there school) a felony check and some other minor things.
-You can either do 50, or 100 dollars a week until it accumulates to 450, and then they will send you the books and do the felony check.
-On the phone, you choose what month you want to attend the school, located in Bloomington Indiana, and since it's only 14 days and they don't want anyone to fail the cram-packed course, they make sure you passed with a B or higher on the self-paced course before you get sent to the school.
-15 day school for people that need a Cpr certification
-You are given two wish-lists on the website during recruitment, a wish-list for where you want to work after you complete the course, and what you would like to be doing i.e. helicopter, firefighter emt, emergency room (however he explains that I must work with the ambulance for at least one year before I can move up in a different position)
-The course is a bit over 8,000 in costs. You are refunded all the money back at the end of the course, because they do financial aid, and the only reason a person wouldn't qualify for financial aid is if they've committed a felony in the past or something.
-Upon graduation, wherever you wanted to work at, is where you will work at. They find you the job, and you have the choice whether to accept or not, but more importantly, a job is guaranteed at whatever location you wanted to work from.
I joined...but about 3 days later I backed out.....lost 100.00 dollars because it's not refundable, although if I want to join again, I will only have to pay the remainder of what the full amount is; also, even if I go through another program to become an emt, I can still go through them and they'll find me a job. These two bonuses expire after 3 years.
I backed out because it sounded to good to be true, I tried talking to people, but nooooo-ooone has ever heard of suck a program, and it was done all over the phone, along with there website. In the end I even asked them if they had a location where I live at, and he said no, and that I couldn't even ask the hospitals in my area about them for more info, because they wouldn't have time to talk to me unless I was a student.
I feel like it's a scam, and if it is I'd definitely want these guys caught. Nonetheless I have no real knowledge in ya'lls training programs.....
Any help is greatly appreciated...

P.S. they work with JobsandHeadhunters
 

terrible one

Always wandering
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$8,000 for an EMT class?!?!?!?!?

Total scam, I'm sorry you already sent in $100.
Run away from this place
 

LonghornMedic

Forum Lieutenant
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$8,000 for a Basic course? Tell you what. Pay me $5,000 and I'll come to your house and kick you in the balls. You'll save $3,000 for the same experience. Seriously, put in the time at your local community college. Not only will you get training that someone will actually hire you for, but you'll save yourself a lot of money too.
 

MrBrown

Forum Deputy Chief
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Come to my house and give me eight grand bro, I will teach you how to take a blood pressure and give people oxygen then strap them to a backboard then you'll be ready to take the test.

Then I am going to run away with your eight grand and party up large in Vegas .... and I will still have enough to marry Mrs Brown in style.

... oh and then I will still have enough left over to get me an orange HEMS jumpsuit with "DOCTOR" written on the back.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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Wow.. total scam. I do love how they worked the old Darian EMS high school EMTs news report into their website though, and they claim credit for it too!

Edit: I also love the stock pictures, including the ambulance with the steering wheel on the right side of the ambulance.
 
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EMDispatch

IAED EMD-Q/EMT
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Personally I love the testimonials, because clearly everyone wears scrubs or corporate dress here on a rig. I also love the lack of any credentials for instructors or proof of accreditation. Also I didn't know I could ride on a helicopter with just a basic certification...Who's been holding out on me????

Just went through the you tube testimonials... Amazing how a woman from Texas, and a man from Boston have the exact same room.
 
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beandip4all

Forum Lieutenant
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IMHO, stay away from any and all "rushed" 2-week EMT programs.

They're NOT worth the $$ and really exist to separate students from their cash, not instruct them well to get out in the field. Plus... looked down upon from the industry.

Avoid at all costs!
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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As they are listed as being in Los Angeles, I just sent the following email to the LA LEMSA's contact person for EMS training programs.

"Hello Ms. Reich,

I am a current Southern California medical student who has worked as an EMT in the past and currently stay active on various online message boards. Recently a poster requested information regarding an EMT training program called “Universal Careers” (http://www.universalcareers.org/). According to their website, the contact number zip code is the 213 area code and their head quarters is in Los Angeles, however no location was given for where they actually hold their courses. They are not currently listed on the Los Angeles LEMSA website’s list of approved training programs. Various Craigslist advertisements shows them advertising locally, at a minimum, in Florida and Texas (linked below), however on a Google search, an expired Craigslist Ad appears for Monterey and Fresno. Additionally, on their “review” page, several reviews are credited to people in California. According to the poster (link below), the accelerated EMT course is $8000 with a $450 enrollment fee where they send a package of CDs and books. Since the contact number and listed headquarters is in Los Angeles, I was wondering if you had heard anything about this, to use the term loosely, “company” and, since the entire website all but screams “Fraud!” know who to forward this to?

Thank you for your time,
[redacted]

Links:
Forum thread link: http://emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=20171
Company website: http://www.universalcareers.org/
Company review page: http://www.universalcareers.org/reviews.php
Craigslist advertisement for Florida: http://orlando.craigslist.org/cls/1971334849.html (notice the advertisement billing the course as “14 Day Medical School”)
Craigslist advertisement for Houston: http://houston.craigslist.org/vnn/1977879166.html
"
 

beandip4all

Forum Lieutenant
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deleted double post
 
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beandip4all

Forum Lieutenant
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here's the info from their who is lookup:

Domain ID: D159637832-LROR
Domain Name:UNIVERSALCAREERS.ORG
Created On:12-Jul-2010 22:59:31 UTC
Last Updated On:11-Sep-2010 03:50:05 UTC
Expiration Date:12-Jul-2011 22:59:31 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:eNom, Inc. (R39-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID :c5ab731ccfca9abf
Registrant Name:Whois Agent
Registrant Organization:Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Registrant Street1: PMB 368, 14150 NE 20th St - F1
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Bellevue
Registrant State/Province:WA
Registrant Postal Code:98007
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.4252740657
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+1.4252740657
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:npqyxwtx@whoisprivacyprotect.com
Admin ID :c5ab731ccfca9abf
Admin Name:Whois Agent
Admin Organizati

sounds scammy to me!
 
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medicRob

Forum Deputy Chief
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I paid $740 per semester for my EMT-IV program which was 2 semesters. They billed them as credit hours, Emergency Medical Technology I being 9 credit hours, and Emergency Medical Technology II being 9 more.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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Did your program have a website that provided more than a contact form and stock pictures of EMS workers?
 

medicRob

Forum Deputy Chief
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Did your program have a website that provided more than a contact form and stock pictures of EMS workers?

Who, me? Here is the site for my program, which was taught through a community college, even though they only give their EMT program 1 page, ha ha.

EMT-IV
http://www.mscc.edu/nursing/emt.html

Here is the page of where I got my Paramedic degree
http://catalog.volstate.acalog.com/preview_program.php?catoid=11&poid=453

Also, I find it noteworthy to mention that I got my original RN, AAS from the school above where I got my EMT-IV training, before I went on to transition to my BSN, and I used
undergraduate general education hours from both my AAS, and my BSN program to apply toward the degree program of the second school. My "Survey of anatomy" that they offered, was actually substituted for "Biology 2010 and 2020, Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II (Nursing and Pre-med level)"

I see what you are getting at. As far as I know (and I may be very wrong, because I haven't really researched it) there are no EMT or medic mills in TN and all our paramedic programs have always been accredited. I got my Original Paramedic certificate from a University, the only University in TN that offers a paramedic program, then just transferred that over to the program you see above along with my gen ed to give me my AAS in the field. I would actually like to get a Bachelors of Paramedicine, but I honestly have no idea of any school in TN That even offers such a thing for EMS.
 
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EMDispatch

IAED EMD-Q/EMT
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They advertise having their "work-study" program in my area... Interesting since I've never heard of any persons or places involved.

But darnit, I still wanna work on a helicopter...

Also got to like how they still will let me apply for their course that started on the 9th.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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medicRob

Forum Deputy Chief
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I love this "testimonial" specifically:

"I've lost my job 6 months ago and I just couldn’t find any work. I knew there were a lot of federal jobs available in my area for EMT and paramedics but I didn't have the license to apply. I heard about Universal Career's 14 day emergency medical technician training through a friend and I was a little worried about learning everything in 14 days, but I gotta say, the instructors at Universal Careers really made everything easy to understand. Universal Careers can really make it happen…. Their instructors are extremely experienced and although it’s a rough program, I loved it. I was trained and ready to take my state license in only 14 days. It was unbelievable. I’m currently employed as a emergency medical technician and I owe it all to Universal Careers."

Also, they are gonna certify me to work in 50 states?!? Yipee!

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of EMT-B, cause like I said in many posts before, here in TN our B is "IV" and that doesn't just mean IV endorsement as we were trained to the i/85 standards, yet we couldn't exactly call ourselves EMT-Intermediate either, because when we went to take the National Registry, we took the NREMT-B exam. The instructors actually tell you, "Dumb yourself down" for the test, think like an EMT-B not an IV, don't think too far into the questions.

I am so glad to see EMT-Advanced coming to TN in Fall 2011, but according to the NREMT newsletter, the national registry won't even make a test available for "EMT-Advanced" until 2013. Therefore, I am wondering what TN is going to do in the mean time. I know that for a year, they are going to do the "Bridge up or go back" game where you either take the extra courses to bridge from EMT-IV to Advanced, or you will revert to EMT-B and will have your IV, IM, Subq, and other skills taken away, but I am wondering if they are going to test the new EMT-Advanced students at NREMT-B or NREMT-I/85 until the actual NREMT-Advanced test becomes available.

I kind of feel sorry for the I/99s having to pay money out of their own pockets to bridge up to Paramedic because the "I" is about to be abolished.
 

medic417

The Truth Provider
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IMHO, stay away from any and all "rushed" 2-week EMT programs.

They're NOT worth the $$ and really exist to separate students from their cash, not instruct them well to get out in the field. Plus... looked down upon from the industry.

Avoid at all costs!

They are looked down upon no more than any other emt class that does not give college credit and as been discussed on this site there are very few places care how you got your certificate. 95% or more services will just want to see you are approved to work in their state and never ask where you trained for emt or how long the class was stretched out.

A basic class is 120 hours so 14 days is plenty. Why stretch it out?

Now $8000 no way. That program is a scam playing on the fears people have caused by the economy.
 

beandip4all

Forum Lieutenant
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They are looked down upon no more than any other emt class that does not give college credit and as been discussed on this site there are very few places care how you got your certificate. 95% or more services will just want to see you are approved to work in their state and never ask where you trained for emt or how long the class was stretched out.

A basic class is 120 hours so 14 days is plenty. Why stretch it out?

Respectfully disagree- several of the companies I have worked for or have colleagues working at won't even interview people from the 2 week programs, and I know of a few that wont even grant them ride alongs. I think they got sick of the students coming in being totally clueless, not knowing any skills or medical knowledge.

We have several respected longer non-two week programs here, such as San Francisco Paramedic Program and various JCs (foothill, skyline) that the EMT-mill programs around here pale in comparison. After you have been working in the field for a while you can really start to see the difference in the caliber of student the two week programs crank out vs the longer programs.

Perhaps this is not the case in your area- maybe the job market is so competitive, however here where we are very saturated with no-experience EMT-B job hunters, where you went to school really matters. This is all the way down from municipals to 911 to BLS and IFTs.

I feel bad for the students who make the mistake signing up for the 2-week program, can't pass the NREMT or even if they manage to pass the NREMT they can't get a job, then have to re-do and re-pay for their entire EMT-B program at another longer, more well respected program. I've seen this happen enough times to have a very low opinion of the two-week crash courses.
 

medic417

The Truth Provider
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Surprisingly most 2 week programs I am aware of have some of the highest NR pass rates in the nation. As to the skills you learn it is 120 hours of class no matter how many days, weeks, months that you stretch it.

Now I am not saying there are not bad ones, there are some of those just like there are some bad community college ones.
 
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