Question on EMT-B/Paramedic Training

[VentMedic]

Already having a degree can I simply focus on the EMT/Paramedic courses?

I thought you had a degree in English?

Did it include 2 semesters of Anatomy and Physiology with lab, Microbiology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology etc?

If you just want a certificate there are plenty of tech schools, both private and public, that will get you in and out quicker.

Are you still considering the Orlando area in Florida?

http://www.emtcity.com/index.php?showtopic=14350&hl=

Edited June 15, 2009 by VentMedic

[LoneRider]

I thought you had a degree in English?

Did it include 2 semesters of Anatomy and Physiology with lab, Microbiology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology etc?

If you just want a certificate there are plenty of tech schools, both private and public, that will get you in and out quicker.

Are you still considering the Orlando area in Florida?

http://www.emtcity.com/index.php?showtopic=14350&hl=

No my degree did not include anything medically based. I'm willing to tackle a second degree in any case and I am considering the Orlando or Daytona Beach areas of Florida for training and working.

[Kiwiology]

To get "certified" can take what, six months at quickie tech school for cook book firemedics who require a cert or it can take four years at a Bachelors program; or somewhere in between.

"Training" never ends, as a medical professional you will always be learning new things and should see education as a lifelong processs. Unfortunatley too few medics I know auctually take an active interest in post certification education; don't be one of them.

You need college level A&P, pharmacology and pathophysiology; the quick, cut down chapter in the Paramedic textbook is nowhere near good enough; I have A&P books that rival the length of my Paramedic book alone.

Although you may very well end up wtih required texts, here are my suggestions for some light reading (and you can probably get a decent workout if you bench them) ...

Marieb's human A&P

Lippincott's ECG Interpretation (little brown book ... reads almost identical to Portable ECG Interpretation also by Lippincott)

Bryant's Pharmacology

[LoneRider]

To get "certified" can take what, six months at quickie tech school for cook book firemedics who require a cert or it can take four years at a Bachelors program; or somewhere in between.

"Training" never ends, as a medical professional you will always be learning new things and should see education as a lifelong processs. Unfortunatley too few medics I know auctually take an active interest in post certification education; don't be one of them.

You need college level A&P, pharmacology and pathophysiology; the quick, cut down chapter in the Paramedic textbook is nowhere near good enough; I have A&P books that rival the length of my Paramedic book alone.

Although you may very well end up wtih required texts, here are my suggestions for some light reading (and you can probably get a decent workout if you bench them) ...

Marieb's human A&P

Lippincott's ECG Interpretation (little brown book ... reads almost identical to Portable ECG Interpretation also by Lippincott)

Bryant's Pharmacology

I'm probably gonna go the community college training route for the paramedic training. I realize like any professional that training never stops and that there are always ways to make one better at one's job. Right now though I'm more curious about finding the right training program (probably training at either Seminole or Valencia Community College for my EMT-B/EMT-P courses) in order to become a practicing paramedic.

VentMedic, yes I intend to train and operate in the state of Florida.

[spenac]

To go from zero to hero, around 3yrs all said and done. That doesn't include that years of experience you should have between EMT and Paramedic though.

If he takes a degree program he will get his basic first semester. Then immediately will continue to completion of Paramedic in about 2 years. There is no reason to stop and waste time at basic level.

[cosgrojo]

While I have no wish to beat a horse which is already dead... I think that a reasonable person would agree that (in regards to experience at the Basic level) the truth is somewhere in between. It is not necessary to burden yourself with the idea that you have to spend 2-3 years on the road gaining BLS skills, but I would caution you about the mindset that completely disregarding the level altogether is appropriate.

I myself have been a Basic for about 6 years now, and have learned a great many things that would benefit a prospective Paramedic or Nurse. My apparent lackadaisical career has been more a matter of incurable finances, lack of motivation, and a keen eye for other professional endeavors (and a wife that never STOPS going to school)... not because of some ill conceived notion of BLS experience.

The benefits of extended BLS experience does not lie in the dogmatic arguments involving pre-hospital skill and ability accumulation, but in skills that are of a more intangible variety. Skills that include bedside manner, interaction with staff, commanding a scene, organizing chaos, learning how to work with medical people of both higher and lower skill and ability... and so on and so on. These skills are much easier to attain in a lower stress environment in which you are not the highest level of care and can make mistakes that are not going to hurt anyone. These skills are also much harder to accumulate when you are still trying to find your way on the road with SO much more on your mind... i.e. brandy-new-medic with no experience to rely on.

While these attributes I mention are not in the curriculum, and not on the protocol exam... they do make a difference between a good medic and a great medic.

[spenac]

Your BLS experience will be gained after first semester when you are certified as a basic. Then you do ride outs till you complete the Paramedic degree. As a third rider you will gain much more experience than you will as a driver that most basics seem to end up being.

[cosgrojo]

Your BLS experience will be gained after first semester when you are certified as a basic. Then you do ride outs till you complete the Paramedic degree. As a third rider you will gain much more experience than you will as a driver that most basics seem to end up being.

Spenac-

I am well aware of how Paramedic courses are structured... and I agree there is built in time for riding along and learning skills. But you will have to agree that most of your best learned lessons are when you are by yourself with nothing but your partner to rely on... not riding third watching someone who already made the mistakes that you need to make to better yourself. As for your last statement... you are obviously much more comfortable dealing in absolutes than I am. I still hold that everyone's experiences are different, and moreover, that every EMS system is different in composition. I am not familiar enough with the Floridian system that our Lone Rider friend intends to learn and work in, and not presumptuous enough to assume that all Basics are drivers there.

[VentMedic]

Spenac-

I am well aware of how Paramedic courses are structured... and I agree there is built in time for riding along and learning skills. But you will have to agree that most of your best learned lessons are when you are by yourself with nothing but your partner to rely on... not riding third watching someone who already made the mistakes that you need to make to better yourself. As for your last statement... you are obviously much more comfortable dealing in absolutes than I am. I still hold that everyone's experiences are different, and moreover, that every EMS system is different in composition. I am not familiar enough with the Floridian system that our Lone Rider friend intends to learn and work in, and not presumptuous enough to assume that all Basics are drivers there.

The problem is many partners that will mentor the newcomers continue to make the same mistakes over and over because they don't realize they are mistakes. To break this cycle, there needs to be education and clinicals done under the watchful eyes of educators. We must first educate the educators and stop the bubba see, bubba do mentality. We must develop a generation of those that have enough of a foundation in the basics of medicine and the sciences to think.

Florida provides ALS to every community in the state. While this has helped the medic mills to flourish, Florida also has many excellent two year degree programs for Paramedics. Unfortunately, EMS has acquired a quick fix and shortcut mentality that keeps the tech certificates the mainstay of the industry.

[cosgrojo]

The problem is many partners that will mentor the newcomers continue to make the same mistakes over and over because they don't realize they are mistakes. To break this cycle, there needs to be education and clinicals done under the watchful eyes of educators. We must first educate the educators and stop the bubba see, bubba do mentality. We must develop a generation of those that have enough of a foundation in the basics of medicine and the sciences to think.

Florida provides ALS to every community in the state. While this has helped the medic mills to flourish, Florida also has many excellent two year degree programs for Paramedics. Unfortunately, EMS has acquired a quick fix and shortcut mentality that keeps the tech certificates the mainstay of the industry.

I cannot, and do not disagree with anything you said there. I would very much like to see all EMS have to go to a University system. That would provide credibility to our field, and some semblance of educational assurance. Alas, that is a dream with a very long pipe... and there are many reasons for it... but that would jack the thread completely... and piss off all the vollies.

Fortunately many universities are beginning to cash in on this revenue stream of EMS-philes, and providing EMS degrees. If only the National Registry was a stronger organization that had the teeth to..... oh crap.... there I go.... I promised myself I wouldn't go off on a tangent.

Sorry... end of reply.

Edited June 15, 2009 by cosgrojo