dduvall Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) Hello, This is my first posting. I'm 49 years old and changing careers to EMT. I'm considering taking EMT-Basic through Baker college. Can you tell me what you think of this course? Program: EMT-Basic: EMT1- 12 credits EMT2-12 credits Total of 20 weeks long. All classes must pass with no lower than a 2.0 GPA. Hands on work with 80 hours of actual clinical work. After I graduate I can apply for the National Registry of EMT. After graduating, I would then work and go back to school for the Paramedic program which is another 60 credits 50 week total of classes. With clinical work in each class (5 @10 weeks each) and 250 hours of field internship. Can anyone give me any advice? Thank you Donovan Edited March 27, 2009 by dduvall
Dustdevil Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) There really isn't a significant difference between most EMT-B courses in the U.S. The ones that cram it into three weeks tend to last just as many total hours as the ones that drag it out for six months. Only the pace is changed. However, it is my understanding that the minimum hour requirement in Michigan is twice what it is in the rest of the country (I could be mistaken). If so, that is a positive thing. The limited information you give us doesn't really tell us anything from which we can make any judgement of that programme. But I certainly don't find anything wrong with the information you quoted. Again, at the EMT-B level, a school is a school. If you have several choices, then compare the total hours of each school. More is always better. Compare prerequisites. Courses that require that you complete college anatomy & physiology before enrolling are more committed to quality education than those that do not. Schools that have both an EMT and a paramedic programme tend to have better educational resources than those that only run an EMT course. And regardless of whether the school requires college anatomy & physiology or not, you should take it first. After all, if this is a CAREER change for you, you should be committed to being the very best that you can possibly be, not just get by with the bare minimum. More education is always better. If you take A&P first, you will be twice the EMT you would have been without it. Start your career off on the right foot with a commitment to excellence. If you don't want that, we don't need you. At the paramedic level, there are vast differences from school to school, and a lot of serious research should be done before choosing. At the very least, a paramedic school should meet these two criteria: 1. National Accreditation 2. Degree Granting Currently, in the entire state of Michigan, only Lansing Community College meets that minimum criteria. Beyond the choice of schools, I have to recommend that you do an exhaustively SERIOUS job market survey before you waste a single dime on training. Depending on where you live, there may not be any jobs for you. And any jobs that are available may be nothing more than extremely low-paid, non-emergency, private ambulance driver jobs. In fact, that is what most EMT jobs are in this country. Definitely not the glamourous emergency hero job that the schools bullshyte you into believing you are being trained for. And certainly nothing you can provide for a family with. It's a big lie. There are quite likely a lot of schools in your area cranking out hundreds of new EMTs and paramedics every year, all competing for a finite number of jobs. The supply consistently outpaces demand, resulting in stagnate wages. Stagnate wages result in constant turnover. The truth is that the vast majority of EMT graduates will never get an EMS job. And those that do will only rarely last five years or more before moving on. At 49, I truly hope that you have enough life experience to know not to leap into this without first taking a very hard look at what you're getting in to. Explore exactly what you hope to achieve, and why you hope to achieve it. What is your goal? What is your motivation? The old "I just want to help people" thing is a played out lie. You had better have a lot more tangible reasons for wanting to be a medic if you want this to work for you. EMS is not a "career". And it is not the exciting thrill that you probably think it is. It is a dirty, low paying, low respect, blue collar grunt job that attracts the lowest common denominator of American society: low intelligence, ADD kids with no education who see only a chance to wear a uniform and drive fast with the siren with only three weeks of monkey training. That is the mentality of the average person you will be partnered with for 12 to 24 hours a day. Trust me; it gets really old really fast. Research the statistics. Do the math. Calculate your chances of achieving what you really hope to achieve with this "career" change. The last thing we need in EMS is another disillusioned and disgruntled burn-out to contribute to the workforce turnover. Good luck! Edited March 27, 2009 by Dustdevil
itku2er Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 Can anyone give me any advice? Thank you Donovan Good Luck on your goals there is a wealth of information here on this site alot of good people that can help you if you need it. Just hit any of us up we dont bite! Welcome to the site and the future EMS world. But I do have one question and I think Dust already asked it What is your main motivation to getting into EMS?
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