Fast track Paramedic school?

atropine said:
To the OP, get your medic cert as fast as you can, and move on. This is a stepping stone job/hobbie, but not a career unless you go the fire/ems route some may not like to hear that, but it is true.

EMS will always be as cheap as the private companies can make it. Companies are all capital my friend.:rolleyes:
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Firefighting a career? Seriously? I guess being a city employee could be a considered a career?

R/r 911
 
Maya said:
Add to that, the risks involved in this field -- potential for exposure to blood-borne pathogens, possibility of assault, or injury/death by MVP at highway accidents, potential for back-injury lifting heavy patients, potentially litigious clients. Then the added stress of working in EMS, odd hours.
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This is all true that why you have to love what you do, or its defiantly not worth it!
As for the low pay; Paramedics will never be compensated properly until the education is formalized. That is to say that at a minimum there has to be an AS degree and I believe that it really requires a BS to be fully educated in paramedicine and thus compensated appropriately.
EMS must be professionalized if we want to be considered professionals.
 
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Ridryder911 said:
Firefighting a career? Seriously? I guess being a city employee could be a considered a career?

R/r 911
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I'd rather have a rabid wolverine chewing on my scrotum than ever work for another municipality as my primary source of income. I'd dip the aforementioned anatomy in brown gravy and willingly seek out said wolverine before working in a municipal position that required me to join a union. Caveat emptor *, my young would be professional firefighters.



*- From the Latin: "Let the buyer beware"; to word it another way: "careful what you wish for"
 
Ridryder911 said:
Firefighting a career? Seriously? I guess being a city employee could be a considered a career?

R/r 911
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well I guess if you call a Pers retirement (90 percent of your base pay and most FD's max out at about 90K a year) a career for city employees yeah your right.:rolleyes:
 
atropine said:
well I guess if you call a Pers retirement (90 percent of your base pay and most FD's max out at about 90K a year) a career for city employees yeah your right.:rolleyes:
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You do realize there are many city jobs where you don't have to work 4000 hours per year to make $100k and you wouldn't be frustrated trying to be a Paramedic which seems to be something you are not cut out for by your posts. In fact, you could probably be a secretary taking phone calls for your department's front office and make more doing a 40 hour week. You could still flirt with all the firemen. I guess you know your posts read like a love sick or infatuated teenager rather than a professional FF.
 
atropine said:
well I guess if you call a Pers retirement (90 percent of your base pay and most FD's max out at about 90K a year) a career for city employees yeah your right.:rolleyes:
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That's okay, I can sleep better at night knowing that I am not increasing the burden to my city, and I was hired for what is above the neck line.

R/r 911
 
Maya said:
Thanks, VentMedic! Yeah, $2,000 is pretty insane. I paid it for the EMT class, because I was to late to get into any community colleges by then and didn't want to wait. I'm not really willing to pay that for phlebotomy though.
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Yikes, could have gotten your paramedic cert for about that much, I think just north of you at Foothill College in Palo Alto! Shop around from now on.

You said you took the medical school pre-requisites. Are you pre-med? If so, I wouldn't wast time going to paramedic school, unless you're really on a long-term plan. Go work as an anasthesia or OR tech (I know some provide in-house training) or heck, an ER doctor scribe somewhere.
 
This thread is fun and hilarious in a sort of sad way.
 
:unsure:

I am currently in an 'accelerated' medic class. I have 4 weeks left, then start my ride time. There have been times where I question if it is a good idea, then other times when I think it is a great program. I'll go hide back into my corner and if anyone wants to talk they can PM me


:unsure:
 
AnthonyM83 said:
Yikes, could have gotten your paramedic cert for about that much, I think just north of you at Foothill College in Palo Alto! Shop around from now on.

You said you took the medical school pre-requisites. Are you pre-med? If so, I wouldn't wast time going to paramedic school, unless you're really on a long-term plan. Go work as an anasthesia or OR tech (I know some provide in-house training) or heck, an ER doctor scribe somewhere.
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I did the pre-med classes about five years ago, but I ended up taking care of my dad who had Parkinson's Disease and never followed through with it. Now I'm California. I really want to work for the FD, but there are so many people who want to be FFs here and they're cutting jobs, so we'll see what happens.

I'm applying to paramedic schools (foothill and city are my first choices so far, but looks like I'll be moving to Alameda County) and also nursing schools (community colleges all over the state to get in by lottery), but that looks like 3-4 years on the waiting list.

I've been applying for jobs all over the state, but the job market is totally barren out here. Applied for an OR tech position at an abortion clinic in Alameda County (sorry if anyone's fundamentally against that, but I think it's a community service, particularly in extremely poor areas. Some of us will just have to agree to disagree). Lots of the phlebotomy programs have been waitlisted or cancelled (Ohlone College in Fremont has been temporarily cut back). It's crazy out here! Just a warning to anyone thinking of moving out here to Cali, there are no jobs right now.

I was lucky enough to get into a Volunteer program at Highland Hospital ER in Oakland -- yippy! It's really busy, so hoping to get some experience to get a job as an ER Tech eventually. That starts in about a month.

Thanks for the advice! I haven't looked into anesthesia tech jobs or ER doctor scribe. I didn't know that these provided on-the-job training. I'll check it out!

btw, thanks to everybody who's given me advice since I joined EMTLife. You guys have been really informative and helpful! I'm really glad I joined, because I've learned a lot I wouldn't have otherwise known, just by reading your posts :D
 
VentMedic said:
You do realize there are many city jobs where you don't have to work 4000 hours per year to make $100k and you wouldn't be frustrated trying to be a Paramedic which seems to be something you are not cut out for by your posts. In fact, you could probably be a secretary taking phone calls for your department's front office and make more doing a 40 hour week. You could still flirt with all the firemen. I guess you know your posts read like a love sick or infatuated teenager rather than a professional FF.
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I wouldn't do something that paid more if I didn't enjoy it.
 
The only fast-track sort of P course I know of is the one I went through.

5-1/2 - 6 months, total (including NREMT hands-on and computer-testing). Now, we went to class Mon-Friday 8am-5pm, every week - no breaks in the entire half year timeframe. Sat and Sun were for clinicals until the last month, in which most of us worked 6 days/12 hr shifts for the entire last month (talk about burnout!)

Now our class was accelerated because we are all military and our unit at Bragg had us doing the Medic course for our "work" for the roughly 6 months time period (all due to our deployment schedules and other schools like language, comms/negotiations, etc) - and our wonderful higher ups thought that all the P course was, was how to start IVs and do CPR...;)

Would I recommend it - absolutely not because of the burnout and no break (clinical and classroom aspects). Is it possible - absolutely. Do I have any regrets? No. We had about 35 people total start the class (civi's included) - 12 of us made it. So far 100% on NREMT and state tests.

Great program in NC, nonetheless - still had to have an 80% on all tests to pass. Credit given to our instructors and staff who didn't do the normal BS when it comes to military "students" and just pass them ;)
 
EMT's in Canada are almost the equivalent to US paramedics. Canada has way higher standards and training (and triple the cost).
 
VelvetyOne said:
EMT's in Canada are almost the equivalent to US paramedics. Canada has way higher standards and training (and triple the cost).
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Not quite sure how this fits into this thread ( to lazy right now to read through it all) but you are close

Our EMTs are about an AEMT in the US. The shortest program I have seen up here was 9 months. You are right about the cost. It is really expensive up here.
 
I finished fast track medic school and I am currently in my internship .
I have met and talked to many "long course" paramedic students and I feel I am on track with them when it comes to knowledge, etc ..
I see benefits to both.
Just like anything the more you put into it the more you get out of it !
 
I know a hybrid fast track program in Kingston, NC. It's run by Lenoir Community College.
 
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