Should states limit EMT and Paramedic course entry?
Only Clergy, Lawyers, and Doctors decide who can be one of them.
EMS persons cannot.
However, why would it benefit the state to limit the numbers? If quality was the true measure instead of quantity, wouldn't it make more sense to raise standards?
Pretty much, anyone willing to pay can get into EMT B and Paramedic school. (obviously the school, states etc want the money). But this just FLOODS the job market and makes it extremely difficult for people to get hired.
You are right, and it is designed that way. It gives people the opportunity to change or train for a career quickly. That has its own financial benefits.
In the US the state does not have the responsibility of providing jobs. That has been tried a few times before with rather unpleasant and economically unsustainable results.
The role of the state is to provide opportunity. If you went to EMT school and passed, you have an opportunity to get an EMS job.
Your (in)ability to market yourself, provide a service worth more, distinguish yourself from your contemporaries, or move somewhere else for a job, is really of your making.
It is not the fault of other students, the state, immigrants, or any other bogeyman you want to attribute this to. The state owes you nothing.
In many EMT programs in CA, they have lowered the passing rate to 75%...and I know for a fact that at one junior college they lowered the acceptable passing rate to 69%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I know because I was a volunteer instructor there, and I was against the policy)
So what? I have sat in classes much harder than paramedic class where passing was 44%. A grade of B was 49%, and you would be damn proud of a B in that class. Arbitrary percentages of passing mean nothing. You could know 100% of paramedic class and still know less than 1% of medicine.
Of course, as a "volunteer instructor" for a program that charges students tuition and I am willing to bet pays instructors, maybe you should ask for some money or quit doing work somebody else is being paid for for free.
To keep up your skills? You have no substantial skills.
If they did this, there would be fewer EMTs and PArmedics, thus giving those that do graduate from these courses a much better chance at finding employment. Unfortunately, most of my EMT and Paramedic friends/colleagues spend money, time and put forward many emotions to become an EMT or Paramedic yet they find NO JOBS!!!! HOW SAD.
Let me be the first to tell you, students do this with all sorts of degree programs every day. The limited amount of jobs is because of market forces. How many people with degrees in advanced basket weaving (or other liberal art) find themselves with a job that didn't require a degree or no job at all?
How many doctors are out of work? How many engineers?
True not everyone can get into those jobs, but the reason they are paid what they are with the opportunity they have is because they are extremely valuable to society. 150 hours (or less) of first aid training, well... not so much.
In fact I'll be willing to bet the 1500 hours of training barber isn't complaining there are too many barbers.
It is the responsibility of student to research their career choices. It is the responsibility of said student to have a plan or ability to market themselves to employers after they acheive thier academic goals.
Going to school gives the opportunity for a job, it does not promise one. Many paramedics and EMTs have an unrealistic expectation of the job market. It is not the responsibility of the State to make up for the FAILURE of the students to appreciate their prospects after school.
Why should The State be involved in covering for your failures and inability?
Should it be more like law enforcement? where you are only trained if they have decided to hire you (for the most part).
This is not a universally true statement. In many places you are free to pay to go to a Police academy. You will even graduate. You are not promised a job. There are plenty of these people working security jobs at the mall and other places.
Any ideas on how to fix current lack of employment in EMS?
Absolutely,
Join the rest of the civilized world and make working on an ambulance a 4 year degree to start. Not only will it raise the caliber of provider, it will eliminate everyone trying to do a quick career change to healthcare or try to get a job requiring just a few weeks of training and a high school diploma which is an absolutely useless minimum in most modern societies.
Actually on the topic, we could probably eliminate US high schools totally and just send people right to university. After all, the passing criteria for high school in the US no longer meets the needs of US society. (the quality is simply too low)
Remove EMS from the fire service, this will allow market forces to influence not only the amount of providers, since they still will likely not be paid the pay and benefits of a government worker, but increase pay and demand for those who provide a higher quality of service. (especially in California)
Students could figure out that just about every EMS training program grossly over charges. If you divide the cost of the average EMT+ Paramedic program and lost wages by the hours you will have to work to recoup those costs at current salaries, it likely is going to be years of life. (aka not worth the investment, because you could have gotten more valuable training or education in another field)
A higher educated provider can provide services other than a glorified taxi ride. Services that can be charged for and recouped to offset the loss of providing emergency transport. Of course then they would have to do more than "true emergencies."
You know why I get paid $50/hour to teach ACLS class?
Because I am worth it.
Use that same logic to figure out why you make what you do.
It is not the responsibility of The State, any state, to make up for the shortcomings of citizens who provide no value, or such little value they cannot attain the goals they desire.
While it is the responsibility of The State to provide assistance to its members who struggle to survive, there is a difference between surviving and having what you want.
Ask yourself: "Why do so many foreigners risk their lives to come to the US everyday and are happy earning wages so low US citizens would never consider working for such?"
Perhaps they have a more realistic understanding of what they are worth and the type of life that actually buys?