Help Choosing a Paramedic College in Ontario

[entity]

Hopefully people here can provide me some guidance.

I've applied to Humber, Niagara, Centennial, Durham, and Fanshawe for the Sept 2010 semester and have received offers from all but Fanshawe. I am hoping some of you can give suggestions regarding which college to choose and why. I've ruled out Durham as their cost seems to be almost double of the others. Which leaves Humber, Niagara and Centennial. I've heard good things about these 3 schools from people I've spoken to but people always seem to speak well about the schools they've gone to. And the general reputation of each college seems equal.

The program co-ordinator at Humber said that 75% of their graduates received jobs as paramedics upon graduation, which I was impressed by (but not sure how accurate it is). Anyone know of any numbers on the other colleges?

Does it help/hurt your chances to get a job in a certain location if you goto a specific school? Or is your performance in the testing all that matters? I would preferably like to work somewhere near Toronto or Mississauga as I have family here.

Also, I've noticed that only Durham, Fanshawe and Niagara are CMA accredited. I've heard that going to a CMA accredited school helps you if you plan on switching provinces. I don't necessarily plan on this but its always good to keep options open.

TIA for any advice.

Edited March 29, 2010 by entity

[jonas salk]

There are a lot of factors that you should take into account when deciding on which programme to take. Personally i'd write a list of pros and cons with all the schools you're interested in, that should help you make the decision.

As for opinions on the programmes, you're going to hear a lot of different ones. Some will be good, some will be bad and all will be biased, so take each one with a grain of salt.

I only know a little bit about each school. When I was applying for programmes several years ago i got accepted to Humber, but didn't apply to either Centennial or Niagara. Several things turned me off of Humber, the first being how the programme was structured. I honestly can't remember the details, I just remember it not appealing to me. Another thing, and the one that was the biggest turn off, was during the Open House, I asked what the first write A-EMCA pass rate was for Humber's last class. She replied "100%". I knew this wasn't true as I known people who had gone to Humber in that year. I felt that if she wasn't willing to give me an honest answer then I didn't want to be there.

As for the calibre of Humber students, I can't really comment on that. I've known people who have graduated from there and they are good medics.

What I know about Centennial is that they have HUGE class sizes. That turns me off right from the get go. But I do know some of the faculty there and I know it's a good program. Niagara, I really can't say much about it as I've only know a few people who've gone there.

What I can say is that i've had students from both Niagara and Centennial rideout with me, and hands down the Centennial students have been better. But again, that may not be a reflection on the school, but rather of the students.

For finding work, it has, for the most part, very little with where you went to school, at least for the larger services in the GTA. Some smaller services tend to prefer to hire on the students who do their consolidation with them, but most of the larger ones will go for anyone as long as they have the requirements and know what they're doing.

As for CMA accreditation, within the next few years just about all the public paramedic programs will be accredited so I wouldn't worry about that.

[entity]

There are a lot of factors that you should take into account when deciding on which programme to take. Personally i'd write a list of pros and cons with all the schools you're interested in, that should help you make the decision.

As for opinions on the programmes, you're going to hear a lot of different ones. Some will be good, some will be bad and all will be biased, so take each one with a grain of salt.

I only know a little bit about each school. When I was applying for programmes several years ago i got accepted to Humber, but didn't apply to either Centennial or Niagara. Several things turned me off of Humber, the first being how the programme was structured. I honestly can't remember the details, I just remember it not appealing to me. Another thing, and the one that was the biggest turn off, was during the Open House, I asked what the first write A-EMCA pass rate was for Humber's last class. She replied "100%". I knew this wasn't true as I known people who had gone to Humber in that year. I felt that if she wasn't willing to give me an honest answer then I didn't want to be there.

As for the calibre of Humber students, I can't really comment on that. I've known people who have graduated from there and they are good medics.

What I know about Centennial is that they have HUGE class sizes. That turns me off right from the get go. But I do know some of the faculty there and I know it's a good program. Niagara, I really can't say much about it as I've only know a few people who've gone there.

What I can say is that i've had students from both Niagara and Centennial rideout with me, and hands down the Centennial students have been better. But again, that may not be a reflection on the school, but rather of the students.

For finding work, it has, for the most part, very little with where you went to school, at least for the larger services in the GTA. Some smaller services tend to prefer to hire on the students who do their consolidation with them, but most of the larger ones will go for anyone as long as they have the requirements and know what they're doing.

As for CMA accreditation, within the next few years just about all the public paramedic programs will be accredited so I wouldn't worry about that.

If you dont mind telling me.. what college did you go to and how would you rate your experience?

I've made a mini pro-con list for the colleges. But I'm not sure how to find out information on things that actually matter, such as student satisfaction, pass rates, quality of instructors and education etc.

My list mainly consists of less important factors (in the grand scheme of things) such as cost, location, campus life and 'reputation'.

I almost feel like I should stop delaying and just randomly pick between Humber, Niagara and Centennial

[Dustdevil]

I almost feel like I should stop delaying and just randomly pick between Humber, Niagara and Centennial

Honestly, unless something has drastically changed in the last few years, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three. All three provide quality education, and I've been impressed with the quality of grads from all three. Mind you, I've never attended any of them personally. But from the feedback I got on the three, I think Centennial probably provides a slight edge over the others in PCP education. I'm just not sure I'd want to go there if I couldn't carry my concealed weapon in that neighbourhood. Next choice would be Humber. Niagara is too close to NY for comfort. There is probably a better job market in the Niagara Region though, so that may be something to consider.

[entity]

Honestly, unless something has drastically changed in the last few years, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three. All three provide quality education, and I've been impressed with the quality of grads from all three. Mind you, I've never attended any of them personally. But from the feedback I got on the three, I think Centennial probably provides a slight edge over the others in PCP education. I'm just not sure I'd want to go there if I couldn't carry my concealed weapon in that neighbourhood. Next choice would be Humber. Niagara is too close to NY for comfort. There is probably a better job market in the Niagara Region though, so that may be something to consider.

Centennial / Scarborough region isn't THAT bad Did my B.Sc at Univ of Toronto which was just a few mins away.

Regd. Niagara being too close to NY, why would that be an issue? And about the job market being better, why would you say so?? That would definitely be a deciding factor for me.

Thanks for the feedback. Hoping to finish selecting a school by this Friday!

[jonas salk]

I went to St. Lawrence College in Cornwall. The programme was amazing, the college was meh and the town was terrible (lol).

There were several factors that lead me to SLC, but the most important one of them was the coordinator of the programme. He gave honest answers and didn't try to BS me when I was there for the open house. What really appealed to me was the fact that the programme had very small class sizes. On our first day we only had 36 people, and by the start of the second semester we were down to 22. Coming from a university that had incredibly small class sizes in upper years this really suited me.

As for deciding, my best advice would be to go to each of the schools during open houses, look at the facilities and talk to the instructors.

I would also forget about reputation as a criteria as it means nothing when it comes time for you to look for work. You aren't going to get special treatment becuase you went to school X.

[BEorP]

I would also forget about reputation as a criteria as it means nothing when it comes time for you to look for work. You aren't going to get special treatment becuase you went to school X.

I don't entirely agree with this statement. In the GTA, you will definitely have an easier time finding work if you are a grad of Centennial, Humber, or Durham. This is, of course, not only because the reputation of the programs, but also because they have produced medics for these services for many years so they know what they are looking for (and many students will have precepted there).

I do not have any evidence to support it, but I highly suspect that Centennial, Humber, Durham or even any of the other more established programs (Fandahswe, Conestoga, etc) grads would generally have an easier time finding employment than some of the smaller and newer programs (Lambton, St. Clair, St. Lawrence) since people know them to produce good medics (plus the person interviewing you might be alumni of your school or have other medics from your school who they like).

Of course, the most important thing for getting hired on at a smaller service may be just making a good impression by precepting there and doing well, which you should be able to do even if you don't go to the school in their area (although it will be more challenging to coordinate, and if you go to a GTA school I would definitely recommend riding out there... that is too good an opportunity to pass up).

Anyway, to the OP: If you hadn't mentioned that you already had a degree, I would have said to go to Centennial without even considering the other programs. The ability to fairly easily turn the paramedic diploma from Centennial into a strong university degree (that impresses potential employers) is a huge benefit of this school (yes, you can go and get a paramedicine degree from U of T after going to a different college, but it isn't as easy). Admittedly, I don't know much about Niagara and what Dust mentioned about all of those schools being good is true. That being said, I can say with confidence that Centennial will prepare you to be a good paramedic who can truly think critically (not just in the buzz word sense of the words). It will be an exhausting and frustrating experience at times as it seems to consume your life for two years, but you will likely look back on it and think that it was worth it. PM me if you have any further specific questions on the program.

[jonas salk]

I don't entirely agree with this statement. In the GTA, you will definitely have an easier time finding work if you are a grad of Centennial, Humber, or Durham. This is, of course, not only because the reputation of the programs, but also because they have produced medics for these services for many years so they know what they are looking for (and many students will have precepted there).

I do not have any evidence to support it, but I highly suspect that Centennial, Humber, Durham or even any of the other more established programs (Fandahswe, Conestoga, etc) grads would generally have an easier time finding employment than some of the smaller and newer programs (Lambton, St. Clair, St. Lawrence) since people know them to produce good medics (plus the person interviewing you might be alumni of your school or have other medics from your school who they like).

Of course, the most important thing for getting hired on at a smaller service may be just making a good impression by precepting there and doing well, which you should be able to do even if you don't go to the school in their area (although it will be more challenging to coordinate, and if you go to a GTA school I would definitely recommend riding out there... that is too good an opportunity to pass up).

Anyway, to the OP: If you hadn't mentioned that you already had a degree, I would have said to go to Centennial without even considering the other programs. The ability to fairly easily turn the paramedic diploma from Centennial into a strong university degree (that impresses potential employers) is a huge benefit of this school (yes, you can go and get a paramedicine degree from U of T after going to a different college, but it isn't as easy). Admittedly, I don't know much about Niagara and what Dust mentioned about all of those schools being good is true. That being said, I can say with confidence that Centennial will prepare you to be a good paramedic who can truly think critically (not just in the buzz word sense of the words). It will be an exhausting and frustrating experience at times as it seems to consume your life for two years, but you will likely look back on it and think that it was worth it. PM me if you have any further specific questions on the program.

It will be hard to prove what you suspect, particularly when you take into account factors other than what school the individual went to. My guess is that there is a huge geographical bias in the statistics, in the sense that the majority of the individuals who go to schools such as SLC, St. Clair, Confederation etc are generally from the surrounding area and as such have no real interest in applying to GTA services.

I've encountered many individuals from the aforementioned schools who were unable to find work in EMS and i've met many who have. Riding out in the GTA doesn't always give you an advantage, the only exception for this appears to be Durham where anecdotal evidence suggests that they really only look at students who either did their consolidation there, and those who did their centralized scenario with them.

Which ever school you decide upon just remember if you put everything you can into the programme you will become a good medic. Every college teaches the same fundamentals, the difference is what the student is will to do with it. Study, practice and have fun. Make use of after hour lab time, and practice practice practice.

[Dustdevil]

Regd. Niagara being too close to NY, why would that be an issue? And about the job market being better, why would you say so?? That would definitely be a deciding factor for me.

Because New York[ers] sucks. And suckiness is contagious.

I do not have any evidence to support it, but I highly suspect that Centennial, Humber, Durham or even any of the other more established programs (Fandahswe, Conestoga, etc) grads would generally have an easier time finding employment than some of the smaller and newer programs (Lambton, St. Clair, St. Lawrence) since people know them to produce good medics (plus the person interviewing you might be alumni of your school or have other medics from your school who they like).

This was pretty much why I put Centennial and Humber up top, and said Niagara was a good choice for looking for jobs in that area. I suppose it may only be conventional wisdom, but I was under the same impression as BEorP about the regional bias.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Dustdevil

[Taios]

I would say Fanshawe Paramedic program hands down if you were accepted, since I'm currently a student there and have heard about the quality of each paramedic program in Ontario, however due to your situation Centennial would be my next choice.