Advice From All You Medics

[jh504]

I am an EMT-B in North Carolina. I was working full time for an Ambulance Service here in NC up until January of '08. I was in a near fatal car accident and I have been out of the EMS loop for the past year. I was recently layed off from my office job and I am going back to work as an EMT. I am going back to school with the intention of getting my paramedic. Considering that I have been out of service for a year do you guys think that taking on the paramedic course would be a little too challenging? Should I start out slower with the EMT-I and move to the medic later? Thanks for any opinions and knowledge!

 

[firemansxterra]

well i just finished up my EMT-I and from some of the guys that bridged over to EMT-P from I they said it wasn't that much difference, just adding a few drugs and learning 12 leads, etc. So I would think you would be okay going from B to P...a couple of the people here have done it no problem. It will all come back to you once you get back into it. Plus talk is on the National Registry scene that by around 2010 or 2011 they will be doing away with the EMT-I at the national registry level...

 

[Hltoppr]

Heck...I'd just jump into the paramedic course...actually...for me personally I'd look into a PA program...and I keep threatening my wife I'd like to go back to Med school....she just loves the idea of another 100K school loan...

You'll do fine. Study and go for it!

-H-

 

[jh504]

Heck...I'd just jump into the paramedic course...actually...for me personally I'd look into a PA program...and I keep threatening my wife I'd like to go back to Med school....she just loves the idea of another 100K school loan...

You'll do fine. Study and go for it!

-H-

Thanks for the advice folks, that is what I am looking for. PA is far away from now, but could be possible in the future. In NC I can get my medic for free, because the state sponsors it. PA would be a little more expensvie.

 

[astn]

Pick your end goal, skip the middle ones. Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, or Physician Assistant would be my suggestion. Take out all the loans you need to in order to get there, they will pay off. Don't bother going to 'medic school even if it's free, because the most valuable thing you have is your time.

If you're dead-set on being a Paramedic as a career choice, then just work your butt off and recognize that the 'minimum requirements' are entirely too low, and exceed them at every turn, otherwise you're wasting your time.

Austin

 

[jh504]

Pick your end goal, skip the middle ones. Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, or Physician Assistant would be my suggestion. Take out all the loans you need to in order to get there, they will pay off. Don't bother going to 'medic school even if it's free, because the most valuable thing you have is your time.

If you're dead-set on being a Paramedic as a career choice, then just work your butt off and recognize that the 'minimum requirements' are entirely too low, and exceed them at every turn, otherwise you're wasting your time.

Austin

Good advice Austin. I am set on being a paramedic right now though. I am a firefighter and I love the rescue side of things and working on the street. I will probably end working as a medic for a fire department (assuming I pass) so that I can stay in the trenches.
When I am a little older and tired of getting dirty maybe I will go with something a little higher on the pay scale.

(Edit) Also by picking the medic I am picking my current end goal, the alternative is EMT-I or going the fire science route.

 

[jeepmedic46]

Go for your medic and enjoy a year of hell.:REOutIceFishing:

 

[kellymoe]

I don't know how West compares to East but out here it is a big jump from EMT to Paramedic, not just a few drugs. When I went through PM school in 1987 we were required to memorize 26 drugs that we were allowed to administer and several others that we would encounter in the field. We had 3 months of 5 day a week class room with a test every day. If you scored below 80% on two tests you were out of school. This training allowed me to get a job with the Los Angeles City Fire Dept. were I have been for over 20 years as a FF/PM. It is not a job to be taken lightly. Granted many new grads from PM end up working for private ambulance services which end up running calls from long term care homes to hospitals but if you go hard you can get a good paying satisfying job for a major fire dept. Los Angeles City Fire is hiring about 250 a year right now and will put you through PM school on their dime.
www.lafd.org

 

[jeepmedic46]

Thing with medic school is expect to take a yr of your life and put it in a shoebox and slide it under the bed. You have no life when you are in school.:REOutIceFishing:

 

[Capt Eddie]

Do you work for a paid fire dept? The time you spend at Paramedic school is going to give you the lowest pay of any other training. It is nice to have your heart set on something. But look to your future and your families future. Paramedic is the lowest pay out there. Ten years from now you will be kicking your self in the butt, for your wasted time at Paramedic school. You will not always be happy making $50,000 a year.

 

[kellymoe]

Do you work for a paid fire dept? The time you spend at Paramedic school is going to give you the lowest pay of any other training. It is nice to have your heart set on something. But look to your future and your families future. Paramedic is the lowest pay out there. Ten years from now you will be kicking your self in the butt, for your wasted time at Paramedic school. You will not always be happy making $50,000 a year.

Our FF/PM's make 17% more than single function FF's. I see your argument if you are strictly talking private paramedic but working for a major metropolitan fire dept. as a medic is a sure way to make more money. The medics at my station all made more this year than our captains, this is due to overtime but the opportunity to earn big bucks is there.

 

[jh504]

Do you work for a paid fire dept? The time you spend at Paramedic school is going to give you the lowest pay of any other training. It is nice to have your heart set on something. But look to your future and your families future. Paramedic is the lowest pay out there. Ten years from now you will be kicking your self in the butt, for your wasted time at Paramedic school. You will not always be happy making $50,000 a year.

I do not currently work for a paid fire department, infact I have been completely out of the 911 scene for exactly one year today, when I was ejected from my truck at 80+. I do not plan on riding a bus for 25 years. I would rather go to fire and put in my years there. Here in Raleigh firefighters are taken care of. My buddy retired at 25 years with a 6 figure income and full city benefits.

Thing with medic school is expect to take a yr of your life and put it in a shoebox and slide it under the bed. You have no life when you are in school.

That is what I am trying to prepare my wife for.

 

[jh504]

Also, I am an architectural draftsman and can make real money doing this. However I hate riding a desk. I also was just layed off from my drafting job due to the economy, if I was working for fire or EMS, the economy wouldnt have effected our life this way. Its not about the money anyway, I didnt grow up with much so I guess I wouldnt know what I am missing anyway. My Dad was a firefighter for a smaller city and he did what he had to keep us going. I wouldnt mind following those footsteps.

 

[jh504]

I don't know how West compares to East but out here it is a big jump from EMT to Paramedic, not just a few drugs. When I went through PM school in 1987 we were required to memorize 26 drugs that we were allowed to administer and several others that we would encounter in the field. We had 3 months of 5 day a week class room with a test every day. If you scored below 80% on two tests you were out of school. This training allowed me to get a job with the Los Angeles City Fire Dept. were I have been for over 20 years as a FF/PM. It is not a job to be taken lightly. Granted many new grads from PM end up working for private ambulance services which end up running calls from long term care homes to hospitals but if you go hard you can get a good paying satisfying job for a major fire dept. Los Angeles City Fire is hiring about 250 a year right now and will put you through PM school on their dime.
www.lafd.org

Wow, 3 months of 5 days a week must have been hell. The class I am looking at starts Thursday and is 11 months of 1 day a week. I hope this gives me plenty of time to get everything down and not get washed away.

 

[kellymoe]

Wow, 3 months of 5 days a week must have been hell. The class I am looking at starts Thursday and is 11 months of 1 day a week. I hope this gives me plenty of time to get everything down and not get washed away.

Very intense but very important. This intense training paid of after being hired by LAFD and being assigned to a rescue in South Central LA that averaged 22 calls in a 24 hour shift. No time for on the job training.

1 day a week will be very nice and allow you to really take in what you are learning.