OKC EMSA paramedic program???

[RocketMedic]

wow! thank you soo much for your well put response. Let me say this first, I am single with no kids. So if i had to work a ton of hrs to make it at Emt pay, i will. "sacrifices for the experience", i was once told. My ultimate goal is paramedic for the fire service. Not only will it help me more for a job offering (obvious reason) but i want to further my education to a more advance level. After learning in Emt program i was hooked. The 3 yr contract..thats 3 yrs out of a fire job but then again with emsa, thats a decent amount of experience one can write on a resume. As far as a community college like osukc, i felt that they went over the skills super fast before they went on to a next. im more of a person that has to do it over and over again for it to become second nature to me. I get shown once in a 10 min demonstration and i am expected to show what i learned in the practical?? Like you said with emsa, more distributed and easier to pick up on, due to constant exposure. I want to become the best paramedic i can before i even think of checkmarking that box of emt-p on a fire app. Definately need more thinking on this issue.

Well, thats one way to look at it. Personally, I try not to sacrifice much.

 

[MMiz]

Agreed...mods?

Awesome response! It was a great read. Still, we don't get hundreds of people with questions for EMSA. Not quite sticky material, but you got my vote for reply of the month!

 

[thuumBalina]

Speaking as someone who attempted the OSU-OKC program:

I hated it. The instructors treated each class as an opportunity to shoot the sh** with their buddies, effectively wasting time for 3/4 of us. When they did manage to motivate themselves to teach, they phoned it in. And, as Rocket (hola, Bro! little sis here!) states, students were expected to act effectively as 3rd riders without any knowledge base. I knew a few students in my class who couldn't even pass their EMT-B's, but were still progressing through the paramedic program. I think my only saving grace was my father and my 68W training.

I ended up on my brother's couch, going to EOTP (mere seconds before the whole program went up in smoke), and despite all the bull that the program entailed I feel it was better than the sham that is community college. Not to say that EOTP didn't leave me horrendously unprepared for NREMT... For that I 100% recommend Daniel Freeman @ UCLA for a refresher and mock NREMT.

 

[jagonz5413]

Hey I agree w osu okc. The instructors halfed a** their way thru during labs. Being an instructor was their 2nd or even 3rd job. So they come in exhausted from a 12-14 hr shift from the same day. I felt like they just wanted to hurry up and get the lab over without any of the students fully understanding a certain skill... Anyway i dont kno what eotp is, never heard of it.

 

[AceThunderstone]

Either some time has passed since RocketMedic's time at EMSA or Tulsa is just vastly different. But here's a little perspective from the other end of the turnpike:

The paramedic program is fast paced and takes eight months. It's done though Redlands Community College in El Reno but onsite in Tulsa and OKC with EMSA instructors. The guy in Tulsa goes heavy into A&P and seemingly takes teaching more seriously than a lot of certificate programs throughout the state. The buyout from the contract is relatively inexpensive and you're basically paid to be a student and work the odd shift. So far, the medics that have made it through the program are pretty good.

As for working here, the schedule has changed some. The shifts are still twelve hours but you'll alternate four and three day work weeks. Some shifts are weekday only, some weekends, and some alternate. The starting wage is also higher now to compensate for the loss of hours so you can expect to start around $11.30ish/hour as an EMT. Shifts are chosen based on seniority so you can kiss your weekends goodbye for the first year but that won't matter much if you make it into the paramedic course after six months. It's also worth mentioning that the max EMT pay is actually above the minimum paramedic pay and, for now, there are plenty of OT shifts and almost all of them are bonused at $350. That will probably stop once staffing is increased enough to cover all of the shifts they've added but it's pretty easy to get hired this year as a consequence.

The protocols really are hit and miss and yes you need a four lead, BP, and SpO2 before administering any meds but a halfway-decent partner will have that knocked out before you have anything drawn up. If you really feel it needs to be done now, you do the paperwork, so whether or not you throw yourself under the bus is up to you. Most people elect not to. The spinal immobilization protocol is slightly more lax now but is another thing that can be documented away in a lot of cases.

The main advantage to working at EMSA is that it fits a lot of experience into a short amount of time. The average number of calls per shifts has gone down with the larger numbers of ambulances being put on the street but there are still nights of 10 or more calls. And like RocketMedic already explained, the school you attend really isn't that important. The next agency you work at will be more concerned about your experience and you'll have plenty. It's true that their is some animosity towards EMSA medics for a certain better-than-everyone-else attitude we seem to exude (or so I've been told) but you'll be hard-pressed to find a service in Oklahoma that doesn't have at least one former EMSA employee on staff.

It's definitely not for most people but it's a wonderful stepping stone. If you do decide to apply here, don't mention you want to be a firefighter. Just my two cents.

 

[46Young]

Either some time has passed since RocketMedic's time at EMSA or Tulsa is just vastly different. But here's a little perspective from the other end of the turnpike:

The paramedic program is fast paced and takes eight months. It's done though Redlands Community College in El Reno but onsite in Tulsa and OKC with EMSA instructors. The guy in Tulsa goes heavy into A&P and seemingly takes teaching more seriously than a lot of certificate programs throughout the state. The buyout from the contract is relatively inexpensive and you're basically paid to be a student and work the odd shift. So far, the medics that have made it through the program are pretty good.

As for working here, the schedule has changed some. The shifts are still twelve hours but you'll alternate four and three day work weeks. Some shifts are weekday only, some weekends, and some alternate. The starting wage is also higher now to compensate for the loss of hours so you can expect to start around $11.30ish/hour as an EMT. Shifts are chosen based on seniority so you can kiss your weekends goodbye for the first year but that won't matter much if you make it into the paramedic course after six months. It's also worth mentioning that the max EMT pay is actually above the minimum paramedic pay and, for now, there are plenty of OT shifts and almost all of them are bonused at $350. That will probably stop once staffing is increased enough to cover all of the shifts they've added but it's pretty easy to get hired this year as a consequence.

The protocols really are hit and miss and yes you need a four lead, BP, and SpO2 before administering any meds but a halfway-decent partner will have that knocked out before you have anything drawn up. If you really feel it needs to be done now, you do the paperwork, so whether or not you throw yourself under the bus is up to you. Most people elect not to. The spinal immobilization protocol is slightly more lax now but is another thing that can be documented away in a lot of cases.

The main advantage to working at EMSA is that it fits a lot of experience into a short amount of time. The average number of calls per shifts has gone down with the larger numbers of ambulances being put on the street but there are still nights of 10 or more calls. And like RocketMedic already explained, the school you attend really isn't that important. The next agency you work at will be more concerned about your experience and you'll have plenty. It's true that their is some animosity towards EMSA medics for a certain better-than-everyone-else attitude we seem to exude (or so I've been told) but you'll be hard-pressed to find a service in Oklahoma that doesn't have at least one former EMSA employee on staff.

It's definitely not for most people but it's a wonderful stepping stone. If you do decide to apply here, don't mention you want to be a firefighter. Just my two cents.

That's how many experienced medics have operated (that I've seen) - do what needs to be done (or withheld), and chart in such a way that you don't get flagged for it. Like you've said, if they want 12 lead, ETCO2, etc. to push any med, and it's needed right now (like epi for anaphylaxis for example), then get the vitals as soon as is feasible, and just reverse the times of the vitals and the epi admin. Patients that truly don't need spinal motion restriction are documented as having "refused" that intervention. This stuff isn't too hard.

One thing though - other agencies having EMSA employees on staff isn't a good selling point. These agencies are were these former employees chose to go after choosing to leave EMSA. You want to work for a place that has employees from other places, that used those jobs as a stepping stone for your department. But you're right about the firefighter thing - its common for prospective firefighters to use EMS as easy money until they get the fire academy offer.

I also find it interesting that you've identified that experience with a valid cert is the most employable feature on an applicant's resume. Still, to this day, the vast majority of employers value that over additional education. This is valid for municipal third service, fire, hospital based, and the privates alike. We get lip service from some systems about education, but the truth of the matter is, the employers benefit from keeping the cert process easy, so that they can keep pay low, and the hours long. Sorry, but $12-$14/hr as a medic working a 56 hour schedule is a steal for an EMS agency. I've only seen decent pay in the Tri-State area (NY), and KCM1. $50k/yr isn't crap if you have to do 48-56 hours a week to get there.

 

[MedicBadge192]

I heard the buyout was outrageous, and that their pass rate was atrocious.