Ladies and gentleman. Im reading more responses and Id like to clear up a few things with regard to accelerated EMS training, and training in general. Im not the type of paramedic who will say "Ive seen it all" on the streets. That would be time to retire. However, I am confident I can give you an unbiased assessment as to this type of training. This is year 21 on the trucks working in EMS and year 28 in the Army Reserve as an infantry officer. Having been an NCO instructor and now a Captain responsible for training plans and instructor evaluations, I will give it to you straight. Yes it is possible to create an EMT-B in 14 days. The Pelham program for example, starts at 8am, breaks for a quick lunch and supper then comes back in the evening for lab work or remediation as needed. I'm a current US Registry certified paramedic and I hold Advance Care Paramedic (ACP) certification in 3 of our Canadian provinces (Canada has a national association, but no national registry). In most of Canada, our BLS Primary Care Paramedics (PCP) are educated between a year and two years (depending on clinical hours needed) and operate "kind of" like US intermediates, minus the advanced airway (intubating dead people), and the associated ALS pharmacology (narcotics, etc) of an intermediates scope. Typically our PCPs have a broader symptom relief package at their disposal, and some regions will allow them to use IV D50, and maybe some route of diazepam to break a seizure. That's about it, and its not in every region. Oh, they may be allowed to bolus in some salt water if hypovolemic from trauma. So ,similar to the US, a basic cert is well, pretty basic! Some schools like to fluff in a crammed "paramedic level" A&P course as part of their basic program, which is usually poorly presented and nobody remembers a week after the written test. This I know from quizzing the NEOs (new employee orienting) on the trucks several months out of school. Don't get me wrong, I will be the first to advocate training, and I have seen every horror story out there (on both sides of the border). That arrogant instructor trying to talk over the class to stroke their own ego, the idiot instructor trying to teach who doesn't understand the material themselves, the "instructor" who has no instructional technique certification (or ability), and just sticks in that damn Mosby/Brady/AAOP instructors disk then reads 120 powerpoint slides outloud in a 40 minute class, the "instructor" of the day brought in because the regular guy/girl was out the night before (with the students), and was too hung over to come in, the preceptor on the truck who should still be mentored themselves let alone be allowed to mentor anybody, and on and on and on it goes! Yes, we as instructors can put you on an ambo, car, truck, rig, unit, bus, whatever you guys call them, for hundreds and hundreds of hours. The more time on car the more experience..... but isn't that what actually working is supposed to do? And.... if you work in a system where supervisors have their :censored::censored::censored::censored: together.... aren't we supposed to be pairing rookies with senior staff for the first year on the job anyway? (I know.. what SHOULD be done rarely is in EMS management). ANYWAY..... if a student HAS A GOOD BACKGROUND in first aid already, yes you can bump them up with ambulance operations, AED use, IV maintenance, symptom relief meds, KED/spine board/traction splinting, and polish up their medical / trauma exam skills in 14 days and evenings. ONLY with a good first aid background. Now...... the most important bit of my rant I will leave you with is this: Every National Registry accredited program in those United States has the same core curriculum objectives, so what makes one school amazing and another suck? After all, its the same material, right?Its the QUALITY OF THAT LEAD INSTRUCTOR and her or his lab instructors and the preceptors in the field! Buyer beware!!!... just because somebody is the local badass EMT or Paramedic who's seen more blood than Dracula DOES NOT MEAN THEY HAVE ANY BUSINESS being in a classroom or precepting students! Never shortchange your EMS education by picking crappy instructors just because they are the cheapest or close by. Research the instructors! The amazing ones always have a reputation and are known throughout your state or province. Go to them!. This is about peoples lives, and you need to UNDERSTAND the material, not just learn it to spit back on a test. In the US Midwest, Pelham Training, run by Tim Abrams as lead, is a superior school at the basic and medic level. On the US east coast, the Advanced Life Support Institute (ALSI) has David Tauber over in New Hampshire, who is also a Senior Paramedic and amazing lead instructor. On the Canadian east coast, Holland College in Prince Edward Island (PEI) offers a solid program that has been around forever. Their new grads at least knew what sick was and could take an accurate blood pressure when I had them ride with me. I'll end with a shout out to my fellow senior medics to post the names of amazing lead instructors all over the world to help the new kids out. There are way too many idiots who couldn't do the job on the trucks , or good medics that cant teach worth a damn, pretending to be instructors and influencing the education of our rookies. It has to stop.
