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CANADA NEWS ** Though they may be trained to administer IVs, basic level paramedics in Ontario are now being prohibited from doing so. That is the word from CTV Ottawa (July 29) which said the dictate from the provincial Ministry of Health went into effect Wednesday at midnight. According to the news station, only advanced care practitioners can now perform the skill. Ottawa EMS Chief Anthony Di Monte said the decision will likely mean longer treatment times for patients, as considerably fewer medics can now tackle the task. Di Monte also said his organization is lobbying to reverse the ruling, but expects nothing will change. Prior to Wednesday, basic practitioners had been trained and permitted to administer IVs for about ten years. Taken from PNN (http://www.paramedic-network-news.com/) It amazes me that a province that touts it's self as being "progressive" in EMS would pull a stunt like this. I wonder what's behind it? OM

Talk about a wide open topic. You are essentially asking about every program that exists. Interesting approach. Have you thought about where you want to work when you are done to help narrow down the field? I can only speak to Texas (which, yes, is in the south) but think that maybe what I have to say might hold true to other states. In Texas, we all have to do our final testing through National Registry. So, to help to determine the better program, I recommend you do a search online for National Registry pass rates. For Texas, 2008, the link is http://www.dshs.stat...atRegTXPass.pdf. For 2009 - http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/emstraumasystems/JF10NatRegistryNumbers.pdf. From there, you can start asking questions about specific programs. I graduated from Austin CC which has had a 100% pass rate for many, many years and, as I understand it is ranked fairly high in the top 10 list of programs. I chose it for that reason. It was a tough course that takes 4-5 semesters with a 3-part final. One of those three parts (the drug calculation part) required 100 to pass. The only downside to this particular program is that, IMHO, it focused more on city response and not quite so much on rural response. Since I am now working full time with a 911-service in a rural area, I'm having to continue my education...but I'm sure that we all have to do that as we graduate. Good luck in your fact finding and decision making...and then in the program you choose.

Why? We longtimers on the City are always telling newbies that the search function is their best friend, so that we don't end up with a gazillion strings on the same topic, aren't we? Yes, I know you've told me a million times not to exaggerate.

All new hires for Boston EMS are hired as EMT-B's, regardless of experience or certification level. The EMS academy is approximately 12 weeks of didactic/clinicals, and another 9-12 weeks of field preceptorship. After completing and passing all portions the new hire is a probationary employee for 1 year. In order to sit for a paramedic promotional exam you need a minimum of 1 year continuous employment with BEMS, so in actuality you may only work BLS for about 6 months. The promotional process consists of a written, practical and oral exam, very competitive. The usually promote in groups of 6-10, with many more applicants than available positions. If you get into the ALS internship, its another month of clinicals/classroom, and a 9-12 week field internship. At the end of that there is an "exit" interview, pass/fail, although recently they have extended field internships on a case by case basis. All new hires are required to be city residents within 6 months of hire, after 10 years you are exempt from the residency requirement. There are creative ways to live elsewere, but officially you are required to live within the city limits, and the cost of living is relatively high. The pay is good, enough to afford to live here anyway. EMT's make the same here as a medic in the "privates". There are step raises, one every year for five years. Hazard pay, longevity pay, shift differential is built into the weekly paycheck. There is also an anual uniform allotment, 15 paid holidays, and you earn 15 paid sick days a year. You start with 2 weeks of paid vacation, 3 at 5yrs, 4 at 10, 5 at 15 and 6 at 20. You are vested in the city retirement system, health insurance, dental, with weekly contributions, city pays the majority, but I'm unsure of the exact breakdown. We are represented by the Boston Police Patrolmans Association-EMS division. The negotiate contracts with the city, and represent the membership for contract/labor management issues. We have an active training department, all con-ed is either done on re-assignment from your regular shift, or on overtime. We operate under state-wide treatment protocols, and several "special project waivers" that are unique to BEMS. BEMS is a tiered-system, BLS and ALS trucks, staffed with either 2 EMT's or 2 Medics. ALS calls get an ALS, BLS, and sometimes a fire dept first response, i.e cardiac arrest, unconscious. Paramedics can refer patients to BLS units for transport after an ALS assesment, with the Medical director or one of the Associate Medical directors reviewing 100% ALS charts. We are a relatively small department, 300 EMT's and 50 medics. The medical director knows evey paramedic on a first name basis, and if your not pulling your weight everyone will know it. Your peers will expect you to continue swimming up-stream, and you should expect the same from them. The educational process never ends, and if you would like to clock in and clock out without ever having to continue learning you will not like working here. It is not all roses, there are plenty of things to gripe about as in any job, and the way we function is very different than how things are done on the left coast. I am certainly biased, so take it with a grain of salt. If there are any specifics I can help you with, feel free to ask or fire off a PM. Good luck!

I can't fathom the idea of an ambulance without an AED. But then again, NYC isn't known for being a model of EMS...more like fail central, along with Fail Jersey, Maryfailand, Failiowa (for calling NREMTP-99's "paramedics"), and who can forget Failifornia.

This resurrection of ancient threads thing has got to stop!!!

Thanks for the help D-bags. My original post should have said "luck" not "look". No wonder this forum blows. Also EMTCity fowards their posts to twitter and facebook, I didnt post this question on any of those site. And lastly it's nice to know you people have time to write BS resonses to a post. People like you are the ones that give EMS a black Eye.