schools in SoCal and cost

[sonic19]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if you guys knew any good EMT schools in SoCal? I noticed that OCC and Saddleback College offer EMT classes, is it better to take classes at those community colleges than some independent schools?
Also, you have to have experience as EMT-B or EMT-1 before you can attend classes to be a EMT-paramedic, right?

What is the total cost to attend and get certified? I noticed that there is more than just tuition.. you have to pay to get certified and pay for background check too. A breakdown of estimate cost to get certified to be able to get a job as a EMT would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys

 

[Handsome Robb]

EMS classes and certifications will nickel and dime you to death. There are so many random fees to be paid, especially in California.

In CA yes, you need EMT experience to apply to paramedic school, is it right? That's a question for another thread but that's the standard in CA as it stands.

 

[sonic19]

Thanks Robb.

So I guess I have to become a EMT first, I just need to decide where and know the ballpark of how much. I did some research and it seems like tuition itself is about $900 but after certification and some fees, it jumps to $1500ish. Can someone confirm this please?

My career plan is to work as EMT (possibly as paramedic later) for 2-3 years then apply to Physician Assistant programs.

 

[Handsome Robb]

Depends on your school EMT-B and I were both about $1000 when all was said and done.

Location dependent as well. $1000-$1500 is a good ballpark though.

 

[DesertMedic66]

When I went through the EMT program the class was about $300. Books were about $200.

Then all the other costs for Cali was probably $300-$500.

 

[garnett]

http://www.nocrop.us $900 included book and access to the all equipment. Good instructors. I live in OC and ive heard that taking them as a college course is difficult. OCC, SAC, GWC etc

 

[sonic19]

Can you tell me more about why it is difficult taking EMT courses at community colleges?

ROP fee based courses all seem to require EMR (Emergency Medical Responder).. that's one other course to take and pay for. Community college EMT courses don't have any prereq's and they are cheaper, about $600 so unless there is a good reason I'm probably going to take courses at either OCC or SAC

 

[garnett]

It's not that it's impossible to complete the courses at SAC or OCC. I have people in my fire class who take it at SAC and they don't have very many nice things to say about the instructor. I linked to where I took it, my instructors were current active paramedics for garden grove FD and Anaheim FD. I believe that the college class versions are taught by people who are working in the hospital setting where they have very little in field ambulance and first responder experience.
The only prequisite to an EMT should be a valid AHA CPR card. Check the AHA website for that

 

[sonic19]

Thanks for the reply.
I don't know what ROP stands for but it is an organization that offers free courses for high schoolers but charges fees for adults like me and most of us here on the board. The link you sent me is ROP too and to take EMT course, they require you to have taken their EMR course beforehand.
Did you have to take EMR before taking EMT or did they just let you get by? I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and ask about that

 

[Jim37F]

California Institute of Emergency Medical Training (CIEMT)
ciemt.com

It's an accelerated course, so instead of a full semester at a community college, it's either 4 or 7 weeks. 4 week course, Mon thru Fri. 7 week is 3 days a week instead of 5 but still 6 hrs.

Personally I did the 4pm-11pm M-F 4 week course. It's tough because you get 120 hrs in such a short time so you really have to be studying and paying attention in class. But it's good if you want your cert and start working sooner rather than later.

They have two campuses, one straddling the Long Beach/Signal Hill city lines and the other in Hawthorne.

Cost is $850 (total, including CPR card and textbook). And yes the programs approved by the state and the LA County EMS Agency.

 

[Jim37F]

Oh and there's no prereqs to go to CIEMT, just sign up for a class, pay and don't fail out lol and you'll be ready to pass the NREMT and get your California EMT-1

 

[bbmtnbb]

I'm in Ventura County but took EMT-B in Camarillo through Oxnard College Fire academy. (which I liked by the way) Class is $276 plus books $200 plus physical $130 plus background check $35 plus black pants, white shirt and boots ??? and then fees for national skills testing -forget how much then NREMT test then fingerprints for County card $70 and Ca state fee and county fee think $125.
$$$$$$$ just keep adding it up. Then needed LA county scope and ambulance cert and more fingerprints and then medical examiners certificate $105 then finally get hired and they pay for DOT fee. BUT I believe it is worth it if you are going for paramedic or PA in the long run. If this is just for a job then kinda silly with the wages out there.

 

[garnett]

It stands for North Orange County Regional Occupation Program. It's a organization that offered courses to both high school students and adults. I believe they do offer it free or a discount to high school students. Since I was out of high school I had to pay the full $900. Give them a call, they would be able to explain the proper requirements. All I needed for them was a valid AHA CPR card. As far as I know EMR just means you have a CPR card with AED training.

 

[sonic19]

And yes the programs approved by the state and the LA County EMS Agency.

Thanks for the information but the school is not under "EMT Training Programs with CE Approval" on OCGov.com

Do OC and LA counties serious have different accreditations? wow

 

[Jim37F]

Yeah, LA and Orange Counties have their own separate LEMSAs with different scope of practice.

 

[DesertMedic66]

It's not that it's impossible to complete the courses at SAC or OCC. I have people in my fire class who take it at SAC and they don't have very many nice things to say about the instructor. I linked to where I took it, my instructors were current active paramedics for garden grove FD and Anaheim FD. I believe that the college class versions are taught by people who are working in the hospital setting where they have very little in field ambulance and first responder experience.
The only prequisite to an EMT should be a valid AHA CPR card. Check the AHA website for that

Not all colleges are taught by instructors in the hospital setting. We have 1 instructor who has been a medic since the early 1990s, another medic who worked in the field for several years before retiring, an instructor who has his doctorate (does not work in the hospital) and just added on a medic who has 2 years field experience as a medic and several as an EMT.

But in all reality it doesn't matter if they work in the field or in the hospital as long as they are able to teach the students the information and skills that is the only thing that matters.

 

[ChanelCinq]

Thanks Robb.

So I guess I have to become a EMT first, I just need to decide where and know the ballpark of how much. I did some research and it seems like tuition itself is about $900 but after certification and some fees, it jumps to $1500ish. Can someone confirm this please?

My career plan is to work as EMT (possibly as paramedic later) for 2-3 years then apply to Physician Assistant programs.

Sorry I didn't mean to bring up an old thread but I just saw your post about taking the NREMT. I just want to you know what you are getting into as a Physician Assistant.

I looked into Physician Assistant programs and RN programs before deciding to become an RN. If you compare a Physician Assistant (PA) to Nurse Practitioner (NP) they are similar but a Nurse Practitioner has more autonomy. A Nurse Practitioner can open his or her own business and write his or her own prescriptions where a Physician Assistant is always tied to a doctor. The Physician Assistant is writing prescriptions under a doctor and the prescription has the doctor's name on it not the name of the Physician Assistant.

There are some differences working as a Physician Assistant vs a Nurse Practitioner but both are pretty similar. You can Google it if you want to read more differences and similarities.

Now the education part. If you thought it was hard to become an RN, ha try to get into PA school. THere are very few schools and it is very competitive and yes you may have heard you only need a high school diploma but every single program I know of is a Masters program. I don't know a single program that does not require a previous Bachelors. And I would question a PA program that only needed a hs diploma.

Obviosly to become an RN you could to community college and then transfer for a BSN and then go on to become a Nurse Practitioner. Now the tricky part is a NP has always been a Masters degree but in 2015 it is going to be a doctorate degree. So as a doctorate then yes becoming a Physician Assistant would be quicker but when they were both Masters level programs they took the same time for the education.

The national exam. So to become an RN you have to take the NCLEX. If you go to a good school you will pass without problems. Then you study to become a Nurse Practitioner and take another exam. Both that exam and the NCLEX you take once and you NEVER have to take them again. THe NCLEX is like NREMT. It is a predictive exam with anywhere from 75 to 265 questions and you have up to 6.5 hours.

If you go the PA route you have to take the PANCE. PANCE is a 5 hour exam with 300 questions in 5 blocks of 60 questions each. Once you pass the PANCE you have to retake the PANCE every 6 years for the rest of your life. When I read that part I totally stopped looking at PA programs and went the way of RN programs. There is no way I would want to sit for that exam every 6 years and know that if a I fail I no longer have a career.

I know you are young and are just starting to figure all this out but maybe this info will help you decide. Either way you will need your science prereqs some of which you will need to be a paramedic so you may as well start taking anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, pharmacology, etc and get those classes out of the way.

I hope this helps a bit. You still have a long time to figure it out.

 

[sonic19]

I just want to you know what you are getting into as a Physician Assistant.

Thank you for the information I really appreciate it. Now the question is, for PA programs, hours worked in the health field as an EMT, RN, etc is required. I heard it isn't required to become a NP. Is that true?

 

[JPINFV]

Sorry I didn't mean to bring up an old thread but I just saw your post about taking the NREMT. I just want to you know what you are getting into as a Physician Assistant.

I looked into Physician Assistant programs and RN programs before deciding to become an RN. If you compare a Physician Assistant (PA) to Nurse Practitioner (NP) they are similar but a Nurse Practitioner has more autonomy. A Nurse Practitioner can open his or her own business and write his or her own prescriptions where a Physician Assistant is always tied to a doctor. The Physician Assistant is writing prescriptions under a doctor and the prescription has the doctor's name on it not the name of the Physician Assistant.

Actually, so is an NP in California. The California Board of Nursing has even gone so far to say that there's no scope of practice difference between NPs and RNs in California and that NPs have to follow "standardized procedures," otherwise under California law they would be practicing medicine.

"
Standardized procedures are the legal mechanism for RNs and NPs to perform functions which otherwise would be considered the practice of medicine."
http://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-b-19.pdf

Further information on Standardized Procedures in regards to NPs in California.
http://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-b-20.pdf

 

[ChanelCinq]

Thank you for the information I really appreciate it. Now the question is, for PA programs, hours worked in the health field as an EMT, RN, etc is required. I heard it isn't required to become a NP. Is that true?

There are 4 Masters level nursing programs. As far as I know they all require 2,000 hours (1 year of full time work) in the health industry. That could be anything and most definitely working as an EMT counts. You will have that year of experience probably by the time you apply to medic school. But if your goal is PA or along those routes then you may skip being a medic and go directly towards PA or in that direction.

The 4 masters level nursing programs are Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, and Clinical Nurse Specialist.

I think Clinical Nurse Specialist may not require the 2,000 hours but most school will require it in the other 3 programs. You will probably want two years experience as an RN before you apply to Masters programs. And again I am not sure if they are all sitching to doctorate programs. Many of the schools I have seen are not changing their programs much but the degree is going from a Masters to a Doctorate.

By the way if you want to make money then Nurse Anesthetist is the way to go. In CA you can make 200,000 to 300,00 a year. But most people don't go the medical direction just to make money. Nurse Anesthetist is not a direction I would go. Half the people in my BSN class said on the first day that they wanted to become a Nurse Anesthetist. I bet 1% of those people will actually follow through with it.