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Well, sometimes one can only speak from experience and I will try to help you out as much as possible. Right now you need to focus on schooling. Find a community college with an aggressive program. Sometimes it might be looking at their pass/fail rate. If you've got a 97% pass rate its more then likely a medic mill. In all honesty it might be a lil easier for you if you go through the EMT/RN/Paramedic route. They incorporate all the fields of practice and study you will need for EMT/Paramedic field work, but it will also incorporate a higher education that most college EMS programs cannot offer. You'll learn better patient care tactics, a much more in depth pathopysiology study with diseases, medications, interactions, and medical/legal. Most standard EMS programs offer the basics, touch on the most important things you'll need to know and then move on. Something that almost everyone in EMS currently wishes would stop. You'll find the general consensus around here is to try and get higher educational levels for Paramedic/EMT certs. Some people I've also been told find it a little harder for paramedics going through RN school. They develop habits, tactics, and the like while in the field, and when its time to convert that into an RN lifestyle its completely different. Most RN's cannot act on their own authority, they have to follow doctor's orders. Paramedics also do have to follow protocols, but can operate within those established protocols without the doctor standing directly over them. Some find it hard, that once they've been given that freedom that paramedics have over RN's, to go back to being, "mother may I?" After obtaining your EMT/RN you can then challenge the Paramedic boards for FL. If you pass, now you will have the street knowledge to work in the field and rely on yor basics, the higher knowledge to understand the different situations to encouter, and now the freedom to practice those knowledges. Not to mention that fact that you will have an RN license on a resume or job application will make you stand out above the rest. Something that this day in age you will desperately need. The job opportunities will aslo allow to you to cover almost every aspect of EMS. HEMS, Special Events, Special Appointments (Oil rig, Factory etc), GEMS (Ground), or the potential to work for Homeland Security. After you complete EMT school, you'll need to find a good RN school.... Edison State College down here has one of the best RN programs in the nation. Here are some services in FL that do not require fire certs that do hire EMT's AMR (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe) Sunstar (St. Petersburg/Clearwater) Lake-Sumter EMS Polk County EMS Lee County EMS Collier County EMS Hendry County EMS Medics Ambulance Service (Palm Beach / Broward) Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!

You should realise that (and I know its a bit rich coming from somebody down here) but whodathunkit the IAFF and Fire Departments in places like FL/CA/TX/DC are not known for thier stellar standard of Paramedics (ALS) and I would bet dollars to defibrillators many of them are terrible patch factory graduates. That said be careful where you choose to go to school; many on here like AK and Vent can offer you advice on where to avoid. As far as nursing I'd recommend you get your RN and eventually your BSN; Vent should be able to give you more detail about how that works in Florida but I think she runs a decent bunch of NICU/ICU/CC IFTs which will get you out of the hospital anyway; not sure about HEMS but may be an option. Nursing offers far-in-advance the opportunities of Paramedicine, not just in the US but most places in the world. Now this is more true in the US from what I have seen than say here or in Canada, but EMS is the bastard child of medicine that has for the last four decades managed to be a profession built upon skill without a decent foundation of medical knowledge and research. While you are waiting for your EMT class to start see if you can take college A&P, patho and pharm (might have to seek out somewhere specifically with a nursing or allied health faculty). It will give you a good foundation of knowledge far beyond the ten pages of A&P in your EMT textbook. Personally if it were you (and I've kinda found out the hard way) that it's easier to get your nursing qual's FIRST then if you want to work in the street for a bit maybe see if you can challenge your Paramedic test; Florida lets you challenge as an RN or BSN and I am sure a bunch of other states have a bridge program. As for the job market I can't specifically say in the US what its like but I know a few people who have graduated here (we only have a BN (BSN) program per the nursing council) and have found work in Canada, the US and Australia. I know some places in the US have a severe skill shortage while others generally only hire Bachelors Degree qualified nurses ... might have to go work out in Tumbleweed, Arizona but heck a jos's a job right?

You mean you don't exit the station with your eyes closed?

Guess EMS standards are higher than fire. Seems like he got the best of everything. Got to play with breasts, got to get off the ambulance, and got to remain fire chief. What more could a fire fighter want out of life? http://www.kwes.com/global/story.asp?s=11130728 Eunice Fire Chief Accused of Sexual Misconduct (9-14-09) 2:34 By: Sarah Snyder NewsWest 9 EUNICE, NEW MEXICO - Eunice city leaders are putting out a fire of a different kind. There's strong allegations of sexual misconduct by the City Fire Chief with a patient en route to the hospital on board a city ambulance. To understand where it all started, you have to go back to May. The Eunice Fire Chief and several EMT's were on a medical run and on the way to the hospital. Those witnesses accuse Chief Grogan of heavily medicating a female patient then inappropriately touching her chest. "Ron basically medicated her, with in my opinion, a lot of pain medication," Tony Fuller, Eyewitness and former Eunice EMT, said. "She asked him to feel her breast implants and he did. [i was] uncomfortable with that. I went to my supervisor." Mayor White tells NewsWest 9, after receiving the complaint from the EMT, the City began an investigation then put the case in the hands of the New Mexico Department of Health. "It really hurts the City for it to be for a full year, so basically I would like to see it reduced," Eunice Mayor Matt White said. NewsWest 9 obtained a copy of the letter sent to the New Mexico Department of Health. They suspended the Fire Chief's paramedic license on the grounds of sexual misconduct and unprofessional behavior. "I felt like the City Manager and the Mayor just swept it under the rug and blew me off and didn't take this issue seriously," Fuller said. "He made a mistake," Mayor White said. "He did something he wasn't supposed to do. Unfortunately, there are some other facts to it, at this point I'm not going to say what they are, ecause I don't believe I should." Mayor White says they have hired a new EMT and the city emergency response won't be affected. They plan to keep Grogan on as the fire chief and appeal the allegations. "Ron Grogan has been a great fire chief," Mayor White said. "This is a great disappointment. I disagree with the penalty they assessed him. I do believe he needed to be punished. He did something he shouldn't have done. That's why we're going to appeal it. We feel like it was a little bit harsh for the circumstances." But Fuller says this jeopardizes the relationship with the community. "He's what the public sees whenever they think about our department," Fuller said. "I don't think he's representing the department well. I think it's kind of embarrasing actually." NewsWest 9 spoke with Chief Grogan, but he refused to comment on camera until everything is ironed out in the courtroom. "I guess the big thing is we lost a little trust in him because of this issue," Mayor White said. "Is this going to affect his job as the fire chief?" NewsWest 9 asked. "No. It will not," White said.