EMT-P edu. questions

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ekulluke1

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Good day,

I am trying to decide where to pursue my Paramedic education, if at all. Any input regarding the matter will be helpful. Thank you.

In short, I am almost done with EMT-B/firefighter academy in Florida. I plan on moving to Austin TX to work as a firefighter. Should I pursue paramedic after the academy?

Some local schools to choose from:

-FMTI, (Florida Medical Training Institute) says they are nationally certified, (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education School) which offers a certification in 7-12 months $6,600.00. And/or an A.S. degree if one takes the 7 week prerequisite course online.

-BCC, (Broward Community College) which I know is Nationally accredited and offers the A.S. degree in about a 16 months $3,600.00.

Should I get my education from an accredited school?

Is it really worth the time and effort to become a paramedic if one is only going to fight fires in Austin?

Will the Austin Fire dept. hire me just as an EMT-B/firefighter?


Any information you have is great guys,

Thanks again.
 
Search as this was a recent discussion. But a point. Accredited college degree for Paramedic.
 
ha well this forum can be a bit touchy, especially when it comes to ff hopefuls.

Im just in emt-b school right now so i cant speak from experience but from what iv heard, medic school makes basic look like a walk in the park and if you arent dedicated to the idea of being a paramedic itll be really really hard to make it through. take your ff/emt-b training and start applying in texas. give it a few months and if it doesnt work out, evaluate your situation and go from there. probably not a good idea to jump into medic school JUST to look better to fire departments.

also take into consideration that if you do go to paramedic school and then get hired by a fire department youd better like riding an ambulance becuase youll probably be spending most of your time doing that rather than being on the engine.
 
ekulluke1 said:
-FMTI, (Florida Medical Training Institute) says they are nationally certified, (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education School) which offers a certification in 7-12 months $6,600.00. And/or an A.S. degree if one takes the 7 week prerequisite course online.
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That accreditation means very little. Look for the letters CAAHEP or CoAEMSP.

http://www.coaemsp.org/

The A.S. degree from FMTI will not transfer anywhere and they do say that, although not those exact words, in their paperwork.

Broward Community College is cheaper, accredited and the college credits will transfer to bigger and better things as you move on in your career. This is something you need to keep in mind if you want to advance in a good FD. They will expect you to have a higher degree in something to move up the ladder. A degree as a Paramedic is a good start. If the FD of your dreams does not require you to be a Paramedic and will be happy with just the EMT, get or continue to a degree in Fire Science. Don't waste your time or try to be part of the medical profession if your heart is only into fighting fires. Find a FD that will allow you to do just that. You will be of no use to your patients as a health care provider if you are only a patch Paramedic.
 
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Ambrose said:
Im just in emt-b school right now so i cant speak from experience but from what iv heard, medic school makes basic look like a walk in the park and if you arent dedicated to the idea of being a paramedic itll be really really hard to make it through. take your ff/emt-b training and start applying in texas. give it a few months and if it doesnt work out, evaluate your situation and go from there. probably not a good idea to jump into medic school JUST to look better to fire departments.

also take into consideration that if you do go to paramedic school and then get hired by a fire department youd better like riding an ambulance becuase youll probably be spending most of your time doing that rather than being on the engine.
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If he was to stay in Florida, as well as a few other states, he would be required (or preferred) to have the Paramedic patch before applying. Some departments in Florida and California will get several thousand applilcations so it is very competitive. I can not speak for places in Texas.

Also, in many FDs now, almost every FF is a Paramedic so you may only have to be on the ambulance or rescue for a few months to a couple of years. After that you may work an ALS engine and eventually just keep the patch for the extra few grand per year. Once you achieve a certain number of years and position, a FD may allow you to just drop it. Often, when a FD states they have 90% of their FFs certified, it usually means the other 10% have gotten promotions or enough years in where they no longer require the Paramedic cert.
 
I would definitely recommend going to a community college/degree program for your Paramedic. You never know what sort of doors it may open for you in the future. Good luck, whatever you decide.

P.S. I'm inventing a new word/contraction -- Patchamedic. LOL
 
Austin FD could not care less about paramedics. They don't run EMS, and have no desire to. They also, like most urban FDs these days, get several thousand applicants for every open position, so you'd better have a back-up plan to make a living with. Otherwise, you'll just be one more unemployed wannabe fireman volunteering in the surrounding county for free, wishing he had his academy money back.
 
Stay far away from FMTI!!!!

BCC is a good school, accredited and has some great instructors. It will be cheaper then the private medic mill.

As has been stated, only get your medic, if that is what you want to do. If you are planning on a move to Austin, then find out if it is required there or not.
 
AJ Hidell said:
Austin FD could not care less about paramedics. They don't run EMS, and have no desire to. They also, like most urban FDs these days, get several thousand applicants for every open position, so you'd better have a back-up plan to make a living with. Otherwise, you'll just be one more unemployed wannabe fireman volunteering in the surrounding county for free, wishing he had his academy money back.
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Austin FD does run EMS calls with Austin-Travis County EMS on Priority 3 and higher calls. Austin FD also hires people off the street without fire experience as well.
 
Correct. They do run on EMS calls. But I meant that they do not "run EMS". Sorry for the confusion.

Hate to tell you, ekulluke1, but Texas isn't like Florida. As austinmedic2004 points out (and I should have), you do not have to have fire certs to become a fireman in Texas. The larger departments are civil service, and hire based strictly on civil service exams. Prior fire training, with no professional experience to back it up, really won't figure into your hire-ability. They send you to their own academy, regardless of certs. That's why there are so many applicants for every position.

So again, have a back-up plan. As austinmedic2004 can tell you, simply having a medic cert isn't necessarily a good back-up plan in the area either. Austin-Travis County EMS recruits nationwide and strives to take only the best of the best. A new grad from a Florida medic mill isn't in high demand.
 
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