EMT Training

[ThorntonOL]

Was talking to my mom who was a EMT when she was younger and mentioned she had to spend a few weeks at a hospital basically as an intern to get her EMT qual. Happened to mention this to a cadet who just got his EMT qual.(have two current and one former cadet who are EMT qualified.) and he said it was optional now. Is this true for every where or just our Upper PA and Lower NY?

[arajca]

The requriements vary from state to state and depend on what level of EMT. Basic, Intermediate, or paraGodmedic. When I got my EMT-B many moons ago, I had to do two shifts, one in a local ER and one in a major ER.   Paramedics spend many shift in a variety of hospital departments and have to run many hours on an ambulance crew.

[SJFedor]

Was talking to my mom who was a EMT when she was younger and mentioned she had to spend a few weeks at a hospital basically as an intern to get her EMT qual. Happened to mention this to a cadet who just got his EMT qual.(have two current and one former cadet who are EMT qualified.) and he said it was optional now. Is this true for every where or just our Upper PA and Lower NY?

It varies from state to state. Typically, the EMT-B curriculum is about 130-ish hours of didactic (classroom) time, and variable amounts of clinical/field time.

Schools around here for the state of TN typically require a minimum 36 hours on a rig, and 12-24 in an Emergency Department. However, the entry level EMT in TN is termed as an EMT-IV, which is the National Registry EMT-B, but with advanced state privilidges, including starting IV lines, hanging some fluids, and a few other little goodies. Essentially the EMT-I level for any other state.

An EMT program is typically one semester. Paramedic programs will typically be 3-4 semesters, and require EMT-B as a pre-req.

Since I noticed you're in the southern tier of NY, here's a listing of all agencies that can/do EMT training in the state, organized by county.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/education/course_sponsors/docs/course_sponsors.pdf

[EMT-83]

I remember my ER time as the highlight of the EMT program, as we were given the opportunity to use the skills that we had learned in the classroom. The ER staff treated us as members of the team, and let us jump right in. I can't imagine it as being optional.

[ThorntonOL]

I'm actually just below in the border in Bradford county PA, and they were starting a EMT training soon, but doesn't work out for my schedule.

[Flying Pig]

In CA the requirements vary by county.  I believe the state requires a minimum but the counties can add requirements.  Maybe someone here can correct me on that if Im wrong.  I thought thats what they said in my EMT class.  

[fyrfitrmedic]

I'm actually just below in the border in Bradford county PA, and they were starting a EMT training soon, but doesn't work out for my schedule.

You might want to research reciprocity between NY and PA.

[JayT]

Was talking to my mom who was a EMT when she was younger and mentioned she had to spend a few weeks at a hospital basically as an intern to get her EMT qual. Happened to mention this to a cadet who just got his EMT qual.(have two current and one former cadet who are EMT qualified.) and he said it was optional now. Is this true for every where or just our Upper PA and Lower NY?

I had to do ten hours as part of my EMT-B training, and I have to do around one hundred hours for my AEMT-CC class.

New York doesn't really have EMT-I's, but certain counties have AEMT-CC which is above EMT-I but below EMT-P.

[chiles]

My EMT training in Maryland in 1999 didn't require any clinical training in an ER. However, paramedic does. This was in the EMT-B version that has since been updated.

I used to be an ER nurse and had a lot of paramedic students come through. It helped them learn their basic skills through forced repetitiveness (not that they wouldn't have got that on the streets of Baltimore City, but they had the opportunity to practice a single skill over and over again within a few hours in the ER). They also were able to see what happened to a patient after they dropped them off. I often found that if I treated EMT-P students kindly, they'd often draw a patient's blood in the field for me:) Treat them badly, they'd hit the druggies with the full dose of Narcan so they came in nice and combative.

[JayT]

My EMT training in Maryland in 1999 didn't require any clinical training in an ER. However, paramedic does. This was in the EMT-B version that has since been updated.

I used to be an ER nurse and had a lot of paramedic students come through. It helped them learn their basic skills through forced repetitiveness (not that they wouldn't have got that on the streets of Baltimore City, but they had the opportunity to practice a single skill over and over again within a few hours in the ER). They also were able to see what happened to a patient after they dropped them off. I often found that if I treated EMT-P students kindly, they'd often draw a patient's blood in the field for me:) Treat them badly, they'd hit the druggies with the full dose of Narcan so they came in nice and combative.

We would *never* do that to the interpid Emergency Department staff!

A nurse who accepts blood drawn in the field? I didn't think we'd find one of you.

[arajca]

My EMT training in Maryland in 1999 didn't require any clinical training in an ER. However, paramedic does. This was in the EMT-B version that has since been updated.

I used to be an ER nurse and had a lot of paramedic students come through. It helped them learn their basic skills through forced repetitiveness (not that they wouldn't have got that on the streets of Baltimore City, but they had the opportunity to practice a single skill over and over again within a few hours in the ER). They also were able to see what happened to a patient after they dropped them off. I often found that if I treated EMT-P students kindly, they'd often draw a patient's blood in the field for me:) Treat them badly, they'd hit the druggies with the full dose of Narcan so they came in nice and combative.

We would *never* do that to the interpid Emergency Department staff!

A nurse who accepts blood drawn in the field? I didn't think we'd find one of you.

Up here, ER's accept it all the time. Of course, since the cheif ER nurse went through EMT training to see what happens in the field, she mandated it many years ago. (side note: the school registar didn't want to let her sign up since she didn't have First Responder or Advanced First Aid . The program director intervened.)

[Major Lord]

I found that the clinical time I had in EMT training was some of the best -spent time ever! I even volunteered to go back. Unlike field medicine, almost everyone in the ER is actually sick ( many, many 911 responses are for purely psychological calls, not even real emergencies, or uninsured people who need a ride to the hospital for routine treatment) The Hospital is a relatively clean and safe environment, and a newbie medic can focus on the medicine there more, and not have a lot of distractions ( Try starting a line in a torn apart car with freezing rain running down the neck of your soaking wet uniform, while junkies try to rip off your rig (ambulance) for drugs...) Having professional back up (Docs and Nurses) takes away a lot of the fear, and fear is the mind killer.

Major Lord

[JayT]

I found that the clinical time I had in EMT training was some of the best -spent time ever! I even volunteered to go back. Unlike field medicine, almost everyone in the ER is actually sick ( many, many 911 responses are for purely psychological calls, not even real emergencies, or uninsured people who need a ride to the hospital for routine treatment) The Hospital is a relatively clean and safe environment, and a newbie medic can focus on the medicine there more, and not have a lot of distractions ( Try starting a line in a torn apart car with freezing rain running down the neck of your soaking wet uniform, while junkies try to rip off your rig (ambulance) for drugs...) Having professional back up (Docs and Nurses) takes away a lot of the fear, and fear is the mind killer.

Major Lord

"Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration"

Actually, I really think there needs to be more cross training on both ends, more EMT's, CCT's, and Paramedics in the ER, and more nurses and physicians out in the field occassionally.

I think that both groups, field and hospital personnal, misunderstand each other to some degree (at least's thats a problem in my area.)

EMS's guys need to understand the hardships that hospital staff experience, and hospital staff needs to understand what things are like outside of the ER is like.

(Or atleast's what my partner and I decided over many hours of cruising the night tour.)

[SJFedor]

I found that the clinical time I had in EMT training was some of the best -spent time ever! I even volunteered to go back. Unlike field medicine, almost everyone in the ER is actually sick ( many, many 911 responses are for purely psychological calls, not even real emergencies, or uninsured people who need a ride to the hospital for routine treatment) The Hospital is a relatively clean and safe environment, and a newbie medic can focus on the medicine there more, and not have a lot of distractions ( Try starting a line in a torn apart car with freezing rain running down the neck of your soaking wet uniform, while junkies try to rip off your rig (ambulance) for drugs...) Having professional back up (Docs and Nurses) takes away a lot of the fear, and fear is the mind killer.

Major Lord

"Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration"

Actually, I really think there needs to be more cross training on both ends, more EMT's, CCT's, and Paramedics in the ER, and more nurses and physicians out in the field occassionally.

I think that both groups, field and hospital personnal, misunderstand each other to some degree (at least's thats a problem in my area.)

EMS's guys need to understand the hardships that hospital staff experience, and hospital staff needs to understand what things are like outside of the ER is like.

(Or atleast's what my partner and I decided over many hours of cruising the night tour.)

Full concur. All of the nurses that are hired into our ED spend two 12 hour shifts on the truck with Nashville Fire Dept EMS during orientation. All of our EM residents spend 2 solid weeks on the truck per year (3 year residency) plus spend a month on our helicopter service. All of this thanks to our EM Department Chair, who is the Med Director for Nashville Fire.

A lot of our RN staff also holds licensure as either EMTs or EMT-Ps, partially because it's a state requirement to be on the helicopter, but also because many have some from those backgrounds before going through nursing school.

I'm actually just below in the border in Bradford county PA, and they were starting a EMT training soon, but doesn't work out for my schedule.

There's accelerated classes you can do, but they typically require some travel, as only certain states have them.

And I would highly, highly not recommend them to anyone without prior medical clinical experience.

[JayT]

I know the community college down the street doesn an accelerated program, but it's something like eight hours a day every week day.

One of my partners graduated from it, and they really skimmed a lot of the practical skills part. I got hours of training using a KED for example, he got to watch someone else put it on.

I work for a private company that doesn't get a lot of truama runs (except for occasional 'Grandpa fell off his Jazzy scooter down a flight of stairs.') and when we redid truama stuff in my ALS class, many of the skills I hadn't preformed since my initial.