Paramedic?

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emt722

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Hello!

I know there are already a bunch of threads on this & I have read several, but should I become a paramedic? I would really appreciate some insight =)

I just got certified as an EMT-B about six months ago and volunteer at a corps (tbh, our area is not very busy and EMS calls are rare, so my actual experience in BLS care is not that high. I also have to admit that I get lost in paperwork at times and still did not handle a call from start to finish).

However, the times I do get calls I always want to do more and that's where paramedic school fits in. I'm very much interested in becoming a paramedic, I believe I am capable of learning the treatments/ terms/ drugs and so forth, but I am a bit frightened of being on the street and actually practicing EMT-P, especially since I am still not a "pro" of BLS care.

Thanks so much fellow EMS! =)
 
If you're not comfortable as a BLS provider, why would you want to jump right into becoming a paramedic? Why not spend a little more time as a BLS provider and that way you can determine if being a paramedic is really for you…

I will tell you that being a paramedic is much more then treatment and terms… it means more responsibility, more paperwork, the willingness and wherewithal to delegate and educate and unfortunately, not all that much more money.

If you're interested, Head to your local community college and start taking the prerequisite courses. Biology, English composition, mathematics, anatomy and physiology and all the rest will give you a good heads up.
 
I know paramedic school is much than tx and terms and a lot of things will become more complicated, I didn't mean to make it sound like that, lol. I have so much respect for all EMTs and EMS has become like a hobby to me. I am actually enrolled in college right now, and minoring in biochem so I have already taken bio/a&p/calc and english =)


It's not that I'm not comfortable as a BLS provider, I just think I have less experience and its relatively hard gaining it where I am. I'm planning on Paramedic School in a year, so hopefully I get to where I would like to be. I'm just curious if medic school would still be okay for people who don't have a lot of experience. I'm also torn since my corps is only BLS but I have many friends there, but if I join a FD nearby I could get ALS exposure >.<
 
Largely what DEmedic said, though I'll add a few more points and some nuance, since I'm avoiding doing a run sheet, so typing up a nice long reply appeals to me.

From the sounds of it, you're volunteer only at a small service, I don't know if you intend to stay that way, but if you do: I, for one, wouldn't do medic school for volunteer only, hell, there were times during medic school I wasn't sure it was worth it and EMS is my day job. A second note here, is that the service you're with might not be, and might not be able/willing to become licensed at an ALS level. I don't know where you are, and what the relevant laws are, but everywhere I've worked, if the service and the truck aren't licensed at ALS, then it doesn't matter if you're a medic, on that truck, you're a basic (or intermediate).

Moving on, I'd say that if you have that drive, then you should continue your education, but I would say that you should wait. Get more truck time, maybe look at getting a professional position, or volunteering with more agencies, worst comes to worst, see if someone around will let you do ride alongs.

There are a couple purposes to this. First, you really should be very confident in your BLS skills. easily 90% of what I do as a medic is stuff that's in the basic scope. I think it's easier to master BLS when it's all you have, if you have a bunch of ALS skills, you're going to be eager to use them, and will miss BLS stufff.

Second, you've got to be self-confident (which is slightly different). Once you're a medic, odds are good that you're going to be the highest license around, short of med control, you've got no one to turn to, so you've got to be ready to walk into a scene, and take control of it, get your partner doing what they need to do, get any bystanders to either make themselves useful or scarce, as the case may be, start doing your thing, and all the while, be talking to your patient, both for assessment purposes and to make them feel at ease., after a while, it's pretty easy, but that only comes with time.

Third, I think medic school is vastly easier when you've got a bunch of calls under your belt...it gives you a framework to hang the knowledge on.

Fourth, medic school is a pretty big commitment, you should be very sure it's what you want to do, you should see the worst of EMS before you decide you're still in love with it enough to do EMS, you should go to a gory trauma, you should run a toothache at 0200h in a blizzard, you should have someone die on you, you should work a kid that's in a bad way, you should run a guy with a GI bleed who is covered from chin to toe (That would be my very first GI bleed, btw, what an introduction to the smell). If you make it through all that (and more), and you still want to do it, that's when you should talk about medic school.

Finally, it might be that you don't really want to be a medic, you'd rather go for a RN or PA or MD, instead, time in the field helps you make that decision.
 
@ UnkiEMT and @ DEmedic

Thank you, both!
I am a NY volunteer BLS corps. I'm attending college and will be graduating in a year with the goals of becoming a doctor. I plan on, although Iv'e heard it's impossible, to work as both a doctor and EMT. Sorry, these details are spilling over as I find it relevant. There will be no time for me to enter paramedic school while (hopefully) attending my four years of medical school + years of residency, so thats why I would like to do medic school and have my certification and be able to work on the side as an EMT-P while finishing up school. So, basically I would like to do paramedic school in my gap year between UG and medical school, and hopefully work as a medic while finishing up school and later on.
I understand what you're saying about the aspects of being ALS but only being able to provide BLS, but I have never been so committed and interested and passionate about learning more and becoming more with than of EMS. Maybe it is my rush, or it could just be a little bit of endorphins that have resided since finishing EMT-B school.
I really do want more truck time. The crew chiefs that I am when I volunteer tend to completely take over a call, esp with patient care, so I have to be more assertive in that manner. (I secretly wish the orange book from EMTB school gave more insight into EMS, especially with documentation and protocols - but then again, when I did instructor from rotation told me that the only way I would learn best is from direct experience).
I have actually been told that I lack confidence, but eh, lol it's something I am working on and it's because I'm naturally a listener rather than a talker. Becoming an EMT has allowed me to be more confident, but its still a work in progress. It's like when I arrive on scene sometimes, all the other people just watching you and the commotion,... kinda gets to me. But I feel better as time goes.
When I did my three rotations at EMS agencies affiliated with major hospitals, it was back to back calls, all of which were interesting and some stressful. I miss that =/ I wish I could ask if I could do ride-alongs with them again. I hopefully will be able to work for an agency, but the ones where my friends work at say it's 80% transport, and 20% 911 calls. The only way I would be able to experience what I did during rotation would be if I got hired at a hospital affiliated one or FDNY, so my odds are slim, esp considering my level of experience.
I just love the environment of EMS, idk how to explain it. I know I haven't seen the worst or the grossest, but I just have a gut feeling that I would want to become a paramedic.
 
Just saw the numerous spelling and grammar errors in my post ^
Sorry!! >.<
 
I'd focus on education, and work towards medical school.

But it sounds like you've got your mind made up, and you didn't really come for advice… You just came for some affirmation. So, good luck.
 
@ DEmedic

I guess I did, lol, but you also helped me realize it may be in the best interest to get more exposure and to not rush things.

Thank you for the support!! :)
 
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