how do you become paramedic?

[duaqnugW]

I know that you need to take several exams and get a license but what type of education and how long. someone told me 6th month course

 

[Ns1]

pm 911paramedic

 

[Torghn]

You go to paramedic school.


Seriously, many universities will have a paramedic program. I think it's usualy 2 semesters.

 

[duaqnugW]

salary around 25k but thats what i wanted to do since I was 5

 

[duaqnugW]

whats difference between EMT and paramedic


EMT just a driver?

 

[bunker]

<< EMT just a driver? >>


I sure as hell hope not or they need to change the acronym!

Emergency
Medical
Technician

 

[911paramedic]

Salary here, starting, is about 33K/yr.

You have to become an EMT first, do that for about two years then you can go to medic school. Medic school consists of about 1200-1400 hours of anatomy, physiology (heavy into physiology of course), trauma, kinetics, pharmacology, cardiology, and many more. You also have to do an internship in a hospital doing rotations followed by an internship on an ambulance. After that, you take the state test. If you finish all that, you have to get hired, and then do about 300 hours of internship with them where they rate your skills and decide to keep you or not.

Paramedics also have to do continuing ed hours, ours are 60 hours every two years as well as maintaining our PALS, ACLS, PHTLS, and CPR certs. It is alot of hard work to get there, but it is a great job.

PALS- pediatric advanced life support
ACLS- advanced cardiac life support
PHTLS- pre-hospital trauma life support

(Each of those certs have to be renewed every two years)

 

[bunker]

The Paramedic is the highest level of education obtainable for working in the pre-hospital environment. In order to become a Paramedic you must become an EMT first. Basic EMTs are referred to as EMT-Bs and Paramedics can be represented by the initials EMT-P. Most ambulances are staffed with at least one Paramedic and there must be a Paramedic on the ambulance for it to be classified as a Mobile Intensive Care Unit(MICU). The education of Paramedics has advanced significantly over time. The comprehensive patient care and life-saving procedures that Paramedics perform today were never dreamed of by the first Paramedics of the EMS system.

Taken from www.emsadvocate.com

 

[911paramedic]

...BTW

don't EVER call an emt or medic a "driver" there is no such thing and it is considered an insult.

EMT is basic life support
EMT-P (paramedic) is advanced life support, drugs, cardioversion, advanced airways, pleural decompression, cardiac pacing, NG tubes, all that fun stuff

 

[911paramedic]

Here is a Link with our local protocols. You can read through them to see what we are allowed to do and the medicines that we give.

This is taken from that, it should give you some idea of what we do...


OPERATIONS PROTOCOLS
Emergency Medical Services Procedure For Chronic Public Inebriate
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Protocol
Ems Procedure For Emergency Department Closure
Fire Department Field Assessment Protocol
Non-Transport Of Prehospital Patients
Prehospital Death Determination
Procedure And Guidelines For Inter-Hospital Transfer Of Patients By Ambulance
Quality Improvement Review Of Incidents
Critical Trauma Protocol
Trauma Patient Destination Protocol
PROCEDURE PROTOCOLS
12-Lead ECG Acquisition
Post AED Resuscitation
Adult Patient Assessment - Medical
Adult Patient Assessment - Trauma
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Asystole
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Bradycardia
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Pulseless Electrical Activity
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Supraventricular Tachycardia
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Ventricular Fibrillation Or Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia
Cardiac Dysrhythmia Ventricular Tachycardia
Combitube TM And Combitube SATM Airway
Defibrillation
Endotracheal Intubation (Nasotracheal)
Endotracheal Intubation (Orotracheal)
Exhaled CO2 Detector (Colorimetric, Capnometry, And Capnography)
Intraosseous Infusion
Intravenous Therapy
Nasogastric Tube Placement
Needle Cricothyrotomy
Pulse Oximetry
Synchronized Cardioversion
Tension Pneumothorax Decompression Procedure
Transcutaneous Pacing
Vagal Maneuvers






TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont.)

DRUG PROTOCOLS
Official Paramedic Drug Inventory
Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin)
Activated Charcoal (Actidose)
Adenosine (Adenocard)
Albuterol (Proventil)
Atropine Sulfate
Calcium Chloride
Cordarone (Amiodarone)
Diazepam (Valium)
Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride (Benadryl)
Dopamine Hydrochloride (Intropin)
Epinephrine
Etomidate (Amidate)
Furosemide (Lasix)
Glucagon
Glucose
Lidocaine (Xylocaine)
Magnesium Sulfate
Midazolam (Versed)
Morphine Sulfate
Naloxone Hydrochloride (Narcan)
Nitroglycerin
Phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine)
Promethazine Hydrochloride (Phenergan)
Sodium Bicarbonate
Thiamine

 

[duaqnugW]

friend of mine told me he took 6month course at community college but failed the test after the course but i cant find any courses that are 6month anymore

 

[duaqnugW]

is EMT test hard? do they make you work weekends

 

[tcsenter]

For an extra challenge and a lot more pay, our county sheriff has a paramedic division with about 20 full-time deputy paramedic positions. They are sworn gun-toting LEO + paramedics who are an invaluable part of our first responder system. They are often first on the scene in a medical/fire emergency, they accompany the patient back to the hospital in the ambulance if critical, and an EMT follows in the officer/paramedic's fully marked Blazer. Pay is around $42,000 to $60,000 annually depending upon length of service and experience. This is what good friend of mine does and he loves it.

 

[Vortex22]

Well, someone is going to obviously have to work weekends for a job like that.

 

[911paramedic]

You CANNOT become a paramedic without first being an emt-basic or emt-intermediate, it just doesn't work that way. It is like becoming a journeyman without being an apprentice first, it just doesn't work like that. Your friend took an emt class if he never took anything else first, there is no way to get into medic school without it. EVER.

Sorry about the rant, but medics and emt's are pretty passionate about what we do. We get upset at people that say they are a medic if they have only taken the emt course. It is a hard thing to become and do well, so if you get this far you deserve the title. It would be like saying you were a doctor after only one year of med school.

 

[duaqnugW]

I wanna become EMT, paramedic is too long for me I dont have such patience and i dont want anyone to die because of what i did.

 

[bunker]

<< For an extra challenge and a lot more pay, our county sheriff has a paramedic division with about 20 full-time deputy paramedic positions. They are sworn gun-toting LEO + paramedics who are an invaluable part of our first responder system. They are often first on the scene in a medical/fire emergency, they accompany the patient back to the hospital in the ambulance if critical, and an EMT follows in the officer/paramedic's fully marked Blazer. Pay is around $42,000 to $60,000 annually depending upon length of service and experience. This is what good friend of mine does and he loves it. >>


tcs, what county?

 

[tcsenter]

<< tcs, what county? >>

Genessee County, Michigan. It was one of the first of its kind in the nation, now they're quite common. I worked with one of the physicians who co-develop the program for Genesee County.

<< is EMT test hard? do they make you work weekends >>

The EMT test isn't "hard" as far as tests go, if you studied and put your time in. I was licensed as an EMT in Michigan, but I let it lapse like everything else since I left the medical field (I never worked as an EMT, just thought it would be a cool thing to have).

Unless you find a gig with a city or county fire/EMS, the pay is usually crap. Not only do they make you work weekends, the only way you make any money is to work a lot of double and 24 hour shifts.

 

[duaqnugW]

http://www.nycremsco.org/GeneralInfo/2002/course.html

course is not 2years

 

[911paramedic]

course is not 2years

you are mistaking if you think you can become a medic in less than two years. Let me explain again, you have to become a basic before you can even apply to medic school. Most all medic schools require a min of 2 years of basic experience before they will even consider you.

 

[duaqnugW]

911 i think you missed my post, I said i wanna become EMT

 

[911paramedic]

Thread Title: how do you become paramedic?

I must have missed something along the way...

We are all EMT's, and there are three levels in most states:
EMT-B(asic)
EMT-I(ntermediate)
EMT-P(aramedic)

The basic class is a one semester class at most colleges and you need to have an advanced CPR cert before you take the class. Get that at Red Cross or something like that, it covers infant, child, and adult CPR.

That basic EMT course is great to have no matter what you decide to do in the future, you learn a great deal about the body and how to treat many injuries you will come across in everyday life.

Good Luck.