paramedic class.

[Brittany95]

Just wondering, on average how long everyone stayed an EMT basic before they started medic classes? I planned on waiting until around next January/February to try to enroll. At that time I will have been an EMT for a year.

 

[STXmedic]

I went straight in to paramedic. I got a job as a basic during paramedic school.

 

[PotatoMedic]

2.5 years.

 

[Smitty213]

The common trend where I am currently is, if you are a solid Basic and the powers that be are willing to write the recommendations, you start Medic/ALS with just enough time left on your Basic card so that you essentially re-cert as a ALS provider.

 

[COmedic17]

Almost 4 years, yo.

 

[chaz90]

3 years here

 

[Carlos Danger]

I never worked as a basic until after I started paramedic school.

 

[akflightmedic]

I went straight to medic...was a certified basic for about 3 months or so before medic school started. If end goal is medic, do not wait. You will get varying opinions well covered on this in other threads, but my opinion as what I did for myself and what I observed as a EMT and Paramedic instructor and preceptor for 10+ years at the collegiate level...is that there is no added value in delaying.

 

[TransportJockey]

A year. Then three as an intermediate

 

[DesertMedic66]

Around 3 1/2 years.

 

[joshrunkle35]

Went straight from Basic to Medic.

 

[StCEMT]

I am going straight to medic, but it is also part of my college major so I am just following my degree layout.

 

[Chewy20]

Going on two years now. Trying to figure out if I want to stay in EMS or not. Just go ASAP. Being an IFT basic, which is probably where you would start is a waste of time if you plan on going back to school. Work PRN or part-time during school if you dont have many bills.

 

[OCemt86]

I haven't personally seen it, but I've heard from people who've witnessed it first hand. You can choose to go straight to medic, but during your internship things can get rough for you and your patient, depending on who you're interning under. There have been incidences where a medic fresh out of didactic and clinical's is on his/her first 24 as an intern, and they get a code and freeze, just straight up freeze. Not because they don't know what to do, but because they've never actually experienced, seen, or handled a situation like that. If you're the medic on scene, you're expected to lead and lead efficiently, so as to provide the absolute best possible outcome for the patient.

If you feel confident that you could handle a call such as that with no prior field experience, it's naive at best. Most schools who are training medics to save lives, not training medics so they get paid tuition, will want you to have 2 years field experience as a basic (preferably ET's, not IFT's), and around 6 months minimum if you're dialed in on your skills and have gotten some good patient contacts.

This being said, it's all up to you and what you feel is within your limits.

 

[TransportJockey]

I call bull on that. There's no proof that experience makes you a better medic, and I know several schools that are more than happy to get a green emt because they don't have bad habits.
There's a bachelor's program here in nm that is amazing and takes the student from zero to medic without experience as a prereq. And I've FTOd those students many times. They are generally some great medics

 

[gotbeerz001]

The problem most people have is not knowing how to talk to a patient; sometimes experience as an EMt helps this, sometimes you just turn into a douche.

The path for one is not the same for all.

 

[Carlos Danger]

There have been incidences where a medic fresh out of didactic and clinical's is on his/her first 24 as an intern, and they get a code and freeze, just straight up freeze. Not because they don't know what to do, but because they've never actually experienced, seen, or handled a situation like that..

Nonsense.

 

[CALEMT]

If I get into medic school for the winter it will be 3 1/2 years as a EMT. If not winter the next application period will be fall and that will be the 4 year mark for me.

 

[akflightmedic]

An old analogy I like to bring up every time this topic appears is...

Does a nurse need to have time as a CNA first?
Does a doctor need to be a medical assistant or PA or NP first?
Does a cop need to be a security guard first?

On and on and on....

In any quality (preferably degree program), if you have completed EMT you will be just fine in Medic school as there are far more hours and opportunity to get patient contact and develop your skills, knowledge, etc while ensuring you do not freeze on scene.

FYI, despite what you have heard, even experienced medics with years under their belt still "freeze" on scene. This is why we develop muscle memory and basic routines, when we freeze, we kick ourselves into one of those modes until our brain thaws and then we move forward.

 

[NUEMT]

i did 4 years. Depends on the person for sure. I think being solid in Basic skills is a real help though. Basic schools, depending on where you go, are just not that intense sometimes. You need to decide if more experience is right for you. I don't care about the grades or the scores. I care about whether or not you are going to freakout at the first sign of serious trouble. I have seen it happen. She went and sat in the rig and abandoned her partner and patient.