FP-C and CCP-C

Mitchellmvhs

Mitchellmvhs

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Hey Medic student here who’s hitting internship soon. Was just curious from you medics out there who hold either of these certs. I would like to do flight in a few years and plan on trying to keep up with studying and my education after medic school.

I’ve looked at IA-Med’s courses for the certifications and I’ve listened to a few podcasts that talk about the FP-C. How hard are the tests and is it worth it to try and get the cert early or should i just wait until i have the experience?

I’m in a CA medic school and plan on going to Las Vegas when i’m done for a larger scope of practice. I know they utilized the CCP-C as well in vegas allowing medics to utilize vents and pumps. Anyone have any experience with this as well?
 
I thought the tests were hard, but I still passed both first try. Both tests have nearly a 50/50 pass rate with CCP-C having a slightly worse rate. One thing I've noticed with people who fail these tests or similar is they expect their ALS experience to help them, but these tests are CCT tests. A paramedic taking it with no CCT training, knowledge, or experience is like testing a new EMT on ACLS and different ALS drugs. It's probably not gonna go well. I think without IA Med and FlightBridgeED, these tests would be a lot harder, but now these websites introduce people to the contents of the tests. I feel like a lot of people pass these tests. These websites introduce you to these things, but not much more.

The tests are not useful to take early on. You cannot use it for anything. You won't get hired with most flight companies, reputable ones, without >3 years experience because of CAMTS. They cost a lot of money. I believe there is a limited number of tries each person can have so taking it early and failing multiple times can really screw you. I wouldn't take it until ready.

I live in California and worked in California the most. I was really happy to start working outside of California for the wider scope. California's scope of practice is extremely limited, but it covers most of what you'll do daily as a paramedic just about anywhere else. The extra things you can do outside of California are still infrequently done. You probably won't be doing them enough to get comfortable with them. I wouldn't move for scope of practice.
 
Aprz said:
I thought the tests were hard, but I still passed both first try. Both tests have nearly a 50/50 pass rate with CCP-C having a slightly worse rate. One thing I've noticed with people who fail these tests or similar is they expect their ALS experience to help them, but these tests are CCT tests. A paramedic taking it with no CCT training, knowledge, or experience is like testing a new EMT on ACLS and different ALS drugs. It's probably not gonna go well. I think without IA Med and FlightBridgeED, these tests would be a lot harder, but now these websites introduce people to the contents of the tests. I feel like a lot of people pass these tests. These websites introduce you to these things, but not much more.

The tests are not useful to take early on. You cannot use it for anything. You won't get hired with most flight companies, reputable ones, without >3 years experience because of CAMTS. They cost a lot of money. I believe there is a limited number of tries each person can have so taking it early and failing multiple times can really screw you. I wouldn't take it until ready.

I live in California and worked in California the most. I was really happy to start working outside of California for the wider scope. California's scope of practice is extremely limited, but it covers most of what you'll do daily as a paramedic just about anywhere else. The extra things you can do outside of California are still infrequently done. You probably won't be doing them enough to get comfortable with them. I wouldn't move for scope of practice.
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I appreciate the info. I kinda guessed it’s not really worth it to do it early. I plan on staying up on my knowledge, studying on my own, and taking classes in order to get myself ready for flight and the critical care knowledge.

And there’s more than just scope of practice in CA for my move haha. Vegas is also a lower COL and the larger scope of practice is a benefit. They have a lot more freedom in protocols compared to my current county in CA. Vegas i’d think is a busy system and I’d probably learn a lot as well. In my opinion i’m far too comfortable with my own system and want to challenge myself when i’m done with school. (Obviously not as a medic, but I just want more of a challenge).
 
The tests are not particularly difficult, but they do presume familiarity with various critical care topics. I would reccomend avoiding them until you are ready to seriously consider flight jobs. In the meantime rely on texts meant for critical care RNs and advance practice providers. Medical textbooks are cheap if you pick a slightly older edition. Resources like uptodate , life in the fast lane etc are very
helpful. Also consider delaying flight and becoming a nurse first. Good luck
 
@Mitchellmvhs I am guessing you’re in SoCal, specifically Orange County. There are more affordable places in CA, and less crowded. But I get the “wanting to get out of California” thing.

I did my FP-C after being a paramedic for almost a decade. This was just before the countless prep courses cropped up (had to drive to AZ for one) online and made it the cash cow we now know. The course still helped me pass, but I couldn’t tell you that I had the slightest clue what to do with the cert.

For me, personally, I found it to be a challenging test not having any requisite knowledge or experience in critical care, or flight (although the flight portion of the exam seems to be the most straightforward).

The CCP-C was a different animal for me. I did it as more of a personal thing and it took me a few attempts. I won’t lie, I found it slightly more challenging because they remove the aviation portion and replace it with more complex scenarios.

I also took it right before the beta exam was released, so it was still the older format, and passed. IA Med helped me pass this exam.

My CCP-C was done while still gaining experience flying in, and around critical care. If that helps at all. It’s also largely not pursued by most as the FP cert carries the same critical care weight/ knowledge-base needed with most employers.

My company just wants straight flight certs. The CCP-C mostly just adds points if you’re looking to level up clinically.

As for scope of care/ practice. Theoretically I have a wider scope now, and my particular base sees a lot of heavy scene calls with a good portion being high-acuity patients (i.e., RSI, polytrauma).

That said, like @Aprz mentioned, the longer you do this line of work, the less the toolkit seems to matter. Most of the flight times to our trauma center are 10-15 minutes tops.

But also, keep in mind the level of not-so-fun charting, clean-up, and the like that go into these calls.

I’m not trying to burst your bubble as I see that you’re young, and probably eager. But from one SoCal native to a seemingly younger version, good luck.

You can DM me if you have any other specific questions. And yes, I’m still in California.
 
I will say I have found flying in a remote area much more rewarding than in cities. When you have longer rotor (or fixed wing ) trips and even longer ground missions to underserved areas it makes your skillset more relevant. I still advocate getting your nursing degree to fly. It is far more versatile and better compensated usually. You may not want to fly forever and can consider becoming a CNRA , NP or just finding a nursing job to "retire" at prior to actual retirement. Generally you will have the same scope as paramedics if not greater.
 
I don’t disagree with pursuing the RN route if that is what you wish. It does offer much more versatility and “outs”, however, it isn’t for everyone. I am one that it just wasn’t for.
 
To be clear I do not think RNs are better or worse clinicians, I just personally wish that I had become a RN and try to share that perspective for those that still have time to adjust career paths. But I have certainly enjoyed being a paramedic working in a variety of job types
 
VentMonkey said:
I don’t disagree with pursuing the RN route if that is what you wish. It does offer much more versatility and “outs”, however, it isn’t for everyone. I am one that it just wasn’t for.
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Out of curiosity do you have a career plan to share lol? I am not super close but have no idea what I would do instead of flying and 911 which I can not see doing to 65 + . Probably will not make RN work so I am looking at teaching or maybe working in an ED for less money. Just curious ..,
 
ChristopherM said:
Out of curiosity do you have a career plan to share lol? I am not super close but have no idea what I would do instead of flying and 911 which I can not see doing to 65 + . Probably will not make RN work so I am looking at teaching or maybe working in an ED for less money. Just curious ..,
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I don’t see me working past 65 (God Willing), if things continue to move along accordingly.

Maybe clown school, join the circus. But seriously, I don’t know that I will be on the flight line in 10-15 years.

Ideally I would love to spearhead a college-level critical care course similar to the ones in Florida and Omaha. Perhaps an educational role within my company even.

I really have little desire to go backwards and when I am ready to either retire completely or partially from prehospital care, I’d prefer to stay out of healthcare altogether.

It took me quite a few years to learn how to separate my identity from my work. Now that that’s possible, EMS retirement possibilities feel quite endless to me.

Anyhow, yeah. FP-C/ CCP-C, get it OP.
 
Yeah sorry kind of off topic. OP I also can be messaged with any questions. Not helpful with CA but I have a lot of varied CCT and flight experience and am happy to give insight if possible
 
I hold both the CCP-C and FP-C certifications. I believe there is considerable clinical value in having acquired the knowledge to pass these tests. As far as when you get them, I think it's perfectly fine to get them with minimal experience, and the cert lasts for 4 years, before you have to renew, so the "you have to have three years of experience before you can get hired for flight" doesn't make much sense to me personally. There is a false impression that I hear over and over again that they are the same test, and the only difference is that the CCP-C doesn't have flight physiology questions. While they are similar and both test critical care knowledge, the CCP-C is more challenging and has more in-depth clinical scenarios, as well as a higher expectation of anatomy and physiology as a precursor to being able to pass the exam. Flight Bridge Ed talks about this as well as the IBSC itself. There is a YouTube video of one of the officials stating that the CCP-C is the more challenging of the two. I'll include a link to the flight bridge discussion, which also has other helpful points.

Flight Paramedic OR Critical Care Paramedic? – FlightBridgeED

flightbridgeed.com flightbridgeed.com
 
WickedNorseMan said:
I hold both the CCP-C and FP-C certifications. I believe there is considerable clinical value in having acquired the knowledge to pass these tests. As far as when you get them, I think it's perfectly fine to get them with minimal experience, and the cert lasts for 4 years, before you have to renew, so the "you have to have three years of experience before you can get hired for flight" doesn't make much sense to me personally. There is a false impression that I hear over and over again that they are the same test, and the only difference is that the CCP-C doesn't have flight physiology questions. While they are similar and both test critical care knowledge, the CCP-C is more challenging and has more in-depth clinical scenarios, as well as a higher expectation of anatomy and physiology as a precursor to being able to pass the exam. Flight Bridge Ed talks about this as well as the IBSC itself. There is a YouTube video of one of the officials stating that the CCP-C is the more challenging of the two. I'll include a link to the flight bridge discussion, which also has other helpful points.

Flight Paramedic OR Critical Care Paramedic? – FlightBridgeED

flightbridgeed.com flightbridgeed.com
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How does having a minimum years of experience for flight not make sense to you?
 
DesertMedic66 said:
How does having a minimum years of experience for flight not make sense to you?
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A minimum of 3 years of clinical practice is the bare bones. I vaguely remember being a medic at 3 years at a busy dept, regarded as one of the stronger medics, and thinking I was hot sh*t. For a long time, every year I'd look back at who I was the previous year and think "wow that guy was stupid." Then when I finally grew up, I acknowledged that I don't now nor will I ever know everything and I am humbled regularly.
 
FiremanMike said:
A minimum of 3 years of clinical practice is the bare bones. I vaguely remember being a medic at 3 years at a busy dept, regarded as one of the stronger medics, and thinking I was hot sh*t. For a long time, every year I'd look back at who I was the previous year and think "wow that guy was stupid." Then when I finally grew up, I acknowledged that I don't now nor will I ever know everything and I am humbled regularly.
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Exactly. 3 years in a busy system is the absolute bare bones to qualify. 5 years is often preferred. I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone involved in the flight realm advocate to remove the minimum requirement…
 
So, I did not say that not having a minimum of three years of experience doesn't make sense insofar as applying for a flight position. What I said was " I believe there is considerable clinical value in having acquired the knowledge to pass these tests. As far as when you get them, I think it's perfectly fine to get them with minimal experience, and the cert lasts for 4 years". This comment was specifically referring to the certifications. Does that make sense? If you read the entire thread, there was someone who suggested not getting the certifications without having three years of experience. I was addressing that modus operand specifically. So, my anecdotal opinion is that if you get the certifications within three years can be a beneficial move.
 
WickedNorseMan said:
So, I did not say that not having a minimum of three years of experience doesn't make sense insofar as applying for a flight position. What I said was " I believe there is considerable clinical value in having acquired the knowledge to pass these tests. As far as when you get them, I think it's perfectly fine to get them with minimal experience, and the cert lasts for 4 years". This comment was specifically referring to the certifications. Does that make sense? If you read the entire thread, there was someone who suggested not getting the certifications without having three years of experience. I was addressing that modus operand specifically. So, my anecdotal opinion is that if you get the certifications within three years can be a beneficial move.
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So, I agree with being able to obtain FP-C/CCP-C prior to 3 years as I obtained mine at 2 years of being a medic. However you specifically said “so the "you have to have three years of experience before you can get hired for flight" doesn't make much sense to me personally.”

Getting hired for flight means the minimal entry requirements which, in your quote, doesn’t make sense to you.
 
FiremanMike said:
A minimum of 3 years of clinical practice is the bare bones. I vaguely remember being a medic at 3 years at a busy dept, regarded as one of the stronger medics, and thinking I was hot sh*t. For a long time, every year I'd look back at who I was the previous year and think "wow that guy was stupid." Then when I finally grew up, I acknowledged that I don't now nor will I ever know everything and I am humbled regularly.
Click to expand...
So, I did not say that not having a minimum of three years of experience doesn't make sense insofar as applying for a flight position. What I said was " I believe there is considerable clinical value in having acquired the knowledge to pass these tests. As far as when you get them, I think it's perfectly fine to get them with minimal experience, and the cert lasts for 4 years". This comment was specifically referring to the certifications. Does that make sense? If you read the entire thread, there was someone who suggested not getting the certifications without having three years of experience. I was addressing that modus operand specifically. So, my anecdotal opinion is that if you get the certifications within three years can be a beneficial move.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
So, I agree with being able to obtain FP-C/CCP-C prior to 3 years as I obtained mine at 2 years of being a medic. However you specifically said “so the "you have to have three years of experience before you can get hired for flight" doesn't make much sense to me personally.”

Getting hired for flight means the minimal entry requirements which, in your quote, doesn’t make sense to you.
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Ok, I understand the confusion. Someone had mentioned early on in this post that it was not beneficial to get the certifications without three years of experience. His or her reasoning behind that was that you have to have three years of experience before applying or to get hired as a flight medic. I was addressing that specifically. So, it was quoting a previous post stating what I mentioned at the beginning of this specific post. Does that make sense? Essentially, the context of the comment taken as an individual post would be confusing however, in the context of the thread entirely, it makes sense.
 
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