Internship

[AlaskaEMT]

In contrast with previous classes, this year we are responsible for finding our own internship sites. Do the agencies you ride with take paramedic students? I'm looking at late Apr to July. ALS calls are a must. Decent call volume. And a preceptor that actually WANTS me there. I'm aggressively contacting several fire departments and have received very little response. Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TransportJockey]

I know here in ABQ, one of the better ones is the private that does all the 911 transporting (two-tiered system). They love interns

 

[Flight-LP]

In contrast with previous classes, this year we are responsible for finding our own internship sites. Do the agencies you ride with take paramedic students? I'm looking at late Apr to July. ALS calls are a must. Decent call volume. And a preceptor that actually WANTS me there. I'm aggressively contacting several fire departments and have received very little response. Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Stop calling the Fire Departments. You want and need a medical education, keep fire out of it. There are many agencies around the Houston, Texas area that precepts out of state students. Cypress Creek EMS (www.ccems.com) hosts several University of Alaska students each year for their Paramedic ride outs. Plus they board the students and give them a schedule which will allow you to complete your shifts in a timely manner. Give them a call and see what they can do for you. PM me for any further info needed..........................

 

[Ridryder911]

Wow! That's a great idea. Personally, do not know why any in EMS want to continue to seek another profession while they are in school for one? It would be similar for an RT deciding to work for a orthopedic sports clinic... why?

Fire and EMS have very little in similarities other than responding to calls. Their functions and responsibilities are totally different.

When we stop confusing and stop attempting to place the two together and recognize that Fire Service is NOT the same as EMS the profession may actually grow.

R/r 911

 

[AlaskaEMT]

Wow! That's a great idea. Personally, do not know why any in EMS want to continue to seek another profession while they are in school for one? It would be similar for an RT deciding to work for a orthopedic sports clinic... why?

Fire and EMS have very little in similarities other than responding to calls. Their functions and responsibilities are totally different.

When we stop confusing and stop attempting to place the two together and recognize that Fire Service is NOT the same as EMS the profession may actually grow.

R/r 911

During the first semester, we ride with the local fire department to start getting ALS experience before we leave for our internship site in the second semester. I don't know about fire departments in other parts of the U.S., but up here, medical makes up about 95% of their calls. 5% is fire.

 

[TransportJockey]

During the first semester, we ride with the local fire department to start getting ALS experience before we leave for our internship site in the second semester. I don't know about fire departments in other parts of the U.S., but up here, medical makes up about 95% of their calls. 5% is fire.

But it seems like 95% of the emphasis is on the 5% of their work

 

[Hastings]

Look for a good, inner-city private agency that takes all 911 calls. That's where I did my internship. I had the best (and most) experience out of all the students in the class, and later ended up happily working for them. Private city 911 services are the way to go.

 

[Mercuris]

I know a number a Alaska EMS students have come to Tulsa for their EMS internships. When I've asked them why they would come all of that way to Oklahoma. They would usually say the same thing. " In Alaska there are not enough calls/participating services to finish in a timely manner." While I am not advocating that you come solely to Tulsa. I will say that in my experience Fire dept's. do not deal with a large enough aspect of pt care to be a good enough choice for all of your learning needs.

In Alaska you will be looking at a transport time of 45 mins or greater. If you pick a FD that transports their own then it's fine to choose them. However, All strictly EMS services transport there own pt's, and that is where the most things can go wrong. This is just my 2 cents.