Quick Jobs | Train to be an EMT in four months

[Dustdevil]

Thoughts? Comments?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29642755/

Quick Jobs | Train to be an EMT in four months

By MARIA KOTULA / NewsChannel 36

E-mail Maria: MKotula@WCNC.com

updated 7:20 a.m. CT, Thurs., March. 12, 2009

FORT MILL, S.C. -- With so many people looking for jobs right now, NewsChannel 36 has been working on our continuing series called "Quick Jobs." It focuses on training programs that can put you back to work in weeks.

This week, we see what it takes to become an emergency medical technician.

Twelve students crammed into an ambulance -- not for treatment, but training.

"I was a stay-at-home mom," said student Tara Levesque.

Levesque decided to become an emergency medical technician after her daughter stepped on an ant nest.

"We had to call 911," she said.

Those emergency responders inspired Levesque to volunteer with an EMS squad, and now she's taking the basic EMT certification course at York Technical College.

"A basic EMT is trained to take care of basic functions within the human body," said instructor Richard Mann. "If someone has a problem breathing, they can help them with oxygen."

He also says CPR is part of the class as well as training on the automatic external defibrillator.

The EMT training takes about four months, but students can keep adding on courses and eventually become a trained paramedic.

The EMT course costs about $700.

"My squad we volunteer with will reimburse me for school," said Levesque.

The pay ranges from $24,000 to $36,000 a year, depending on training and experience. Mann says the hours are not for everyone.

"Most of our services are set up on a 24/48 schedule, which means that you're going to be working for 24 hours," he said.

Workers then get 48 hours off.

"You may have time to eat, you may not," Mann said of a typical shift.

And for all the displaced workers now taking his class, Mann has some comforting words.

"This is an ideal way for them to find an industry, if you will, that's recession proof," said Mann. "Anyone who is willing to pursue it, there is an opening out there for them."

For more information on the EMT training program, call York Tech's admissions office at 803-327-8008.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Dustdevil

[rock_shoes]

EMS will never be viewed as a profession until this kind of garbage can be squashed. My chosen career is not a stepping stone, nor is it a "quick fix" for people who have lost there job at Starbucks. It isn't "a fun thing to do for a couple years", nor is it acceptable to give it away for free. Every time I see something like this I gain a little more resolve in seeking higher education pertinent to my chosen career. It really pisses me off that so many others treat it with so little respect.

[FireMedic65]

Did I miss where it said how long the classes were and how often? Back when I went to basic school, it was 2 nights a week, for 3 hours. The lectures were very dry and boring. So most of class would read the chapters during class and not pay much attention to the instructors since they were mostly idiots. For example, saying thins like "we came to a car crash, the car was on it's roof, possible rollover".

Given there is not much to be taught at the basic level, but these are the basic skills and knowledge to build on. The kind of medics you see who are very proficient at their jobs, probably weren't crappy EMT's. This is why I feel you shouldn't run an EMT course like it is an assembly line or showing them how to build a house. This is important stuff and should be taken very seriously. Running people through a course just to get them through and out on the street is a very bad idea.

"Twelve students crammed into an ambulance -- not for treatment, but training."

Yea, bad idea. How much can one person learn an environment like that. When you have a ratio of many students to few instructors, the system fails. You are left to learn many things on your own. Education in EMS should NOT be taught in lecture format in my honest opinion. We can all read. We don't need you to read to us what is in the book.

There is a course run near me, that is one month. It is every day, for 8 hours a day. I have worked around some of the people that took this course, and for the most part, they are morons. Couldn't take blood pressures properly, not knowing how to put on splits, failing at the most basic things and, just plain out not knowing what to do.

That being said, some of the people from these same classes do very well out in the field. Mostly because they put in the extra effort beyond the classroom and took things seriously. Not just went through the steps of the class.

The cost of the program also seems kind of crazy to me. I am not sure of the going rate on school these days for EMT, but when I took the class, it was $50.

[VentMedic]

At least the article didn't mention a person could get the same training in less than 3 weeks instead of 4 months.

[spenac]

4 months thats 3 and a half months to long. There are several 2 week basic courses. Heck in 4 months they would be a Paramedic from some diploma mills.

[FireMedic65]

4 months thats 3 and a half months to long. There are several 2 week basic courses. Heck in 4 months they would be a Paramedic from some diploma mills.

Sadly, not enough people see a problem with this.

[Diazepam618]

This is one of the reasons that EMS is a stepping stone job, and not a career. The public has no idea what goes on in the EMS community, and just want public saftey in general, and yes we are public saftey in the minds of the average citizen. Until there is a change in the trend of how the average citizen sees EMS there will be no change. Even with two year degree Paramedics private companies will pay for the cheapest labor they can get away with. Also fast programs like this + Volunteers = stepping stone JOB. I personaly don't think this trend will end anytime soon in my working years.

[Dustdevil]

...and yes we are public saftey in the minds of the average citizen.

Actually, that is highly variable with location. And you have to spend some time outside of your little local cocoon to see it. Many think of us as public safety. Many think of us as medical, and may even believe we are part of the hospital. But the vast majority of the average citizens view us as neither medical nor public safety. To them we're just ambulance drivers.

What bothers me particularly about this article is that it does the same thing that so many EMT schools do, which is to mislead prospective students into believing that, with this simple four week course, they are going to be a 911 hero, which of course is total bullshyte. The majority of them will never spend a single day on a real, 911 EMS ambulance after graduation. If they get a job at all, it's most likely going to be as an IFT ambulance driver, and nothing more. Yes, it's a job. And a job is what the focus of the series is. But it is going to be a much different job than this article or this school is building them up for. The result is a further bloated pool of disgruntled EMTs running around, which contributes to continued low wages and high turnover.