Help deciding on emt-intermediate or paramedic

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thebestinyou

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Hello all,

I'm currently 24yrs old an emt basic that is looking to ultimately become a paramedic. The problem is new york makes it extremely long to achieve that goal. in my immediate area you cannot skip from basic to paramedic.I have the option of starting the intermediate course in August and ends in march or start a 11month paramedic course which is the shortest around but its a 90 minute drive one way. I should also say I'm actively trying to become a career firefighter but ultimately I want to be a firemedic which has been my dream since a little kid. iam very torn at what to do as a matter of fact I honestly have no idea what to do I really need advice and guidance iam open to suggestions if you have any ideas.

thank you in advance for your help,

Rob
 
Go all the way to paramedic. If you know what you want to do, there's no sense in adding a middle point without reason.
 
if you want to be a career firefighter in the syracuse area (assuming that is where in central new york you are), the best way would be to become a paramedic. outside of the big cities (syracuse, rochester, etc), having you PM card is a requirement, as you do more ems than firefighting.

7 months for an intermediate, or 11 for a paramedic? go all the way in one shot, and take the onsite testing.
 
In my circumstances, it was more beneficial for me to go from Basic to Intermediate to Medic, even though I knew for years that Medic was my end-game.

My FD paid for all the schooling and offers incentive pay for Intermediate. So, instead of rolling the dice and going from Basic to Medic and possibly not being successful, I took Intermediate, passed it, got my incentive pay and then went on to Medic (which I also passed and got my incentive pay in the end).

But again, this was purely circumstantial. This was the best route for me. It might not be for you. Just consider your personal/work circumstances. Either way, if you want the money and the job, you'll eventually need your paramedic.

Take care,
 
My background:

NYC EMT, NYC Medic, Firefighter/medic in a large Northern Virginia Fire Department.

In NYC, you can only EMT-B or a paramedic. You can work on Long Island as an EMT-CC (Intermediate). I had no choice but to go straight to medic. It's normal to do that where I come from, and it's typically no big deal. EMT-CC's would have to call for permission to use many interventions. It's understood that this is because their medical education is inferior to that of a paramedic.

So, I move to Virginia for the fire job. Here, EMT-I's and paramedics have nearly the same degree of autonomy. They're practically interchangeable. This troubled me, since the educational levels were so different. This showed in a general lack of provider competency.

Outside of the fire service in Virginia, many volunteer departments encourage (or mandate) a provider to go from EMT-B to EMT-E to EMT-I to Paramedic without skipping any steps. I can see the benefit of being an EMT-E in rural areas, but going to EMT-I before medic makes absolutely no sense if they have practically the same scope. Aspiring medics typically understand my explanation that a medic and an intermediate have nearly the same scope of practice, with or without required OLMC contact to carry out protocols. Given this, it only makes sense that the provider should be the most educated as is possible. Otherwise, the EMT-I is doing the same job as a medic, but with much less knowledge. Some people rationalize the EMT-E, then EMT-I, then paramedic by saying that they want to get used to each level before progressing. What you need to realize is that the paramedic curriculum covers everything leading up to it, and the skills/assessments learned at the lower cert levels will be better utilized by the paramedic with a superior knowledge base.

How do you justify performing assessments and interventions with an inferior education, when a more comprehensive program is available?

Having said that, make a list of your prospective fire departments. See if they're hiring EMT-I's as ALS, or only paramedics. If time and money are your paramount concerns, then just do the EMT-I, and get hired; worry about going to medic later on. In Virginia, they're keeping the EMT-I, even though the NREMT is getting rid of it. This is to provide easier access to ALS in rural areas that cannot attract paramedics.

If the fire service is your ultimate goal, I would suggest doing the paramedic program right off the bat. Fire departments are now giving educational points on promotional exams. The P-card gives you about a year's worth of credits towards an AAS in EMS. The EMT-I doesn't give you much of anything.
 
azemtb255 said:
just go all the way, you will regret it later if you dont
Click to expand...

That's what she said!

Are there no paramedic classes starting in the fall maybe?
 
thebestinyou said:
Hello all,

I'm currently 24yrs old an emt basic that is looking to ultimately become a paramedic. The problem is new york makes it extremely long to achieve that goal. in my immediate area you cannot skip from basic to paramedic.I have the option of starting the intermediate course in August and ends in march or start a 11month paramedic course which is the shortest around but its a 90 minute drive one way. I should also say I'm actively trying to become a career firefighter but ultimately I want to be a firemedic which has been my dream since a little kid. iam very torn at what to do as a matter of fact I honestly have no idea what to do I really need advice and guidance iam open to suggestions if you have any ideas.

thank you in advance for your help,

Rob
Click to expand...



Intermediate seems like a good option.
 
I wouldn't say they are getting rid of EMT-I on the NREMT level. AEMT is just replacing it.
 
Medic or nothing.
 
EMT-I/AEMT will make the skills easier in paramedic school. Well some of them at least.

With that said, there's thousands of people who've gone B to P without issue.

People have already covered it pretty well so I won't parrot what's already been said.
 
I'm curious if most Paramedic programs allow someone to test out at the AEMT level if for some reason they cant complete Paramedic or fail late in the training, or maybe because they just want to upgrade to AEMT while still continuing through Paramedic school.

I assume most Paramedic schools allow this because EMT specialist/AEMT schools are incredibly rare in most of the US, and completely non existent in some states, yet you still see EMT Specialists around. Yet Ive known Basics who for whatever reason didnt complete Paramedic even though they did a couple Semesters of Paramedic school, and yet they arent Specialists/AEMTs, so either they didnt bother upgrading or didnt have the option.
 
hogwiley said:
I'm curious if most Paramedic programs allow someone to test out at the AEMT level if for some reason they cant complete Paramedic or fail late in the training, or maybe because they just want to upgrade to AEMT while still continuing through Paramedic school.

I assume most Paramedic schools allow this because EMT specialist/AEMT schools are incredibly rare in most of the US, and completely non existent in some states, yet you still see EMT Specialists around. Yet Ive known Basics who for whatever reason didnt complete Paramedic even though they did a couple Semesters of Paramedic school, and yet they arent Specialists/AEMTs, so either they didnt bother upgrading or didnt have the option.
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Some paramedic programs, during the program, have the students to test out as an EMT-E (IV, a few meds), then EMT-I (an under-educated paramedic with nearly the same scope as a medic), then paramedic at the end.
 
46Young said:
Some paramedic programs, during the program, have the students to test out as an EMT-E (IV, a few meds), then EMT-I (an under-educated paramedic with nearly the same scope as a medic), then paramedic at the end.
Click to expand...

Not all I's have the scope that VA has. In many places they can do IVs and have a few mother may I drugs.

The medic program I went through allowed you to test out as an I after the first semester. (3 semester program)
 
I became an EMT February 2010 and am finishing my paramedic program in 4 weeks. If you know you want to go medic and are willing to put in the time and effort to pass, why bother with intermediate? I live in a small town and the closest program for me is a 90-minute drive. Just be sure that you can afford the gas. Depending how many days a week I had to make the drive, it would cost me anywhere between $400-$1,000 a month in fuel alone. If you don't plan on packing your lunches, you should think about the cost of eating out, also. You may or may not be able to work as much during class as you are now. You have to consider that when thinking costs, too.
All-in-all, I would say that if you can afford to do it and you know that's what you want to do, GO FOR IT!
I was in the same situation and I can't begin to express how happy I am with the decision I made.
Good luck!
 
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