Looking at getting an EMT-B...

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lusos

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Hello all, I am a 19 year old volunteer firefighter here in Georgia and I am looking into getting my EMT-B. Last year I sat took a First Responder class and went on to take National Registry. I did fairly well in the class and at the Pearson centre they cut me off at 85 questions, so I have a feeling that I must have done fairly well on the National Registry exam.

Right now I am a full time undergraduate engineer at a local community college, but I plan on transferring to Georgia Tech in a couple of semesters. I was thinking about getting my EMT-B so that I could work on a BLS ambulance somewhere up in Metro-Atlanta (for a little extra cash to pay tuition), however, I'm wondering if a BLS course would take up an extreme amount of my time.

As I previously stated, I'm a full time student in Calculus II, physics, and a few other courses. A local tech school offers night courses, however, I have no idea what kind of duration to expect from such a course running four-hours, twice per week. I also don't know if I need to take ride-alongs as part of a class grade. I am also wondering if an EMT-B in combination with my volunteer experience would help me land a job running a 12-hour shift at one of the hospitals.

What is the "gap" between the scope of practice in a First Responder and an EMT-B? From what I've been told it doesn't seem to be too large, but I'm a bit skeptical as quite a few states refuse to recognize the FR certification.
 
Typically the class hours equal 110. The clinical hours are extra and vary from state to state. In WA State, you are only required to do 12 hours of ER time although most end up doing more than that. As far as what it will do for you, it would qualify you to work for an ambulance company as you mentioned. In addition, it would be great training to compliment your FF position. I would say if you can handle the workload, go for it! Good luck.
 
I would concentrate on your college education right now. If you really want to work it, then you will have to go to EMT-Intermediate. No private services around Atlanta hire EMT-B's.

So between Basic and Intermediate, You will have about a year of schooling. I would find a pt job somewhere else and concentrate on your classes. If you still want this when you graduate, then pursue it then.
 
Admittedly I am slightly out of touch with National Registry practices....but is there a national Registry CBT process for First Responder???

If so, how did I miss out on that pure money maker? Easier to teach and push through than Basic...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
emt.dan said:
Yup, the NREMT does certify First Responders, and make $65 for each test!
http://nremt.org/nremt/about/reg_1st_history.asp
It appears they rely on the program director/instructor to do the psychmotor (practical) exam, then send the student to PearsonVue for a CBT...
Click to expand...

Indeed, that's how they did it for my exam. We had a instructor from Mid-Ga Ambulance teach the class, then give us a practical exam. After almost three months or waiting on National Registry I was given the green light and sent to the uber-Nazi PersonVue center. The test was told to variate between 85 (maybe 80)-125 questions.

Most fire companies around here will pay for National Registry, but given the low-budget of ours I was required to pay for it on my own. However to my surprise, they did pay for a fully-stocked bag.
 
If you're looking for a way to make some extra cash while you're going to school, try starbucks, i think the requirements are less and they pay just as well, or you could look into fast food, honestly just go collect aluminum cans.
 
Juxtin makes a great point! If you're not going to pursue EMS as a career, why do the ambulance thing? He's right, the pay is a joke! To most, it is simply a means to an end and a right of passage we have to go through to progress to the next level, IE: Medic School or the Fire Service.
 
I'm not sure where you got confused? I thought my point was pretty clear? I'm agreeing with Juxtin's point as to why you'd go through the time and trouble of getting your EMT-B to work for a private service and get paid minimal wages for something you don't want to do as a career or as a stepping stone to your career.
 
Thanks guys. I've always heard the medics joke about minimum wage, so I have always thought that they were just kidding. However, I learned yesterday that this is indeed the case.

Also, I'm on a pre-med track in college, so hopefully when I graduate from GT I can go on to Morehouse and pursue a career in the medical field... Or not, whatever comes up in life between there and now is a mystery.
 
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