Irish Ambulance Training Institute

Goonerdee

Came across their page whilst browsing last night and it looks interesting. It says they take members of the public as well as those in organisations and professions, just wondering has anyone done their 4 week EMT course and is it worth the €2300. While joining the police service is still my dream, my voluntary work has allowed me to come into contact with people who have medical training and it has peaked my interest in possibly persuing a career in the Ambulance Service. I am only looking at the minute. Do you need any qualifications to apply for the course?

Apologies if this has been asked on another thread. Point me in the right direction and I will go there.

Einstein

EMT courses have no pre-requisites.
Is it worth the €2300? Well that depends what direction you want to go, and if its relevant to you final goal. I think it's worthwhile, and I enjoyed mine. But I know a number of people who have completed their course, have their qualification, but its not worth a whole lot because they've told me that because they aren't working in a related industry, or involved with any voluntary's. It would definitely stand to you if you went for Garda recruitment (whenever it happens!)

DesertCreat_15

Goonerdee wrote: »

Came across their page whilst browsing last night and it looks interesting. It says they take members of the public as well as those in organisations ......

In my opinion it would look great on the C.V. but basically once you do it You will need to keep practicing which will earn you points, you will need to reach a certain number of points each year or you will be struck of the register and made resit the whole EMT course again. (This is what i have been told) If this is the case then being in a voluntary organisation in the medical area would be a huge help:P

I am in the same boat as yourself and wan't to bulk the CV as much as possible!
BTW, There is an EMT course in Cavan which runs in conjunction with the IATI ! I am planning on doing it myself next September if your interested ! Twould, be great for the CV !

Goonerdee

The voluntary organisation I work with deals with search and rescue operations. Ive been with them 6 months but have never had to use any first aid at all. So maybe going for such an intensive course never to use the skills might be pointless.

Interesting about the course in Cavan. Is it part of IATA or something else?

You might need to PM me the name of it. Don't want to advertise private companies.

TylerIE

Those of you considering the Cavan Course if its the PLC in the Cavan Institute then examine it fully, its not quite as straightforward as it seems. The costing is probably similar by the time you pay PLC fees.

The IATI teach a lot of classes throughout the country. They did a prolonged one for one of the Voluntary Organisations last year and feedback was excellent. They use many experienced, practicing, instructors.

Traditionally I was wary of the private route in Ireland, as EMTs seemed to be literally churned out.

If your going for AGS, and are unlikely to be in a position to practice your EMT skills on a regular basis (ie your not in a voluntary organisation, as employment options for EMTs are limited) then an Emergency First Responder course is probably more appropriate, and would give you a very high standard that would allow you to treat a casualty while waiting on an ambulance, or to treat minor wounds appropriately.

DesertCreat_15

TylerIE wrote: »

Those of you considering the Cavan Course if its the PLC in the Cavan Institute then examine it fully, its not quite as straightforward as it seems. The costing is probably similar by the time you pay PLC fees.

In what sense, as in its a full time course with other modules in it?

TylerIE wrote: »

Traditionally I was wary of the private route in Ireland, as EMTs seemed to be literally churned out.

Thats true, but if you are willing to pay the fees and practice with a voluntary ambulance/rescue organisation and you have no current employment, look into a grant and by all means go for it and try it out!

TylerIE

DesertCreat_15 wrote: »

In what sense, as in its a full time course with other modules in it?

If its Cavan Institute.
It leads to the award of a FETAC Level 5 Healthcare Support or similar, so you area qualified as a Healthcare Assistant. Its a full time PLC. Thats all well and good, but its far from being in the Ambulance Service. Many students who did similar courses in Dublin end up doing their required placements in Nursing homes etc. Its not just a straightforward EMT course. Furthermore the EMT course is not part of the core curriculum. IIRC its advertised as an optional extra and is not being run this year. There is also some quite steep PLC fees associated with the course.

I cant speak for them, so I'd just look into it yourself.

If the OP is thinking of going to AGS and are looking to go to college Cavan Institute offer a quality Security Programme with a well respected and experienced tutor. It includes a good foundation in legal studies, and some practical experience, which could help prepare you for AGS too. You could do the EMT in your own time seperately. The course lecturer often works in a supervisory capacity at the big events in Dublin and sometimes brings along a few of his students.

Thats true, but if you are willing to pay the fees and practice with a voluntary ambulance/rescue organisation and you have no current employment, look into a grant and by all means go for it and try it out!

I was more wary of it in terms of quality of training, but so far any IATI EMTs I met have good theoretical knowledge. The issue I still have with private training is the lack of "real" clinical experience. Sitting in the back of a private ambulance with a stable patient every day for a week is not exactly going to develop your EMT skills, particularly in relation to incident safety/management/triage/trauma/handovers. If you make the most of it you can get practice with communicating to patients, basic assessment, and if you make the effort some manual blood pressures, but thats about as much as you get.