WEMT Is it worth it?

[sportster65]

As posted before my plans are to start to school in May for my EMT-B, which will include thanks to some great advice here, I will also be taking several Medical Prerequisites first. My question is, there is a course available locally, or actually close by, that you can either take an entire WEMT course or an upgrade course after becoming certified as an EMT-B. Would it be better to take the EMT course seperately or take the entire course together? The reason I ask is, I would love to work for the NPS and the WEMT seems to be a way to get a foot in the door. I meet all the qualifications of becoming a Park Ranger, but I have had my time in LE and would rather not get involved with it again. MY goal is to ultimately become a paramedic, but I am thinking the WEMT would be a great learning experience.

For those of you who know, what kind of EMS is available within the NPS system? Of all the research I did, it looks as though the Park Rangers handle the EMT duties also. Is this the case, or is there a EMS service within the park system that is separate from the Park Rangers?

I know I am kinda all over the place here, but I have a lot of things racing through my head right now. What I am trying to gather is:

1. Is the WEMT course advantagous over the basic EMT offered locally?
2. Is there a job for a Paramedic in the NPS, or any Park service?
3. Is just having the extra WEMT training any way beneficial to me
Careerwise?

I can get the EMT basic training at a fraction of the cost, but do not mind paying the $$ if the additional training is worthwhile.

Thanks, I hope I did'nt thouroughly confuse everyone.

Mark

 

[Shishkabob]

Do whatever you find more interesting, or barring that, whichever is cheaper.


You're going to have people come in here that will say it will be a waste. Honestly, do what you want. If you are going to work in a primarily wilderness area, then it can have it's advantages. If you're going to work urban, then it really won't have much use.

All else fails, it doesn't hurt to have a few extra letters on your resume!

 

[8jimi8]

where do you want to work first? urban or wilderness? if the former, then come back and take the upgrade. It's probably better to upgrade after you get your NREMT-B, rather than having all of those wilderness skills floating through your head while you are trying to get your cert.

i don't know. I spend alot of time in nature and personally will take an upgrade just because I want it. I go remote for rockclimbing quite a bit and i would love to have a few improv techniques that might come in handy.

Your best place for answers on the NPS would actually probably be better answered in a phone call to the NPS although, someone here might know.

Good luck!

 

[sportster65]

I guess I'll start with the local EMT-B training, and progress from there. I spend alot of time in the outdoors and think that type of employment would be great for me. Most of it is seasonal to start with, and once you get in, you can try to move into more of a full time job. I just am always thinking that the more education you have the better it is for you. Sometimes just the fact that you have taken the time to educate yourself, even if it does not apply directly to what you are looking at, will show initiative on your part. To me that can never hurt, only help you.

Maybe I need to take a a deep breath and just take one step at a time, until I get to where I need to be. I've already got alot on my plate, I will be halfway done with my prerequisite courses when I start the EMT training. At that point I will be in school everyday taking 4 different subjects. I kow it does not sound like alot to some of you, but I finished my schooling in 1987. So I am basically starting all over again in a new career. The only difference being, last time I went to school was because I thought I had to in order to get ahead. This time I am going because I want to, school is much more attractive when you go because you want to.

My wife told me, I was too young to retire, but I did not listen. So, I am anxious to get started once again, I just hope the next 40+ years is as good as the last 40+ was.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[BossyCow]

For those of you who know, what kind of EMS is available within the NPS system? Of all the research I did, it looks as though the Park Rangers handle the EMT duties also. Is this the case, or is there a EMS service within the park system that is separate from the Park Rangers?

I know I am kinda all over the place here, but I have a lot of things racing through my head right now. What I am trying to gather is:

1. Is the WEMT course advantagous over the basic EMT offered locally?
2. Is there a job for a Paramedic in the NPS, or any Park service?
3. Is just having the extra WEMT training any way beneficial to me
Careerwise?

I can get the EMT basic training at a fraction of the cost, but do not mind paying the $$ if the additional training is worthwhile.

Thanks, I hope I did'nt thouroughly confuse everyone.

Mark

Mark, around here the drill is generally for the park to put their rangers through either regular or wilderness EMT. Most of the park EMTs are not given any form of ongoing training to keep up their skills and they do not see a lot of patients. Consequently, their patient care in the park near me pretty much sucks.

Wilderness EMT is a good cert to have if you spend a lot of time working in wilderness areas. The information is good to have. But I wouldn't expect it to lead to a job by itself.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Buddy of mine flies as a medic/officer for the National Park Police in the DC area. His background was EMS, not LE. I think they have a helicopter in at least one other area, but I'm not sure. Nor am I sure how much competition there is for the job. Most National Parks are covered by local EMS, however more remote parks and busier parks provide their own in-house EMS. I'm not sure if it is always in conjunction with the Park Police, or if it is sometimes independent, but both are authorized. I would think that being a medic would be a plus when it comes down to the final hiring process for a ranger, but whether you are an EMT or a WEMT I doubt would make a difference. A lot of the training in WEMT (depending upon the school) is very specialized, so it is not a good idea to take it just for the certificate. If you go a couple of years without using or refreshing that stuff, it'll be useless. Very little of it is medical knowledge that you will get to use and keep fresh as an EMT and medic student.

If you want me to get with my buddy, let me know, and I'll try to get more info from him.

 

[BossyCow]

Buddy of mine flies as a medic/officer for the National Park Police in the DC area. His background was EMS, not LE. I think they have a helicopter in at least one other area, but I'm not sure. Nor am I sure how much competition there is for the job. Most National Parks are covered by local EMS, however more remote parks and busier parks provide their own in-house EMS.

Not around here. National Park takes care of its own EMS within the park boundaries. If the pt requires transport, the park personnel will transport to the boundary of the park where they rendezvous with a private ambulance service for transport to the hospital.

They also do their own SAR. We work with them when the search area for a lost subject is near a park boundary but they are pretty self sufficient. I don't know if its a liability thing or just federal rules.

 

[sportster65]

Mark, around here the drill is generally for the park to put their rangers through either regular or wilderness EMT. Most of the park EMTs are not given any form of ongoing training to keep up their skills and they do not see a lot of patients. Consequently, their patient care in the park near me pretty much sucks.

Wilderness EMT is a good cert to have if you spend a lot of time working in wilderness areas. The information is good to have. But I wouldn't expect it to lead to a job by itself.

Thanks, that's what I was wondering about. I'm speaking about Yosemite Nat'l Park, and I know they have a volunteer group that assist with SAR, they are all EMT's and I believe at least one Paramedic. They also assist with any EMS needs that are asked of them, which is why I was wondering about EMS in the Park. The closest Ambulance service to Yosemite is Sierra Ambulance, and they are at least 1 hr from Yosemite Valley, which is where most of the traffic is. It really sounds like it depends alot on the location of the park as to how they handle EMS.

I would like to start as an EMT in an urban setting an then transition to a more rural setting later. I started my LE position in a rural setting and was not prepared well in that field when I did transfer to a larger area. So I personally think it is best to start in a busier setting and transition down.

Thanks again,

Mark

 

[sportster65]

If you want me to get with my buddy, let me know, and I'll try to get more info from him.

That would be great, I am especially interested in the NPS, as I stated in a later post, I live near Yosemite. That would be my dream job, working in the park, I already spend a lot of time there and am looking into buying a second home closer to the park, just so I can spend even more time there.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[BossyCow]

I would like to start as an EMT in an urban setting an then transition to a more rural setting later. I started my LE position in a rural setting and was not prepared well in that field when I did transfer to a larger area. So I personally think it is best to start in a busier setting and transition down.

Thanks again,

Mark

It's not a matter of transitioning. If you are going to eventually work in a wilderness setting you will need wilderness training. They are very different. In an urban setting, you won't have to watch for the signs of a developing infection that you may see in a 3 day pack out from a wilderness area. The bandaging and wound care is very different with a patient that you are going to see for 15 - 20 minutes vs the one you are going to spend several days with.

Generally speaking, wilderness EMT training is expensive. At least for quality instruction. The wilderness upgrade is less so. If you are not sure if you are going to be working in a wilderness environment, I would just take the regular EMT and a wilderness first aid course. You can add the WEMT later if you need it.

 

[sportster65]

It's not a matter of transitioning. If you are going to eventually work in a wilderness setting you will need wilderness training. They are very different. In an urban setting, you won't have to watch for the signs of a developing infection that you may see in a 3 day pack out from a wilderness area. The bandaging and wound care is very different with a patient that you are going to see for 15 - 20 minutes vs the one you are going to spend several days with.

Generally speaking, wilderness EMT training is expensive. At least for quality instruction. The wilderness upgrade is less so. If you are not sure if you are going to be working in a wilderness environment, I would just take the regular EMT and a wilderness first aid course. You can add the WEMT later if you need it.

Yeah I saw the full WEMT course was around $3100, and to upgrade to WEMT is about $650. The school is WMI and it is just about an hour from my house, so if I did decide to go that route it's not too far away. I saw they offer a Wilderness First-Aid course, which is $185, along with a wilderness first responder course, not sure what the difference is though.

I just checked and the group that helps out at Yosemite takes applications up until March 31st and requires that you commit to 32 hours per week, but it does not say that WEMT is a requirement, EMT-B is though.

Anyway, thanks, that was a lot of great information!

Mark