Abdominal Exam

[Dustdevil]

Fair enough.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Dustdevil

[Lisa O]

Did you notice EMT-I will no longer be one of the levels?

Unfortunatly it is nowhere around me. I would have to move way way down south, or out of state to be EMT-I. Which I personally think is stupid. I wish I could graduate from B, to I, to Paramedic. But, I will have to take the much larger leap.

[chbare]

Why even worry about intermediate steps if you have other options? Going into a good paramedic program as soon as possible will be the best route if available IMHO.

Regarding removal of the EMT-I: It's an invalid concept IMHO. The new AEMT is in essence an I-85 who can give a few additional medications. It's the same old thing with a brand new name. However, what a sweet deal for anybody who has I-99 credentials.

Take care,

chbare.

[Siffaliss]

But when I get a basic or basic student with a solid medical background (nurse, RT, corpsman, or other allied health professional), or a solid foundation of educational prerequisites (A&P, etc...), who has a good attitude, an intelligent demeanour, and a solid grasp of the basics, I am all for giving them as much education and experience as we can manage in the field. But again, this is just rarely the case here.

Attitude plays a huge part.

[Lisa O]

Why even worry about intermediate steps if you have other options? Going into a good paramedic program as soon as possible will be the best route if available IMHO.

Take care,

chbare.

I have heard the argument that Basics sould have atleast a year before even thinking of jumping into Paramedic. Something along the lines of if you do not have that time in the rig, on the road, with calls, and miles, that you will not make a good Paramedic. Or rather, one makes a better Paramedic with that under their belt rather VS just having text book knowledge.

Quite honestly, I would love to go straight through. I want to be a Paramedic. But, I want to be a damn good one, so, if that means being a Basic for a while, then thats what I will do. And in looking at it, it probably is better that way I can learn from all angles and take that with me through medic.

*Did I say that right...lol My brain is mush right now, I am sure you guys know what I mean.

[chbare]

However, your peers in other areas have a much different educational methodology. RN candidates are not required to work as LPN's for a year, RRT candidates are not required to work as CRT's for a year, and physicians are not required to work as PA's for a year.

Use the following as a school litmus test. If a paramedic programme cannot take a newbie EMT and make him/her into a competent graduate paramedic, the school sucks and your money is better spent elsewhere. Any school that relies on EMT-B experience to fill in the educational gaps is a fail IMHO.

Take care,

chbare.

[Dustdevil]

I have heard the argument that Basics sould have atleast a year before even thinking of jumping into Paramedic. Something along the lines of if you do not have that time in the rig, on the road, with calls, and miles, that you will not make a good Paramedic. Or rather, one makes a better Paramedic with that under their belt rather VS just having text book knowledge.

You heard wrong. You certainly didn't hear that here.

Quite honestly, I would love to go straight through. I want to be a Paramedic. But, I want to be a damn good one...

Does that mean you are already working hard on your college prerequisite courses, like A&P, Chemistry, Microbiology, Psychology, Sociology, Algebra, English Compositon, Speech Communications, etc... ? If not, then you are not yet serious.

[Lisa O]

You heard wrong. You certainly didn't hear that here.

Does that mean you are already working hard on your college prerequisite courses, like A&P, Chemistry, Microbiology, Psychology, Sociology, Algebra, English Compositon, Speech Communications, etc... ? If not, then you are not yet serious.

A&P, yes... The others, no. Right here, right now is the first I heard of needing everything else.

Would I make a better medic with all that above, or will I not make it as a medic at all without the Psych, Algebra, and Speech (to name a few) classes?

[DwayneEMTP]

Hey Lisa.

I'm not sure how old you are, but the only time I hear how valuable 'time in cert' as a basic is is when I'm talking to the part time firemen/medics and basics, at my service. They love the whole, 'whoever last that longest wins' concept. Most of the rest of us think it's utter bullshit.

I like to believe that I am considered a competent medic where I work/have worked, both here and in Afghanistan, yet I've never worked a paid day as a basic. I truly believe that the most valuable things I use in paramedicine I brought with me. Kindness, attention to detail, a solid work ethic, a half decent ability to problem solve, a hunger to be a better medic tomorrow than I am today, the maturity necessary to talk with patients, make mature decisions, and the life experience to understand the pain of my patients and those that love them. Oh yeah, and an almost unlimited ability to haul the same drunks/drug addicts/psych patients over and over week after week without choking anyone. :-)

In fact it's been my experience that the vast majority of the terribly difficult decisions I've made have been moral/ethical, not medical.

I chose to go straight to medic school from basic based on the opinions mainly of Dust, chbare and akflightmedic, though many others were influential as well. I earned my AAS in Emergency Medicine and have never, ever regretted it.

As chbare mentioned, EMS is the only medical field where many believe it is best to gain experience before knowledge. All others do it the other, and seemingly more logical, way around. If you choose to go straight to medic you WILL catch some shit from those that don't have a significant education (which is why they need the 'experience' scaffold to support their self esteem)...but f*ck em...this is about you, not them, right?

Best of luck to you in whatever you decide.

Dwayne

[Dustdevil]

If you choose to go straight to medic you WILL catch some shit from those that don't have a significant education (which is why they need the 'experience' scaffold to support their self esteem)...but f*ck em...this is about your patients, not them, right?

Fixed that for ya.

Lisa, you can go many places in the US and become a "paramedic" in three months with nothing more than a GED and an EMT card (and a buttload of money). So no, you do not 'have to' have all those courses to buy a patch. But you said you wanted to be a "damn good" paramedic. To do that, it takes a LOT more education than most shake 'n bake schools will give you or require of you.

As a paramedic, you will have much more independent responsibility for human lives than a nurse, who requires a very minimum of two years of education, and usually at least three just for that "two year" degree. Don't you think we need at least that much? Physical Therapists, Medical Technologists, Occupational therapists, Radiology Techs, Speech Therapists, and Social Workers require a minimum of four to six years of education just to begin at the entry level of their professions, and THEY DON'T EVEN PERFORM INVASIVE PROCEDURES ON PEOPLE! To be a paramedic with less than an associates degree level education -- including the same prerequisites as required for an RN -- is criminally negligent.

You can go directly to paramedic school and be a paramedic with no experience in two years. Or you can screw around and be an ambulance driver, picking up bad habits and half-baked notions from bad, half-baked partners, and be a crappy EMT with two years of experience in two years. I don't think I have to tell you which one is more likely to get a job, and which one is going to be making more money. And I don't think there is any question about which one you'd want responding to your emergency.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Dustdevil