I need advice on a class schedule

[paramedichopeful]

:excl::excl:I need some advice on my class schedule. After I complete my class, I will be an EMT-I. However, there is a program I just found today that takes you all the way from EMT-B to EMT-P and there is an optional extra part that takes you all the way up to CCP (critical care Paramedic), and it is the same length as the class I'm currently taking. Plus, it would be more focused on learning, not jacking around (excuse my terminology) seeing who can be the biggest smartass. I am seriously thinking about dropping my current EMT-B program and finding one that will actually teach you something and be beneficial to a career in EMS. What do you guys recommend? I want a professional opinion before I make a decision. Thanks in advance for your advice. :excl:

 

[Shishkabob]

Wait wait wait... "same length" to get to P as it does to get to I, but is more focused on learning?


Huh?



Is the P school reputable in any way?

 

[Dominion]

I think you really need to sit down and look at what you're doing overall. You can't seem to make up your mind on that alone and it LOOKS like you were gungho about going into what you are doing now, got bashed on the forums a bit, and now are thinking about leaving because people are saying you aren't learning anything. If I remember correctly you said your class was 10 months?

 

[Shishkabob]

I think you really need to sit down and look at what you're doing overall. You can't seem to make up your mind on that alone and it LOOKS like you were gungho about going into what you are doing now, got bashed on the forums a bit, and now are thinking about leaving because people are saying you aren't learning anything. If I remember correctly you said your class was 10 months?

60 weeks.


Zehn.

 

[Dominion]

That's tough to say, if the program is reputable it is worth consideration. Honestly from reading your posts, I don't think you are ready to be a paramedic in that quick of a class. If thats something you want to do, go get college level A&P, and other college level courses before you begin.

 

[Dominion]

I could be wrong and I hope I am. Goodluck to you in whatever you decide to do in this profession.

 

[paramedichopeful]

the desire is still there. believe me, nothing has made me back away from the profession. i just finaly saw through this bs program and want advice as to whether or not i should stay in it. and the bashings were no big deal, because i gave it right back to whoever dished it out. so no, i am not givign up or quitting, just adjustign thigns to make it better

 

[medichopeful]

I would suggest at least finishing high school before doing any more classes. After that, take the courses that will make you a better paramedic (chemistry, biology, A&P, etc.), and then find a class at a well respected school.

Whatever you do, good luck.

 

[46Young]

It's beyond me why someone would want to screw around with an "I" program when they could just go to medic school. Done. Show me the money.

For a basis of reference, my program was 13 months, which was two 8 hour classroom days, and an average of 17.25 hours of clinicals weekly.

Medic school is what you get out of it. this is especially true if the program is not that strict. You need to ask questions and prod the instructors to elaborate on points that are still confusing to you. Make sure that you're skills instructors are spending the entire time teaching skills, and not wasting time with numerous war stories.

 

[46Young]

Wait wait wait... "same length" to get to P as it does to get to I, but is more focused on learning?


Huh?



Is the P school reputable in any way?

It could be the same length, but require more class and clinical hours on average per week than the I program. Same length, more concentrated.

 

[Melclin]

Finish school. Then make a decision. I disagree with you even being allowed to start an EMT-B course at your age let alone going further. If you don't like your current EMT-B course then find another one or go back to getting a good secondary education. You're jumping the gun a little wanting to be a paramedic. Here, it takes a total of four years (three year degree and one year post grad) of university education and three years on the road to start getting those levels of responsibility. If you think you have the ability to really deal with the intellectual and emotional requirements of proper paramedic practice at your age then that is a good sign in itself that you need to do some more growing up.

This isn't a personal attack. It's just that what you are saying is equivalent too spending a few weeks on a law forum and a few more weeks in a high school legal studies class and then deciding you're ready to just start post graduate law. Like a bachelors degree and finishing high school is an educational stepping stone you are somehow able to magically skip. Ludicrous? Yes. So is wanting to start a paramedic degree at your age.

It's great you're enthusiastic but you simply just can't skip all the steps in between where you are now and where you want to be because of enthusiasm.

That is my advice, such as it is.

 

[Sasha]

Oh lord...

I don't think either class is a good idea. You are a kid, stay in high school, be a kid for a couple more years, and once you have grown up some, go find a real EMT class and go from there.

 

[Hoofguy]

Just from reading your posts I don't think your mature enough to have
A. Good patient care
B. The mindset to deal with some things you might see
C. A real concept of what this job entails

Stay in school and then take a college course or two, enjoy being a kid before warping your mind with all this crap..

 

[Ridryder911]

I say go for it! Spend countless amount of money and time, all only to find that you will never get to use it.

Most respectable EMS will not hire anyone under the age of 21 due to insurance restrictions. Also, since Illinois is not a NREMT state, but again any respectable Critical Care Paramedic program requires one to be an active Paramedic for two years before entering such level.

I have heard how bad Illinois EMS system was but again, this is an apparent display of no credibility.

Shameful.

R/r 911

 

[Jon]

Hopeful - you are 16, right?

Are you allowed to start ILS/ALS classes before you are 18?

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

:excl::excl:I need some advice on my class schedule. After I complete my class, I will be an EMT-I. However, there is a program I just found today that takes you all the way from EMT-B to EMT-P and there is an optional extra part that takes you all the way up to CCP (critical care Paramedic), and it is the same length as the class I'm currently taking. Plus, it would be more focused on learning, not jacking around (excuse my terminology) seeing who can be the biggest smartass. I am seriously thinking about dropping my current EMT-B program and finding one that will actually teach you something and be beneficial to a career in EMS. What do you guys recommend? I want a professional opinion before I make a decision. Thanks in advance for your advice. :excl:

I say go for it! Spend countless amount of money and time, all only to find that you will never get to use it.

Most respectable EMS will not hire anyone under the age of 21 due to insurance restrictions. Also, since Illinois is not a NREMT state, but again any respectable Critical Care Paramedic program requires one to be an active Paramedic for two years before entering such level.

I have heard how bad Illinois EMS system was but again, this is an apparent display of no credibility.

Shameful.

R/r 911

Translation, my friend; you can't teach experience. There's no such thing as a magic pill, or a magic button. They just don't exist. You have to take your time and gain experience. We're not talking weeks or months. We're talking years; multiple years. Take 1 year as a basic, preferrably 2-3, then go get your medic. After 5 years as a medic, then go get your CCP.

You've got time. You're not going to retire in 6 months. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy the ride of life.

 

[spisco85]

Drop out of your current program and find an EMT-B class at a community college.

 

[NEMed2]

Finish up your basic class, either in your current one, or find a different one where you feel the instructors are more focused on the education. Don't stop there. Take some A&P classes, get into the education cycles at the local hospitals & get out in the field. I have a very firm belief that the majority of people can't go through the whole spectrum of EMS without a decent amount of experience under their belt. Sorry, but someone getting their basic & jumping right into being a paramedic doesn't sit well with me.