Straight to Paramedic

[PuzzleEMT]

I hope this is going to incite some interesting discussion because I would like the feedback. I am an EMT-B... I am currently working as a Security Officer EMT. Which means I am a Security Officer most of the time and an EMT on occasion... my place of employ has given me the option to PAY FOR my EMT-I and my EMT-P training and testing.

What do you think of going straight through from EMT-B to Paramedic and really not having much field experience in the interim? I know I've read a discussion on this somewhere and I can't seem to find it. Thank you for your feedback.

Edited June 12, 2011 by PuzzleEMT

[NYCEMS9115]

http://www.emsworld.com/print/EMS-World/How-to-Succeed-in-Paramedic-Class/1$17097

It's really up to you. The Paramedic Program is hard; hard on your social, family, and personal life. There's a lot of rotations to do from ER to Ambulance to ICU to OR to OB to Psych to Morgue to Lab to etc. Working full-time makes it quite challenging. For many, it's impossible to juggle school and work. Some programs are College based and students will not be allowed to take the Paramedic without first completing the Prerequisites... EMT-I is Basic ALS Care. It depends on if it is the I85 or I99; still both basic ALS Care. It requires a lot less school time and clinical time. Working FT will be very possible. Your life will not stop as a result of the I class. There are no degrees for the Intermediate... Good luck....

[hatelilpeepees]

You did not state your age and your family situation, but generally I would say yes if someone else is paying the bill for you, and you are sure with your limited experience that this is the career choice for you.

[xselerate]

No one should go straight from emt to medic. You need time in the back of a bus (ambulance) by yourself with a patient in need to have the clinical experience to make you ready to be a decent medic.

[HotelCo]

No one should go straight from emt to medic. You need time in the back of a bus (ambulance) by yourself with a patient in need to have the clinical experience to make you ready to be a decent medic.

The only thing it does is allow bad habits to form. Go straight to medic school. Between your clinicals, and FTO rides at your job, you'll be fine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited June 12, 2011 by HotelCo

[chbare]

OP we've had this discussion ad nauseam. Do a search for past threads and you should find many threads on the topic at hand. Good luck with your studies.

Take care,

chbare.

[tniuqs]

No one should go straight from emt to medic. You need time in the back of a bus (ambulance) by yourself with a patient in need to have the clinical experience to make you ready to be a decent medic.

This is funny ! well almost.

So one needs time with ill patients with ~ 120 hours of training and you call this "clinical experience" ... can you not see the glaring error's in the educational philosophy alone ?

Edited June 12, 2011 by tniuqs

[ERDoc]

This is funny ! well almost.

So one needs time with ill patients with ~ 120 hours of training and you call this "clinical experience" ... can you not see the glaring error's in the educational philosophy alone ?

Agreed with tniuqs. What sort of clinical experience are you going to gain as an EMT before going for your medic? How to put on a KED or c-collar? How to put a dressing on a cut? The experience without the knowledge or the tools is not of much benefit. If someone is willing to pay for your medic class, go for it. You will get the necessary experience in your class. It's been asked before, should doctors have to be nurses or PAs first?

[Dustdevil]

No one should go straight from emt to medic. You need time in the back of a bus (ambulance) by yourself with a patient in need to have the clinical experience to make you ready to be a decent medic.

Ya know, even if it were possible for most EMT-Bs to get serious clinical experience (which DAMN few can or do), your theory would still be absurd. Experience doing what? Looking at patients and not having the educational foundation to know what is wrong with them or what to do with them? Yeah... that's very productive, lol. Agreed that it only promotes very bad, very hard to break habits.

[tcripp]

What do you think of going straight through from EMT-B to Paramedic and really not having much field experience in the interim? I know I've read a discussion on this somewhere and I can't seem to find it. Thank you for your feedback.

So, one guy thinks that you really should stop and get experience --> "You need time in the back of a bus (ambulance) by yourself with a patient in need to have the clinical experience to make you ready to be a decent medic."

The rest of the choir feels that going straight through is the better way --> something along the lines of it won't do you any good and you'll just develop bad habits.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Most places really want some type of experience before they will hire you full time. I'm not saying you couldn't find work being green, but something is better than nothing when up against the next guy with equal training.
2. I have just watched 3 people who have been either Basic or Intermediate for several years finish a paramedic program. While they may not have been the lone person in the back with a critical patient, they've been on scene with enough to have a better understanding of an illness/injury than I have with my whole one-year of paramedic experience under my belt. I truly believe that when they get their first "whatever" patient in the back, they very well may fair better than I will the day I get mine. I also believe that it may have assisted them in their education. While I was taking the instructors at face value for most of my education, these same people had hands on experience which gave them a leg up in their training.
3. The bad habits with no training are, in my opinion, just as bad as they guy who graduates from the program with only the book knowledge and will argue with his FTO when a treatment is done just a little differently than he was taught. I've heard it...I've seen it. To me, these are the ones who border on paraGod as they graduate.

OP, I'm of the opinion that a little experience somewhere in the middle can't at all be a bad thing. But, you will have to decide what is best for you. For me, I was a Basic 4 years before I started a 2-year program. I did get my Intemediate patch. It, if for nothing else, prepared me for going through the NR for the paramedic piece. I then worked part time as an itermediate while I finished the paramedic program. Did I really get to do much with that "I" patch. Not really. But it sure looked good on my resume.

Toni

Edited June 13, 2011 by tcripp