Determining which type of EMT cert to get

NUEMT

Forum Lieutenant
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Most of the time EMS doesn't translate well to being a LEO as there are two different mindsets that are going on there. I went to medic school with a former sheriff's deputy who worked in the jails. He put it this way "when I was a deputy I was looking for is this guy a threat or not and now as a firefighter/ paramedic, I'm looking at people for are sick or not sick." Essentially what he was trying to convey was how you arrive at a scene with two very distinct trains of thought one is fight or not and the other is treat immediately or treat after more information is gathered. When you are going to scenes each hat you wear will require you to do things differently. Think of it this way you get called to a shooting and arrive on scene, as a LEO you want to ensure the safety of the scene and preserve evidence, whereas you show up as a paramedic yes you are looking for a safe scene but you're immediate goal is to get to the patient and assess them to determine a treatment path. While on scene as a paramedic you are not super concerned about evidence preservation as attempting to treat the patient and get the patient to definitive care is more important than remembering to not cut through a bullet hole in clothing in order to expose the patient.

I disagree. As a LEO, my base approach and skills are applicable on every call. The common denominator is people. LE trains you to be able to interact with people, sift out information , decide a course of action ...sound familiar? Your LEO training will serve you better than you think. Evidence and DV and all the specific situations come few and far between. For the most part, your skills with people, your ability to sift out the "differential truth" will be the most useful. There will also be a handful of situations where the tone of the scene will change, and you will likely be the one to notice something is up. Looking for the threat never goes away. COndition Yellow all the time, every time, every call.

"I Aint dyin in no ghetto" Oldie from my academy. Still a gold standard.

 

Carlos Danger

Forum Deputy Chief
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The NYS EMT-CC is a considered a full ALS provider but on average, students receive less than 400 total hours of instruction. This instruction is broken up into 175-225 classroom and practical laboratory hours, 50-75 clinical hours and 75-100 field internship hours, compared to the over 1000 hours for paramedic.

That's why it's an almost medic. You may learn HOW but will lack the education to understand WHY.

I'm from rural NYS originally and can tell you from experience that the EMT-CC is a complete joke.

Would anyone consider hiring a lawyer who only did 1/3 of law school? How about having your anesthesia provided by a CRNA who only did 1/3 of the program? I didn't think so.

I understand why NYS created this level a few decades ago, and maybe it was the right thing to do at the time, but it should not even be an option in this day and age.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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AEMTs aren't really there to help Paramedics, they're there to lead EMTs during a patient call, in the way a paramedic would, but they're not a paramedic. Hence my stance of: be an awesome, well-rounded EMT with something fresh to bring to the table, or go to paramedic school.
The EMT scope in this state is very close to the national standard AEMT, and they are very much used as a paramedic helpers. The EMT is the skill monkey, get the line, draw the meds, setup the other stuff. I have no idea what sort of expectations the OPs system has.

I think the national standard AEMT is a useful course and would serve the OP well. It is not ALS and not should be used as such. It adds a few medications with significant benefit and relatively minimal risk (to go along with much less education) along with IV access. If you want to a do a bit more on scene to be helpful, I think it would help, it certainly does for EMTs here. It isn't the intermediate crap of a medics scope with more callins, that I could never support.

It is worth considering how many calls you'll run. If you work in a slow system, these extra skills may be more of a hinderance than a help.
 
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NysEms2117

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
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Thank you for a new perspective/input not heard before tigger(Albany county has a lot of calls, so I will defiantly look into the NRAEMT program).While i want to help i also don't wanna get sued(or even worse harm the patient), so I want to actually know what to do and not push my limitations. Along with Remi, I appreciate your input/reasoning.
 

Generic

Forum Crew Member
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The problem I see with upgrading to Advanced EMT is that because A-EMTs are Limited ALS providers, they require you to be employed by a LALS/ALS provider. You just can't take a course in Advanced EMT and start carrying your meds and procedure supplies around the shopping mall in case you come across a medical emergency. Most LE agencies don't have an ALS program so you won't be able to legally perform as an advanced EMT so I don't see the need to move up to an advanced EMT cert.

This may have come across as me being a jerk. That was not my intent.
 
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NysEms2117

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
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dont worry @Generic i can take whatever people say. I wouldn't be carrying meds for LE purposes, i would be employed by a company or volunteer. Things get confusing with my intents and i think that is where i am confusing most of you folks that are trying to help me.
 

ERDoc

Forum Asst. Chief
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I'll be honest, TLDR so if I am repeating something, I apologize in advance. Be careful taking the EMT-I. There are some counties that don't recognize them even though the state does. Are you looking to volley or for a part time job? If you are looking to volley, check with the agency and county where you want to volley. In most cases (in NYS) the EMT-CC can do almost everything an EMT-P, or whatever they call it now, can do. The exceptions were that CCs couldn't do needle decompression and needle crics. This may have changed since I was in the system so check for yourself. The biggest difference were in standing orders. EMT-CCs had very minimal standing orders (ie 1 ntg, 324 ASA and call medical control) whereas Paramedics had much more liberal standing orders, but they was largely dependent on your REMAC, Since NYS is a home rule state, you might want to check with the locals since they will be able to tell you much more than we can.
 
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NysEms2117

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
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@ERDoc it does not really matter to me, if I can do EMS and get paid great, if not thats great too. I'm in no (dire need) for money at the current moment, so I don't "need" a job in EMS I can volunteer. I would be doing most of my EMS in either Albany county, Schoharie county, or Rockland County. All of which have protocols for both AEMT, and EMT-CC. Would it be safe to assume that since they have protocols for them, they use them?
 

ERDoc

Forum Asst. Chief
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Yeah, if they have protocols for AEMT-I and -CC then the counties recognize both. That doesn't mean a specific agency will. NYC only recognizes EMT and AEMT-P. You should probably check where you want to work/volley and see what they recognize. I know a lot of people that were AEMT-CCs who got jobs at places that did not recognize that level so they worked as an EMT. A volley will probably take whatever they can get, but not all vollies are ALS.
 
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NysEms2117

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
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Ahh well albany county has both as well as the neighboring 2 counties(Schoharie& Schenectady) I'll also call up the primary agencies and see who runs bls or als and primary 911 ect. Thanks again everybody!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MackTheKnife

BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Doesn't seem like he's taking the easy way out.
Yeah, we get the fact that he doesn't want to go to paramedic school. Most of us believe that taking the easy way out doesn't give you enough education to perform as an effective ALS provider. I don't know how to put it any plainer than that.

I mean, even most paramedic programs barely scratch the surface. Plugging someone in for a third of the education of a paramedic and then handing them most of the same skills and tools is just a bad idea.

If you want to play with advanced skills like endotracheal intubation and medication administration, get the education.
 
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