non-fire emt in philly?

[2wheelinemt]

hello everyone

i need some help

i was at the docs in philly and a nurse who was a philly cop wanted to know if she wanted to be a philly emt did she have to be a fire fighter too? i told her i had no clue but look into it for her. im from nj (hold the laughs) so i have no clue how philly works but i thought id get some help here.

shes a nurse in a docs office was a philly cop now wants to be an emt. so if anyone can help me help her thank you!!!

everyone have a great weekend (not before you help me of course hahha)

be careful and enjoy!

2wheelie

[paramedicmike]

If she wants to work for Philly Fire, then yes. She'll have to be a FF, too.

If she wants to work some random transport gig, then she won't have to be a FF.

If she is, in fact, an RN, and is licensed as an RN in PA, Pennsylvania has a provider level call the Pre-hospital RN (PHRN). There are several places in and around the city to take the required classes (not usually more than an EMT class) in order to complete the requirements for testing. Successful completion of the PHRN process and certification at that level will allow a nurse to function as an ALS provider in the Commonwealth of PA.

I have previously worked with several RNs who were PHRNs in PA. I believe, if I remember correctly, several of them took their PHRN class at JeffStat (affiliated with Jefferson Hospital/University).

If she decides to go the PHRN route the only opportunities she'll have in the city are transport gigs. The surrounding counties, however, may have 911 spots available.

-be safe

[2wheelinemt]

paramedicmike

thanks so much for your info. i will be sure to pass it on to her. yes she wants to work for philly ems. so i guess off to fire school she goes!

but she stated she was a cop so she should be use to hard work hence fire school. but she hasnt work that hard lately being a doc nurse trust

me if you know what i mean.

well i do appreciate the info.

you have a good weekend and stay safe as always!!!!!

[Dustdevil]

but she stated she was a cop so she should be use to hard work hence fire school.

LOL! There is no hard work involved in being a cop. And, in fact, there is very little physical fitness required. Certainly nothing on the level of fire school.

Regardless, it's not just as easy as deciding, "Hey, I think I'll be a Philly firefighter!" First, she gets to compete with the other thirty-thousand people who are applying for that same job. Last I heard, they're not even hiring.

[tamaith]

hello everyone

i need some help

i was at the docs in philly and a nurse who was a philly cop wanted to know if she wanted to be a philly emt did she have to be a fire fighter too? i told her i had no clue but look into it for her. im from nj (hold the laughs) so i have no clue how philly works but i thought id get some help here.

shes a nurse in a docs office was a philly cop now wants to be an emt. so if anyone can help me help her thank you!!!

everyone have a great weekend (not before you help me of course hahha)

be careful and enjoy!

2wheelie

dust , i REALLY hope you are kidding about being a cop is not hard work. esp in philly. have you ever lived here? and no im not talking about a day or weekend trip either. NO she does not have to be a firefighter to run with philly fire rescue. here are the steps. she would have to go to emt b school. the two main emt b schools here are jeffstat ( which i recomend) and star tech. after the completion of the course she then goes to paramedic school . jeffstat again is better from what i have heard and cheaper than star tech . jeffstat medic program is about 12,000 while star is around 25,000. during that time she would do ride alongs with philly fire rescue for i think 3 months. after completing the medic program she then applies with the fire dept. and does their ems program. after that then she's in. but like dust said, right now i am 99.9 % sure there is a hiring freeze. but from start to finish ( basic to medic ) it will prob take about a year and a half or less. emt b is about 8 wks the medic program is around 11 months. but the medic program is only offered once a year. so it depends on when she finishes basic. during that time in btwn. more than likely she would run with a transporting company. although some companies that do als will hire a basic right out of school.

[paramedicmike]

Going through the Philly FD EMS academy does include fire training and there is an expectation, no matter how infrequently it may happen, that the guys on the ambulance may be pulled to drag hose. There are airpacks on the ambulances. And a good number of the medic staff is simply biding their time until they get their "promotion" to the suppression side. Your primary job, by sheer volume, may be EMS. But you are expected to be a FF in the off chance you may be called for it. I know enough people who've been through the process and are either still employed there or have recently left. I am familiar with what material the academy covers. Fighting fire is covered.

That being said, and hiring freeze aside, it's easier to get hired onto the EMS side simply because no one wants to be an EMS provider in Philly. You run your arse off. There is no such thing as a slow squad. Fifteen to twenty calls or more per shift is not only uncommon, but the norm. Most of it is crap. People looking for tylenol for their headache or similar. It is not uncommon to hear on the local news that someone, who might have lived in any other city in the country, has died because they had to wait 40 minutes or more for an ambulance to become available.

The suppression side does have a lengthy list. But the EMS side has to beg people to even apply. That should be an indication of a broken, dysfunctional department that anyone with any intelligence should run from without looking back.

The City of Philadelphia is a dump. New Jersey's armpit (which is saying something). The city is broken, broke, corrupt and there is little hope, short of burning it to the ground and starting over, of fixing it.

And I'm glad I don't have to live there.

-be safe

[WolfmanHarris]

Your primary job, by sheer volume, may be EMS. But you are expected to be a FF in the off chance you may be called for it.

Sounds like any of the paid FD's around here. Of course none of them actually provide EMS, they just watch us do it. Thank-you tiered response.

[tamaith]

http://www.phila.gov/fire/about/about_empl..._paramedic.html

i know ppl that are philly fire medics as well and not once did they say that they are firefighters why? because they are not. they are paramedics within the fire dept. the medic program in the fire dept is 6 wks while the fireman program is i believe 16wks. they might learn a little about fighting fires in the 6 wks but that doesnt mean that they are firefighters. i took a class in that talked a little bit of nutrition i don't call myself a nutritionist. every firefighter that goes through pfd academy becomes and emt b though that's the first 6 wks of the academy. there are firefighters sometimes on the ambulances doing a rotations because there is a shortage of medics in the pfd. but they either 1. drive or 2. on a bls ambulance. yes they do get a lot of b.s calls and do run their butts off. oh and thanks for calling my city which you don't live in a dump.

[Dustdevil]

dust , i REALLY hope you are kidding about being a cop is not hard work. esp in philly. have you ever lived here?

WTF does "here" have to do with it? I was a cop for a decade. You're not going to tell me anything about it that I do not already know. There are a lot of 50 year old, 300 pound donut-arses doing the job, including in Philly. I've known one (1) 300 pound fireman in my entire life. There is nothing so hard about police work that simply having been one at one time in your past proves you are hardcore.

[Richard B the EMT]

Someone used that objectionable phrasing, again: Promotion from EMS to Fire Fighter.

Similarly, in the FDNY, some people in power forgot that EMS can be a promotion track in it's own right.

It's the "golden rule", again:"Them with the gold, make the rules!"