EMT Training/paramedic

Xios · 01-08-2014 11:16am #1

Hey Guys,

I'm just entertaining the idea of training to be an EMT or even go as far as paramedic. I'm in the civil defence at the moment in Search and Rescue, should be getting trained up from CFR to EFR in the next few months, will be doing an OFA course in the meantime.

I found this link, http://www.ambulancetraining.ie/index.php?page=dublin and I was wondering, for courses like these, are there any supports in place, like a grant scheme or scholarships? I'm not a well off individual and these courses don't appear to be cheap.

Also, could any people working in the field give me an idea as to what their career was like? How they got into the field, where you did training, what are the career prospects etc.

timmywex · 01-08-2014 12:22pm

Xios wrote: »

Hey Guys,

I'm just entertaining the idea of training to be an EMT or even go as far as paramedic. I'm in the civil defence at the moment in Search and Rescue, should be getting trained up from CFR to EFR in the next few months, will be doing an OFA course in the meantime.

I found this link, http://www.ambulancetraining.ie/index.php?page=dublin and I was wondering, for courses like these, are there any supports in place, like a grant scheme or scholarships? I'm not a well off individual and these courses don't appear to be cheap.

Also, could any people working in the field give me an idea as to what their career was like? How they got into the field, where you did training, what are the career prospects etc.

There is very little career path in being an EMT alone. Privates and HSE do hire some EMT's but a very small amount in comparison to the number of EMT's there are out there.

Paramedic course can only be done through the NAS/DFB - however if you were to apply for these in years to come being an EMT is an obvious advantage

Mycroft H · 01-08-2014 12:22pm

It sounds harsh but it's the reality. You've gotta stall any ambitions of earning money out of this. The country is saturated with EMTs.

Paramedic is a different story but there is currently no recruitment going on.

Xios · 01-08-2014 12:24pm

Mycroft H wrote: »

It sounds harsh but it's the reality. You've gotta stall any ambitions of earning money out of this. The country is saturated with EMTs.

Paramedic is a different story but there is currently no recruitment going on.

Is that due to the low barriers to entry? Or was there previously a large demand that just isn't there anymore?

Mycroft H · 01-08-2014 12:26pm

If you go private there is no barrier to entry. There really should be. EFR at a minimum.

On the other hand the Voluntary ambulances are churning out EMTs. 30 in the Leinster region in OMAC this year to date alone.

Bang Bang · 01-08-2014 8:49pm

You can also train as a paramedic within the defence forces so depending on your age you could also keep an eye out for military recruitment.
The best of luck.

fuzzydunlop85 · 10-08-2014 1:51pm

Was gonna start my own thread but decided to bump this instead, I'm slighty confused about the route people take to becoming a paramedic. I assume people start out getting EMT certification, I seen a paramedic training course online that's about 16k with placement in UK/American, I'm assuming that everyone here didn't shell out 16k to become a paramedic! What is the best route to take to becoming a paramedic? I heard rumors in could go down the CAO route soon also. Would appreciate any advice! And also would a paramedic trained in the UK be recognized in Ireland. Thanks for any responses.

GoProGaming · 10-08-2014 4:37pm

fuzzydunlop85 wrote: »

Was gonna start my own thread but decided to bump this instead, I'm slighty confused about the route people take to becoming a paramedic. I assume people start out getting EMT certification, I seen a paramedic training course online that's about 16k with placement in UK/American, I'm assuming that everyone here didn't shell out 16k to become a paramedic! What is the best route to take to becoming a paramedic? I heard rumors in could go down the CAO route soon also. Would appreciate any advice! And also would a paramedic trained in the UK be recognized in Ireland. Thanks for any responses.

Are you a member of any of the voluntary orgs (civil defense, order of malta etc?) if not join one to get a good feel for the job, they will provide you with training up to emt level if your willing to put the time in.

The courses you see advertised online are to get your us nremt-p qualification which would qualify you to work as a paramedic in America(provided you could get a visa after your training, and most off shore, oil field, private security/ hostile environment industries.

There is no direct way to train abroad and come back home to get recognized as a paramedic or advanced paramedic in Ireland. For example the American course run by an Irish company, you would need to sit the course and then work for a year(give or take) to be able to apply to phecc(Ireland pre hospital governing body). If i was to spend that much money and time over there I'd prob try find myself a nice lady over there in that time so i could get a green card an eventually a permanent residency card. You're right, most people did not spend that to become a paramedic here.
Similar to the courses in the UK, you would need to work on the road long enough after sitting the course to be able to apply to phecc for an Irish paramedic licence, and again after that long being set up over there, i'd rather just stay there and keep working for one of the ambulance services.

Here is a link to the phecc's website in relation to qualifications gained outside Ireland: http://www.phecit.ie/PHECC/The_register/Recognition_of_qualifications/PHECC/The_Register/Recognition_of_qualifications/Recognition_of_qualifications.aspx?Hkey=13bb4b8e-aee0-4260-9344-5618288d2dda

The main problem is the term 'paramedic' varies greatly from country to country( difference in skills, education, time spent on various subjects) so there is no one solid answer.

Lastly, in Ireland the ambulance service has a large panel already formed of trainee paramedics waiting to start training, the hse also just advertised for already qualified paramedics to interview for a job with the ambulance service, that and the course being put on the c.a.o in the near future leaves most of us clueless how things will go in future, it may mean that unless you go to (or back to) college you cannot become a paramedic in the future in Ireland. But no one really knows at the moment as it's a time of great change in the service.

That sums it up without poisoning your mind with all the current rumor that's knocking around

fuzzydunlop85 · 10-08-2014 6:43pm

GoProGaming wrote: »

Are you a member of any of the voluntary orgs (civil defense, order of malta etc?) if not join one to get a good feel for the job, they will provide you with training up to emt level if your willing to put the time in.

The courses you see advertised online are to get your us nremt-p qualification which would qualify you to work as a paramedic in America(provided you could get a visa after your training, and most off shore, oil field, private security/ hostile environment industries.

There is no direct way to train abroad and come back home to get recognized as a paramedic or advanced paramedic in Ireland. For example the American course run by an Irish company, you would need to sit the course and then work for a year(give or take) to be able to apply to phecc(Ireland pre hospital governing body). If i was to spend that much money and time over there I'd prob try find myself a nice lady over there in that time so i could get a green card an eventually a permanent residency card. You're right, most people did not spend that to become a paramedic here.
Similar to the courses in the UK, you would need to work on the road long enough after sitting the course to be able to apply to phecc for an Irish paramedic licence, and again after that long being set up over there, i'd rather just stay there and keep working for one of the ambulance services.

Here is a link to the phecc's website in relation to qualifications gained outside Ireland: http://www.phecit.ie/PHECC/The_register/Recognition_of_qualifications/PHECC/The_Register/Recognition_of_qualifications/Recognition_of_qualifications.aspx?Hkey=13bb4b8e-aee0-4260-9344-5618288d2dda

The main problem is the term 'paramedic' varies greatly from country to country( difference in skills, education, time spent on various subjects) so there is no one solid answer.

Lastly, in Ireland the ambulance service has a large panel already formed of trainee paramedics waiting to start training, the hse also just advertised for already qualified paramedics to interview for a job with the ambulance service, that and the course being put on the c.a.o in the near future leaves most of us clueless how things will go in future, it may mean that unless you go to (or back to) college you cannot become a paramedic in the future in Ireland. But no one really knows at the moment as it's a time of great change in the service.

That sums it up without poisoning your mind with all the current rumor that's knocking around

Cheers gopro, very informative! Thanks.

Xios · 11-08-2014 10:32am

GoProGaming wrote: »

The courses you see advertised online are to get your us nremt-p qualification which would qualify you to work as a paramedic in America(provided you could get a visa after your training, and most off shore, oil field, private security/ hostile environment industries.

Would you know much about the industrial end of being a paramedic? It seems to me that you'd make quite a sum of money on those industrial sites out in Canada or Australia, but my quick googling around has not shown any salaries for these kinds of jobs.

GoProGaming · 11-08-2014 4:24pm

The salaries seem to be depending on who applies and what type of experience they have on the job. I seen one job going in Afghanistan offering $300,000 for a 12 month deployment a year or two ago. Convert that into euros and add the risk of death daily and see is it worth it. Most of those type jobs go to ex militry types who have spent a few tours there anyway with the military.

A few others Ive seen advertised over the years on oil rigs in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa offered between 200-350 u.s dollars per day, but your away for 6 odd months at a time without a break living on an oil rig.

You see a lot of jobs posted here: http://remotemedicjobs.blogspot.com/ for that type of work.
Oil field stuff here: https://www.oilandgasjobsearch.com/Oil-and-Gas-Jobs/Medical-Jobs

Xios · 11-08-2014 4:31pm

GoProGaming wrote: »

The salaries seem to be depending on who applies and what type of experience they have on the job. I seen one job going in Afghanistan offering $300,000 for a 12 month deployment a year or two ago. Convert that into euros and add the risk of death daily and see is it worth it. Most of those type jobs go to ex militry types who have spent a few tours there anyway with the military.

A few others Ive seen advertised over the years on oil rigs in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa offered between 200-350 u.s dollars per day, but your away for 6 odd months at a time without a break living on an oil rig.

You see a lot of jobs posted here: http://remotemedicjobs.blogspot.com/ for that type of work.
Oil field stuff here: https://www.oilandgasjobsearch.com/Oil-and-Gas-Jobs/Medical-Jobs

Thanks for the links, not expecting to be going down that route, but it's still very useful information for myself and anyone else that finds this thread in the future.

GoProGaming · 11-08-2014 4:38pm

Xios wrote: »

Thanks for the links, not expecting to be going down that route, but it's still very useful information for myself and anyone else that finds this thread in the future.

It's nice to have a little dream about making that sort of money:D, i really considered doing it a few years ago while im still in my 20's, life caught up with me though and Ive got it good in Ireland now.

Xios · 11-08-2014 4:44pm

GoProGaming wrote: »

It's nice to have a little dream about making that sort of money:D, i really considered doing it a few years ago while im still in my 20's, life caught up with me though and Ive got it good in Ireland now.

Yeah, it'd be pretty fun. Me and the gal, travelling the world, patchin up oil riggers and miners, getting paid **** tons of money. But sure i'd still need the training first. But the Civil Defence will most likely get me trained up to EMT level soon enough, within a year or two. Then the possiblities would get a little more realistic.

15-08-2014 1:34am

Just a warning to anyone thinking of coming to Canada on an IEC visa (or other visas that require it), make sure you get the medical *before* you come out here. I made the mistake of getting here & thinking I could do medical here, but because I didn't sit the medical, work permit stipulates I cannot work in agriculture or health.

I don't know if "health" excludes most forms of Emergency Services (fire, police), but it's 300 euro vs a lot less hassle when you get here.

Xios · 15-08-2014 9:56am

Deleted User wrote: »

Just a warning to anyone thinking of coming to Canada on an IEC visa (or other visas that require it), make sure you get the medical *before* you come out here. I made the mistake of getting here & thinking I could do medical here, but because I didn't sit the medical, work permit stipulates I cannot work in agriculture or health.

I don't know if "health" excludes most forms of Emergency Services (fire, police), but it's 300 euro vs a lot less hassle when you get here.

What do you mean by "Get the medical"? As in your EMT cert? Or a medical visa?

21-08-2014 2:51am

Xios wrote: »

What do you mean by "Get the medical"? As in your EMT cert? Or a medical visa?

Apologies, I've been given conflicting info. If I could edit last post, I would.

Might be having a go at getting EMR job here in Canada, if I do I'll pass on what happened.

EMT Training/paramedic

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