How Long before going to Paramedic school?

nibejeebies

nibejeebies

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Hi guys. I'm Ni, I come from a Law Enforcement Background, and Volunteer Fire Service. Got into EMS because I felt like I could help people more then sending them to Jail or Keeping them their.

So I have gotten all my ducks in a row so to speak. Now working in EMS on a BLS 4 days a week and an ALS 2 days a week.

Have been talking to all the guys at work and others that I know about when to go to Paramedic School.

I have decided to wait at least a Year and get that experience before attempting to enroll in a Medic school.

I'm working for a company called Rural Metro, who offers to pay for said Medic School and books after one year of continuous employment averaging over 37 hours a week. Hence my decision for at least one year.

Some one also suggested going ahead and buying the books and self study during that year to make school a bit easier.

So my question is, what does everyone recommend? Get the books and self study or not? Wait the year or Longer? Go to Medic school this Fall?

PS
I searched the site for the questions but didn't really find a topic that really answered any of these questions.
 
You will be better off getting into a Paramedic program as soon as possible. There is nothing to be gained but bad habits by working as a basic.
 
but is it not Generaly frowned upon for a paramedic not to have any form of experaince in the field when starting?
 
NO. EMS is the only medical field that trys to make people go in steps. All real medical professions get all their education then practice. A new Paramedic should get their experience during clinicals or better term their internship. Sadly though many schools do not require a true internship and thus Paramedics coming out seem lost. Go to a good Paramedic program and you can have zero EMT experience and be a great Paramedic upon completion.
 
nibejeebies said:
I'm working for a company called Rural Metro, who offers to pay for said Medic School and books after one year of continuous employment averaging over 37 hours a week. Hence my decision for at least one year.

Some one also suggested going ahead and buying the books and self study during that year to make school a bit easier.
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It is not about the experience. Just about any company may want your labor for at least one year especially as an EMT. They know you will probably run off to join the FD or another company once you complete your Paramedic. There are other companies which provide both ALS and BLS that will put you through Paramedic school right away but want you to sign a contract for the time you are in school as well as an additional year of service just to keep your body on their trucks and for you to show loyalty for their money they have spent on you. However, many companies still know that some will jump ship as soon as a better job opens up once they get their Paramedic and there is little they may be able to do to get their money back. Thus, the reason most tell you to wait a year and JUST WORK for their benefit, not yours.

You should be starting some A&P, microbiology and pharmacology college classess while you are waiting. Reading a 10th grade reader such as a Paramedic text book prior to class may not put you very much ahead of the class. Getting a solid educational foundation while you are working as an EMT will enable you to know more about the patients you have before you now. You may also understand the whys of the procedures you are now doing or observing. That might even be beyond some of the Paramedics you now working with on ALS who only went through Paramedic school without doing any prerequisites.
 
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In this economy and work environment I'd go straight from EMT school to Paramedic school. Even if Rural Metro isn't willing to foot the bill, at this point I believe it would give you the most opportunities if EMS if your career of choice.
 
medic417 said:
NO. EMS is the only medical field that trys to make people go in steps. All real medical professions get all their education then practice. A new Paramedic should get their experience during clinicals or better term their internship. Sadly though many schools do not require a true internship and thus Paramedics coming out seem lost. Go to a good Paramedic program and you can have zero EMT experience and be a great Paramedic upon completion.
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MD's do several years of residency, fellowship, and such. Unless you're working at a doctor's office or nursing home, a new RN will plenty of help. A PA will be working under a MD. I don't know the deal with RT's. A medic candidate needs a solid pt assessment, and a sizeable number of pt contacts for decision making experience. Having strong BLS is necessary, as you'll be plenty nervous, second guessing your Tx plan, struggling to remember protocols, and such. Deciding when to go ALS ought to be based on comfort level as a BLS provider. When you feel you've pretty much got it down, then it's time. I've had to show medics how to properly apply spinal motion restriction, how to splint, set up a neb and such. People say three years BLS is a good rule of thumb. Fact of the matter is, your learning curve can vary greatly. If you're working a busy urban BLS rig, you may feel proficient after a year or so. If you're out in the sticks, and rarely turn a wheel, you may not see much at all. Medic/EMT crews will be dominated by the ALS provider, so the BLS crew member won't learn much. Sure, you'll get good experience from a quality program, but you'll still be green in the ways of ALS upon graduation. Your BLS should be second nature, so you can devote thought to possible advanced procedures. I worked 46E1, a very busy BLS in Queens NY for several years before completing a solid medic program, and I was still like a deer caught in headlights for the first few months. We have two ALS providers per bus, so I had quality people to show me the ropes. If you want to go ALS right away, at least work for a double medic agency, so you'll lwarn from a seasoned provider. If you'll be thrown to the wolves as a sole ALS provider, you'll be prone to bad clinical judgment, poor pt outcomes, and possible lawsuits/cert revocation as a result.
 
46Young said:
A medic candidate needs a solid pt assessment, and a sizeable number of pt contacts for decision making experience. Having strong BLS is necessary, as you'll be plenty nervous, second guessing your Tx plan, struggling to remember protocols, and such. Deciding when to go ALS ought to be based on comfort level as a BLS provider. When you feel you've pretty much got it down, then it's time.
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How much assessing can you actually do at the BLS level?

Since you have compared RNs to EMTs, they both have strong assessment skills and knowledge at their advanced level when they get out of their program. They are not assessing at a CNA level. A CNA is not allowed to do any "assessing" other than the skills of taking vitals and many of them have much more training than an EMT-B as well as more patient contact. An LVN, with only 1 year of education/training, is also restricted from doing most assessments in hospitals especially the initial admission.

If you don't know what to look for or what you are looking at with the limited education provided in an EMT-B class, how can you adequately assess a patient? Are you really assessing the patient or just looking for a few signs and symptoms that fit into the limited protocols and knowledge you have?
 
MMiz said:
In this economy and work environment I'd go straight from EMT school to Paramedic school. Even if Rural Metro isn't willing to foot the bill, at this point I believe it would give you the most opportunities if EMS if your career of choice.
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This brings us to another good point. Becoming an EMT and Paramedic has been touted as quick entry jobs in the newspapers for those displaced by this economy. There are many out there who never gave EMS a thought until they lost their high tech, teaching or airline jobs. The medic mills are now full of people looking to pick up a job quickly so there may be some competition. They may also be well educated, slightly older with solid work experience and can present very professionally to a perspective employer. Of course, when the economy swings up again in a couple of years, they may abandon the ambulance jobs and return back to their former careers.
 
So What if I go ahead and do the Year wait, while taking A&P, Pharm, and a few others?

In Tennessee you can be a Paramedic with out a A.S. in Paramedicine but it is available.

Would it be a good idea to peruse said degree, if I plan to not live in Tennessee all my life?
 
nibejeebies said:
So What if I go ahead and do the Year wait, while taking A&P, Pharm, and a few others?

In Tennessee you can be a Paramedic with out a A.S. in Paramedicine but it is available.

Would it be a good idea to peruse said degree, if I plan to not live in Tennessee all my life?
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If you are taking A&P and the other college level classes, you are not waiting. In a perfect world no one should be allowed to have a Paramedic cert unless they had these classes at the very minimum. No other health care profession ignors these classes as they are the true "basics", not the EMT-B class.

Getting a degree depends on what your goals are and whether you want a job or a career.

BTW, make sure your Paramedic program is accedited by CAAHEP/CoAEMSP.
 
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46Young said:
MD's do several years of residency, fellowship, and such. Unless you're working at a doctor's office or nursing home, a new RN will plenty of help. A PA will be working under a MD. I don't know the deal with RT's. A medic candidate needs a solid pt assessment, and a sizeable number of pt contacts for decision making experience. Having strong BLS is necessary, as you'll be plenty nervous, second guessing your Tx plan, struggling to remember protocols, and such. Deciding when to go ALS ought to be based on comfort level as a BLS provider. When you feel you've pretty much got it down, then it's time. I've had to show medics how to properly apply spinal motion restriction, how to splint, set up a neb and such. People say three years BLS is a good rule of thumb. Fact of the matter is, your learning curve can vary greatly. If you're working a busy urban BLS rig, you may feel proficient after a year or so. If you're out in the sticks, and rarely turn a wheel, you may not see much at all. Medic/EMT crews will be dominated by the ALS provider, so the BLS crew member won't learn much. Sure, you'll get good experience from a quality program, but you'll still be green in the ways of ALS upon graduation. Your BLS should be second nature, so you can devote thought to possible advanced procedures. I worked 46E1, a very busy BLS in Queens NY for several years before completing a solid medic program, and I was still like a deer caught in headlights for the first few months. We have two ALS providers per bus, so I had quality people to show me the ropes. If you want to go ALS right away, at least work for a double medic agency, so you'll lwarn from a seasoned provider. If you'll be thrown to the wolves as a sole ALS provider, you'll be prone to bad clinical judgment, poor pt outcomes, and possible lawsuits/cert revocation as a result.
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So they are working at the level under a more experienced providers. Perhaps EMS should learn from that. Get your education, internship, then work under supervision of an experienced provider.

As to experience you get nothing but bad habits and deaths of patients as you watch and can do nothing.
 
Sign up for medic before the ink's dry on your EMT cert. Of course I'm biased, but I don't feel there was anything taught to me by my EMT experience during medic school that I couldn't have picked up during clinicals/rides.
 
I worked as a basic for a year prior to getting my medic. I personally believed it helped out a lot. I was already good with pt contact, knew where everything was on the truck, and was better at writing reports. (where i worked a basic handled level III traumas/ medicals.) Personally I would wait the year get to know the city/town, know your truck and the equipment you carry. If your medics don't mind ask them questions on what they would do in X scenario, what drugs do what, what could you have done better. If your still working with an FTO if you don't ask questions you are wrong and if s/he gets mad when you ask them questions they shouldn't be a FTO
 
What's the rush? I say work the year and get the experience, good or not. :)
 
Wee-EMT said:
What's the rush? I say work the year and get the experience, good or not. :)
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Yeah, that way we have all of that to attempt to correct. Meanwhile those with a clean slate will get the first attention.

R/r 911
 
i say dont wait as an emt-b i describe my job and an advance first aider there is no need to wait go for it once u have the opportunity
 
I believe a strong foundation as a BLS provider is very important and will be a ton of help as a Paramedic student. In my program, it is very obvious who has very little to no BLS experience. They are the ones who struggle the most. Some of the students in my program got their EMT in the first semester of the program.
 
ResTech said:
I believe a strong foundation as a BLS provider is very important and will be a ton of help as a Paramedic student. In my program, it is very obvious who has very little to no BLS experience. They are the ones who struggle the most. Some of the students in my program got their EMT in the first semester of the program.
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It is also very obvious when one has spent too much time as an EMT-B.

Quite often much time must be spent in the first weeks of Paramedic school relearning all that "BLS" stuff because too many have chosen to wait for Paramedic school. They also must be retrained due to bad habits or "shortcuts" that might be excused on just a BLS truck but will not work when one assumes the responsibility as an ALS provider. This is time wasted which could be used to learn more indepth material at the advanced level.
 
this is always a debatable matter but it typically can be cut down to most longer running medics (and those who took their advice to go asap new medics) generally agree to go to medic school ASAP and most newer medics say to wait... no sense in debating it really everyone has their own opinions and the real question is what do you think you should do? do you believe you have the skills and mindset to continue on to medic right away or do you feel you should wait? thats the only answer to this question anyone should be giving you imho.
 
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