College

[bethgr2]

Im going to be going to college for paramedicine. I was wondering what college has the best paramedic corses in the US? Do you have any tips for picking a college that can help me in the future?
Thanks A bunch!

 

[rescuecpt]

Around here (Long Island, NY) the paramedic courses are run either by community colleges or hospital systems, with the exception of the State University of NY at Stony Brook, which is an accredited 4 year college, but the paramedic program is a certificate program only.

I would get involved with a volunteer agency in your area and talk to the Chiefs and other members. They will help you get into an EMT-Basic class (you have to have that to be eligible for medic class) and ask the people in your area which paramedic programs they think are best.

Good luck to you!

 

[bethgr2]

I am already in a volenteer program but the prob. is that i live in the middle of know where and at our ambulance squad everyone else has other jobs and only have EMT or ALS (they got there certificate in local programs). I need to go to college and try to get an AAS in the paramedic feild. Do you have any more tips?

 

[Chimpie]

First, welcome to EMTLife!

Second, congratulations on wanting to go to college. Whatever you do, don't give up this goal. You have no idea how much it can help you in the future.

Living in the middle of no-where means you'll probably have to move to go to a good college. I have no idea where "no-where" is , and even if I didn't I probably couldn't give any college recommendations close to you. I can, however, recommend Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. This school is known in the midwest for putting out some great programs. The classes are small (usually around 20 students) and the instructors/professors all have real street experience, whether it's police, fire, ems, business, what ever.

Check out their Emergency Medical Services program. I think you'll find what you're looking for there.

Good luck and keep posting. You have a wealth of knowledge and experience right here.

 

[Guardian]

There is a great resource available to you in the process of finding a college and it's called the Internet. Surf around and find out as much as you can. My advise is go to the best college you can get into and get a degree, not just a certificate. Good luck and remember to have fun.

 

[Jon]

First - Welcome to EMTlife!

"The Center for Emergency Medicine" in Pittsburgh has a VERY good program, and they do Associates and Batchlors degrees in EMS with a local schoo.

 

[ndilley]

Eastern Kentucky University in richmond, ky offers an associates of science in paramedicine, a B.S. program called Emergency Medical Care, as well as a certificate program...all three have the same final goal of being a medic. This is one of the best (if not the best IMO b/c i go here) paramedic programs in the state... http://www.emc.eku.edu/

 

[JJR512]

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has a highly-regarded paramedic program. Personally, I don't see much of an advantage of a four-year program over a two-year program. The two-year programs teach you all the same practical skills and knowledge; the four-year programs add stuff like the history of emergency medicine, and other general-education stuff...I don't think the guy who just flew off his motorcycle at 70mph is going to care much about the history of emergency medicine, though...or whether you can factor equations with non-real numbers, or if you can name every Shakespeare sonnet...

 

[Chimpie]

No, but if something happened to him while out in the field and he had to work at a desk or hold some sort of an admin position, I'm sure that four year degree would come in handy, or at least look really good to the competition.

 

[JJR512]

That is true!

A friend on mine also just recently told me that the actual paramedic courses on the four-year level, although they teach all the same stuff, spend more time on each individual topic, so the quality of what you learn should be higher. Theoretically, for the same person, same level of skill from the teacher, of course.

 

[Chimpie]

This is coming from an almost 30 year old, dabbled here and there in EMS, and messed around a little with the BRTs, here's some advice:

Always wear sunscreen. No, just kidding...

If I wanted to get into EMS, I would definitely enroll in a four year paramedic program. Not only will you walk away with your paramedic certificate, but you'll also walk away with a four year degree. While you can pretty much walk onto any dept with a paramedic cert, you'll probably have an agency or two willing to pay you more (salary) if you have a four degree. You'll advance a lot quicker, and with the added benefits I'm sure you'll receive, you'll probably be happier.

 

[JJR512]

...If I wanted to get into EMS, I would definitely enroll in a four year paramedic program. Not only will you walk away with your paramedic certificate, but you'll also walk away with a four year degree. While you can pretty much walk onto any dept with a paramedic cert, you'll probably have an agency or two willing to pay you more (salary) if you have a four degree. You'll advance a lot quicker, and with the added benefits I'm sure you'll receive, you'll probably be happier.

In general I would consider that sage advice. However, a four-year degree, vs. the two-year degree I'll be starting on in less than a month, won't have the advantages to me that you mention for two reasons:

1. I'm 30 years old now, about to be 31, and will be 33 when I graduate with my AAS degree as a Paramedic. My ultimate goal is to become a Flight Paramedic on Maryland's medevac helicopters, which are operated by the State Police, so I need to become a State Police officer right after I graduate. I'm not looking forward to being a 33 year old in a 6-month military-style police academy (as the MDSP Academy is), mixed in with many other students, most of whom will have about a ten-year age advantage on me. I'd like it less if I had to wait two more years to get a four-year degree.

2. The salary issue is a non-issue in my specific circumstance. The MD State Police hire everybody at a fixed rate, currently about $35k/yr, regardless of prior training or education (just as they put everybody through that academy I mentioned, even if they were an MP for ten years!). Flight Paramedics make a fixed $7,000/yr. over what a road trooper of the same rank/level would earn.

All this is not to dissuade anyone from getting a four-year degree, if you can afford to, have the time to, and have the need to. But if it has no practical advantage, consider carefully if it's worth the extra time and money.

That said, I would like to eventually get a four-year degree, which I pursue on a part-time basis, around my work schedule as a Flight Paramedic...if they get any free time, that is!