I know it has been asking before......

[Ella~Emt15136]

I'm a recent EMT-B graduate. I was planning to get 2 years experience then attend medic class. I have been invited (by my former instructor) to go straight into medic class (October 2009). I voiced my concern about lack of experience. He still thinks it is a good idea.
Any thoughts?????

 

[Shishkabob]

Obviously, do whats comfortable for you... but my advice:

Go straight in.

 

[medic417]

Better to go straight to Paramedic. Helps keep you from developing bad habits. Plus in a year or two you may not be able to get into a Paramedic program leaving you stuck as a basic.

 

[TommyKeet]

Finished basic class on July 14 took nremt-b exam 2 weeks later, starting medic class Aug 31! Going straight in.

 

[VentMedic]

I'm a recent EMT-B graduate. I was planning to get 2 years experience then attend medic class. I have been invited (by my former instructor) to go straight into medic class (October 2009). I voiced my concern about lack of experience. He still thinks it is a good idea.
Any thoughts?????

You have an invitation from your instructor. If that person has confidence in your abilities, you should also.

If you wait two years to enter the Paramedic program and still work as an EMT-B while in the program, you will have 3 years of experience. It truly should not take one 3 years to master the few skills in EMT-B. You can work on those skills while going to Paramedic school and learning why you are doing those skills. Patient care will then make more sense to you.

Putting off your education is not something you want to do. Too many say they will go back in a year or two but will still be doing the same entry level job 10 years later and calling anyone who has gone on with their education "paragods".

 

[TommyKeet]

Kudos to you!

 

[GonnaBeEMT]

Just go straight through if you have some A&P under your belt. Taking some college level A&P before medic school gives you a huge leg up. Thats the biggest hurdle in medic school in my opinion, because its all thrown at you at one time.

 

[Ella~Emt15136]

Thank you for the replies. That was my first thread. I look forward to being a part of this board.

 

[HotelCo]

I'm a bit late to the party but....

I say go straight into it. I began medic school before I even took the NREMT-B test. I don't regret it.

 

[Akulahawk]

While I have some concerns about going straight into Medic school, if you've got some A&P already, go for it. I know what these guys mean by developing some bad habits. Unfortunately, you're going to have to learn basic EMT street stuff as you learn the Paramedic stuff. Speaking as a Medic, if I was to have to train you to be a Medic, I don't want to have to teach you how to be an EMT first. I want to sharpen your EMT skills & make you excellent there, and from then on... I'm teaching you how to be a Paramedic.

But if you have this opportunity, take it and make the most of it. It's going to be much like drinking from a firehose... you're going to get that much info that fast thrown at you.

 

[medic417]

While I have some concerns about going straight into Medic school, if you've got some A&P already, go for it. I know what these guys mean by developing some bad habits. Unfortunately, you're going to have to learn basic EMT street stuff as you learn the Paramedic stuff. Speaking as a Medic, if I was to have to train you to be a Medic, I don't want to have to teach you how to be an EMT first. I want to sharpen your EMT skills & make you excellent there, and from then on... I'm teaching you how to be a Paramedic.

But if you have this opportunity, take it and make the most of it. It's going to be much like drinking from a firehose... you're going to get that much info that fast thrown at you.

How hard is it to teach ABC? Not hard at all. Best advice is go straight for Paramedic.

 

[Katie]

Go ahead and go for it. I went straight to medic school 2 weeks out of basic. The A&P is a good idea though. We were required to take that prior to being admitted to the program and without it I'm not sure how well I'd have done. But go ahead and get it done. The longer you wait and are out of school the harder it is to go back later... or so I'm told. Good luck! B)

 

[Sasha]

Speaking as a Medic, if I was to have to train you to be a Medic, I don't want to have to teach you how to be an EMT first.

She learned how to be an EMT in EMT school.

Welcome to the board, Miss Ella. Enjoy your stay. I don't think you will regret going straight into Medic school. While I regret my school, I don't regret going straight to medic. Did just fine and I'm sure you will too.

 

[triemal04]

She learned how to be an EMT in EMT school.

Well...sort of, but not fully. Given that there is generally little if any (often only 16 hours or less of both clinical and internship (if it can even be called an internship...which it can't)) time spent working in the field or a clinical setting during a basic class that would be like saying that ONLY going through the classroom portion of paramedic school teaches you how to be a paramedic. There is a reason that essentially every medical field requires a clinical portion before someone can become certified/licensed. This is not really the case in EMS even at the paramedic level, and damn sure not at the basic level. There is more to learning than just the classroom part.

Short version: There is no right answer to whether or not you need to work as an EMT before going on to paramedic school. It will depend on you, your own life experience, the school you go to, where you do your internship and clinical hours, your comfort level in certain situations, where you would be working and much much more. It may be good, bad, or not matter at all.

Long version:

Why is it that so many times the same threads come up with the same responses again and againandagainandagain?

Simply saying that "you will learn everything that you know in your paramedic course" is not entirely accurate, as is using the CNA before RN argument. It's not entirely false by any means, but there is a little more to it that often times is left out.

The amount of time that is required for clinical (in hospital) and the internship (field) varies widely, as does what the student/intern is allowed to do. In some states the amount of time an internship lasts is as little as 200 hours with 40 ALS pt contacts...think about it, that's less than a month of full time work. Do you really think that will help truly prepare someone to work in the field on their own? Of course, that isn't necessarily a problem; some agencies expect this, and are willing to spend the time, effort, and money in getting their new hires up to speed before letting them loose on their own...strange, but it's usually these agencies that don't have a problem with people leaving... Others expect people to come in fully prepared and throw them to the wolves right off the bat...not necessarily a problem if your internship consisted of well over 1000 hours, but if it was short...could be a problem. This is where prior EMT experience could help. (and by EMT experience I mean working in a 911 system paired with a paramedic...though that doesn't always work out)

If you come into the internship already being comfortable in talking with pt's, police, nurses, doc's, family, bystanders, nut jobs, and everyone else we encounter, it makes things much easier; not having to learn how to gain a rapport with people gives you more time to focus on how to be a paramedic. The same goes for the basic skills; backboarding, splinting and the like. While it doesn't take much time to master those, it still takes time away from being able to learn other things, and, depending on where you go, you may not have the luxury of a lot of time.

Unfortunately, most of the jobs that people find as EMT's are not 911 related, or only a tiny percentage of the calls are; interfacility transports all the way. While this can be a learning experience, more than likely it won't be, and will lead to learning poor habits, attitudes and lousy pt care. So really, that isn't recommended.

There really isn't a perfect answer. You need to look at your own comfort level in talking with random people and being able to function in stressful situations, the length of the paramedic internship, how the local services (or wherever you want to work) train their new medics, and the type of job you'd really get as an EMT. For some it may be better to work as an EMT for a year, or during medic school. For others it won't.

Again: having experience as an EMT in a 911-based system can be a good thing and beneficial before going on to paramedic school. It also can be detrimental unfortunately. There is no strict answer that will work for each person...look at how long your field internship will last, the call volume for the agency it will be with, all the things said above and in 46young's post; yes, you will learn all that (hopefully) during the internship, but, how well you learn them and everything else that you are supposed to be learning will depend on multiple factors, with the length of that internship being a large factor; if it's short you may have problem down the road when you start working as a paramedic. Hell, just look at some of the posts on this forum for proof of that. (with that said I'm not advocating mandating prior experience as an EMT, rather revamping the entire education structure)

Oh...and arguing that RN's aren't required to be CNA's...if the above didn't make it clear them even blunter: RN's have much, MUCH more time spent on clinicals than paramedic students (which isn't a bad thing)...so the comparison is pretty lousy.

Unfortunately I can only think of how to say yes in about 3 different languages, but if I could come up with more...

That's one of the biggest problems with changing how we teach new paramedics; yes, the classroom portion absolutely needs to be longer, but so does the field internship. Think about it, why do doctors, RN's, PA's, and I'm guessing RT's all spend thousand(s) of hours or YEARS after the classroom part is over learning how to apply what they learned in a real-world setting? Because it can take that long to really learn what you are doing. If you end up somewhere that has a short internship (and there are plenty of accredited college programs that are otherwise very well regarded that still have short ones) having a little prior knowledge and experience may be beneficial. Or it may not.

It might be a cop out, but there really isn't a perfect answer for this. It really will depend on the individual, where they go to school and where they would be getting their EMT experience to determine if it's a good or bad thing.

Having a high grade is vitally important, but is only one side of the job. I've seen new medics with a solid educational background choke under pressure when on their own. If you've always had a preceptor as a safety net, it will be difficult function on your own, never having done so before. If you're too shaken up and nervous to get the BLS done, how can you provide effective ALS? I've repeatedly seen nervous mistakes such as starting an IV, monitor, 12, NTG, and forgetting O2. Fumbling with spinal immobilization, or splinting, dangerously extending onscene time. Starting a line on a trauma pt before doing a full ITLS survey. Forgetting about lung sounds until much later in the incident. Not attempting repositioning of the hypotensive pt prior to pharmocological intervention(with respect to respiratory status). Not knowing how to remove the pt in extremis from a residence with narrow stairs, tight corners, and various other obstacles. If you don't have a trauma weave, you can make stirrups out of cravats to prevent the pt from sliding down the backboard. Forgetting to continue CPR on each landing of the multi story building. Not watching the BLS to ensure proper CPR, being preoccupied with recalling protocols. Worrying about a room air O2 sat while the pt is sucking wind. Forgetting to properly dispose of sharps during a hectic situation. These are all repeatedly observed mistakes by new medics that didn't do well under pressure, at least not well enough to properly implement BLS prior to advanced interventions. You'll find out when you are actually finished with class, and are required to function on your own as a paramedic, not a student as you are currently.I know medics who couldn't backboard a pt, or perform effective Cx compressions, never having had to do so, as they were doing only ALS stuff, and using BLS for CPR. Not everyone has the resources to relocate or travel to attend a medic program that is superior to the one in their region. As such, one needs to make up for shortcomings elsewhere, on their own.

This is one of those questions that get's the mob mentality going in people; the same answer will be given again and again without people actually thinking about what they are saying.

 

[Keeven83]

I worked as an EMT for two years before starting medic school. For the most part I wish I wouldve just went strait into medic school. Thats two whole years I couldve been making medic pay vs emt. But there are some benefits. I made sure this was the job I wanted to do before jumping into all that extra school. And not to mention working helped out in school a little because I had already been around alot of the things we were learning.

 

[medic417]

I worked as an EMT for two years before starting medic school. For the most part I wish I wouldve just went strait into medic school. Thats two whole years I couldve been making medic pay vs emt. .

Better than making medic pay you could have actually been providing better medical care.

 

[Shishkabob]

Better than making medic pay you could have actually been providing better medical care.

Medic doesn't always mean "better", just means "more"

 

[Hoofguy]

I went straight from Basic to Paramedic with about 3 months gap in between. The thing I think you have to do is work on a truck while going to your medic school. There are things you can't pick up in school and trying to learn those while being a new medic would absolutely blow your mind.

I got my license right away when I graduated my basic then before the ink was dry I got a job working the road. That helped me tremendously with paperwork and operations, as well as just feeling comfortable on the road. While I was going to school I was working contingent up until I got sick (cancer) then chemo and school were enough for me to handle for the rest of class.

I think the road work before I started my medic class and then the work during and since I graduated helped. It also helped to apply things I'd learned in my medic class in the real world as I learned them. Don't wait until clinicals to try and get your exp in, work until you can't and it will help a lot. I also think it will help when it comes to testing for your medic you'll just feel more comfortable the more patients you see, I got mine first attempt.