I never took the course but 9/10 ALS providers in my volunteer department are AEMTs.
In my opinion, it is a shortcut to avoiding an already insufficient paramedic certification.
Most of them, don't know a damn thing past how do perform skills. They rarely know anything about biology/pharmacology. Make sure you make yourself better than that, and you will have to do it on your own unfortunately.
I wouldn't be too down on the AEMT. Look at the national scope of practice...
(I think the real issue is that we providers, in general, have a poor grasp on how uneducated we really are)
The following are the minimum psychomotor skills of the AEMT:
• Airway and Breathing
o Insertion of airways that are NOT intended to be placed into the trachea
o Tracheobronchial suctioning of an already intubated patient
• Assessment
• Pharmacological Interventions
o Establish and maintain peripheral intravenous access
o Establish and maintain intraosseous access in a pediatric patient
o Administer (nonmedicated) intravenous fluid therapy
o Administer sublingual nitroglycerine to a patient experiencing chest pain of
suspected ischemic origin
o Administer subcutaneous or intramuscular epinephrine to a patient in anaphylaxis
o Administer glucagon to a hypoglycemic patient
o Administer intravenous D50 to a hypoglycemic patient
o Administer inhaled beta agonists to a patient experiencing difficulty breathing and
wheezing
o Administer a narcotic antagonist to a patient suspected of narcotic overdose
o Administer nitrous oxide for pain relief
