Career in EMT/Paramedic

KimberlyP

I'm currently in secondary school and looking to become an EMT then a Paramedic.
I'm not sure how to go about in the most efficient way possible, I read a lot on training but I can't seem to piece it together.

I wanted to know if anyone who has become an EMT or Paramedic would be able to help.

I have a load of questions but I'll start with:
1)how would I go about becoming an EMT.
2)Do the place I decide to go to hire me where I can get paid while I study to become a Paramedic

FireLuke12

There’s two routes to becoming a paramedic in ireland, that’s either with the National ambulance service with the hse or Dublin fire brigade.

You will need to wait for either to recruit.

Dublin fire brigade are duo trained as firefighter/paramedics and you would be expected to complete training in both fields and to work as both.

For the NAS you need to get a C1 drivers license prior to starting,

For both you will go through Aptitude testing and interviews During the recruitment process.

There’s a course in the university of limerick for paramedic studies you can do but it doesn’t lead to a job in either DFB or NAS however would certainly help in the interview process with both.

There’s lots of places you can do EMT training privately such as ESTI
Or medicall but Don’t know much about them myself. Both full time and partime courses. The big thing about these trainings are to upkeep your patient contact needed to keep your license.

If your serious about becoming a paramedic I would recommend to join a voluntary service such as St Johns Ambulance, Red Cross, civil defence. Through these organsitions you get great experience and training which will help you in an interview and can help with upkeeping you patient contact. You can also become an emt through voluntary services.

Hope this helps , if anyone else has better information they might post it!

Shield

Mod note: OP edited to keep replies on-thread.

RiderOnTheStorm

I recently learned of another route to Paramedic. You can do a paramedic course in UL, available through CAO . This is a 4 year course (with some time done in UK) which, at the end, allows you to take the PHECC exam. If you pass this, you get a paramedic licence. But you dont have a job. You then have to wait for NAS to call for applications for existing paramedic, and if successful, they do a conversion course (about a month long?) and then you are away!

For EMT, as prev saismd, you take a course with a private organisation (total of about 20 days of 8 hours per day - cost approx 2000e) and then pass your PHECC exam abd you get an EMT licence. Then you wait for NAS to call for applications to ICO role and hopefully you get in. Or you could then join one of the many private ambulance companies out there.

PM me if you have more questions about EMT or ICO in NAS (thats a lot of acronyms!)

LRNM

To become an EMT there's a few ways you can do it.
You can pay a couple grand to do a fast track course with one of the private companies. Takes a couple of months I think and is about €1000-2000

Other way is to join a voluntary ambulance service but this usually require a lot of time and a few years of working with them before you'll be eligible to be trained as an EMT.
The plus side to this is you get lots of experience and practice and the training for EMT is generally far more in depth.
Looks good on your CV to have experience when going for a job as an EMT.
You might get a feel for the work and know if you'll enjoy it or hate it. I generally recommend this way a bit more.

After you pass your EMT MCQ/OSCE exams and get on the register you could start looking for jobs.

There's a bit of work in the private ambulance services, but a lot of it is down to where you live, and who you know in each company.
The pay is poor enough. I think about €11-12 an hour and the days are long.
No real set roster and you might be called upon at anytime.
It's nearly all patient transport work.

Get your C1 driving licence and try apply for NAS to be an ICO is the other option. Can be hard to get the station you want to work in though. Depends where you live in the country. Pay is a bit better.

ICO is nearly all patient transport work with intermittent emergency stuff.

http://www.nationalambulanceservice.ie/Working-For-Us/A-Career-in-the-NAS/


There's two main ways to become a paramedic, you'll need a leaving cert with ordinary maths, and a C1 driving licence.

1. Apply directly to NAS. The training is 2 years based in tallaght or ballinasloe, and you could be sent to any station.
Not there is currently no route for NAS ICO/EMT's to progress to paramedic internally.

2. Apply to the DFB and train to be a paramedic/firefighter. Competition is tough for this i hear check their website for how recruitment works.

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

I recently learned of another route to Paramedic. You can do a paramedic course in UL, available through CAO . This is a 4 year course (with some time done in UK) which, at the end, allows you to take the PHECC exam. If you pass this, you get a paramedic licence. But you dont have a job. You then have to wait for NAS to call for applications for existing paramedic, and if successful, they do a conversion course (about a month long?) and then you are away!

But I really don't recommend this. the HSE and DFB want nothing to do with this course. You won't even get experience on an ambulance in ireland if you do this course.
You will be sent to the UK to do your placements, and end up working in a completely different system with different skillsets than in Ireland.

Sure you'll come back as a paramedic but what good is it with no irish experience under phecc. I havent even heard of anybody get jobs with this course yet.

RiderOnTheStorm

......But I really don't recommend this. the HSE and DFB want nothing to do with this course. You won't even get experience on an ambulance in ireland if you do this course.
You will be sent to the UK to do your placements, and end up working in a completely different system with different skillsets than in Ireland.

Sure you'll come back as a paramedic but what good is it with no irish experience under phecc. I havent even heard of anybody get jobs with this course yet....

I would not recommend it myself. Just giving the OP options.

Rumour has it that NAS will be looking for paramedic in first quarter of 2019.

I can personally recommend ICO / EMT role. But you have personal expense of getting trained. As you say the ICOs do mostly patient transfer between facilities. But they also respond to 999 calls when frontlines are all busy. So you get great experience of treating patients, administration of meds, admitting patient to ED, etc. Also, as ICO you have more control over which county you get as your base. And ICOs dont do night shift....

Although there is currently no route from ICO to paramedic, that may change and is currently being discussed. Nothing to stop you from going from ICO to paramedic by applying when para role comes up. Many of my friends have done this. Some were ICOs for months, and some were a few years at it before they went over to the 'dark side'. There are some great advantages to this route, as you will be familiar with ambulance procedure, hospital procedure, radio, handovers, patient assessments, and 80% of the meds needed for paramedicine. You just have to learn the new stuff, not all of it, as you would if you go straight to paramedic.....if ya get me.

Best of luck OP. Do give it a go in some format. It is the best job in the world. Job satisfaction is FANTASTIC....

LRNM

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

I would not recommend it myself. Just giving the OP options.

Rumour has it that NAS will be looking for paramedic in first quarter of 2019.

I can personally recommend ICO / EMT role. But you have personal expense of getting trained. As you say the ICOs do mostly patient transfer between facilities. But they also respond to 999 calls when frontlines are all busy. So you get great experience of treating patients, administration of meds, admitting patient to ED, etc. Also, as ICO you have more control over which county you get as your base. And ICOs dont do night shift....

Although there is currently no route from ICO to paramedic, that may change and is currently being discussed. Nothing to stop you from going from ICO to paramedic by applying when para role comes up. Many of my friends have done this. Some were ICOs for months, and some were a few years at it before they went over to the 'dark side'. There are some great advantages to this route, as you will be familiar with ambulance procedure, hospital procedure, radio, handovers, patient assessments, and 80% of the meds needed for paramedicine. You just have to learn the new stuff, not all of it, as you would if you go straight to paramedic.....if ya get me.

Best of luck OP. Do give it a go in some format. It is the best job in the world. Job satisfaction is FANTASTIC....

Problem is with a lot of the ICO's they don't have their leaving cert so they're stuck as they are and cant progress.
It's true ICO's get to chose their station more freely but lately they've been messing around with that more. I think they're now only offering expressions of interest for regions,rather than stations.
Less of a choice of stations too.

Best of luck OP. Do give it a go in some format. It is the best job in the world. Job satisfaction is FANTASTIC....

yeah, its just fantastic alright........:o