AEMT or Paramedic?

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acolley

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Is it worth getting an AEMT License and then getting Paramedic later on or is it better to just go straight to Paramedic from EMTB?
 
acolley said:
Is it worth getting an AEMT License and then getting Paramedic later on or is it better to just go straight to Paramedic from EMTB?
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Depends. Can you get a better paying job as an AEMT to help pay for paramedic school? Are you the type of person that learns better in the classroom, or do you need real world experience to help those lessons sink in?
 
acolley said:
Is it worth getting an AEMT License and then getting Paramedic later on or is it better to just go straight to Paramedic from EMTB?
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What are your goals -- e.g., work as a paid provider, volunteer, adult education?
 
Does your area use AEMTs? Will it help you to gain experience and confidence? Will an agency take you on and then subsidize your education?

I know that I am always looking for good EMTs that want to grow with our agency. If you work for us, I’ll invest in your education!
 
acolley said:
Is it worth getting an AEMT License and then getting Paramedic later on or is it better to just go straight to Paramedic from EMTB?
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You just got an awesome offer from NomadicMedic.
 
Well, the generic “you.” I always look for good people. :)
 
When I worked in Indiana not many places use A-EMT's and school went from Basic to Medic (for most of them).

Here in Utah and Nevada, it is a stepping stone: Basic, A, Medic and you don't have a choice if you are going to a state sponsored program
 
Even if you can get a better job as an AEMT during medic school, many advanced programs are a semester long which will delay you starting medic school. I do not think it is necessary to be an AEMT before medic school.
 
Tigger said:
Even if you can get a better job as an AEMT during medic school, many advanced programs are a semester long which will delay you starting medic school. I do not think it is necessary to be an AEMT before medic school.
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For the most part, I agree. If the end goal is Paramedic and the state/local system allows for an EMT to go directly to Paramedic and skip the AEMT, then skip AEMT and go to Paramedic. Here's my own caveat: An EMT should have at least some experience doing patient care before making the leap to Paramedic because it's not easy to have to learn how to be an EMT while also learning how to be a Paramedic at the same time. An incoming Paramedic student should at least have good familiarity with doing basic stuff first. It also ensures that you know that you're actually into doing the job. It truly isn't a good day when you go from EMT school to Paramedic school and find out during an internship that you really don't like doing hands-on patient care. Same for nursing school for that matter... someone going into that field should have some direct patient care experience (doesn't have to be nursing) for the same reason.

If the state/local system doesn't allow skipping AEMT to go to Paramedic, check for ability to go out of the area to get the P card and if they'll allow a lateral back into the area directly as a P without doing AEMT first. If that's not a possibility for system or personal reasons, do the step upgrades and work on upgrading your thinking along the way too. You don't want to basically end up cognitively being an AEMT with a P-card.
 
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