Young ride alongs and EMT's

[Wild-atheart]

From a perspective of a patient: keep anyone under 21 out of an ambulance.(I can't believe anyone even argues that) If the government deems you not responsible enough to drink then you shouldn't be on an ambulance.

From a perspective of a emt/paramedic student: before entering even a basic course people should have to take a year of prereqs (A&P, Basic math, English, Communications, Chem, ect...) and then before admittance to the program everyone needs to pass a comprehensive exam making sure you know you sh*t. Then increase the length of the EMT course and give a good month internship(unpaid). you need to have a strong educational foundation when entering the EMT class to possibly understand why you perform all of these skills and what effect they will have on the body.

I would support a Bachelors in Paramedic education, and if I ever find one close to me I wouldn't hesitate to take it(someone brought up in another thread that paramedics should be RNs too. I think either would be good BSP=Associate EMT-P+Associate RN).

As for the kiddies: (from my own experience)I think the kids who want to learn about medicine, but are not mature enough to handle the Emergency environment, should become a Nurse Aide. sounds corny, but in my three years directly after high school I learned more about health care, patient care, and human compassion then anyone else in my family.

My last point: I believe that people shouldn't be judged on their education. If your an EMT, you should be proud your an EMT. Just like if you clean the gutters you should be proud of that too. but medicine is a little different than gutter cleaning, If you want to be respected and keep your skills you should always be working on moving your education ahead.

thank

you for reading

[Timmy]

In Australia you MUST complete your Bachelor of Emergency Health before you can work on an ambulance. This takes 3 years to complete thus making you 21 when your qualified. In your second year at uni you undertake clinical placement which gives you opportunities to work in hospitals and on the ambulance (under supervision). 3rd year students can either continue education in Uni or you can apply to be a fully time student working on the ambulance getting hands on experience, but not everyone gets into this program. To become a mobile intensive care paramedic you must have been a paramedic for 2 years then completing another degree which takes a year. Aeromedical paramedics must have been an intensive care paramedic for at least a year then undertake there Masters degree in Paramedicine which takes another year.

5 years all up to get to the top.

You can also undertake a double degree in paramedics and emergency nursing which takes 4 years. At them completion of the course you come out as a paramedics and registered nurse.

There’s also post graduate degrees in paediatrics and a variety of other fields.

[boneknuckleskin]

In the time I have been a member of this site, I have seen so many valid discussions which turn into spitting matches of EMTs vs. Paramedics. One of the things that it seems might help is to remember the EMS concept that a Basic is an EMT, an Intermediate is an EMT and, though they are often want to admit it, a Paramedic is an EMT...I can just see medics all over the world having small MIs when they read that.

First of all, we simply must stop comparing the training of EMTs of any level in the US to that of our brothers and sisters in Canada, Australia and elsewhere. The training and scopes of practice are simply not the same. An EMT here is not the same as an EMT in Canada.

Secondly, I disagree with the fact that the training of EMTs (as one author noted, particularly basics) is insufficient. In my experience both as someone who has spent a year in medical school and is now a National Registry EMT-B/D, when people start complaining about training being insufficient, it is most often not the fault of the training, but the fault of the one being trained. Maybe people should start asking themselves, did I LEARN material and interventions or did I memorize it long enough to get through an exam. I think often, especially with students at the basic level, the latter is the case. As far as clinicals go, my training program required 20 hours of clinical time divided between ambulance and hospital. I completed almost 3 times that many hours, including 24 hour shifts in Level I trauma centers, where I assisted physicians and nurses, administered treatments to patients whose care was placed in my hands and regularly performed neuro exams on patients. Perhaps the best question to ask is not whether the training is sufficient, but whether you took full advantage of the opportunities for training and learning made available to you. I have seen students in clinical settings, both Basic and Paramedic, sitting in lounges drinking coffee waiting for the next "interesting case." When we begin to argue about who is well trained and who is not, perhaps we should be intelligently discussing who took advantage of the opportunities made available to them and who sat around on their thumbs until their shift was over so the nurse manager could sign off on a "clinical rotation."

As for BLS vs ALS, this question doesnt even exist in my area. Every single crew has a BLS Basic and an ALS paramedic. There is never any need to see what a patient needs and then call for an ALS intercept. ALS providers are already on scene ON EVERY CALL. In fact, several of our private agencies have three person crews consisting of a Basic and two Paramedics.

Whether you are training to become a Basic, a Paramedic, a CCP or a Basic or Medic specialist, the question is not how good was the training, but rather how well did you train. Yes, I plan to move on to Paramedic level. But I am also proud to be an EMT-Basic. I worked very hard during my 176 hours of training (not 120) and came away feeling that I had mastered the skills of assessment, splinting, patient stablization, bleeding control, labor and delivery, wound care, breathing treatments, scene size up and the 100 other things that we were trained to do.

If you are an EMT and feel that your training was insufficient, then by all means have the good sense to get out of the ambulance and back into the classroom. If you are a Paramedic who feels that the Basics with whom you work are ambulance drivers, why dont you let them participate in the patient care they were trained to give. Basics and Paramedics should work together, hand and glove, not servant and master.

Worth repeating.

[Asysin2leads]

How come this stuff isn't cross posted into the cadet thread? Over in that one its all peace and love and holding hands. How come these same youngsters aren't allowed to shadow firefighters in the course of their duties. Oh, I forgot, our job is perfectly safe and nothing bad ever happens. Ever. I have enough trouble babysitting my partner, for crying out loud.

Its one thing when a teen doesn't quite understand why its a not a good idea to do ride alongs, thats why teenagers are teenagers, they are in the midst of developing adult comprehension skills but still retain a lot of child hood traits, naivety chief among them. Its another when (supposedly) rational, level minded adults think its a good idea. Its almost a Catch-22 situation, the person who would be best suited to work in EMS would be the one who, at age 16, would say "I have no business being anywhere near an ambulance right now, but I'm going to sit tight, wait, be patient, and work hard so one day I will be."

[BEorP]

Secondly, I disagree with the fact that the training of EMTs (as one author noted, particularly basics) is insufficient. In my experience both as someone who has spent a year in medical school and is now a National Registry EMT-B/D, when people start complaining about training being insufficient, it is most often not the fault of the training, but the fault of the one being trained. Maybe people should start asking themselves, did I LEARN material and interventions or did I memorize it long enough to get through an exam. I think often, especially with students at the basic level, the latter is the case. As far as clinicals go, my training program required 20 hours of clinical time divided between ambulance and hospital. I completed almost 3 times that many hours, including 24 hour shifts in Level I trauma centers, where I assisted physicians and nurses, administered treatments to patients whose care was placed in my hands and regularly performed neuro exams on patients. Perhaps the best question to ask is not whether the training is sufficient, but whether you took full advantage of the opportunities for training and learning made available to you.

We should worry about education, not training. Look at a PCP program in Ontario and then tell me again that EMTs are sufficiently educated.

[Timmy]

How come this stuff isn't cross posted into the cadet thread? Over in that one its all peace and love and holding hands. How come these same youngsters aren't allowed to shadow firefighters in the course of their duties. Oh, I forgot, our job is perfectly safe and nothing bad ever happens. Ever. I have enough trouble babysitting my partner, for crying out loud.

Its one thing when a teen doesn't quite understand why its a not a good idea to do ride alongs, thats why teenagers are teenagers, they are in the midst of developing adult comprehension skills but still retain a lot of child hood traits, naivety chief among them. Its another when (supposedly) rational, level minded adults think its a good idea. Its almost a Catch-22 situation, the person who would be best suited to work in EMS would be the one who, at age 16, would say "I have no business being anywhere near an ambulance right now, but I'm going to sit tight, wait, be patient, and work hard so one day I will be."

Please leave us alone.... Please!

[docomd600]

The Volunteer Fire department I joined in Deale, Maryland I was 16, started riding first as an 3rd attendant, took my CPR & Advanced First Aid (That was all that was needed at the time) and was riding as the 2nd attendant 6 months later. I went a step further and took a class called EMT and was certified in 1975 and have had that certification ever since. I still ride the ambulance as a volunteer plus fight fires on the engine and tower plus handle rescue calls on our Rescue Truck.

There is nothing wrong with having 16 year olds to ride as an observer. I've been riding ambulances since 1973 and I still enjoy it. I have been a full time EMT for the last 3 years. If we want to interest young people in our profession, give them a taste of what we do to let them see what the real world is all about.

[Asysin2leads]

I have an idea, lets ship them to Iraq so they can get a taste of what the world is about. I mean, that should give them some good experience in prehospital emergency care, right? Couldn't hurt.

[Timmy]

I have an idea, lets ship them to Iraq so they can get a taste of what the world is about. I mean, that should give them some good experience in prehospital emergency care, right? Couldn't hurt.

You have no idea how much I’d love to do something like that!! Seriously what an awesome experience. But you have to be 17 to join the army

[Asysin2leads]

Well, in the mean time, you can talk to my friend Ryan who has never been quite the same after having to shoot a 12 year old in Iraq who was setting up a roadside bomb. I bet he's got some great experiences for you. The other guy, a police officer I used to know, you can't talk to him because he was killed by a sniper after going back for his second tour. How about instead you just rent a game from the video store, it will have all sorts of fun explosions and blood and shooting and you won't have to end any human beings life and no one will have to hand your mother a folded flag. Sounds better to me!