Master EMT before going Medic?

Christopher said:
The only places where it is necessary to "master" being an EMT prior to paramedic school is if the educational programs are subpar. Programs which place any requirements other than your standard reading/writing/arithmetic goals are probably trying to make up for a lack of depth of content/instruction.

The educational stepping stones in EMS are arbitrary and unnecessary. You'll be fine!
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You show a lack of appreciation of "clinical experience". The best medical education programs only give you half the puzzle pieces to a complete EMS professional. Working in the street puts everything together and adds skills and knowledge a classroom is incapable of.
Get the most out of every patient contact. An experience pre-requisite is common and makes better medics.
The medics who never worked as EMT's are consistently weak medics.
 
Gotham Medic said:
You show a lack of appreciation of "clinical experience". The best medical education programs only give you half the puzzle pieces to a complete EMS professional. Working in the street puts everything together and adds skills and knowledge a classroom is incapable of.
Get the most out of every patient contact. An experience pre-requisite is common and makes better medics.
The medics who never worked as EMT's are consistently weak medics.
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A quality program properly educates and trains medics in the classroom, hospital and field.
Experience can be great... If it is the right kind of experience.

Up where I am, EMT doesn't exist. The minimum to work on an ambulance is a 1-2 year primary care paramedic course(BLS) They do very well in the field with having no "prior medical experience"
 
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Gotham Medic said:
The medics who never worked as EMT's are consistently weak medics.
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[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] Thanks for letting me know how weak of a medic I was. I wasn't sure of myself before [emoji1]

If you're consistently seeing this problem, your paramedic program is apparently sub-standard.
 
Gotham Medic said:
An experience pre-requisite is common and makes better medics.
The medics who never worked as EMT's are consistently weak medics.
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Source?

I didn't think so.
 
STXmedic said:
[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] Thanks for letting me know how weak of a medic I was. I wasn't sure of myself before [emoji1]

If you're consistently seeing this problem, your paramedic program is apparently sub-standard.
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If the shoe fits brother.

The more experience I get as a Medic the more i realize how little I knew. You sound awfully overconfident for someone with so many years experience.
Training is an important foundation. Clinical Experience makes great medics!
 
Gotham Medic said:
All NYC medic programs have an experience pre-req. The second statement is an opinion based on 18 years of NYC 911 experience.
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So you are generalizing one person's experience in one EMS system to the entire universe?

FWIW, I had no experience as an EMT prior to paramedic school. And I turned out alright. Most do just fine. Paramedicine is not rocket science.
 
STXmedic said:
[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] Thanks for letting me know how weak of a medic I was. I wasn't sure of myself before [emoji1]

If you're consistently seeing this problem, your paramedic program is apparently sub-standard.
Click to expand...


Our training might be "sub-standard".

This is a possibility.

Unlikely however. Medicine is a practice and training / education is continuous... because medical training is only the BEGINING.
 
Remi said:
So you are generalizing one person's experience in one EMS system to the entire universe?

FWIW, I had no experience as an EMT prior to paramedic school. And I turned out alright. Most do just fine. Paramedicine is not rocket science.
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sorry bro, I was replying to a specific comment.
 
Medic Tim said:
A quality program properly educates and trains medics in the classroom, hospital and field.
Experience can be great... If it is the right kind of experience.

Up where I am, EMT doesn't exist. The minimum to work on an ambulance is a 1-2 year primary care paramedic course(BLS) They do very well in the field with having no "prior medical experience"
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A 1 to 2 year BLS course? Thats awesome! Where is this?
 
Gotham Medic said:
Is that the standard for all of Canada because that sounds great?
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Pretty much. 2 or 3 provinces license EMRs (about the EMT-B in the USA) and they are used on transfer trucks and very rural/remote areas .

Advanced Care Paramedic (ALS)is another 1-2 years
critical care paramedic another 1-2 year after ALS.

Edit
We have 1 province were BLS is a 3 year course but they only have ALS in one of their major cities as a pilot project. Not sure if ther scope is higher.


Gotham Medic said:
How is the pay compared to a nurse?
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Starting pay depends on the province but the lowest starting pay for BLS I have seen recently is 25/hour up 35/hour.

ALS can start at 28-50 an hour.

The company I work for has advanced care paramedics and RNs on the same pay band.
 
Medic Tim said:
Pretty much. 2 or 3 provinces license EMRs (about the EMT-B in the USA) and they are used on transfer trucks and very rural/remote areas .

Advanced Care Paramedic (ALS)is another 1-2 years
critical care paramedic another 1-2 year after ALS.

Edit
We have 1 province were BLS is a 3 year course but they only have ALS in one of their major cities as a pilot project. Not sure if ther scope is higher.



Starting pay depends on the province but the lowest starting pay for BLS I have seen recently is 25/hour up 35/hour.

ALS can start at 28-50 an hour.

The company I work for has advanced care paramedics and RNs on the same pay band.
Click to expand...


Outstanding.
 
Medic Tim said:
Pretty much. 2 or 3 provinces license EMRs (about the EMT-B in the USA) and they are used on transfer trucks and very rural/remote areas .

Advanced Care Paramedic (ALS)is another 1-2 years
critical care paramedic another 1-2 year after ALS.

Edit
We have 1 province were BLS is a 3 year course but they only have ALS in one of their major cities as a pilot project. Not sure if ther scope is higher.



Starting pay depends on the province but the lowest starting pay for BLS I have seen recently is 25/hour up 35/hour.

ALS can start at 28-50 an hour.

The company I work for has advanced care paramedics and RNs on the same pay band.
Click to expand...


Sounds like the right idea.
 
Gotham Medic said:
If the shoe fits brother.

The more experience I get as a Medic the more i realize how little I knew. You sound awfully overconfident for someone with so many years experience.
Training is an important foundation. Clinical Experience makes great medics!
Click to expand...
I just had nearly six years if confidence completely stolen by a single forum post...

I wouldn't say I'm overconfident, but I am confident that I'm a capable provider. Apparently there's an ability you develop when you get old that allows you to be able to judge a person's abilities without knowing a thing about them. Luckily I'm not there yet.

I agree that experience makes someone better (assuming its good experience, and not doing the same thing incorrectly over and over again). I am a much better medic than I was when I first started. That doesn't mean I was incompetent and incapable when I first graduated. And my classmates that did have experience certainly didn't seem any better prepared than I.

As long as we're throwing around anecdotal opinions: I've had a harder time training and breaking bad habits of medics with previous EMT experience than I've had training inexperienced new medics. So by your logic, that must mean all medics with previous EMT experience are terrible providers. Sounds like you worked as an EMT before you were a medic... Hmm...
 
Medic Tim said:
Pretty much. 2 or 3 provinces license EMRs (about the EMT-B in the USA) and they are used on transfer trucks and very rural/remote areas .

Advanced Care Paramedic (ALS)is another 1-2 years
critical care paramedic another 1-2 year after ALS.

Edit
We have 1 province were BLS is a 3 year course but they only have ALS in one of their major cities as a pilot project. Not sure if ther scope is higher.



Starting pay depends on the province but the lowest starting pay for BLS I have seen recently is 25/hour up 35/hour.

ALS can start at 28-50 an hour.

The company I work for has advanced care paramedics and RNs on the same pay band.
Click to expand...


Was I overbearing in trying to stress the value of experience?

In NYC the jump from BLS to ALS is big. I supervise FDNY EMT'S and Paramedics. I see the difference between my medics with and without a strong BLS background. I see differences in bedside manner, clinical judgement, working as a team or as a team leader with co-workers, cops, nurses and firefighters, ... and most of all recognizing subtle signs and symptoms.
You guys seem to get an outstanding foundation. Maybe you guys have the solution.
 
STXmedic said:
I just had nearly six years if confidence completely stolen by a single forum post...

I wouldn't say I'm overconfident, but I am confident that I'm a capable provider. Apparently there's an ability you develop when you get old that allows you to be able to judge a person's abilities without knowing a thing about them. Luckily I'm not there yet.

I agree that experience makes someone better (assuming its good experience, and not doing the same thing incorrectly over and over again). I am a much better medic than I was when I first started. That doesn't mean I was incompetent and incapable when I first graduated. And my classmates that did have experience certainly didn't seem any better prepared than I.

As long as we're throwing around anecdotal opinions: I've had a harder time training and breaking bad habits of medics with previous EMT experience than I've had training inexperienced new medics. So by your logic, that must mean all medics with previous EMT experience are terrible providers. Sounds like you worked as an EMT before you were a medic... Hmm...
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You sound rather insecure about your experience.

Sorry.
 
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