Leaderboard

This young person asked for advice for studying for the EMT exam. Why not clarify a few things first about his certifications before cussing at a kid out on a public forum? To the OP: Are you part of a junior volunteer program which is part of the National Volunteer Fire Council - NVFC? The word National can be misleading as Federal but this is a National program available to all states with similar recognized standards. This is a program which is available to communities/departments for ages 14 - 17. Each state has a part in regulating what participants can do per labor and child safety laws. The participants are "nationally registered" meaning they are listed as junior FFs and junior EMTs. The card they carry will use that terminology also. There are also explorer programs by departments which may fall under a different category and standards outside of the NVFC. Their training is similar to the regular EMT program just like the Boy Scouts' program although the Boy Scouts' program usually exceeds EMT training by including wilderness first aid as an option among other survival skills. The uniforms are often the same as the regular FFs and EMTs which means you have to look close to see "junior volunteer". They are allowed to participate in public events, at first aid stands and to ride in the ambulances. Some of the things the junior members are allowed to do can be a little disturbing to have a young teenager doing but are often defended by the Medical Director, the Doctor. An example would be a 15 y/o junior EMT removing the bra from a woman or young girl and placing the ECGs electrodes. When the ED staff questioned this the Medical Director told us the juniors had to get used to nudity if they wanted to be an EMT. The US Department of Labor and each state have child labor laws. The OP did state he worked with a mechanic and not as the chief mechanic. A lot of kids get jobs at 14 or 15 especially in rural areas. As long as no child labor laws are violated, I say good for them.