Passed NREMT now what?

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OmegaEMT

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Hello folks i'm new here and just wanted to ask this simple question. I live in California and just passed my NREMT about a month ago. I was told that I have to get an ambulance driving license to apply as an EMT in the departments. Yet, before i take the test i have to have a background check, fingerprinting and medical clearance. My question is this: how do i go about collecting this information? When I asked at LiveScan about the fingerprinting they said something about an application form and that I should get it at the place i apply. Also do i really need medical clearance and what is the medical form the DMV needs when I test?

Thanks for your time and any replies are welcome!
 
Generally a company will want a copy of your:

EMT-B cert (Not point going on without this)

Background check (Get the form at any live scan area)

EMT County Card (Depends what county your in CA)

Drivers license (You should have...)

Ambulance Drivers Certificate (Get the form at the DMV)

CPR card (......)

Medical Examination Card (Green Card after you pass the medical/physical)
(Form also from DMV)

Printout from the DMV of your driving record. I believe CA companies wants the H9 or was it H6
 
Yikes, it was like jumping through so many hoops to get all of this paperwork together.

(--You'll need cash or check to pay for most of these things. It's not cheap!)

Some -- not all -- places require proof of vaccination:
PPD-skin Test for TB
1st of 2 Hep A shots/ 1st 2 of 3 Hep B shots (possibly also Hep A/ Hep B/ Hep C screening)
Tetanus shot
MMR
If you're going to be working or volunteering in an ER, you'll also need Varicella titer OR shot if titer shows you're not immune.
--If you're in the Bay Area, there's a free Clinic in Berkeley for Hep screening and shots, and Tetanus shots:
http://www.berkeleyfreeclinic.org/home.html

First of all, you'll need to get livescan done in the least two times, that I know of. Might as well take both of the forms in at the same time. You get one form from the DMV for the LiveScan for your ambulance driver's license. Also pick up the booklet about how to drive an Ambulance -- it's $5.00. They'll give you a form to take to a doctor to fill out the Medical Certificate.

You need a livescan for your County Badge. Go to the website for your local EMS authority and print out the form from there. They'll have info on Livescan locations you can go to. They'll also give a list of everything you need to hand in to get your county badge, (which is pretty much what you'll need for handing in job applications, so make tons of copies).

Before taking your Ambulance Driver's Test, study this and you'll pass:
http://emtstudyguide.blogspot.com/2008/08/ambulance-drivers-test-study-guide.html

The booklet is like reading gibberish. The study questions really helped. I wouldn't have passed without them.

Bring all of these things to Kinko's and make as many copies as you think you'll need for applying to jobs:

Medical Certificate
Ambulance Driver's License (back and front)
CPR Card (back and front)
EMT Card
Driver's License
Social Security Card
Vaccination Certificate (won't need this most of the time, but some places
require it when you apply for a job)

Take all of this to your EMS agency and they'll send you your County Badge in about 10 days. Make a copy of this too.

Get your resume and cover letter together and you're ready to start applying for jobs. You'll need to get IS-100, IS-200, and IS-700, at some point, for most ambulance companies. They take 3-4 hours each, but you won't need it before you get the job:
http://www.training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp

Good luck! Maybe we'll end up working together, who knows. I just started applying too :)
 
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Thank you for your reply. I kept trying to figure out the Livescan thing and I felt like i was going in circles. Thanks!
 
Noctis Lucis Caelum said:
Generally a company will want a copy of your:

EMT-B cert (Not point going on without this)

Background check (Get the form at any live scan area)

EMT County Card (Depends what county your in CA)

Drivers license (You should have...)

Ambulance Drivers Certificate (Get the form at the DMV)

CPR card (......)

Medical Examination Card (Green Card after you pass the medical/physical)
(Form also from DMV)

Printout from the DMV of your driving record. I believe CA companies wants the H9 or was it H6
Click to expand...
Good God, remind me to not move to California.
 
No problem! It takes a while to get everything together. I wish someone had told me because I thought I'd be able to get it all done in a day or two and be able to start applying for jobs. Not the case. I forgot to mention, you probably need two forms of picture ID for your County Badge, so bring your passport or another state ID too.

Best of luck!
 
Oops, also forgot to mention, most places want the H6 (10 year driving record), but some accept the 3 year one. If you have a bad driving record, you might want to try giving them the 3 year one first. And most places will only accept it within either one week or three weeks of the date at which you apply.
 
Sorry, I made a mistake there. Again. You need the front and back of your MEDICAL CERTIFICATE and your CPR CARD, not your ambulance driver's license.
 
usafmedic45 said:
Good God, remind me to not move to California.
Click to expand...

Yeah, just when you thought the Mid West was screwy enough and then you examine and find out that the Coast Lines are f****d up!


R/r 911
 
Ridryder911 said:
Yeah, just when you thought the Mid West was screwy enough and then you examine and find out that the Coast Lines are f****d up!


R/r 911
Click to expand...
Eh, the midwest isn't too bad. Our process was:
-State credential
-Driver's license and SS card
-Driver's history (requested by the company, you didn't have to go get it but just signed a release)
-CPR/ACLS/PALS/NRP (CPR was required for everyone, but the latter three were strongly recommended for BLS personnel and required for EMT-Is or EMT-Ps)
-Criminal background check (once again, you just signed a release to allow the check)
-Proof of a negative TB test (within one year) or clear chest x-ray (within five years)

There was none of the "ambulance driver's license" crap, medical examination or county license, etc. It was pretty much one stop shopping for everything but the TB test.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
hassle factor

At least that hassle was to apply for a JOB!
Here's what I had to do to simply COMPLETE an EMT-B class:
1) Meet w/ counselor. 3 hour wait (appointments not taken)
2) Register for class. 4 hour ordeal for a new student
3) Pass a reading comprehension test. AND a math test.
4) Background check. $39
5) Drug test $25 + trip across town
6) Complete online HIPPA powerpoint presentation/test- 90 min.
7) Complete "Communitywide Education" presentation/test- 45 min.
8) Complete immunizations (Hep B x3; MMR; TB; Dip/Tet)
9) Get a physical exam/clearance $50 + trip across town
10) Buy uniform/boots $150 (I got decent 511 apparel-$$)
11) Buy nametag $4 + trip across town
12) Attend hospital orientation (again, across town)
13) Attend CPR class (my card was over 1 year old, and yes, go across town)
14) Provide copies of my DL and SS card due to administrative "vagueries"
Maybe more, I've blocked them out

PLUS go to class and clinicals!

Note that some of these items had to be done more than once, as the "t's" weren't crossed properly. I have been audited by the CA Board of Equalization and it was less frustrating than all that!
Oh well, on to paramedic school!
 
R.O.P. said:
At least that hassle was to apply for a JOB!
Here's what I had to do to simply COMPLETE an EMT-B class:
1) Meet w/ counselor. 3 hour wait (appointments not taken)
2) Register for class. 4 hour ordeal for a new student
3) Pass a reading comprehension test. AND a math test.
4) Background check. $39
5) Drug test $25 + trip across town
6) Complete online HIPPA powerpoint presentation/test- 90 min.
7) Complete "Communitywide Education" presentation/test- 45 min.
8) Complete immunizations (Hep B x3; MMR; TB; Dip/Tet)
9) Get a physical exam/clearance $50 + trip across town
10) Buy uniform/boots $150 (I got decent 511 apparel-$$)
11) Buy nametag $4 + trip across town
12) Attend hospital orientation (again, across town)
13) Attend CPR class (my card was over 1 year old, and yes, go across town)
14) Provide copies of my DL and SS card due to administrative "vagueries"
Maybe more, I've blocked them out

PLUS go to class and clinicals!

Note that some of these items had to be done more than once, as the "t's" weren't crossed properly. I have been audited by the CA Board of Equalization and it was less frustrating than all that!
Oh well, on to paramedic school!
Click to expand...
Good god. That's ridiculous.
 
Just another question. In CA bay area do you have to have the livescan and medical exam completed BEFORE you take the ambulance driving test? OR can you take the test and get the other stuff completed, THEN apply for the license?
 
I think you can, but you might be wasting your time with multiple trips to the DMV. You have to get the LiveScan form and the Medical Certificate forms at the DMV anyway, so you can ask them when you go to pick it up. They let me take the test and I had everything ready, but the MD who did my Med Cert didn't fill out one of the sections. I had to go back to the clinic, the DMV let me hand that in the next day after my test.
 
Seriously... man all I gotta do is go the the dmv take a written test for my chauffers license. .... then get a drug screen/ background check/ and physical.... glad I dont live in CA.......
 
Dude, what departments are you talking about?, or do you mean companies? go down to the DMV and ask for the medical "GREEN CARD", next fill out that application and go get a physical exam at a clinic for like 30 dollars or so and if your wear glasses bring them. while doing all this get the ambulance drivers handbook from the DMV 5 dollars in cash, beaccouse after your green card is filled out you will be able to take the ambulance cert written exam. As far as departments go FD's do not require the ambulance cert even if they operate ambulances.:rolleyes:
 
Even though I didn't start this threat, I am grateful that you all provided this excellent info. I will be in a very similar situation early next year, and even though it sounds like it's going to be a huge hassle, I'm glad I'll have this thread to look back on when I'm lost after graduation.. as long as CA doesn't suddenly change their application processes.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank OmegaEMT, for asking the question, and all those who helped to answer it.
 
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