Interning in Michigan while obtaining EMT-B?

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DouglasFir

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Hi all, first off great site! I can tell I will be able to learn a lot from here.

Well, I am in a bit of a rut here in Michigan and looking to get back into wildland firefighting, however to better helps those around me i'd like to get certified and some hands-on experience as an EMT-P(eventually).

I used to be a Type-II firefighter, but before I try-out for a hot shot crew i'd like to be able to have good medic experience to better serve those in need and my teammates.

I am wondering however about working while training and if that's possible? I am currently unemployed and have been for a while, the job market is extremely rough here in Michigan. It will be hard/near impossible for me to pay for the schooling, and be unemployed. I actually have to sell some of my stuff in order to get the money to even go, but I am willing to sacrifice to get what I need.

anyway, If anyone has any advice on this would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have any specific info on Huron Valley Ambulance(HVA.org). I want to go here as it's the closet school that is NREMT accredited.

My plan is to get at least 6-months as EMT-B, than another 6-12 months as an EMT-P, then completeing the fire academy, then 2-3 seasons on a hot shot crew, and then my ultimate goal is to be a smoke jumper. But my main roadblock is being employed long enough to save $2,000 for the fire academy and being able to afford my training.

sorry if I am rambling, but i'll rap it up here.

If I start my training, how long until you can intern normally? Do I have to have the EMT-B training complete before I can start interning?

I am sure it's different from school to school, but figured i'd ask here in case anyone may have happend to go there personally and can give me the inside scoop. I plan on calling Monday to get more info, but hopefully someone can give a jist of how it works.

Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
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Honestly, Bro, it sounds like a complete waste of your time and money to me. It won't help you get wildland or smoke jumper work. You won't be able to apply the therapeutic skills you learn in paramedic school. You won't retain any of the knowledge if you do not constantly use it. It costs a whole lot of money. It's hard to get into. And it generally takes a year to over two years to complete, and that's after EMT school.

Paramedic school is not just an advanced first aid course where you get a card for your wallet and tuck it away for potential future need. You use it or lose it. Unless you are very seriously looking at a career change into EMS, this just isn't anything worth even considering. EMT school (anywhere from a month to a semester, depending on how slowly they pace it) is really all that is appropriate for your plans.

Good luck!
 
Well I am pretty sure I can get on a hand crew this season, but I was thinking of getting the EMT-P as it seems like good training to better be able care for an injured worker or victim. I know I wouldn't be an EMT on the fireline, but being able to patch up a wound from a chainsaw cut or helping someone in a fallen tree accident seems like it would be useful skill.

However maybe I will have to re-evaluate my situation/plans.

Thanks for your advice.
 
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Only those skills learned in EMT school would be of any use to you. Again, you will NOT be able to use advanced paramedic skills to care for your crew. And again, if you don't use it, you quickly lose it.
 
I moved from Michigan because of the job situation, and worked as an EMT-Basic in Oakland County. I know nothing about HVA's academic programs, but per the Michigan.gov website, Huron Valley Ambulance Center for EMS Education registered that 60% of their students finished the programs they started in 2007, with 74% finishing their class in 2009. That does not note how many actually passed the NREMT test. Based on those numbers compared to other schools, I'd look elsewhere. As a company, HVA would be in my top 3 choices for Michigan employers.

Having said all of that, I'm not sure going through the motions of getting the EMT-Paramedic cert will help you with your eventual goal. If you want to be a firefighter, we both know that there is a slim chance of you getting a position with a city or county in Michigan. Either relocate or find a new career choice.
 
Yeah, I have no plans to be a city/structual firefighter. I just want to get back into wildland firefighting(my true passion). I was doing good fighting fires out west and once the season was up, I came back to Michigan and have been regretting it ever since. :sad: should have just kept fighting the fight(or fires if you want to get technical :P)
 
After a bit of searching it appears as though the Huron Valley Ambulance Center for EMS Education has a negative review. Again, I'd look elsewhere if you plan on going that route.

I recently attended a Paramedic class taught at HVA. The Instructor constantly seemed disinterested and ill prepared. This is a class that costs more than five thousand dollars for a nearly a year. Every single class is a powerpoint lecture, provided by the textbook publisher, that the teacher merely reads aloud. Any additional instruction he gave was merely anecdotal. Over half the class dropped out a few flunked out, and on a few occasions a classmate had a legitimate reason to miss quiz/exam, e.g. family emergency or illness, they were penalized in the form of decreased exam scores.

This instructor is rumoured to be underqualified, supposedly he does not hold an IC, and the only reason he is allowed to teach the class is because an IC is present somewhere in the building. The instructor 'previews' audio material during quizes/exams. The students are expected to show up to class in uniform and turn off pagers/cell phones yet this instructor wears whatever he wants and on several occasions his cellphonehttp://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/339/RipOff0339771.htm# has gone off mid lecture.
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DouglasFir said:
But my main roadblock is being employed long enough to save $2,000 for the fire academy and being able to afford my training.
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Check out the No Worker Left Behind program that Michigan offers. It will help you pay for school. I'm not sure if it covers the fire academy, but it's worth looking into.
 
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