Conestoga vs Centennial (vs Humber) Paramedic Program (PCP)

[eskabob]

Hello everyone,

I've recently been accepted by Centennial's PCP program and am trying to find out which school I want to go to.

I would like to know more about Conestoga college's PCP program. 40 seat program vs Centennial's 100 or so (not sure). I read in the archives that you should apply where you want to work in the future, but have been told that these limitations are diminishing. I was born and raised in Cambridge, so I am looking for pros and cons between the two schools.

I am not interested in the UToS-Centennial Paramedicine degree since I have spent the last 4 years at Western University and will be completing the degree via distance education/part-time in the near future.

I've seen lots of good things to say between Centennial and Humber colleges in the archives, and am looking for some more updated advantages/disadvantages between the two.

Any other tips helpful to new students would also be very much appreciated. (i.e. where to volunteer, part-time work, summer pre-studying, during school, placement, etc.)

Thanks,

eskabob

[BEorP]

Not really sure whether I can give any useful advice but I wanted to reply since I now see that you asked before for Ontario advice and got no replies. As you have read, Centennial and Humber are both well established and strong programs. I have worked with many Conestoga grads and it seems like a decent program as well. I wouldn't put Centennial down just because they have a bigger class size than Conestoga though. Have you been accepted to all three?

In terms of general advice, I would just say that you really need to be aware what you're getting yourself into in Ontario these days. If you can get a job, it will pay very well but will likely be part time casual for the first few years where you will work without a set schedule or partner, without benefits, without guaranteed hours, doing the shifts that others don't want to work (e.g. weekends, all summer). It may not sound that bad when your focus is just on getting to your goal of being a paramedic, but living it is becomes difficult to tolerate after a few years. Maybe others tolerate it better than me or I'm just tired and cranky though!

There is no real need for pre-reading or anything but if you want to read something then anatomy and physiology is always a good place to start. Once you're in school just keep up with the work and always ask "why?". Some people feel that part time work doing patient transfer is helpful on a resume, though I would tend to disagree and think that your ability to function as a paramedic (even if tested in a scenario) is much more important. Spend as much time doing scenarios in your paramedic lab as possible (especially if they have it open after hours). Not only may this time pay off in helping you to perform well on scenario testing to get a job, but it might also help you to make a decision that might actually matter to a patient's outcome sometime down the road. There's probably lots more that can be said, but those are the first tips that pop into my head.

Good luck!

[eskabob]

Haha, thank you for the reply BEorP. A kind Humber student actually most of my questions in the previous thread and more via PM. I just have troubles finding much on the Conestoga program, so wanted the opinion of those who are familiar with it/its graduates. I have only been accepted to Centennial. The other colleges don't begin offers of admission until early March I believe.

I have been told that it is very difficult to find a job in Ontario. Are top recent graduates often hired, or past graduates with some patient transfer experience? My brother tells me that I should go to Alberta to find work if I go through with the program. I would personally like to work in Ontario and am willing to work hard to achieve that.

Thanks for the tips!

eskabob

[BEorP]

I would say that getting hired right now depends on a few main things:

- Connections made while riding out

- Knowledge and skills as assessed by the service on a written test or scenarios

- Ability to interview well

- Luck

Many services now use the Ability Works physical test that is fairly challenging and has unfortunately caused many people to lose out on job offers because of this. If there is any possibly that this will be an issue, get to the gym now.

Remember that there are far, far more AEMCAs than jobs each year in addition to the AEMCAs from previous years who have not been hired. The job situation does not seem to be getting any better. Be prepared for the possibility that you will graduate and not be able to find work and that if you are in the lucky few who do, it will be casual only.

I do not factor patient transfer experience in there at all. All paramedic graduates will know how to work a stretcher just as well as those who have done patient transfer. Some people will disagree with me and I may have a bias since I never worked patient transfer, but that is my opinion. Patient transfer isn't a bad part time job while you're in school, but I would not consider it an advantage in the hiring process for most services.

If heading to Alberta is a possibility for you, check which programs have CMA accreditation as this may make it easier. I don't know off the top of my head which programs have it now. I will add the important caveat that CMA accreditation is not a true marker of excellence in paramedic education but it can make it easier to move to another province (although it will still be possible if you attend a non-CMA accredited program).

[eskabob]

I see. Thanks for all the information! I will make sure to use it well =)

Does anyone know how lifeguarding looks on resume? I didn't do any lifeguarding while in university, so I'm not sure if I should re-certify and apply again.

Thanks,

eskabob

[BEorP]

I'll include the caveat that this is just from my experience and is my opinion, but I don't think you need to worry too much about this thing about what looks good on a resume. If you have a BSc, your paramedic diploma, and have passed or will pass the AEMCA then you're probably in a good position. Often, the resume just really needs to get you to the written test in the recruitment process (obviously not all services will be the same, but this seems to be fairly common now). There isn't a whole lot of resume screening usually when there is a written test, so little things like patient transfer and lifeguarding probably won't matter. It is likely that everyone who has the basic qualifications will be invited to write the written test and if there is any screening, your degree should position you well.

Now, if "looks good on a resume" means more "is good experience to discuss in an interview", I guess I would give it a little bit more consideration. I would think more that the benefit would come from having experience to cite to answer the typical interview questions (Google them if you're not familiar with them), rather than saying "I worked patient transfer, I can work a stretcher" or "I was a lifeguard, I know CPR". This experience to call upon when answering interview questions could likely come from any work environment or just life experience in general.

I will just add as general advice to anyone who reads this thread that if you do patient transfer, event medical standby, lifeguarding, ski patrol, etc. you need to be careful how you discuss it in the interview. Far too many keen young paramedic applicants show up at job interviews talking about these experiences as if it means that they have essentially already been working as a paramedic. It may be applicable experience in some respects, but it isn't the same as being a paramedic so make sure it does not come across as you thinking that you're basically an experienced paramedic already when applying for your first job.

[eskabob]

Mmm, I see. So don't go overboard on lifeguarding for interviews and try to answer off of precepting or other life experiences I suppose. Very helpful tips here. Well, that just about answers all my questions.

Now to play the waiting game.

Thanks for all the responses.

[Shomsomb]

Hey eskabob! I also have the same dilemma, but talking to a few paramedics in the Waterloo region has brought up some concerns of the quality of paramedics coming out of conestoga lately. He suggested that I go to centennial, because most places don't let students from conestoga ride out with them because apparently they aren't as good as they used to be. He said it has something to do with the program coordinator being incompetent and such. I went to the conestoga program information meeting, and apparently ride out placements are only available in brant county, not even the region of Waterloo ems. And I wasn't impressed by the statement the coordinator made about 2nd year paramedic students being caught as "deer in headlights" during a scenario run... Anyways, centennial college does placements with Toronto, peel, York ems and that's where I'll be attending this coming fall, hope to see you there!

[Diptherious]

I'm a recent graduate of Centennial College, and personally had mixed feelings about going to Centennial. The most glaring issue is the large class sizes (mine was over 100 students) and this creates issues during lab scenario time as I felt they had to shuffle through students quickly and you didn't get as many scenarios or 1 on 1 time with the instructor. Also the program coordinator is heavily involved in research and doesn't seem to have a lot of time for his students, and he used our final evaluation scenarios as research projects which I felt was incredibly disruptive. On the good side though the professors are all excellent and will prepare you well for any written test you will write (Only 1 Centennial student has failed the AEMCA in the past few years). The college does generally have a good reputation amongst services and seems to be favoured by some (Then again so is Humber). The best way to get your foot in the door with a service though will be to ride out with them, and Centennial has lots of options open especially in the GTA. I'd say definently take Centennial over Conestoga but if you're accepted at Humber then you'll have to weigh the the positives and negatives of both.

As for side jobs such as patient transfer and life guarding, do as much as you can. 99% of the interviews I did were graded on a point system, and the more you say/have the better your "mark". I did patient transfer and not only did it assist with my driving, it was a HUGE bonus when it came to interview time. I had lots of examples when they asked integrity/patient contact questions, and when I could list off that many more reasons why they should hire me (Driving experiecing, Know the roadways, know all the hospital locations, etc). Volunteering also came up on a couple interviews so do taht if you can.