EMT certification anyone?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>Anyone have EMT Certification? Why did you get it? </p>

<p>I won twenty community college credit tuition waivers at the annual skills competitions and now I am considering using them. I’m not totally sure how it works, but I think I would get free tuition for whichever classes I choose, up to a total of twenty credits. However, many of the classes have “course fees” associated with them that are often more than the tuition. I don’t think my waivers would cover course fees. </p>

<p>At the community college, they offer a two part EMT class which I’m considering taking during the summer. I could use my waivers for about $700 worth of tuition, but there is still about $600 more in fees. Is it worth it? </p>

<p>I am graduating high school very soon and would like to do something beneficial with my summer. I would get a job, but they’re rather scarce right now, and I would prefer to find work that would help in some way with my goal of becoming a doctor. </p>

<p>I’m assuming many of you have EMT certification, and I’m wondering: </p>

<li><p>Is it advantageous being EMT certified when applying to medical school? If I got certified now, would I have to pay these fees again to get re certified in the next four years? </p></li>
<li><p>Does being EMT certified open any doors job-wise? Could I get hired just upon basic training? Is it hard to find work? </p></li>
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<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>It really is only advantageous to be certified if you actually use it on a first aid squad. And if you join one while you’re in the class, they can most likely reimburse you for the cost.</p>

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<p>I don’t think most pre-med students are EMT, correct me if i’m wrong though.
I’ve also heard that having EMT on your resume is really impressive, similar to having obtained the rank of Eagle scout, but even more weight.</p>

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<p>I guess its only a good thing if it looks good on resumes. I’m curious as to what the work is like though. Is it a good job regardless?</p>

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<p>Like arez said, its really only a good thing if you’ve actually done something with it (i.e. worked on an ambulance, in an ER, etc.) - otherwise it will be taken as a blatant resume padder. And many pre-meds take the EMT class for just that purpose, unfortunately. So its really not anything impressive in itself, but if you can talk about it passionately and have made good experiences of it, it will work to your advantage.</p>

<p>So don’t do it unless you’re actually interested in emergency medicine or EMS. If you are, its great clinical experience, especially if you’re an ER tech or work on a 9-1-1 ambulance, and its a great thing to talk about in a PS or interviews. </p>

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<p>Yes - it is the entry-level cert needed to work in EMS. You can definitely get hired upon getting your EMT certification (I did). That being said, job availability is highly area dependant. In southern CA, EMT’s are a dime a dozen, so companies don’t have to pay much to fill their staffs. Thats not the case everywhere, however.</p>

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<p>I definitely would like to work in an emergency room or on a 911 ambulance. Both these sound like amazing (not to mention intense) jobs which I think I wouldn’t tire of. I’m worried though whether I would actually be able to get these types of jobs. If I were to get certified, how would I find openings? I’m thinking of maybe scouting out the job market before signing up for the classes. It would suck if I paid $600 only to find that nobody is hiring, and then I would end up with the old EMT resume pad- nothing more.</p>

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<p>My D just got her EMT-I (there are three levels of EMT certification: basic, intermediate and paramedic). The class you’re talking about is probably a Basic.</p>

<p>Can’t say for fact whether having the certification helps or not in the med school application process. (She’s won’t be applying until next year…) She was told, however, by 2 different people associated with admissions at our local med school that anyone who has an EMT <em>AND</em> works as an EMT is given a boost for admission as it proves that the person has demonstrated both the ability to work with patients and to handle the stress of a medical career. </p>

<p>(NOTE: it’s the working part that’s important–not merely holding the certification.)</p>

<p>As for jobs you an get as an EMT, there are a variety of different positions you will qualify for with your certification-- hospital ER tech, ambulance service EMT, search & rescue, ski patrol, police and fire departments, private EMT services (locally working on movies sets is a popular), air ambulance, etc. EMTs get paid fairly well.–up to $20/hour.</p>

<p>D has discovered its pretty hard to find a paying position with just a Basic certification–your scope of practice is very limited. For almost all jobs in hospitals or with police/fire departments or ambulance services, they want you to have an intermediate. (Intermediates still have to supervised by a paramedic or nurse in most cases… although that varies a great deal by practice, locale and state legal requirements.)</p>

<p>One thing to consider is that EMT training varies a great deal by state. As does certification. If you train in and get certified in one state, you will NOT be able to practice in another. (In fact, you open yourself to a great deal of legal liability even if you respond as well-intentioned bystander.) Your scope of practice and ability to dispense meds really varies tons by state law. </p>

<p>For example, our state is large, rural and sparsely populated with huge areas where there is no medical coverage. Because of that, transport times are often measured in HOURS. EMTs here can and do have [legal] authority to prescribe meds like fentanyl and morphine–something you don’t see in other states. They also are authorized to perform medical procedures that in most states only doctors can do.</p>

<p>One other thing–aside from class fees and books for your EMT, you still have to take and pass a state licensing exam (which will cost still more fees). Also since the licensing exam is a statewide thing and typically is not offered at the community college, you may have to travel to wherever the exam is being offered. </p>

<p>So is it worth it? Depends upon your definition. D has delivered a baby, put in jugular IV, set a broken leg, sedated a violent mental patient, placed an arterial line, assisted at a spinal tap, helped resolve a pneumothorax, taken a couple of dozen case histories—and all of this was just during her hands-on training.</p>

<p>Oregon–EMTs have to be recertified every 3 years. Recertification requires both X hours of hands-on service/practice plus X hours of continuing education credits. (Varies by state.) If you take your coursework now, don’t get certified and don’t practice, it will be useless in 4 years time and you’ll have to start over.</p>

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<p>WayOutWestMom: Thanks for the insight. From what I’ve read, I do think its a job I want to pursue. </p>

<p>I’m still unsure about the certification process though. I know I could take the basic level EMT classes during the summer, but that will not do much. To actually get a job, it was mentioned that you need intermediate level certification. Is this level hard to get, or harder to get than the first? If I spend all summer doing the course for level one, how long will it take to get intermediate after that? </p>

<p>And is a training course required to take the test? Necessary to pass? Or would it be possible to independent study it? </p>

<p>As for re-certification, I don’t think that would be a problem. After three years, I should have had plenty of experience with the job so that I could decide whether or not I like it enough to recertify, but either way I would have something to mention on my med school resume.</p>

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<p>WOWMom - congrats to your daughter on her certification! I wish CA recognized the intermediate level since its class is not much longer than the basic course.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I must disagree with parts of your post, having had plenty of experience in EMS and as a current medical student. </p>

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<p>The training doesn’t actually really vary all that much, as minimum standards are set by the DOT (yeah, I don’t know why the DOT sets EMS training standards either). However, state by and state (and even county by county) scopes of practice vary quite a bit. </p>

<p>Also (and going along with the standardized training), a lot of states recognize the National Registry certification. Other states that don’t use the National Registry for their testing still generally allow you very easy reciprocity if you were to want to practice elsewhere (I recently went through this when I moved across country for med school).</p>

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<p>Actually, in no state can EMTs (of any level) prescribe medications. Based on their level of training and scope of practice, they may administer a limited number of medications based on guidelines and as approved by their medical director (and sometimes must get a physician’s approval before administering some drugs). I know this may sound like semantics, but prescribing drugs is a far different thing from being able to give them based on a protocol. EMT’s are not legally “prescribing entities” (e.g. physicians, PAs, etc)</p>

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<p>Again, not really true. I’ve looked at New Mexico’s state scope of practice documents - its a pretty standard level of care for EMTs of all levels. A list of about 20-30 drugs, IV, IO, ETI, needle thoracostamy, etc. In fact, it wasn’t all that progessive (no manual defib for paramedics?) All EMTs of their respective levels are trained for these skills in all states that I know of.</p>

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<p>These things vary quite a bit by locale. In CA, its every two years, and the certification is done on a county by county basis (I, for example, was certified by the Los Angeles County EMS Agency)</p>

<p>The big take-home message here is that EMS varies quite a bit from place to place. It is a great way to get clinical experience. But it can’t really be your only clinical exerience. In my medical school interview, I was asked how I knew that I would still enjoy medicine once I got to the hospital setting (i.e. how do I know I wouldn’t just run right back out to the field where the exciting stuff was haha).</p>

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<p>Not true - usually to be an ER tech, only a basic cert is required. You can certainly work on an IFT (interfacility transport) ambulance as a basic. You can even find places that staff 9-1-1 rigs with basics (mostly in places with tiered responses or with mixed ambulances - i.e. one basic and one medic)</p>

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<p>Yeah you have to have taken the class to get the certification.</p>

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<p>Icarus-- you’re right, she can’t prescribe. She can administer. I misspoke (or mis-typed–as the case may be…) and realized that after I’d finished posting. </p>

<p>As for the national certification–it’s not here yet and probably won’t be for some time. (One of her EMT instructors sits on our state committee for national certification…) </p>

<p>I suspect it (EMT certification) is going to end up rather like teacher certification has–some states will recognize reciprocity; others won’t, despite national standardized exams and certification. Our state does not and will not accept EMT training from other states–mostly because the scope of practice here is broader than in most places. </p>

<p>And oregon-- whether you can get a job or not–it all depends on the local market. If you live in an area where there are lots of medical services available–it may be difficult to find a <em>paying</em> job with an EMT-B. However, hospitals will love to have you volunteer…</p>

<p>Training for the EMT-I involves an additional semester of classroom coursework plus clinical experience. (Here it was 72 hours of clinical–which was scheduled as part of the class. D worked 6 12-hours shifts at three different hospital ERs over a 2 week period.)</p>

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<p>Wow and additional semester plus 72 hours clinical seems like an enormous amount on top of the fairly lengthy class I would have to complete for EMT-B. Could the EMT classes be integrated into my college degree? I am going to the university of Oregon next year. </p>

<p>And on another note, are there other medically related jobs I could look for? EMT does sound awesome but it seems to require a pretty significant investmet of time and money and there is no guarantee of employment. Now that I’m 18 my mom is expecting me to start paying for alot more of my stuff. This is fine with me, but I want to make sure that the job I get will be a sort of “career path” job, not just a summer working at a grocery store.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure how the pay is in Oregon, but in south Orange County, CA, my hourly wage was $12.25. It varies from private ambulance companies to hospitals, or to those that strictly work in the ER. I also was certified in phlebotomy (a lot cheaper to become certified in, and around the same length of an EMT course) and the pay was more - $15.00 an hour. However, I live in an area that has some of the best hospitals in the world (somewhat of a healthcare city) and healthcare jobs are a huge demand. You can’t go wrong with a position in healthcare though because people are living longer and people will always need healthcare. Goodluck!</p>

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oregon, my D has managed to work herself into a paid lab position at her school that :</p>

<p>pays $ during the school term
gives some academic credit
allows her to have a paid summer NSF fellowship
allows her to go on all expense paid trips to seminars where she presents her research (with some nice awards to boot, some of which have $ prizes)
allows her to be “Student Associate” at her college which pays</p>

<p>She also seems to be in demand as a paid note-taker for disabled students, house-sitter, pet-sitter, baby-sitter for profs and administrators.</p>

<p>There are opportunities. Seek them out.</p>

<p>FWIW: While not at the level of an EMT , her shadowing experiences have included suturing (she was VERY excited), assisting in a liver biopsy (or some organ, I really can’t remember but it was too graphic for squeamish me :eek:), suit up for open-heart surgery (eye surgery, plastic surgery) perform routine eye tests, spend time in palliative care situations, and countless other things to write and talk about. </p>

<p>I will NOT counsel against EMT as I believe it is one way to get close enough to “smell the patient” (as LizzyM defines clinical exposure on SDN) and quite worthwhile in and of itself , but I would caution against thinking that time spent on an ambulance removes the need to spend time around physicians treating patients.</p>

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<p>Whaaaaa? :eek: surely you mean observing these things, or perhaps handing the physician an instrument?</p>

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<p>Nope. I’m talking four (4) whole stitches last week. I got an immediate e-mail from her i-phone and a “it was waaaay cool!!!”. And as far as the biopsy, “assisting” is probably a word of art that I am using incorrectly (that happens a lot. I don’t know :eek: about science or medicine). I can’t remember but she did something with the instrument, maybe it was just hand it to the pro but I can ask. It was memorable. ;)</p>

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<p>Thats pretty interesting - how well does she know the MD she’s shadowing? No offense intended, but I’m not sure what the physician is thinking letting a pre-med observer with no training participate in health-care in any form whatsoever, much less actually put sutures in a patient. The liability there is just mind-boggling. As a medical student, we’re covered by a sizable malpractice policy held by the school for our actions in supervised health care settings, and the only thing I’ve sutured at this point is a pigs foot.</p>

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<p>OT- Sorry. Well, then maybe it didn’t happen after all. :wink: Hmmmm. Maybe it was …maybe it was a TV dream sequence. Yeah. That’s the ticket. It was all JUST a dream. ;)</p>

<p>The reason I brought it up was to suggest that close patient contact can occur without being an EMT. Didn’t mean to offend.</p>

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<p>lol not offended, just surprised, and apparently not thinking either :wink: the end of the year stress must be getting to me - curse you physiology! :slight_smile: believe it or not everything else is believable and possible for a pre-med to get involved in if they have the right connections. Suturing, not so much, but stranger things have happened :D</p>

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<p>Does anyone know anything about a Certified Nurse’s Assistant?</p>

<p>I want to just be certified and maybe get a part time job at a hospital.</p>

<p>Any advice?</p>