Advice Please

[cpb80]

Hello-

I am applying to med school for the fall of '05. I am interested in ER and I would like to get some exposure to it. However, it seems as though most of the positions require some sort of certification, which I don't have . Here are my questions...

1. Given my time frame, what would be the most practical thing to do? ie get certified as an EMT? Do I need both EMT-B AND EMT-I? Does it depend on the ER?

2. How long would this take? I have heard that it is cheaper to take these courses at a fire dept. Is this true?

3. I live in NY, but I might be moving to Boston for the year. Would taking courses in NY make me ineligible to work in the ER, in an ambulance etc within Boston, and vice versa.

4. I am also considering a job as a surgical tech, which wouldn't require certification, just on-the-job training, however, I would like to have some sort of certification (ie EMT which is shorter than Surg tech certification, right?) in case I do not get into medical school this year. Anyone have an opinion about being a surg tech?

Thanks guys!

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[cpb80]

Anyone?

 

[Daedalus]

Well, you certainly dont' need a certification to volunteer (and observe everything) in the ER, but you won't get to do much.
To volunteer or work as an ER tech, you will likely need some sort of training, either as an EMT-B (you dont' need EMT-I) or there are also specialized ER tech training programs at many pre-hospital care schools. And yes, it depends on what the specific ER requires.

For you, given your timeframe... you definitely do not have time to get EMT-I. To be honest, I don't think it would be worth it for you to get EMT-B at this point. The course takes anywhere from 3 weeks to a full semester (it's around 120-hours of classtime), and then you need to take the certifying exam and get hired somewhere. And by that point, you will be starting to worry about applications and such, and still with very little EMS/ER experience. And just having the EMT cert. won't likely get you very far with adcoms.

If you do get certified as an EMT (in NY), there may be a way to just get reciprocity with Boston EMS (especially if they both use the national registry exam). It really depends on the county. Here in LA county, we don't use the national registry (well, until the end of this year at least), and their is a weird expanded scope, so anyone coming in generally has to take the certifying exam for LA county.

Surg. tech would be fun (I would like to do this myself), but these positions are difficult to get, even though they usually don't require anything other than on-the-job training, from what I understand.

Hope this helps - good luck

 

[12R34Y]

i've worked in 3 different ED's in 3 different states, anywhere from level 1 trauma to suburbia. You DO NOT NEED any certification for most ED tech jobs that i'm aware of.

Of course there are going to be many people who tell you that you need to be certified in something or that you need to take some course........

none of the hospitals i'm familiar with in my region require anything. 18 years old and high school diploma will let you work as a tech in most places.

However, this is very dependant on the hospital. Just call the hospitals and find out in your area.

later

 

[beanbean]

There is no simple answer to what type of cert, if any, you need to work in an ED. Some hospitals require EMT-B, others want EMT-I, some require nothing.

If you have the time, the EMT-B course would be great. Even if you don't get to use your cert for very long. It will give you a chance to get comfortable with taking patient histories and examing patients. Riding ambulances is fun even if you volunteer! The cheapest way to take the class is to join a volunteer service which will pay for or reimburse you for the EMT-B class. Some services are only EMS and others are combined Fire-EMS.

In terms of getting certified in NY and moving to MA - call the MA Office of Emergency services and ask what they require. Some states accept NREMT and others want you to challenge their state exam. The info may also be available online.

 

[deleted6669]

when I worked as an er tech in southern ca the required certs were emt-b to get in the door and phlebotomy/im injection/ekg certification within 3 months of hire. granted this was almost 20 yrs ago and the most I ever made was $7/hr after 3 yrs there.....I think current er techs can make 12-16/hr with similar training.

 

[cpb80]

I really appreciate the help