Road to paramedic?

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September

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Hey everyone, I'm a complete newbie to the EMT field(and this forum so i wasn't too sure where to post this) and begin training next month. I have hopes of eventually becoming a paramedic and I was curious as to how the road looks from a basic EMT to a paramedic looks like. I like to do the best job I can in anything I pursue so are there also things that aren't in the standard curriculum that I could involve myself in to increase my knowledge/skill base along the way?

Note: I'm a 27 year old male with a full-time job, no children and no significant other(no desire for the latter two) so I'm not looking to support anyone but myself and I've got plenty of time on my hands.
 
Depends on what Paramedic school you go to. Some have prerequisites in their curriculum that prepare you for Paramedic school and what comes after, many don't.

I would take nursing level Anatomy and Physiology if you are serious about a career in health care.The problem is that A&P at that level often requires pre requisites itself, so if you goofed off in Highschool and just did the bare minimum to graduate, you will have to knock out those pre reqs first. The good thing is you can try to knock those out during or right after EMT school.

Aside from A&P I cant think of anything that would be valuable enough to delay Paramedic school aside from maybe a math class if you are horrible at math. Pre algebra level would probably be enough to get you through Paramedic school.
 
September said:
Hey everyone, I'm a complete newbie to the EMT field(and this forum so i wasn't too sure where to post this) and begin training next month. I have hopes of eventually becoming a paramedic and I was curious as to how the road looks from a basic EMT to a paramedic looks like. I like to do the best job I can in anything I pursue so are there also things that aren't in the standard curriculum that I could involve myself in to increase my knowledge/skill base along the way?

Note: I'm a 27 year old male with a full-time job, no children and no significant other(no desire for the latter two) so I'm not looking to support anyone but myself and I've got plenty of time on my hands.
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It may also be useful to know what part of the country you are in. The silly way of EMS and how providers are trained will be different here in California/West Coast, than other places.
 
Jambi, I live in Pennsylvania , close to Philadelphia. And thanks for the info, hogwiley. It's been a while since A&P(I took it in high school and did well but that was years ago). I'll look into it!
 
The Stairstep Misconception

Don't think EMT is a step towards Paramedic. Find out what the curriculum is for Paramedic, if you want it, take the prerequisites, then go for it. People who want paramedic but take EMT first often stay there, maybe because that's where they are comfortable, but some definitely because they get stuck.
Same for LVN or NA as a step to RN. Just go for it.
 
mycrofft said:
Don't think EMT is a step towards Paramedic. Find out what the curriculum is for Paramedic, if you want it, take the prerequisites, then go for it. People who want paramedic but take EMT first often stay there, maybe because that's where they are comfortable, but some definitely because they get stuck.
Same for LVN or NA as a step to RN. Just go for it.
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Wait, what? I'm not aware of any states that allow you to skip EMT and go straight into medic... :unsure:
 
Delaware Tech has a zero to hero program. I was talking to one of our paramedic candidates about it today. He had ZERO EMS experience prior to class and is now in the field internship portion of his program. He hadn't stepped into an ambulance before paramedic school.
 
PoeticInjustice said:
Wait, what? I'm not aware of any states that allow you to skip EMT and go straight into medic... :unsure:
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many states require that you test for basic but there is no requirement to work as one.
 
Medic Tim said:
many states require that you test for basic but there is no requirement to work as one.
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Yeah, that's what I'm familiar with (and basically what I did). I read mycrofft's post as don't bother taking the basic course.
 
PoeticInjustice said:
Yeah, that's what I'm familiar with (and basically what I did). I read mycrofft's post as don't bother taking the basic course.
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Where I did my program you could go right into the paramedic AAS. EMT was included a part of the 1st semester classes.
 
On the Montgomery County, PA website is says "Passing of an EMT class is a prerequisite for the paramedic class." The Intro to Paramedic PDF is confusing by saying no studies have verified EMT basic cert is a predictor of success as a paramedic buuuut it's important for paramedics to be knowledgable and competent in all EMT basic skills...wait, what? I don't know how I feel about going zero to hero with little to no experience in between. It's like when I was first placed in my community home for the intellectually disabled and thought everything was going to be textbook(it sure as heck wasn't).
 
Go straight to Paramedic as quickly as possible.
 
Medic Tim said:
Where I did my program you could go right into the paramedic AAS. EMT was included a part of the 1st semester classes.
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This.

But, at my school, if you couldn't show proof of at least 6 months experience as an EMT you were required to do 60 hours ride time as an EMT after you got your state license.
 
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