MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Kind of like some hospitals requiring RNs to get their BSN in X years, and others not. Makes for an interesting debate.
Staying at emt level
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gotbeerz001
Forum Deputy Chief
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As a fire engineer, I agree that it is a bad idea. Forcing people to get a medic license never really benefits anyone.
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gotbeerz001
Forum Deputy Chief
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Nope. Not at all, really. The requirement you describe at least falls inline with the chosen profession and will benefit the employee in the long run.
Last I checked, starting IVs was not in the curriculum for a Commercial Driver License.
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NomadicMedic
I know a guy who knows a guy.
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Like telling an airline pilot they have to learn commercial carpentry if they want to keep flying, even though they will probably never build a house, except in class.
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Fail to see the correlation. FFs respond to medical emergencies. Perhaps being trained would help. Airline pilots and carpentry? Not a good analogy.
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MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Martyn
Forum Asst. Chief
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I have been an EMT for 6 years, now with my third company and just been promoted to county BLS supervisor so I am happy to stay as I am. I have all the responsibility I need lol.
Medic27
Forum Lieutenant
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I don't have the desire to become a paramedic yet even if the course was offered, I want to take the EMT-A class as well. I feel the need to get 3-4 years of experience and gain some invaluable field knowledge before doing that.
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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No desire? Yet you say your want to get experience before doing it. What's the ground truth? Remember, you don't have to be a nurse before you become a doctor.
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Old Tracker
Forum Asst. Chief
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I've been a Basic for about a year and a half, going through paid for AEMT class now. That is as far as I have any desire to go. I'm fixin' to be 68 years old in a couple of months and don't see the point in paying tons of money getting some sort of a degree to be a P without too much chance to recover the investment before I get to decrepit to work. Your mileage may vary.
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This is not particularly needed. A decent paramedic program and a little bit of time getting used to the operations side of the job are what you need.
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Forcing people to go through a program that is not related to their promotion makes zero sense. Did you see the part about promoting to "driver," as in the person that operates the fire apparatus? How is that education remotely in line?
hometownmedic5
Forum Asst. Chief
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If you work in a place where you have career potential as a basic, and you are accepting of the fact that you'll always be medically subservient to even the newest medic(or A for that matter), then fine. Staying a basic makes sense.
I don't think that is representative of the industry. I think a much more accurate representation of this concept is the people who simply get trapped. They get their basic, work a few years(always thinking about medic, but always ready with an excuse) and then BAM! They wake up one day with a spouse, kid(s), schnauzer, mortgage and no time or money to go to school. By the time it's a real possibility, they have been so far removed from the classroom they can't get back into it. They're "too old", "too tired", and whatever other excuse they can come up with.
I went to medic school(round one) at 22 with four years on the job(and none of the maturity needed to make it work. Round two was at 28 with a firm commitment to make it work and I did. In between was a motorcycle accident with a protracted recovery, a few years in the merchant marine and so on.
I tell the new kids coming up to decide whether or not EMS is a long term idea or a stepping stone to something else. If it's a long term thing, don't wait. Get some time behind you, figure out if you can do the job, and then get into a medic program without delay.
I don't think that is representative of the industry. I think a much more accurate representation of this concept is the people who simply get trapped. They get their basic, work a few years(always thinking about medic, but always ready with an excuse) and then BAM! They wake up one day with a spouse, kid(s), schnauzer, mortgage and no time or money to go to school. By the time it's a real possibility, they have been so far removed from the classroom they can't get back into it. They're "too old", "too tired", and whatever other excuse they can come up with.
I went to medic school(round one) at 22 with four years on the job(and none of the maturity needed to make it work. Round two was at 28 with a firm commitment to make it work and I did. In between was a motorcycle accident with a protracted recovery, a few years in the merchant marine and so on.
I tell the new kids coming up to decide whether or not EMS is a long term idea or a stepping stone to something else. If it's a long term thing, don't wait. Get some time behind you, figure out if you can do the job, and then get into a medic program without delay.
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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Tigger,
If we look at this with the narrow focus of promotion, I see your point and agree. Looking at the big picture (in a very broad view), having all people trained on a truck that are not just FF, but EMS responders as well is a force multiplier. Of course my thinking is affected by my military experience where everyone has a specialty but "every Marine a rifleman, every soldier a trigger-puller, etc."
For what it's worth, I enjoyed being solely EMS when I was running as a medic. We were separate from the FFs. After I left, they merged. I don't know if they make FF get medic-qualified or not (Norfolk, VA).
Enjoy our conversations!
Al
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As in EMTs? There is no good reason (and plenty of bad) to have more than one (if that) paramedic on non-transporting apparatus.
MackTheKnife
BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
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I see your point if the truck is non-transporting. And playing devil's advocate on myself, too many medics on a truck would lead to dilution of skill sets. You know, the monkey skills! LOL.
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VentMonkey
Family Guy
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Excellent decision on how, and why to become a paramedic. I am sure you will be an awesome fire (*insert merit badge here*) medic.
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Why do some people stay at the EMT level? Sometimes it boils down to simple economics. If you stay an EMT long enough, you might find yourself making more money as an EMT than you would if you became a Paramedic. I once worked with a guy who was an EMT for around 20 years and he was making a LOT more money than I was. Great. Good for him. I asked him why he didn't go for Paramedic and his simple answer was that when he was younger, he couldn't afford it, and when he could afford it, when he was done with school and started working as a Paramedic, he would be making less because he'd be a 1st year Paramedic and it take him around 6-7 YEARS before he would match his current income.
So what this should tell you is that if you want to stick with EMS, and advance within the profession, you should start your advance early before you get to the point where it becomes economically non-viable to advance.
So what this should tell you is that if you want to stick with EMS, and advance within the profession, you should start your advance early before you get to the point where it becomes economically non-viable to advance.