CAPMEDIC-EMWFR Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 I just have a question that I am hoping won't get me laughed off the site....I am currently enrolled in an online EMT-B program, but due to a few pretty major life events I was unable to make the cutoff dates for their prereqs, and I am now facing a $150 rescheduling fee as well as new plane tickets to reschedule a practical seminar that is out of state. I currently reside in Colorado, and was wondering if anyone knows of a private company that offers an accelerated basic program, I have been involved in ems as in depth as I can be since I was 12 (just turned 18 and DYING to get my cert), member of the forum here since i think 05, so I am just pretty much looking for a practical and the "certification to test" for NREMT, anybody know of anything that would be decently cheap and fast as far as getting the basic cert? If nothing else I will end up staying with that program I was originally enrolled in, but there are quite a few things I don't like about that program, yet another reason I am looking for something different. If anybody knows of anything that could help me, it would be very, very appreciated! Thank you guys in advance, and I hope this isn't as stupid a question as the back of my mind thinks it is, if it is, let me know and I will just go with what I originally started.
Timmy Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 You’re the same age as me and seem really enthusiastic. I can’t offer any advice because I don’t live in America but can offer this, get ride of this cheap and fast attitude and get your self into medic school
CAPMEDIC-EMWFR Posted June 15, 2008 Author Posted June 15, 2008 Enthusiasm is one word, I have just been in it for a number of years and spend a lot of my "free" time studying ALS techniques and practices, and EMT-B is a stepping stone to that cert, so thats why I am a wee bit impatient.
BEorP Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 I just have a question that I am hoping won't get me laughed off the site....I am currently enrolled in an online EMT-B program, but due to a few pretty major life events I was unable to make the cutoff dates for their prereqs, and I am now facing a $150 rescheduling fee as well as new plane tickets to reschedule a practical seminar that is out of state. I currently reside in Colorado, and was wondering if anyone knows of a private company that offers an accelerated basic program, I have been involved in ems as in depth as I can be since I was 12 (just turned 18 and DYING to get my cert), member of the forum here since i think 05, so I am just pretty much looking for a practical and the "certification to test" for NREMT, anybody know of anything that would be decently cheap and fast as far as getting the basic cert? If nothing else I will end up staying with that program I was originally enrolled in, but there are quite a few things I don't like about that program, yet another reason I am looking for something different. If anybody knows of anything that could help me, it would be very, very appreciated! Thank you guys in advance, and I hope this isn't as stupid a question as the back of my mind thinks it is, if it is, let me know and I will just go with what I originally started. From what I have seen in terms of the accelerated EMT-B programs, you pay for the speed. It will be difficult to find something that is fast but also cheap. Quality is a whole other discussion. You're 18, what is the rush?
Timmy Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 If you already portray the knowledge of BLS and take interest in ALS then why do the basic program?
CAPMEDIC-EMWFR Posted June 15, 2008 Author Posted June 15, 2008 I suppose that your right, quality does factor into it, and that is another reason I don't really want to go with the people that I am with. On their online tests, there were a number of typos and answers that don't really have all that much of a basis in ethical decisions, for example the correct answer, in their eyes, to the question of "You respond to a 71 year old female who was the victim of a fall, she is conscious and breathing, complaining of pelvic pain, during your assessment what should not be preformed?" was "palpation of the patient's pelvis", even though, and correct me if I am wrong, is palpation of the pelvis not essential to detect crepitus, distention or instability, admittedly you would need to exercise extreme caution when doing so, but isn't a complete and thorough patient examination necessary? And as far as the rush, you would have to have known me for a while, I have been doing everything I can to get experience in EMS since I was 12, and now that I am finally 18 and can get the certification, there have been a number of roadblocks, I was enrolled in a program at a local community college, but due to parental conflicts I was forced to move out, and had to choose to go with a higher paying job and an online education, things came up at work, and blame it on my age, I didn't get my homework done in time for the cutoff for the practical class I was supposed to be in, I decided on a career in emergency medicine a long time ago, and I am just impatient, as I have always been, to actually get into it, I suppose thats what the rush is, my impatience, but I am currently in a job I don't want to keep for much longer, it pays great but a call center just is not my cup of tea.
CAPMEDIC-EMWFR Posted June 15, 2008 Author Posted June 15, 2008 If you already portray the knowledge of BLS and take interest in ALS then why do the basic program? Colorado requires that you have a current EMT-B certificate to enter a paramedic program, at least with everywhere I have checked with, it would be absolutely phenomenal if somebody could prove me wrong, though :wink:
Timmy Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 I see your dilemma, quiet a few students who are completing the paramedic degree at my university have the same predicament. It costs roughly $46,000 AU to do the 3 year paramedic degree, fortunately we have a system here in Australia called HECS and HELP which is a government initiative that allows students to borrow the minimum required sum of money to complete the course, this interim needs to be paid back but you have many years after you graduate to do this. It’s like taking a loan from the bank, just a little different. I haven’t heard of anything in America like this but have you looked into a student funding program or something similar? You seem pretty bright, what about a scholarship?
BEorP Posted June 15, 2008 Posted June 15, 2008 It is great that you're enthusiastic but I am always concerned when I see young people (BTW I do not mean to talk down to you as I am by no means old) who are so keen about the profession because eventually they learn that really it is a job like any other job. For sure it is a good job, but it is a job. It is not a calling, not a way of life, and should not be how you define yourself. It is great that you're excited about the career you have ahead of you, but please do not rush into it and spend your time outside of EMS doing non-EMS things that you enjoy.
CAPMEDIC-EMWFR Posted June 15, 2008 Author Posted June 15, 2008 Haha, a scholarship is a bit out of the question, the only textbooks I read in high school were published by Mosby, but we do have a Colorado stipend that I can tap into, and fully plan on doing for my paramedic education, right now its the basic that I am trying to get out of the way, since in order to advance to anything besides medical school, where I firmly plan on going, albeit financed from a paramedic job, or nursing school, where I don't want to go, I feel a very strong calling to the prehospital side of things, requires at least the EMT-B cert, which I should have made my main priority over getting a higher-paying job, as soon as I get the B cert, I will be moving on, hopefully.
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