a question from a newbie, Basic or Paramedic?

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silvermountain

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I'm currently going to school in NE Ohio to get my EMT-B certificate. My goal is to focus entirely on medical, as I do not want to be a firefighter (or, at least, not yet).

From people who have experience in this, I want to continue towards EMT-I then EMT-P. My question, is, should I go out into the real world and get some experience as a Basic before continuing my education? Like, getting real world experience doing stuff that should be second nature in this field like opening an O2 bottle, getting vitals, doing assessments, etc. under pressure?

My 3 options I'm considering:

-Get a job as an EMT-B and get some experience (private service or something)
-Get a job as an EMT-B and go to school simultaneously for EMT-P
-Go straight for EMT-P

My concern is whether or not Basics are still relevant in ambulance services, which may make it tough for me to get a job. Seems like more an more places want you to be a Intermediate or Paramedic. Will you be frowned upon as an EMT-P not having SOME experience?

I wouldn't have to ask this question if I was going into Fire Service, because EMT-P seems to be the standard now. My short term career goal is to work for a hospital ambulance service as a paramedic or for the city (there's something about private services that doesn't sit well with me as a career). My state of choice to work in will probably be North Carolina.

Anyone go through a similar situation?
 
Take option #2.

Work while going to school.
 
i am doing option 2
 
it is usually reccomended that a medic student have AT LEAST one year of fulltime work experience as a basic prior to beggining medic school. the bottom line of it is you need to be an excellent basic to have a shot at being a decent medic. street time as a basic get you familiar with all the little things that should be second nature before being a medic. thing like taking signs while responding down a bumpy road, documentation, ambulance operations etc. also, you need some time to decide if this line of work is really for you. you may be in love with the theory of ems now, but give it some time. your passion might be increased with experience or crushed. medic school is very expensive and takes a whole lot of time and commitment. it would really suck if you put all the time and what not in to being a medic before ever working; then a month after getting on a dept you code an infant unsucessfully. your so broken up about it you decide you could never go through that again and quit the business. all that time, money and effort is now shot. im not saying that would be you, as i dont knwo you. but i have seen it more than once. better to decide earlier than later.
 
Alot of people (by people I mean Much more experienced than I) that I have talked to about this have said option 2. Go through that Paramedic class as soon as you can. Im not saying this is the best choice, Im only saying that this is what I have been told to do.
 
#2 or #3. Get your Paramedic! Make the most of your educational offerings. You do not need experience and I challenge the above post stating otherwise. Honestly, your BLS skills will be re-evaluated and honed during Paramedic school and the clinicals associated with it. Not to mention the increased possibility of learning and repeatedly using bad habits that soooo many EMT's develop in the field. Get your education while you can, do not delay it. You never know what may happen down the line, getting your Paramedic now will make you more marketable and will also offer you better financial security vs. an EMT certification. Best of luck to you!
 
Just go get your Paramedic somehow. If you can get experience great, but don't worry. Many services now rather hire no-experience medics, there is no bad habits to break and they will mold you to want they want. As some are only counting 1/2 years as a basic.

You will get experience in some form, just as soon you get your Paramedic is where it really counts.

R/r 911
 
It wouldn't be a bad idea to get into an organization or work for a company as a Basic while going through your paramedic class. Some places will pay for your paramedic school as long as you give so many years employment for them after the class. Also, if you end up doing ride time at the same place you work at, you'll avoid that awkward feeling of working with new crews time and time again. Lastly, you can get some of that experience you're looking for while you're going through class nothing beats experience, plus it's nice to see the lessons you learn in class put into practice in the field..
 
Get some street time down as a basic. It is the biggest problem we are having when precepting Paramedic students. We only have a student for a few hundred hours. If we have to spend 200 hours making you a competent Basic we cant spend time teaching you many of the fine points that make a good clinical rotation so valuable. I have seen a few 'naturals' who can make the jump quite easily (2 are Doctors now), but most are going to need time in the streets. You can pass Paramedic but are you going to be a technician or someone who can think about what is or may be going on and act based upon that?
IMHO YMMV
 
Thanks to everyone who replied, you've all be helpful. While everyone makes good points, I see no reason to not continue my training while working as a Basic (and won't be able to do anything but Basic work due to laws, protocol, etc), so it looks like its option #2 for me.

On a side note, noticed a few people were licensed Critical Care EMT-Ps...is that a higher or different certificate that EMT-P? Seems to relate to an article online from Time Magazine that said more paramedics these days are helping doctors in the emergency room. Just curious.
 
I'm new here but my advice is free so I'll throw it out there just for fun. I say get into paramedic A.S.A.P. You mentioned maybe going for intermediate which seems like a waste of time to me since you plan on going medic eventually. Maybe someone with experience on that transition can set me straight but you relearn everything in medic that you would learn in intermediate anyway.

You also said you want to focus mostly on medical since you don't want to be a FF. I guess I don't understand your situation entirely but in my area we have a good mix of medical and trauma on the rig but maybe your fire department covers 911 and you're looking for inter facility transfers etc. Anyway the EMT-B really doesn't cover very much medical anyway it's mostly trauma and only the most severe medical that we are trained in so upgrading to medic would help your medical skills much more than experience as a Basic.

And lastly thanks for the info on CCEMT-P I was wondering the same thing, may have to check that out down the road.
 
WIemt, It may come as a surprise to you but there are large areas of the country where EMS is done by people who just concentrate on EMS and not hose draggin as well.

Having said that, I am a Fire Based Medic :-)
 
cfrench; I understand that. I'm one of those areas that does EMS. If it's burning I'll wait outside with a marshmallow on a stick until you guys bring me someone to work on. Fire's not my thing. He just said in his original post that he wanted to focus on medical and I was pointing out that as a medic that would cover 911 calls you'll get both medical and trauma. I guess the wording of my original post was odd but I was just trying to figure out what type of service he hopes to work for doing only medical and also point out that as a Basic we're taught very little medical.
 
CCEMT/P is usually referred to additional education past the DOT Paramedic level. It can from 2 weeks to one year in length. Usually used for specialty care transport and sometimes labeled as an Advanced Paramedic.

Personally mine was an very intense two week period that we had classes 12 hours a day, with very intense studying of another 5-6.. We had excellent lectures from neurosurgeons to very intense cardiology, ventilator studies, balloon pumps, etc. It helped me prepare for the FP-C examination.

R/r 911
 
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