Your thoughts on Fast Track Paramedic Specialist Program

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Hey all

Whats your thoughts on the Fast Track Paramedic (98) programs out there?

Starting as Emt-Basic I believe the one I looked into was something like 8-5 Monday-Friday for 5 months on top of that fit in your 500 hours of clinical. Anyone working a somewhat normal job could not do this I would think or how many actually do it either by quitting there jobs or just out of high school college /campus kids? Any insight on the success rate by chance?

Thanks
 
5 months to be a paramedic?! That's a joke.
 
Oh boy, you've really done it now. The education Nazis are going to light you up. Try to sift through (ignore) the angry rants that will undoubtedly ensue, and listen to those who offer sound advice and constructive criticism.

Having said that, I believe that these fast track programs are way too brief/condensed and ill prepare one to be a competent medic out of the gate. Just my opinion.

Do these programs require at least A&P and pharmacology as pre-requisites (good, very good), or do they give you the cliffs notes version early on in class (bad, very bad)?
 
I agree it seems to be awful fast how could you soak in anything in that time frame from the normal 5 semester programs. One of the 2 area college programs I was looking into mentioned this and I gulped. For one I feel I'd have to quit my job and solo study paramedicine which is not possible for me. Just figured I'd toss it out there and see what the overall opinion is. I believe only Med term and AP 1 is required to start.
 
First things first, I do not claim to be a know-it-all about emergency care. But, I do know that I once looked at those programs and thought they were great. But there are operative words there- "once looked" and "thought". I was, at one time, amazed at these "Zero to Hero" programs, but then I got smart. Simply put: you cannot go from nothing to Medic in 5 months. You have to work your way up, gaining insight and experience at each level. Trust me, nobody's gonna hire somebody that got their Medic license as a flash-in the pan deal. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.
 
Acc. Medic

I'm the product of a six month medic course. It was a special class done through my service and we were taken off the truck and paid to go to class for its duration. It was a nice deal but a lot of work. The material isn't all that difficult, it's the time you have to make for clinical hours. We also had a great instructor which makes the difference. You can kiss your life goodbye for a while. With all of this being said, I think it really helped all of us that we were EMTs for at least two years. The only EMT that was straight out didn't make it through. This isn't saying an EMT couldn't go straight through but I think it's important to get some experience first. You would hate to go all the way through paramedic school without ever being in the field and wind up hating it when you get out! I can say that I was just a prepared as any of the other traditional EMTP students. Paramedic school will give you the basics. The bulk of the learning comes with experience and how well you stay abreast with the most recent information. Good luck with whatever you may decide.
 
Any state that calls an EMT-I/99 an "EMT-Paramedic" is a lost cause anyways.
 
EMTP2DOC said:
I'm the product of a six month medic course. It was a special class done through my service and we were taken off the truck and paid to go to class for its duration. It was a nice deal but a lot of work. The material isn't all that difficult, it's the time you have to make for clinical hours. We also had a great instructor which makes the difference. You can kiss your life goodbye for a while. With all of this being said, I think it really helped all of us that we were EMTs for at least two years. The only EMT that was straight out didn't make it through. This isn't saying an EMT couldn't go straight through but I think it's important to get some experience first. You would hate to go all the way through paramedic school without ever being in the field and wind up hating it when you get out! I can say that I was just a prepared as any of the other traditional EMTP students. Paramedic school will give you the basics. The bulk of the learning comes with experience and how well you stay abreast with the most recent information. Good luck with whatever you may decide.
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We have a saying in NY - getting your medic card is a "license" to learn to become a medic.

My opinion is that you don't truly become proficient until you get out on the street, get pt contacts, and draw your own conclusions for a treatment strategy. You can only progress but so far while under the safety net of a preceptor to fall back on. It's a whole different beast when pts can really live or die by way of your decisions alone. it's a whole new learning experience when you're now controlling the scene as the highest medical authority and making sound decisions while under that sometimes tremendous amount of stress.
 
JPINFV said:
Any state that calls an EMT-I/99 an "EMT-Paramedic" is a lost cause anyways.
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Ouch...... At least VA isn't where I got my start (NYC).
 
5 Months for paramedic sounds way to short to produce good medics. Then again I'm in Canada where our paramedics have to have 2 to 4 yrs education before they are allowed to practice as paramedics.
 
paramedichopeful said:
First things first, I do not claim to be a know-it-all about emergency care. But, I do know that I once looked at those programs and thought they were great. But there are operative words there- "once looked" and "thought". I was, at one time, amazed at these "Zero to Hero" programs, but then I got smart. Simply put: you cannot go from nothing to Medic in 5 months. You have to work your way up, gaining insight and experience at each level. Trust me, nobody's gonna hire somebody that got their Medic license as a flash-in the pan deal. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.
Click to expand...

The prevailing problem nowadays is that many places will actually hire a "flash in the pan deal". Hopefully the increased supply will allow employers to be more selective. With the absurdly high turnover that is typical of this profession, it's not likely anytime soon.

Any fast track medic graduate can get hired pretty quickly at a private agency, keep their nose clean, maintain a good work record, and get into a higher caliber agency in due time.
 
I just want to say that I'm proud of all of you for keeping this civil so far.
 
5 months is pretty fast man. I did an 8 month program and I thought it was pretty fast but a solid program if you put in the required effort. I would have done a normal length program but I already spent 5 years in college and know what it takes to be a good student(even though I didnt use that knowledge in college lol). If you are fresh out of high school go with a normal length program, like 18 months or so but if you have already done some higher education and have ability and determination to do alot of learning on your own then go ahead and do an accelerated program, not 5 months though thats too short IMO.
 
fortsmithman said:
5 Months for paramedic sounds way to short to produce good medics. Then again I'm in Canada where our paramedics have to have 2 to 4 yrs education before they are allowed to practice as paramedics.
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Amen to the CMA standards.
 
MrBrown said:
We call our intermediates "Paramedic" and our ALS "Intensive Care Paramedic"
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...but for this to be similar, it would be like having a province (or what ever your political subdivisions are I'm pretty ignorant on the political organization of New Zealand) in New Zealand call their paramedics intensive care paramedic. Iowa essentially took one national scope of practice level and elevated them up to the next higher name.
 
JPINFV said:
...but for this to be similar, it would be like having a province (or what ever your political subdivisions are I'm pretty ignorant on the political organization of New Zealand) in New Zealand call their paramedics intensive care paramedic. Iowa essentially took one national scope of practice level and elevated them up to the next higher name.
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That's pretty much how it is

Basic level can be either "Paramedic", "Ambulance Technician" or "BLS Paramedic" or "Ambulance Officer"
Intermediary level can be either "ALS Paramedic", "Paramedic" or "ILS Paramedic" or "Intermediate Care"
ALS can be either "IC Paramedic", "Paramedic""

It's getting a bit more standard but still!

Anyway, apologies for the total off-topic'ing

Brown away! :ph34r:
 
That is like a State deciding to go ahead and call PAs with a masters degree "physicians" because they possess a lot of the same skills and education as a physician.

Why not call it like it is? An EMT-I is an EMT-I....... A paramedic has gone to paramedic school and passed the state/national test.
 
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Daedalus, you apparently haven't been following the debate surrounding Doctors of Nursing Practice NPs, have you?
 
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