Hi! I am interested in getting EMT-b certified this summer and working as an EMT for a year after I graduate. I was wondering what your experiences are and how difficult it is/how to go about getting a job after getting certified. I live in Houston--who should I contact in regards to this? Also- how stressful is the job?
EMT-b??
- Thread starter 3dee
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Well, the class itself is easy. The process of getting certified is a royal pain in the ass. First, you have to get your BCLS card which can be either CPR for the Professional Rescuer or Healthcare Provider CPR card in order to be eligible to take the EMT-B class. Once you finish the EMT-B class, then you have to sit for National Registry. Because NR is one of the most horrifically inefficient agencies in existence, perhaps even worse than the IRS, just getting a test date can be a nightmare since they switched to computer-based testing. Once you pass, then you have to twiddle your thumbs until they decide to send you your card. Once you have your National Registry card, then you usually have to decide which county you want to work in and then get your county EMT card. At least in California, any county card works for any county but you also need a California Ambulance Driver Certificate...there's no point to it, it's a relic from the 1960s when they /had/ ambulance drivers, but they kept it around because they can charge you money for it.
Each one of these things will cost you money, so be prepared to spend upwards of five hundred dollars after everything is said and done. A CPR class will cost around 40 bucks...I personally would recommend the AHA Healthcare Provider CPR course since it's accepted everywhere. The EMT-B class itself varies on what they make you buy as far as clothes for your ride along, tuition, books, and of course immunizations that you need to have done before your ride along. The National Registry EMT-B test is another 70 bucks. County certs here run around 30 bucks. At each juncture of getting a card, national registry, county, etc. (and ambulance driver cert if you're in Cali), you also need to go through the hassle of getting a livescan done where they do your fingerprints and run a background check; this typically will cost 50 bucks a pop. I'm sure you can see how all this bureacratic(sp?) BS adds up.
Oh yeah, a good pair of boots will run you about a 100 bucks or so. Personally, I recommend Bates side-zipper boots. Stock number is E02263 for the specific pair I recommend. I don't think it matters specifically what boots you use as long as they're steel-tipped, although carbon fiber tipped is fine as well since it's just as tough if not more.Getting your first EMT job can potentially also be a royal pain in the ass. Most ambulance companies do not want to hire people without experience; at least the 911 providers don't. I had to settle for a transport ambulance company to get experience so I can apply at AMR in Santa Barbara once I move since I know they do 911. You can try for 911 but if you apply for a job with the assumption you'll be doing transport, then at least you won't be surprised if you do have to settle for transport. You live in a big city so your job prospects shouldn't be too bad...if this is indeed what you want to do, wait until you're in your EMT-B class and then ask your instructors who the local EMS providers are, what they pay, all that stuff. If you can, try to do a ride along with the provider you want to work for. Who knows, it might help!
The job itself can be very stressful at times or very chill...completely depends on the call, your employer, etc. I personally am barely ever stressed out at work. Depending on how quickly you get used to it, maybe 3-6 months, you'll just get "used to it" regardless of what it is exactly. Even on transport, I've seen people dying, seen gross negligence in regards to patient care at SNFs as well as the results thereof such as decay, bedsores, etc., had my fair share of "oh ****" calls despite not being 911, etc. and I've pretty much just gotten used to it to the point where the aforementioned isn't really stressful to me. I'm sure people think my job is stressful as hell but I don't think so. It's all relative. The most stressful moment that will persist will be pay day since you'll probably never stop getting pissed off at how poorly you're being paid to save lives.
Honestly I think it's worth all the BS I listed above though. Ran three calls today, got a 2-hour cat nap in and even stopped at an accident on an offramp and ended up running my ass off over to it (had to park the ambulance in the median about 200 yards away) to make sure everyone was ok and help out until fire showed up....so even on transport, you can have some fun and learn a lot. If nothing else, you'll learn that you never want to be in a SNF as a patient...ever.
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How long does it take to get started from the time you finish the course? Like what's the time line? My course will finish in the beginning of March and I hope to start in the summer (after finals in June).
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Plan on it taking 5-6 months. Most EMT courses are one semester long, so you have 4 months there, and it'll take another 1-2 months of shoving your foot up National Registry's ass to get your EMT card from them and then your county card once you have your NREMT-B. I have no idea what the job situation is, it completely depends on the area, so I can't estimate how long it'll take to get a job but it'll take 5-6 months from start to finish to get certified.
