Recert...

dancesport20

dancesport20

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Since I'm a newbie to the forum I thought I'd start off by saying hi to everyone :-)
Ok so I need to recertify by March of 2009 so I'm retaking the EMT class again for fun with my friend. Does this count towards my recert and if so how would I document it? Do I just send the EMS office in my area my course completion paperwork??
 
dancesport20 said:
Since I'm a newbie to the forum I thought I'd start off by saying hi to everyone :-)
Ok so I need to recertify by March of 2009 so I'm retaking the EMT class again for fun with my friend. Does this count towards my recert and if so how would I document it? Do I just send the EMS office in my area my course completion paperwork??
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uuuuuuummmmmmmm.........ok. ive never heard of anyone retaking the whole course just for fun. but if thats what you're going to do...

talk to the instructor and see if they can finagle the paperwork to make it count as your refresher. then, do some time as a pratical teaching aid to get some teaching credit for your con ed.
 
Depends on your state regs. In WA you have three options for your recert: OTEPS, CME or challenge the test. The classes offered in the class are basically the OTEP information so I would think a case could be made for it to count. But I would definitely talk to someone at the agency who certifies you while you still have time to explore other options if they say no.
 
KEVD18 said:
uuuuuuummmmmmmm.........ok. ive never heard of anyone retaking the whole course just for fun. but if thats what you're going to do...

talk to the instructor and see if they can finagle the paperwork to make it count as your refresher. then, do some time as a pratical teaching aid to get some teaching credit for your con ed.
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Not so much for fun as it is a favor for my friend who has yet to be certified. I was assuming it would count because technically it is continuing education and they have changed some things since I was last certified. Guess my best bet is to ask....
 
well i suppose you could just test again at the end of the course. although i wonder what would happen if you failed the exam. i wonder if thats ever happened...


the problem with using an initial course as a recert is the paperwork. there probably isnt an existing way to document that, as you very well may be the first person ever to retake the initial course to satisfy your recert requirment. if the school want to get an approval number for a refresher just for you and just sign you off based on satisfactory performance in the class, that could work.
 
Yes , I have heard of people taking the entire course over. If they are not "active" in EMS I don't think it's a bad idea, skills get rusty and you forget knowledge learned. I live in a very rural area and many of the EMT's here are from small departments that get less than 100 calls a year.

So I applaud you for staying on top!!! You instructor should be able to answer your questions and provide you with the necessary paper work, it is state dependent.
 
Guess my best bet is to ask. Huh? Well I have class early tomorrow...ugh :glare: so I'll ask then. Hopefully my instructor will know.
 
dancesport20 said:
Guess my best bet is to ask. Huh? Well I have class early tomorrow...ugh :glare: so I'll ask then. Hopefully my instructor will know.
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usually is...
 
You could always...

check with the people who actually issue the certification, ie, the Orange County DHS.

I think you might find that their idea of "continuing education" might mean something other than repeating the same class over again, unless you've been uncertified for the last couple of years or so.

John E.
 
dancesport20 said:
Guess my best bet is to ask. Huh? Well I have class early tomorrow...ugh :glare: so I'll ask then. Hopefully my instructor will know.
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Curious why you would not have this info BEFORE retaking the course because your friend is taking the course...I assume you do not work as an EMT-B? New EMT-B?......you have money to burn???
 
Bosco578 said:
Curious why you would not have this info BEFORE retaking the course because your friend is taking the course...I assume you do not work as an EMT-B? New EMT-B?......you have money to burn???
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I did work for as an EMT for a while but stopped about a year ago so I need to refresh my skills either way because I want to go back into the field later this year. The class is free because it is through my school so that's not a big deal. And my friend needs help passing so I figured it would benefit the both of us to take the class together. Plus it is a six unit class.....
 
Don't know where...

you're taking this class but A. if it's a community college it shouldn't be free unless you're in some sort of scholarship program, why should you be taking a space that a tuition paying student should have? And B. I don't know of any college that allows a student to take the same academic class twice and get credit for it both times, so unless you took your original class elsewhere, I'd be very surprised if you'll get credits for taking the class again.

I've worked as a volunteer Teaching Assistant at a California community college and we don't allow students to continue to take classes for credit once they've taken and passed them. Nor can they take a class for free to help a friend pass.

Why not find out what the actual requirements are from the DHS in Orange County and then simply do what's required to regain your certification?

The whole thing seems rather odd to me but I've been told that I am a bit of a curmudgeon while writing online at times.

John E.
 
Not quite sure why some are giving this kid such a hard time about taking the class again. Perhaps he feels he needs to take it again. It's up to the college and the instructor what, if any credit will be given. In my area the Basic EMT class can be taken through the local community college for credit or through the Country safety department as a non credit course. If his original class was a non credit class he can receive credit for it.
 
Well...

I don't who this "kid" is that you're referring to. The original poster said that they had been working as an EMT, to my mind that takes them out of the "kid" world and into the real world.

As for giving him/her a hard time, all I've suggested is that they check with the people who would actually know the answers to the questions and related some things that I know to be facts. If trying to get people to get accurate information about their own career choices instead of relying on hearsay information written on a web forum is giving them a hard time, guess I'm guilty.

I'm just really surprised at the number of people who post here asking the most basic of questions when they could find the information they seek right from the sources, that is the agencies that actually write the rules and issue the certifications. I've always thought of web forums to be more about sharing stories and experiences rather than a reliable source of information about things as serious as licensing and certification of EMS personnel. Given that for virtually every question about subjects like this there are almost always answers given that directly conflict with both other answers as well as the actual rules, it just seems odd to me to come here with these sorts of questions and expect to get good, factual information.

To put it even more bluntly, I can't imagine that anyone would take the opinion of a person that they don't know, posting from anywhere in the world, on a topic that they may very well know very little about as factual when it concerns their own career.

Guess I'm a curmudgeon about that too...

John E.
 
lol in Mass im pretty sure we have to take the re-fresher.... btw have you done all your con-ed hours??? def need to think of that.
 
John, I get where your coming from with the whole asking people advice on a forum. Of course there are some places you can get the straight facts; no if ands or buts. However, I thought I'd run it by some of the people on the forum to see what could be said and t get to know some people here a little better (since I am a newbie). Kind of like asking some friends a question that you could easily get the answer to elsewhere. And I did take the class at another place so I will be getting full credits. I also feel that taking this class will not only benefit me but my patients because I feel that I have been out of the field long enough that I would feel more confident working on someone after going over everything I need to know again. I don't think a two day refresher would be sufficient. Though I would get re-certified I wouldn't be getting the information that I need. I hope that you can understand where I am coming from and if not that's ok because I feel that its important enough that I need to take this course. Thanks for your input:)
 
Nickjm908 said:
lol in Mass im pretty sure we have to take the re-fresher.... btw have you done all your con-ed hours??? def need to think of that.
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you could retake the course and be re-initially certified(if that makes any sense). but it would cost you a whole hell of a lot more than the normal recert process. also, you would lose all of your "seniority" based on your emt number that mass emts place so much value in.

i average over a hundred hrs of con ed a year, so im not worried....
 
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