Just wanted to share that I got my NY State EMT card in the mail last night. I've been volunteering with the rescue squad for a year now, so it feels good to be "official" again.

I was an EMT in another state many years ago, so getting this card is no great feat, but it cost me a lot of time away from my family and other responsibilities to take the class, so it feels good to be done.

My specific news is probably not too interesting to most of you, so to bring it back to a preparedness theme, I was able to get six months of relatively high-quality medical/first aid training for free by volunteering my time with the rescue squad. I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest - I'm sure the skills will come in handy for anyone who takes the training.

WOO HOO! Good job!!
-Blast

Congrats. And thanks for the tip.

Congratulations!

Now you need to work on your EMT-I or EMT-P

Pete

Pete,

Ha! I can get the training for what we call EMT-CC here in NY for free. It's essentially the NREMT-I/99 curriculum, and would allow me to operate as a full ALS provider here in Nassau County. The only things EMT-CCs can't do that EMT-P's can are surgical airways and RSI, and most volunteer squads don't want the headache of carrying the drugs to allow RSI anyhow. I think EMT-CCs can even do needle circs, so they're not totally helpless for a blown airway.

However, I'm not so sure my wife is about to let me sign up for another nine months of twice a week classes at this point. I also question the usefullness of the cert - if I'm going to do nine months, maybe I should do 14 and get my EMT-P, which I THINK I could get paid for (more likely I'd have to lay out the money and get reimbursed, along with a contract to volunteer for a set number of years). It would also allow me to practice if I ever move out of state!

As a medic, what do you think? Keep in mind that my response area is about six minutes from one hospital, ten from another, and 15 from a level-1 trauma center, so often "scoop and go" is the best option, even for the ALS guys.

Congratulations!

The answer to your question is one of self-soul searching. It is a huge investment of time, if you would have in mind to make it a future career choice, like Matt then go for the full EMT-P. If not, run as an EMT-B for a few years as a volunteer and see if the EMS bug bites you. If so, then you will have more of a reason/validation to take the EMT-CC/EMT-I level training and may make convincing your family that all that time spent away from the family and family activities is worth while.

I wish you luck whatever your decision might be and know it will be very self-satisfying and worthwhile endeavor.

Pete

Congratulations!

Sue

I second that - if you have the time, by all means, the training is incredible. I know that family and friends know that I have the training and experience to handle emergencies, and while I'm no longer active, there may come a day in the future where I sign on again. Any/All emergency services are DESPERATE for volunteers. If you can manage the time, it's well worth it.

Congratulations on the EMT re-certification!