Extended options with EMT

[skyreaper]

Alright, quick question. I'm weighing my options at this current moment. I'm already enrolled in a EMT-B fast track course for this summer and plan to work part-time while being a full-time student at a university. I was wondering if once completing the EMT-B course...whether I can pursue other options as well...such as being a flobotomist...or such. Or do I have to take a different course to be a phlebotomist? What are some other options that people with EMT-B certification do. Also, is there a separate course to become a EMT-I? I know for paramedic, it is a very extensive course but I was wondering for the Intermediate EMT.

Alright, one last question and I apologize for being so verbose but stay with me: I'm taking this EMT-B course in Oklahoma...and my university will be in the state of Illinois and I plan on working at a hospital in Illinois...is that okay? I'm pretty sure the certification is nationwide so it'll be okay. If anyone can answer some or all of these questions, I would be eternally grateful.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Just as a side note, people may be wondering...why even take EMT course if I'm not even planning being an EMT...well, its simple. I do want to be an EMT but I wasn't sure if there actually is a very flexible and part-time schedule for an EMT...i don't want to jeopardize my school grades because of work...since I am pre-med. If being something else during the school year and perhaps switching to full-time during summer break..that would be great.

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[Daedalus]

You can certainly pursue phlebotomy (even without an EMT-B cert), but it does involve an extra course and training. Same goes for EMT-I - there is an additional (although shorter than EMT-B) couse that is required, and I believe they cover venipuncture. As far as other options go, asside from working/volunteering with an ambulance service, you could work as an ER tech in your local ER.

Make sure you check with the county you want to work in about their rules regarding transferring your certification. I know that where I am (LA County), the National Registry certification is not valid, and neither is the EMT-Intermediate designation. And to transfer your certification, I'm pretty sure you have to recertify in LA because of an extended scope of practice allowed in LA. So the point is, check with the place you want to work.

 

[deleted6669]

most states have their own certification agency, some accept national registry, some do not. when I moved from the west coast to the east coast for grad school I had to take and pass a 1 day written and practical exam to be granted reciprocity.
emt-intermediate is around a 500 hr class after emt-b and covers many paramedic level skills( iv's, airway skills, defibrillation,acls meds, etc). it generally takes at least 6 months to complete when you include hospital and field time. not all counties recognize emt-intermediates. many states have only emt-b or emt-paramedic.good luck

 

[OSUdoc08]

You can pursue phelbotomy, but the EMT courses will not help you out in this regard. It is a completely seperate thing. I would recommend instead to take the EMT-I and later paramedic. EMT-I is a semester, and paramedic is 2 semesters after EMT-I. They can be done a couple nights a week while a full time student, which is what I did. Oklahoma requires you to be an NREMT, so it will be no problem working out of state. I had a higher GPA the semesters I was in EMT training, and I found that the classes often correllated with my premed studies. (i.e. EMT-I & General Chemistry II)

EMT is a perfect job for students because you can work just on weekends of overnight. You can also get lots of volunteer hours in if you go that route. You really need medical experience on your application, and this is the perfect way. I really do think it is my experience as a paramedic that got me into medical school. Working at pizza hut won't help.

Try to get involved with a volunteer service, and they will likely pay for a portion of it. Good luck.

 

[12R34Y]

Many places don't require a class for phlebotomy.........my instance in 2 seperate ED's in 2 seperate states we had on the job training and a 15 minute video.

no biggie.

want to be a phlebotomist get a job as a ED tech...most do it.

later