<p>I don't know whether I'd be interested in following through with becoming an EMT, but I am curious about how to do so, especially if I decided to work/volunteer as an EMT part-time while in college. I'm not necessarily eager to become a full-blown EMT - I wouldn't mind aiming for one of the lower-level EMT certifications. I've heard that for some levels, dozens of course hours are needed, if not a full college degree. Is that true, even for an EMT-B? Also, if anyone could explain to me the process of becoming an EMT in Texas (where I'll be attending college), or anywhere, for that matter, I'd greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>D1 did EMT training last fall semester, a few hours of class in the evening each week and 2 exams at the end. This was in CT.</p>
<p>I remember looking at CC classes for her last summer, they were much more intensive, had to be for different certification.</p>
<p>What do you mean by “full-blown EMT”? An EMT is an EMT. Perhaps you meant a paramedic (EMT-P) or EMT-I? Yes, these take more time, particularly EMT-P, which is generally 2 years of classroom and clinical training.</p>
<p>Most people who become EMTs get their EMT-B; this is a ~130 hour course (at least it was when I first did mine 4 or 5 years ago in CT) followed by written and practical exams, like entomom said above. Easy. You can also take the test for the national registry, which will allow you to work in most states. I don’t know if TX does/accepts national registry.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the certification process in TX, so you should check out the state’s department of public health website (or whichever governing body/agency is responsible for EMT certification there).</p>
<p>EMT-B courses are offered at a lot of community colleges in the Dallas area. Not sure where in Texas you’re from but I imagine you’ll find one. You take the course at the community college, and then you sit for your exam. The summer courses at the CC are a lot more intensive because it compresses it all down into a couple weeks, just like any summer school course.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if Texas does National Registry (I think they do) but they do have reciprocity with a lot of states so it is flexible as to where you can take it.</p>
<p>It’s really not that difficult.</p>
<p>Yes, “full-blown EMT” was poor word choice. I meant EMT-B, or the comparable (lowest) level of qualification.</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying about the course requirements and exam process. I will be attending Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in the fall, but I was curious about whether I could take the necessary credit hours / technical training along the way as courses there. It doesn’t have to be administered through a community college, right?</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t have to be through a CC, and it doesn’t even have to be a “course” (like a college course) for credit or anything. The class I took was supervised by a local hospital and administered through my town’s ambulance service. I wasn’t even aware that some colleges offered it for credit until a couple years later.</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter whether you get college credit for it or not, or where you take it; all that matters is that you take a valid course and pass the certification test.</p>
<p>If I were to take the course somewhere other than the college I attend, how much would it cost, approximately?</p>
<p>I know of a private company that offers it for $800. Check with your local hospitals and fire departments as I have heard that some offer it for a nominal fee to cover books.</p>
<p>$800! Mine was like $150 or something like that.</p>
<p>^$150 would be pretty rare. Most places I’ve seen it quoted $500-1500 + fees (i.e., all the other crap they don’t include in tuition – $110 for your books, $20 for your malpractice insurance, $10/ridealong w/ AMR, etc.)</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for all the help, everyone - these replies are really helpful.</p>
<p>One more question - if I were to take the necessary coursework while in college, what classes would (likely) be necessary? Anatomy, physiology, … ? And after I finished the coursework, I’d just go to a certfication center to take the hands-on training and to sit for the exam, right?</p>
<p>There’s no pre-requisite “coursework” for it. You take an EMT-B class and then take the certification test.</p>
<p>There are no “pre-requisites” or anything like that, it’s a standalone thing. What you learn in an EMT-B class is about a hundred times less intense and less in-depth than anything you’d fine in a college class :D</p>
<p>^some schools actually are requiring A&P now (as a prereq due to high fail/dropout rates) but you’re right, most don’t.</p>
<p>Oh wow, seriously? I don’t know what it’s like in other states, but as far as anatomy/physiology go I probably could have memorized everything we had to learn (for my EMT-B class) within 2 or 3 days, if that. I’m not sure why any EMT-B would need to take a full-blown A&P class.</p>
<p>It was the stuff about different treatments, drugs, conditions, examination and patient histories, practical applications for doing stuff in the field, learning and practicing skills, etc that took a lot more time.</p>
<p>^I agree, although I can’t say I dislike the idea of A&P as prereqs after seeing some of the kids who took my EMT-B class. I definitely don’t think it’s necessary, but if it helps to weed the right people out of working in healthcare, I’m ok w that (as long as it doesn’t create a shortage of EMTs, that is…haha, as hard as that is to imagine!)</p>