Post paramedic school education

[jorge0136]

Hi, new to the forum here.

I am in the nearing the end of the classroom section of paramedic school at the moment. I am an immensely curious person and know that I will want to continue learning after I graduate. I am an avid self study student but I learn so much better with a teacher and other students to discuss concepts and help me learn.

I know when I became an EMT-B I thought I could continue learning in the field in the same fashion I had been learning in school. Instead I learned the way to operate as an EMT rather than learning much more about human physiology. I find myself looking back at being an EMT-B and realizing how naive I was running around on an ambulance despite feeling knowledgeable at the time. I had next to no knowledge of the human bodies idiosyncrasies. I would like to look back at graduating medic school the same way, that I knew next to nothing but kept learning.

I know that the program I am attending does not have us do a PALS course but rather PEPP. I have heard of Critical care paramedic programs(CCEMTP), has anyone taken this course? Would it be worthwhile even if I do not plan on working inter-hospital transfers?

Is doing 1-2 days classes to acquire a stack of certifications actually educational or just resume padding?

Any thoughts into this would be immensely helpful, thanks.

 

[Bieber]

My advice, such as it is, is to get a Bachelor's in something relevant. That is going to be the best way to not only increase your own personal knowledge but to elevate our profession as a whole. Paramedics need to be actively pursuing higher degrees and working like hell to increase their knowledge, for the sake of our patients as well as for the sake of our profession.

Paramedics are in danger of being replaced right now. Either by fire services that, in general, seem to advocate lower educational requirements or by nurses who can beat us in educational standards (in general). You want to become a better provider? You want to keep EMS progressive, advancing, and across the board more educated? Do your part, get your four year degree, and tell every other paramedic you know to do the same.

I just finished paramedic school and will be getting my Associate's from it (it's required in my state) and this semester I'm back at work chipping away at my Bachelor's. Right now it's in Biology, though I'm talking to some folks at U-Pitt about their online Bachelor's program in Emergency Medicine. And I would strongly encourage you to find a major in something relevant to medicine that is going to teach you more about medicine than the narrow field that we're exposed to.

The alphabet courses, in my opinion, are what you make of them. A lot of it is resume building, but there truly is a wealth of information to be obtained from those courses, especially in the reading materials.

 

[rescue99]

Hi, new to the forum here.

I am in the nearing the end of the classroom section of paramedic school at the moment. I am an immensely curious person and know that I will want to continue learning after I graduate. I am an avid self study student but I learn so much better with a teacher and other students to discuss concepts and help me learn.

I know when I became an EMT-B I thought I could continue learning in the field in the same fashion I had been learning in school. Instead I learned the way to operate as an EMT rather than learning much more about human physiology. I find myself looking back at being an EMT-B and realizing how naive I was running around on an ambulance despite feeling knowledgeable at the time. I had next to no knowledge of the human bodies idiosyncrasies. I would like to look back at graduating medic school the same way, that I knew next to nothing but kept learning.

I know that the program I am attending does not have us do a PALS course but rather PEPP. I have heard of Critical care paramedic programs(CCEMTP), has anyone taken this course? Would it be worthwhile even if I do not plan on working inter-hospital transfers?

Is doing 1-2 days classes to acquire a stack of certifications actually educational or just resume padding?

Any thoughts into this would be immensely helpful, thanks.

How about a more solid background in science, including A/P? You will gain a whole lot more from stacked certs with a good foundation. Add a cert here and there as you go and watch the light go on! I suggest you go that route if you really want to feel like you're learning.

 

[byoung57]

The current state of alphabet courses leave much to be desired. Continue to study and advance in the areas of A & P and seriously consider the UMB CCEMTP course.

Bill

 

[systemet]

I can't comment on the CCEMTP course, as I haven't taken it. It seems interesting. If you have spare money, or someone wants to pay for it for you, it's probably worth taking.

There does get to be a point though, where you're just collecting certifications, all of which eventually expire, and most of which cover the same ground. Myself I figure everyone should carry a current ACLS, PALS, ITLS (or PHTLS), and maybe NRP.

I definitely second the advice about doing a bachelor's. In anything. It will make you more competitive for management or teaching jobs. These may not look appealing now -- but maybe they will in 10 years?

If you have any interest in med school, becoming a PA, nursing, etc. and you're at a point when you can afford / manage to go back to school, do it before you can't. Especially if you're looking at a long program like medicine. It won't always make sense to invest that time.

I took a science degree, full time, while working full-time, a few years after finishing my medic. I majored in Physiology, with the thought of maybe going to med school. I finished the degree, and could have made the med school thing work, but I made different choices, and life took me a different way. But I don't regret doing it. Although I think now, maybe I should have taken a degree like nursing, engineering, or computer science, where it could give me another career if EMS became too difficult. Most undergraduate degrees don't do that.