EMT COURSE LIMERICK........ feedback/oppurtunities?

Stressica

Apologies if this is in the wrong thread or that but just makiing a general enquiry/ aould like to get some feedback.

So I am taking the year out after doing a year in college of a course i disliked which i have since quit, im using the year to earn money, do my driving stufff and make up my mind,

During the year a particular "course" has struck my attention that i may do to fill a gap.

*SNIP*

I thought it'd be handy to have, but are there any real career "oppurtunities" going with it? ie are job being looked for with people who have done this course?

Obviously its nowhere near what a paramedic does in terms of lenghth of training,...

Is is just one of those things that "is handy to have done?"

Has anyone here done it? feedback? is it worth it?

Only asking as 2k is a good bit of money to spend

I am a female and 19 if that makes any difference..

thanks in advance.

seven_eleven

No, there are little or no jobs out there for EMT's. And you need to be working with a phecc accredited organisation to actually have your EMT license (or whatever its called). So you will have to join a voluntary service, or get a rare job if they are going with the private ambulance services.

Feel free to correct me on that somebody, because i might be wrong.

So imo there's really no point unless you want it to contribute to voluntary organisations or just to look good on your CV :pac:

Medic475

Stressica wrote: »

Apologies if this is in the wrong thread or that but just makiing a general enquiry/ aould like to get some feedback.

So I am taking the year out after doing a year in college of a course i disliked which i have since quit, im using the year to earn money, do my driving stufff and make up my mind,

During the year a particular "course" has struck my attention that i may do to fill a gap.

http://www.medicall.ie/training-institute/emt-

I thought it'd be handy to have, but are there any real career "oppurtunities" going with it? ie are job being looked for with people who have done this course?

Obviously its nowhere near what a paramedic does in terms of lenghth of training,...

Is is just one of those things that "is handy to have done?"

Has anyone here done it? feedback? is it worth it?

Only asking as 2k is a good bit of money to spend

I am a female and 19 if that makes any difference..

thanks in advance.

Hi! If you have a real interest in it and you're willing to join a Voluntary organization then go ahead and do it but don't depend on it for work because it is extremely limited in Ireland!! You could do it and go to the UK to work or possibly to Oz/USA, but then again that's if you're interested in moving abroad!
If you do it here you will now have to earn CPD points in order to be granted your licence every year. This involves joining a voluntary organization and going out on duties, treating/transporting patients, upskilling classes, training classes throughout the year etc!

Red Dwarf

Hi, have you ever done a similar course? If not, €2,000+ is a lot of money to put into something you may not even like. My advise is if you do have an interest in First Aid & Pre-Hospital Care contact one of the vols in Limerick. OMAC, St.John's, CD & IRC all have groups in the city and CD, IRC are countywide. You will have to start with the basics and work up, but it will give you a chance to meet new people, develop skills, provide a service in your community, which is much better for your CV then paying for a four week course.

bill buchanan

Far and away the best way of becoming an EMT is to join a voluntary organisation. If you genuinely have the aptitude and remain interested enough to put in the work, they can train you up to EMT level.

If you do decide to do the course, ask the instutution what is their pass rate for first time exam attempts. The training institute won't run your final exam. PHECC will. Some of the EMT training courses have a less than 50% pass rate. So make sure you ask before you sign up!

I would just join a voluntary organisation, though.

paraletic

http://www.phecit.ie/Documents/Publications%20and%20Media/Newsletter/Summer%202012%20NL.pdf

The link above is to the PHECC newsletter. There are comparisons regarding pass rates of institutions training people as EMTs in that issue. In fact the whole PHECC website has some very good info. www.phecit.ie

As said above voluntary organisations are a great route to train as EMT. And i think they are much cheaper too.

RiderOnTheStorm

I did an EMT course recently (passed it in Dec 2011) ....

a couple of VERY important points :

if you pass the course, its like having a driving licence. Its a skill for life that you will take with you everywhere, and you never know when you will need / use it. You will have skills to save someones life. So thats a great thing. BUT ... YOU WILL NOT BE AN EMT UNLESS YOU ARE OPERATING AS PART OF A PHECC RECOGNISED ORGINISATION !!! If you join the Civil Defence (or whatever) you will be ok, but if you are on the way home from work and see a car crash at the side of the road , and you stop to help, you will not be an EMT working for the CD at that particular moment, so you could get in trouble (this may be avoided by a quick call to your station officer (or whatever they are called) and making that car crash an official event for the CD).
Also, there is a certain number of hours per year you have to clock up in order to keep your EMT licence, so if you are not part of an org that will attend to casualties, then you wont get this clocked up.

Sorry to put a downer on it .... But I guess the short answer is , you HAVE to be part of some organisation in order to make this work.

On the up side :-) any medical skill is worth having. If you like first aid, then forget about job prospects, and go for it. I LOVED the couse and learned tons. And stuff I learned before, now started to make more sense! An EMT qualification is the highest one a private individual can get for themselves (at the moment!) in this country. And even though there are no jobs for EMT's at the moment, if there are some Paramedic jobs advertised in the future, I think that having a EMT qualificiation under your belt will give you a head start on a lot of others.

But do think about getting another course (Cardic First Responder, Occupational First Aid, Emergency First Responder) under your belt first, just to be sure that this is something you would like. They are not expensive (compared to EMT course!) and you can make good friends & contacts from them.

Topper7

Ive done this course recently with the company above & I must say I found it a great expierence! Made great new friends & learned new skills. The company mentioned above do have great instructors in the Limerick (anyone who works in any vol in lim/Tipp will know them) and they truely go the extra 1000 miles for their students!

Honestly there is no jobs in Ireland in EMT, unless your very lucky to get in the door of one of the privates! HSE doesnt look like anything happening soon. I would suggest that you join a vol for a few months and have a chat with some of the EMTs and see what they have to do. If you then think its for you, & can afford it, then go ahead & do this course. Great skill to have, especially if heading abroad. But be warned you will still have to sit exams in other countries in order to pratice & thats if they reconigise your prior learning. Any more info feel free to PM me

limericklad87

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

(this may be avoided by a quick call to your station officer (or whatever they are called) and making that car crash an official event for the CD).
.

you can't just make a car crash an 'official event'...... id rather just help out in anyway i can given the training I have. Doubt you would stop halfway through assisting someone to make a call.... unless its for an ambulance.

But i agree in that you should join OMAC/IRC in limerick and do some volunteer work before forking out unnecessary money. Work your way up the clinical levels and in time (years) you may be put forward for an EMT course.

Kwekubo

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

if you are on the way home from work and see a car crash at the side of the road , and you stop to help, you will not be an EMT working for the CD at that particular moment, so you could get in trouble (this may be avoided by a quick call to your station officer (or whatever they are called) and making that car crash an official event for the CD).

Eh, no. As long as you act within the limits of your training, this would be covered by Good Samaritan provisions under the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. You don't need to sit around waiting for some officer to text you back while a car crash victim is dying in front of you.

apc

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

If you join the Civil Defence (or whatever) you will be ok, but if you are on the way home from work and see a car crash at the side of the road , and you stop to help, you will not be an EMT working for the CD at that particular moment, so you could get in trouble (this may be avoided by a quick call to your station officer (or whatever they are called) and making that car crash an official event for the CD).

That is one of the most ridiculous statements I ever heard in an other wise alright post. If you come across an accident you should always assist within your capabilities, until the proper authorities take over.
Ring an Ambulance instead of making a call to your station officer and trying to ask that an accident is now to become an official event.
I think you know the answer he would give

As already stated save your money and join the Red Cross,St Johns etc

Medic475

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

If you join the Civil Defence (or whatever) you will be ok, but if you are on the way home from work and see a car crash at the side of the road , and you stop to help, you will not be an EMT working for the CD at that particular moment, so you could get in trouble (this may be avoided by a quick call to your station officer (or whatever they are called) and making that car crash an official event for the CD).

Yeah I didn't think car crashes were "official events"!

Tango Alpha 51

As has been stated you can't just make an accident an official event & job prospects with the privates are very slim. Your best bet if your Limerick based is to make contact with any of the four voluntary organisations, Irish Red Cross, Order of Malta, St John Ambulance or Civil Defence. Go down to each one of them & have a look around, talk to the members & the officer's in charge & see what each of them have to offer & then you'll be in a better position to make up your mind as to what you want to do.

RiderOnTheStorm

The point i was making, is that you are only an EMT when you are acting for an organisation recognised by PHECC. You are not an EMT if you stop at the side of the road to help. If (as a trained EMT) you then put on a neck collar or insert OPA/iGel , give drugs, etc then you are not covered by PHECC as you were not acting for your org, and you are in serious risk of having your licence recalled and also are open to litigation from the casualty if anything happens to them. If you are not acting for your org, you can only treat to OFA or EFR level.

There is a case like this before PHECC at the moment where an EMT (and also a member of the CD) attended a road crash (he was first on the scene as he drove home), and when the paramedics arrived in the ambulance, they refused to take the casualty as the EMT was not acting for the CD at the time.

apc

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

There is a case like this before PHECC at the moment where an EMT (and also a member of the CD) attended a road crash (he was first on the scene as he drove home), and when the paramedics arrived in the ambulance, they refused to take the casualty as the EMT was not acting for the CD at the time.

Are you sure that the case is as simple as you put it or is there more to it? If you have more info then I would appreciate it as it has major impact for all medically qualified personnel.:eek:

Sounds like either hearsay or BS that case. More important, irrelevant to bring up here & dangerous to mess about giving advice based on a single case.

OP, agreed that vol organisation's the way to go.

RiderOnTheStorm

...there was more to it than that (there always is ...) The EMT was on his own and applied a neck collar (thats a big no-no as someone has to hold the head .... if you are on your own, you hold the head and you wait ....

but the EMT acting outside his org is being taken seriously too.

This thread is getting a bit negative, and I am sorry I sowed the seed, but I didnt not want the OP to think that if they get a EMT qualification, they can treat / attend any casualty they find. They must act for a PHECC recognised org.

If you have Occupational First Aid or Emergency First Responder level, you can jump in whnever / where-ever you find someone that needs it. As an EMT you are a licenced medical praticioner and have the responsabilities that come with it.

seven_eleven

I think you're over thinking this. You can still help out and treat a casualty with great knowlege, but that doesnt mean you have to go all walter mitty and start slapping collars on people by yourself breaking the guidelines and making an eejit out of yourself.

Red Dwarf

The issue of practitioners only responding as part of a CPG approved organisations has been discussed many times. And as much as some people don't want to accept it (the Walters in the World) "dem are the rules"!

There are ample skills on the EFR matrix for any EMT to use, to safely provide initial assistance at scenes of accidents. Remember there is no point wanting to break out all the new shiny gear in the Big Trauma bag in the boot of the car, if the basics of patient care have been forgotten :rolleyes:

RiderOnTheStorm

Red Dwarf wrote: »

The issue of practitioners only responding as part of a CPG approved organisations has been discussed many times. And as much as some people don't want to accept it (the Walters in the World) "dem are the rules"!

There are ample skills on the EFR matrix for any EMT to use, to safely provide initial assistance at scenes of accidents. Remember there is no point wanting to break out all the new shiny gear in the Big Trauma bag in the boot of the car, if the basics of patient care have been forgotten :rolleyes:

+1

civdef

There is a case like this before PHECC at the moment where an EMT (and also a member of the CD) attended a road crash (he was first on the scene as he drove home), and when the paramedics arrived in the ambulance, they refused to take the casualty as the EMT was not acting for the CD at the time.

So what'd they do, leave the casualty on the ground?
Come off it.

Stressica

Thank you all for the detailed replies.

I wasnt serisouly considering doing the course as in the next few weeks It was just something I wanted feeeback on so thanks.

I am from Kerry, near Tralee to be exact so I am going to try and join some volountary organisation I think.

I am taking the year out at the moment anyway so I want to get as much experience in many different things.

I did a mounain skills survival/ first aid thing last year with college and I passed

It comprised of 3 day long training days (CPR, burns hypothermia, moving a person, putting splints on etc) and then a pratical and written exam (the practical was assesing a "casualty" who had falled down a mountain or tripped or something like that and putting splints on or whatever.

But as I didnt complete the course I dont know does it still count ... I have emailed lecturers to no avail.

The course in question was wildlife biology and really wasnt for me, hence why I left, although leaving prematurley may have cost me it seems.

CB19Kevo

Stressica wrote: »

Thank you all for the detailed replies.

I wasnt serisouly considering doing the course as in the next few weeks It was just something I wanted feeeback on so thanks.

I am from Kerry, near Tralee to be exact so I am going to try and join some volountary organisation I think.

I am taking the year out at the moment anyway so I want to get as much experience in many different things.

I did a mounain skills survival/ first aid thing last year with college and I passed

It comprised of 3 day long training days (CPR, burns hypothermia, moving a person, putting splints on etc) and then a pratical and written exam (the practical was assesing a "casualty" who had falled down a mountain or tripped or something like that and putting splints on or whatever.

But as I didnt complete the course I dont know does it still count ... I have emailed lecturers to no avail.

The course in question was wildlife biology and really wasnt for me, hence why I left, although leaving prematurley may have cost me it seems.

Civil defense and Red cross have ambulance unit's in Tralee, Might be worth looking into..
It would take a long time to be considered to be put on a EMT course but who knows you may find the duties / training interesting..

Medic475

Stressica wrote: »

Thank you all for the detailed replies.

I wasnt serisouly considering doing the course as in the next few weeks It was just something I wanted feeeback on so thanks.

I am from Kerry, near Tralee to be exact so I am going to try and join some volountary organisation I think.

I am taking the year out at the moment anyway so I want to get as much experience in many different things.

I did a mounain skills survival/ first aid thing last year with college and I passed

It comprised of 3 day long training days (CPR, burns hypothermia, moving a person, putting splints on etc) and then a pratical and written exam (the practical was assesing a "casualty" who had falled down a mountain or tripped or something like that and putting splints on or whatever.

But as I didnt complete the course I dont know does it still count ... I have emailed lecturers to no avail.

The course in question was wildlife biology and really wasnt for me, hence why I left, although leaving prematurley may have cost me it seems.

Hopefully the amount of ****e talk that went on here won't put you (or anyone else interested) off doing the course if you really are interested in doing it! Best of luck either way!

Stressica

Oh okay, never knew thanks,

Well the purpose of the year out it to try and find my way, get a job to earn money for driving and perhaps college next year depending on how this year goes.

I'm only 19 so I have time,

Theres soemthing about flashing ambulances and saving a persons life that gives me that great feeling you know, its hard to put into words?

Its either that or nursing, but I dont think I would like that as much.. I'm still quite unsure.

Stressica

Medic475 wrote: »

Hopefully the amount of ****e talk that went on here won't put you (or anyone else interested) off doing the course if you really are interested in doing it! Best of luck either way!

Thank you I do think joining a volountary organisation is a good idea though

miju

If you you'd like to try nursing type skills, try join one of the vols that do community care work as well.That way you'll get best of both worlds and know for sure :)Best of luck in whatever you choose to do

Stressica

personally I dont think I'd like to be a nurse,maybe I would, unless I get experience I guess I'll never know

What I am drawn to is the rescue and saving peoples lives
(not that nurses etc do not do these things )

Medic475

Stressica wrote: »

Thank you I do think joining a volountary organisation is a good idea though

It's the only way these days!

Mycroft H

Stressica wrote: »

Oh okay, never knew thanks,

Well the purpose of the year out it to try and find my way, get a job to earn money for driving and perhaps college next year depending on how this year goes.

I'm only 19 so I have time,

Theres soemthing about flashing ambulances and saving a persons life that gives me that great feeling you know, its hard to put into words?

Its either that or nursing, but I dont think I would like that as much.. I'm still quite unsure.

Get your driving licences. Join a voluntary. And apply to the HSE in the next few years.

Stressica

Sounds like a plan

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/ambulanceservice/Paramedic%20FAQs.html

^ the above seems quite reasonable to aim for, providing jobs become availabile soon.

So in the mean time. Im enquiring at this very moment to various places like St Johns/civil defence.

Mycroft H

Bearing in mind that the entry requirements may or may not change over the next few years, the ones listed there, were the requirements for the last batch of applicants. I wouldn't be surprised if the LC was dropped the next time round in favour of something else.

Stressica

yeah good point, i spose even with a year or more with a volountary organisation they would probably want a 3rd level qualification /: