Reason #1: Networking

This is by far the single most important benefit from attending EMS conferences. You will meet more EMS professionals and make more connections in the industry inside of 2 or 3 days than others might in an entire career. At every conference, job connections are made and ideas shared. This can lead to career mobility as well as better care for patients.

Reason #2: Staying up-to-date

As previously mentioned, in EMS, the way we deliver care is changing rapidly. Not only does medicine itself change over time, but the administration, ethical, and legal building blocks that all tie together behind the scenes change quickly as well. By attending a regional or national conference, you’ll be investing in your own career by ensuring that you’re on top of or ahead of current trends.

Reason #3: Learn something new

I’ve attended many conferences both in the interest of personal and professional development in my life and my mindset is always the same with each; I go into each and every one expecting to walk away with one new idea for my life or career. I don’t expect to walk away a completely new person with an entirely new direction, I just open my mind up to finding one really useful idea that I can walk away with. This keeps me focused on ensuring that I’m absorbing as much as I can from all of the different sessions, but also prevents me from getting overwhelmed with information overload.

Reason #4: Get fired up…again!

It’s not uncommon, especially in EMS with long, inconsistent, and physical shifts, to get a little burned out and stagnant in your job. Attending an EMS conference might just light a fire under you to get you excited about your career again. This might even lead to you seeking out a more advanced certification or becoming an instructor. You’ll no doubt come away excited and fired up after attending a conference, it’s what you do with that motivation and energy back home that will count.

Reason #5: Check out new technology

At many EMS industry conferences, medical equipment manufacturers or distributors are on hand during expo hours to show off new devices and technology. It’s always amazing to see how quickly technology is advancing and even if you’re not in charge of getting budgets approved for your organization, it can help sharpen your game to know what’s out there and how it’s changing the face of emergency medicine.

Reason #6: Have a little fun someplace new

America is a beautiful and diverse country and one of my favorite reasons for attending conferences is simply to check out a new city, enjoy some new restaurants, and see new sites. Whether your attending a regional or national conference, you’ll have a great excuse to get out of your neck of the woods and possibly enjoy a city you haven’t visited before.

The National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) hosts a pretty comprehensive calendar of regional EMS conferences and symposiums at http://www.nasemso.org/Resources/Calendar/. EMS World also maintains a good schedule of upcoming events available at http://www.emsworld.com/events.

During your state-approved training course, your best resource for finding an EMT basic study guide and practice exam that relate specifically to the exam you’ll be taking is your course instructor. They’ll be able to provide you with a recommended list of practice courses that can prepare you for your upcoming test. Additionally, it’s very likely that the textbook you’ll be using will have practice tests toward the end of the book.

Another great resource for finding practice test texts is your local library. Currently, the community library in my town has seven practice texts for both EMT-Basic and paramedic exams.

No matter what route you choose to take, you need to answer several key questions when choosing an EMT study guide:

1. Does the practice exam contain questions that are formatted similar to the exam you’ll be taking? For the NREMT exam, this will be multiple choice questions with 4 answer choices for each.

2. Do the questions provide sufficient difficulty to help you achieve a passing score on the exam? Study guides are great, but if the questions aren’t difficult or challenging enough, the guide simply can’t prepare you to successfully pass the exam.

3. Does the study guide provide current practice questions which are up-to-date with the standard curriculum? Again, a study guide is only as useful as it is relevant to the exam you’ll be taking on test day. Out-of-date guides can leave you unprepared for questions you might face.

4. Does the guide clearly explain why the correct answer is the most applicable to the question? Memorizing answers to questions can also leave you under-prepared for your exam. You need a guide that will help your critical thinking skills by walking you through correct answer scenarios.

5. Will the study guide lead you toward the sections of the exams in which you need more practice? The best study guides will clearly identify your deficiencies so that you can spend additional time brushing up on subject matter in those modules.

Again, there are dozens of texts out there that can help you prepare. However, given that you’ll want to find a practice exam/study guide that will address the questions above, the simplest solution is to use online practice exam courses. These are available from a number of providers, but the obvious benefits are that these web-based courses are able to provide you with correctly formatted, current questions which offer increasing difficulty and they also present your practice exam results in a manner that allow you to better understand which sections of the exam you’re prepared for and, more importantly, which sections you need to spend more time on. For these reasons, I would highly suggest using an online practice course prior to taking your certification exam. You’ll be making certain that any money you spend on a practice exam will be the best overall investment in your success.

Our Favorite EMT Basic Study Guides

EMT National Training Online Exam Prep & Ebook

Again, using an online study guide increases your odds of successfully passing your exam on your first try with up-to-date databases of questions. Our favorite choice in online practice modules comes from EMT National Training. They currently have over 3,000 NREMT-style questions in their database. Our favorite feature, however, is the performance analysis dashboard. You get detailed statistics of all of the questions and subject material you’ve struggled with so that you can go back and review the rationale behind the correct answers to those questions. The rationale scenarios are also included in the database. EMT National Training has also recently added an ebook option to supplement the online EMT basic study guide, available for an extra $10.

SUCCESS! For the EMT Basic (Brady/Prentice Hall)

If you are going to elect for a printed EMT basic study guide or are searching for one to supplement your online test prep, our favorite choice is this complete review manual from Brady. It provides clear, detailed rationales for each correct answer. The current edition contains over 1,000 NREMT-style exam questions and provides a nice format for going back to review your weak areas. I would highly recommend pairing this text with EMT-B National Standards Self Test, also from Brady. The two books together make a very useful combination for preparing for your certification exam.

First, be advised that the format and scope of the interview process for EMTs can vary widely. Depending on the demand for responders in your area, the interview process can range from a “meet and greet” to several required sessions. Many EMS providers will conduct a mass screening prior to interviewing any applicants. Some will require that you complete a skills test and an NREMT-style exam prior to proceeding to the interview. Some may even require a geographic aptitude, or map test, during the process. Likewise, some providers require a basic fitness test, although they’re well-known to be fairly easy to pass.

The key takeaway is that if you’re applying for several positions, you need to be prepared for all these scenarios. While your training should have prepared you for many of the elements listed above, you haven’t been coached on providing sound responses to common EMT interview questions. Let’s dig in.

1. Tell us about yourself?

This question is a common ice-breaker in interviews across all professions, and EMS is no different. The key element to keep in mind is that the interviewer isn’t necessarily interested in whether or not you like to hunt or fish or what your team you’ll root for during the upcoming NFL season. While they may want to get to know you personally to determine whether or not you’re a likable person and will be a selfless team player, they want to know what personality traits you have that will help you succeed in EMS. They want to know if you’re dependable and if you’ll show up on time. They want to know if you’re detail oriented and if you have a history of putting others first. If you discuss personal experiences, use them to show that you have qualities such as those listed above. You’ll have plenty of time for small talk and sports chat if you’re hired.

2. Why do you want this position?

Again, this one goes back to showing that your committed to service. Although it might be obvious on your resume, telling an interviewer that you’ve been looking for work for six months and it’s really time you start paying the bills does not demonstrate a commitment to providing the highest quality of pre-hospital care. Have you always wanted to help others? Are you driven to learn about emergency medicine? Does the hum-drum routine of a desk job sound like your worst nightmare? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re on the right track. EMT interview questions are designed to get at your reason for sitting in that chair. All providers want to find responders who can best fit the job description, and it’s a job description that’s not right for everyone. Let them know that you have the traits necessary to be successful in EMS.

3. What do you know about our company?

This is where research ahead of time is critical. A recent study by CareerBuilder.com found that applicants who had taken the time to understand a company’s background and business model were 40% more likely to be hired. 40%! And all this involves is spending 20 minutes online doing your homework on the company you’re applying to. Take the time to research the history of the service you’re applying to, what areas they serve, what types of calls they usually run, what their truck setup might be, and what kinds of call volume they experience. This will go a long way in showing that you’re not only committed to EMS, but that you want to be a part of their team.

4. What shifts can you work?

With the hectic and varying schedules in EMS, applicants are often more likely to get hired if they’re flexible on what shifts they work. While you may not want to work from midnight to noon forever, these are shifts that are often filled by eager, newly-minted, young EMTs who are willing to work whatever hours are required to land a job. Unless you have serious conflicting responsibilities, ie. your wife is a labor and delivery nurse and works overnights while you’re home with sleeping kids, you need to demonstrate as much flexibility as possible when this question is asked. At the end of the day, shifts need to be staffed and a hiring manager will eventually find people who can do it.

5. What are your plans or goals for the future?

Again, this question is most often designed to asses your commitment to the medical field. Stating that you need to find a good job that pays at least $18 an hour until you figure that out is not the right way to go. If you’re committed to emergency medicine, you’ll have no problem addressing this question. If you don’t know, then discuss your short-term goals. You “want to find an agency that you can grow with and further your emergency medical experience while serving the people of your community by providing the best pre-hospital care possible”. While an employer isn’t looking for you to fabricate some bright future where you become the head of their company, you can be authentic while at the same time framing your response in a way that shows that you’re not a job-hopper or wishy-washy professional wanderer.

6. Scenario-based questions

Many providers base a few EMT interview questions around scenarios. While they’re typically not complex, think “what are the indications of glucose?”, you may want to run through a few scenario practice modules prior to sitting for an interview. Again, passing your certification exam should have prepared you for anything you’ll likely encounter, but some employers simply want to test your critical-thinking skills.

Behavioral questions

It’s also important to note that many employers, not just in EMS, are moving toward behavioral-based interview questions. For example, instead of asking you if you’ve ever done something, which allows for a simple “yes” or “no” response, they’re moving toward questions phrased as “tell me about a time when…” This requires interviewees to put their behaviors and choices on display and helps them to better asses how you will respond in certain situations. For a list of common behavioral-based interview questions, click here.

References

We discussed references in our How to Craft a Great EMT Resume guide, but it’s worth discussing once again as references often come up during the interview. Employers want to know that you have references that can give them an idea of your character, as well as show that you’ve committed to making connections within EMS. Don’t list out three of your best friends from high school. Instead, include past managers, training instructors, or classmates from your course.

If you take the time to prepare, as well as arm yourself with some of the common EMT interview questions EMS employers are asking, you’ll be able to increase your odds of landing a job drastically. As always, if you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.

Over the last couple of years, I truly assumed that the concept of the accelerated paramedic program would either 1.) evaporate as students decided it wasn’t worth trying to cram everything you need to know about paramedicine into 12 weeks or 2.) the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) would eventually stop accrediting such programs.

However, the discussions surrounding the accelerated paramedic program offered by various institutions throughout the country continue to surface on popular EMS forums such as EMTLife. It seems like every few months, a new thread pops up with someone looking for advice or opinions related to a particular accelerated paramedic program they’ve found and researched online.

In this article, we wanted to tell you a little more about the real story behind these programs. While it’s incredibly enticing to an EMT-B to think that it could be possible to become a medic without investing a year and a half of their life to study and practice, there are a few things that we feel a responsibly to share with you in respect to what’s not often discussed about these accelerated paramedic programs.

Competency: The primary reason to be leery of these accelerated programs is pretty simple: do you truly feel that you can become the best medic that you can be and offer the highest quality of pre-hospital patient care at the ALS level after 3 months in the classroom? While innovations in education, such as online coursework, have certainly made education more accessible, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve helped to increase the quality of instruction. As one EMTLife forum member asked: “would you want to go to a doctor who got his MD in 6 months?”

Clinical and Field Components: While it may be enticing to think that you could actually become a medic within 3 months, this time frame only incorporates the didactic portion of the work. Students are expected to complete their own clinical and field rotations prior to applying for the NREMT exam and often, they’re left on their own to find opportunities to fill these hours.

Price: Accelerated paramedic programs are often much more expensive than traditionally-paced courses. They can sometimes charge thousands of dollars in extra tuition to graduate students in a shorter period of time.

Lack of Transferable Course Work: Many of the medical skills learned in a traditional paramedicine course pave a solid foundation that may be applied to other courses of study down the road. For example, paramedics who eventually want to become nurses are generally able to speed up that process by attending a “bridge program” which assumes that the medic has gained many of the skills required in the nursing field. Almost always, accelerated paramedic programs are skipping entire sections of coursework that would need to be completed later on in the event that you want to transition to another line of work in health care.

I can completely understand why a basic would want to minimize the time investment to become a medic. However, you are truly making an investment in your career when you attend medic school and it should be thought of in that light. If you’re going to make the leap, do you want to cut corners or would you prefer to take the time to properly learn all of the necessary skills you need to be the best medic you can be?

Let’s face it; an EMT never runs anywhere unless they want to risk being fired due to instigating chaos on scene. However, overall physical fitness pays a major role in EMS careers in more ways than one. In this article, we’ll take a look at the role that fitness plays in the life of an EMS as well as a few EMS fitness tips to help you maximize your career longevity.

Why is Fitness Important in EMS?

Firstly, one of the leading reasons we see people leave EMS earlier than we see professionals make a switch in other careers is sheer exhaustion and repeated injuries. While life in the field can be stressful and emotionally challenging for some, it’s almost always physically demanding for every EMS professional. Long shift hours, high call volumes, and improper lifting of heavy loads lead to fatigue, as well as knee and back problems, which are very common among EMTs. While top-notch physical endurance may not be a necessity to perform well in the field day in an day out, a decent level of fitness, good core strength, and the ability to lift heavy loads properly are essential to ensuring that you reduce your chances of injury in order to extend your EMS career.

Staying Physically Fit

Another very common complaint among EMTs is that many of them feel that long shift hours, frequent down time, and meals on the fly lead them to gain weight. You’re never going to be able to guarantee that a day spent in the field will keep you physically active and challenged, so the best way to combat weight loss and carry more energy into your job in EMS is to maintain a regular physical fitness regimen. You don’t need to spend hours a day in the gym, but maintaining a consistent level of fitness helps to increase your energy levels, even when you’re not working out. It also boosts your metabolism for several hours afterwards which can help mitigate against weight gain or even help you shed a few pounds if you watch your dietary intake properly.

If you have limited time in your schedule, focus your fitness efforts on building core strength and using a routine which allows you to get the most from the time you put into it. Programs like Crossfit, which is a “boot camp” style routine, can keep intensity levels high and focus on training all of the major muscle groups, including your core. These types of regimens can help you burn a significant number of calories in a short span of time.

Building a Strong Core

A strong core is the key to developing a good lifting technique. However, that’s not the end of the story. EMS professionals who want to reduce their risk of long-term, lifting-related injuries should also focus on training some of the other major muscle groups which assist in a good lift. This means that to develop the strength necessary to mitigate against back and knee injuries common in this career, adding in some strength training which focuses on shoulders, lower back, glutes, and quads can go a long way. You don’t need to use excessive weight when performing these exercises. You can employ a moderate amount of weight and use a high number of repetitions to develop the strength needed. However, spending at least one day a week performing exercises which develop these muscle groups can be very effective.

Here’s a sample weight routine which would address these key muscle groups.

(Note: Before performing any exercise routine, be sure to consult a physician. Furthermore, weight training should be preceded by a good warm-up and stretching routine.)

Swiss ball crunches: 2 sets of 25 repetitions
Squats: 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions, moderate weight
Back extensions: 2 sets of 25 repetitions
Dumbbell shoulder presses: 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions, light to moderate weight
Plank: 2 sets of 60 seconds
Deadlifts: 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions, moderate weight
Pull-ups (assisted if necessary): 3 sets to exhaustion

A routine such as this one, when performed one to two times a week can build key strength in the major areas of the body which are prone to injury from heavy and repeated lifting.

Develop Proper Lifting Techniques

Perhaps no area of EMS fitness is more important than knowing how to lift heavy loads correctly. Here are the key steps to a proper lifting technique.

1. Know where you’re going with the load you’re going to carry. Think through and discuss with your partner, if applicable, how you’re going to move the load and where you will end up. It’s also key to communicate when you will commence with the lift using a count such as “One, two, three, up”, with the lifting motion commencing on the “up”.

2. Get as close to the object you’re lifting, most likely a gurney or body board, as possible. With a gurney, you might even place your feet just slightly beneath it. The key is to eliminate any arching of the back during the lift, and getting close aids with this.

3. With your back as straight as possible, lower your upper body using your hips and knees. Ideally, you would begin with one knee on the ground, however, this isn’t always possible in all situations, such as with a gurney where the grip points are off the ground.

4. Tighten your core, press your heels and the balls of your feet straight down into the ground, and lift by activating your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Continue that pressing down motion as you let the weight of the load draw down against your shoulders. Attempt to keep your arms and elbows straight and parallel to your upper body throughout this motion.

5. Once the load is lifted, maintain a straight posture and keep the load as close to your body as possible. This position will ensure that your shoulders remain in line with your hips and take small, shuffling steps as you move the load.

Other EMS Fitness and Health Tips

*Take responsibility for your own fitness and health. With no formal fitness requirements in place, the EMS industry requires that you take charge of your own health and fitness. It’s your responsibility to maintain your health no only to ensure your safety and career longevity, but your patients also deserve that you are the best responder you can possibly be.

*Carry along your own food. Many EMS responders complain of no time to eat between calls and often when there is time to eat, it’s a fast food meal on the fly. Get into the practice of carrying your own cooler along on your shift and stock it with nutrient dense and convenient foods and snacks to ensure that your energy levels remain topped off.

*Get into the stretching habit. It might sound a bit new-agey, but frequent stretching before and during your shift can help to reduce the odds of on-the-job injuries. It can also help to enhance and increase blood flow to muscles and tissues during times when you may otherwise be stagnant, which can help sustain overall body energy levels.

*Hydrate often. Drinking plenty of fluids, especially during the summer months, will help reduce fatigue and, some research has shown, lessen the chances of muscular strains.

*Develop good sleep habits. If you’re not already making the time to get a full and restful night (or day) of sleep, start immediately. Lack of proper rest leads to fatigue, however, your body is also using that time to physically recover from long and intense physical exertion. It’s absolutely critical that you develop good sleep habits to ensure that you’re the most effective responder you can be.

Now it’s your turn. What suggestions do you have for a sound EMS fitness and health routine?

Educational institutions have addressed this scenario in recent years by providing alternative career opportunities in the field of health care through paramedic to RN bridge programs specifically designed to transition paramedics into the role of registered nurses with a minimal amount of time invested in education.

Paramedic to RN Bridge Program Structure and Duration

If you’re currently employed as a medic and are considering getting your certification as an RN through one of these programs, the first questions you’ll likely ask are 1.) what’s required in the programs and 2.) how long will they take to complete.

To begin with, it will be assumed by the institution to which you apply that you hold current paramedic certification within your state. Secondly, you’ll likely need to pass one or more basic competency tests prior to beginning the program in order to be allowed to proceed with the bridge program. These may include a basic medical skills demonstration exam and possibly a medication calculations competency criteria as well. You will also likely need to sit for and receive a passing score on the HESI nursing entrance exam. The HESI exam is a five-part, computer-based competency exam consisting of 125 total questions in the following areas:

• Math
• Reading Comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Chemistry

Upon entry into a program, you will begin an associate’s degree curriculum consisting of generally around 64 or 66 credit hours. You will essentially begin learning to apply the medical skills you’ve gained as a paramedic to a wider range of treatment settings and patient assessments. In early modules, your training will likely focus specifically on the practical differences between the role of paramedic and nurse. In ongoing modules you will be trained further in nursing principles and practice and will learn to apply holistic treatment models to adult and child patients throughout the entire range of the life cycle. Depending on the educational institution, course topics may include:

• Review of anatomy and physiology
• Pathophysiology
• Microbiology
• Chemistry
• Family nursing
• Crisis care
• Psychology
• Child and family nursing principles and practices
• Maternal-infant nursing
• IV therapy
• Human development

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Paramedic to RN Bridge Program

There are a few factors which you’ll want to consider if you’re evaluating a paramedic to RN bridge program to aid in your career mobility.

1. Schedule requirements: This is perhaps the most obvious consideration, but if you’re going to be working while attending a bridge program, you’ll need to ensure that the program fits your schedule and the amount of time you have to dedicate to your studies. Nothing will sidetrack your success in a nursing program faster than falling behind on the progression of study, so make sure that a program fits your needs.

2. Transfer credit acceptance: With bridge programs, there can often be quite a bit of duplicity between college-level courses you may have already gained credit for and some of the credit requirements within the program. If you have taken college-level courses for credit within the last ten years and those credits match some of the requirements within the bridge program curriculum, you may be able to save time unless you prefer to enroll in them again as a refresher. Check with the specific institution to which you are applying to determine if your credits will be accepted for transfer.

3. Accreditation level: If you want to find the highest quality paramedic to RN bridge program to further your education, seek out those which are accredited by both regional educational accreditation institutions and also the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). The latter agency’s mission is to ensure that specific criteria are met by educational institutions in order to maintain quality standards in nursing programs across the country. Visit the NLNAC web site to learn more.

4. Academic advising support: Ensure that the paramedic to RN bridge program to which you plan to apply will offer one-on-one academic advising during your time in the program. Personal advising can go a long way in helping you tailor your education toward the unique career goals you’ve set for yourself. Advisors also very often have great professional connections which can lead to successful job placements down the road as well.

In this interesting video from The College Network, former paramedic Jean Brennan discusses how the events of 9/11 shaped her career path and the journey of transitioning from paramedic to RN through a bridge program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQDopbs837w

What Does a Community Paramedic Do?

Community paramedicine traces its roots back to rural areas of eastern Canada around the year 2000. Physicians who had previously served rural and remote island areas left the medical field for retirement and subsequently, paramedics were recruited to begin offering care to these under-served populations. This experiment led to the practice of preventative medicine being employed to serve homeless populations in cities on the west coast, most notably San Francisco, in order to reduce the number of 911 calls and ambulance response costs associated with those calls.

Fast forward to the present day, and we’ve seen the practice of community paramedicine take root in both rural and urban areas across the country in an effort to shift EMS into a more preventative stance in order to ease the strain on tight fiscal budgets and reduce the burden of high call volumes for patients who, although they have chronic conditions, simply have no other way to get access to care other than a 911 call and an ambulance ride.

These preventative measures can greatly reduce the cost of care in many areas. For example, as noted in a recent New York Times article, through proactive counseling and treatment, an EMS agency in the Dallas-Forth Worth area was able to cut over 1,000 calls a year from their system. At an average cost of around $1,200, it was further noted that due to the heavily under-insured population which made up these calls, most of the were non-reimbursable.

So what does community paramedicine offer to the patient? Put simply, community paramedics can be dispatched by both physicians and nurses in an effort visit under-served patients in their home or through community outreach training programs to ensure that they are proactive in preventing complications from currently existing conditions. For example, in the areas of arthritis, diabetes, or congestive heat failure, following proper prescription regimens and learning the benefits of proper diet or exercise can greatly reduce the potential for recurring complications. However, most patients within the under-insured or elderly populations simply do not have access to training or follow-up support from a medical professional to stem problems before they begin.

This is where the community paramedic steps in. By providing support and care to patients through visiting them before a call to 911 is required, many emergency medical responses can be prevented.

What Types of Agencies Hire Community Paramedics?

The single largest issue facing most EMS agencies in expanding their preventative capabilities through the employment of community paramedics is a very big one. Under federal guidelines, most EMS agencies are only reimbursed in the event of a patient transport. And community paramedicine strives to prevent these transports to begin with. Until legislative changes allow for more EMS agencies to receive funding to cut response costs through the practice of these preventative visits, official opportunities for community paramedics may be few and far between. There are several states across the country that are funding pilot test projects in which they place an EMS professional in the role of community paramedic for an under-served location to test the potential cost savings associated with the practice, however, the position is expected to play a more “unofficial” role until community paramedicine is further integrated into EMS protocol.

How Can You Become a Community Paramedic?

If the role of a community paramedic is of interest to you, your first step is going to be to get your medic certification and starting gaining some field experience. As noted with the pilot certification program conducted through Hennepin Technical College in Minnesota, entrance will be competitive and applicants to similar new programs across the country will likely be expected to have a minimum of two years of field experience. Furthermore, you’ll need to research opportunities in your own state to determine whether or not programs exist to place community paramedics. However, if preventative medicine is something you truly believe can help reduce many of the burdens which strain our current health care system, hanging in there until opportunities are available can pay off.

A Brief History of Tactical EMS

The first known assignment of certified emergency medical personnel to a civilian tactical response unit occurred in 1969 when the Los Angeles Sheriff Department transferred several full-time EMTs to their SWAT unit. Two decades later, in 1989 and 1990, a pair of physicians presenting at the National Tactical Officers Association conference, Dr. Rich Carmona and Dr. Dave Rassumof, introduced the idea of using existing emergency medical services response models to support tactically-trained law enforcement officers in high-risk assignments.

While combat medics have played an integral role in the US armed forces as a hybrid of medical support provider and operator since the formation of the current special operations system in the late 1950’s, tactical training for medics offering care in a civilian environment was non-existent. After these two conferences, the term Tactical Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) began to describe the intersection of pre-hospital emergency care and the special tactical training required to operate within hostile civilian environments. In 1990, the US Department of the Interior was tasked with the formation of the Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support (CONTOMS) Program. This program developed a curriculum for EMS professionals to gain the necessary training to support tactical law enforcement operations, which resulted in a 56-hour, one-week continuing education module for currently certified EMTs known as the EMT-Tactical program (EMT-T). Several other providers (both privately and publicly operated) have developed their own curriculum for training EMS professionals in the unique demands of tactical operations executed by law enforcement agencies.

Tactical Paramedic Training Programs

The unique juxtaposition of emergency medical care and tactical operations means that the core curriculum within these tactical medic training programs focuses largely on teaching medics how to operate harmoniously with law enforcement officials under established tactical protocols, as opposed to advancing skills in pre-hospital medical care. There are some special considerations covered in the training which relate to pre-hospital care unique to tactical environments, however, the majority of the tactical medic course modules will focus on topics such as:

• Firearms training
• Use of force
• Basic hand-to-hand combat
• Takedowns and handcuffing
• Basic SWAT tactics
• Navigation skills training
• Forcible entry
• Team movement
• Biological and chemical threats
• K9 operations
• Sensory overload and sleep deprivation
• Raid planning
• Health and wellness of tactical team members
• Hostage safety and survival
• Medical record management in the tactical environment
• Legal and ethical issues for tactical teams

Tactical EMT training courses can range from around 50 to over 300 hours in some cases, depending on the provider. They will nearly all require that you hold current certification as an EMT-Basic and as entrance into these programs tends to be highly competitive, many providers prefer certification as a paramedic prior to applying for enrollment. Costs for tactical medical training also vary by provider but may range from $800 to $2,000 on average.

At the current time, here are some of the top providers of tactical EMS training programs outside of local and state law enforcement agencies:

Cypress Creek EMS (Houston, TX)
International School of Tactical Medicine (Palm Springs, CA)
Tactical Element (Lady Lake, FL)
Consurgo (Dallas, TX)
TAC ONE Consulting (Golden, CO)

You may also check with local community colleges and law enforcement agencies in your area to determine if there are tactical EMS training programs in your state.

Tactical Paramedic Jobs

One of the leading providers of tactical medic jobs is law enforcement agencies. Depending on the size of the agency, some SWAT and SRT units staff medics on their response teams. Other law enforcement positions may include opportunities with highway patrol agencies or air commands. There are also opportunities for the tactical medic within the military contracting community. These are typically contract positions offered by companies who are hired by the Department of Defense to maintain security operations in foreign countries. Various private security forces which operate both domestically and internationally also staff tactical medics within their operational units. While tactical EMS jobs are not widespread, with the right combination of training and experience, a medic can position himself as an attractive candidate within the limited pool of opportunities.

State EMS Agencies

In many states across the country, the agency or association which is responsible for EMT training and certification oversight may also provide financial assistance to individuals who are seeking EMS certification. The awards are offered as either a scholarship or grant and can be a great way to find help in paying for your training. The awards which are offered are generally subject to funding availability, however, it’s a great place to begin your search for assistance. To find contact information for your state’s EMS agency, click on this link and then select your state from the map.

National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)

There are also national EMS associations which offer a limited number of grants and scholarships to students each year. The most well-known association to offer awards each year is the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, or NAEMT. This professional association offers several scholarships each year to its active members. Although you do not need to hold current certification as an EMS responder to join the NAEMT (which you can do through this link), you will need to be certified as a First Responder or higher to apply for scholarships. Currently, awards of up to $500 are offered to First Responders who wish to enroll in EMT-B training, up to $5,000 for EMT-B certification holders who wish to apply for EMT-Paramedic courses, and current paramedics are awarded scholarships of up to $2,000 for furthering their education. Once you have registered as a NAEMT member , you may submit a scholarship application along with a 1,000 word essay on why you are pursuing the scholarship and how you would benefit from it. You can find out more details regarding eligibility requirements and the application process on this page.

Bound Tree Legacy Scholarships

For those aspiring EMS professionals who are children of career paramedics, EMTs, or firefighters, Bound Tree Medical, a medical device distributor based in Ohio, offers several scholarships each year. The awards are given to those individuals who want to seek EMT-Basic certification or increase their certification from EMT-B to EMT-I or paramedic. Those applicants who are seeking to attend an EMT-Basic program are eligible to apply for 50% of the cost of their program (up to $500) in scholarship funds and candidates seeking funding for an EMT-I or EMT-P program may apply for up to $2,500. Furthermore, those individuals who are currently enrolled in a state-approved training program may also apply. Find out more about the Bound Tree Legacy Scholarship fund through this link.

Privately Managed Memorial Scholarships

Several privately managed scholarships have been set up around the country to honor individuals who have served in the EMS community. These are typically funded through donations and fundraising events. The Carlos Lillo Paramedic Scholarship, for example, has been established to honor a fallen EMS professional who gave his life in service during the September 11th attacks in New York City. The fund provides assistance to current EMS professionals in the area who wish to further their professional development by attending a paramedic program. The Michael J. Latta EMS Scholarship Foundation is also a private scholarship fund honoring a fallen EMS professional which provides assistance to those individuals who wish to serve their communities as a paramedic.

Tuition Reimbursement

While not technically a scholarship or grant, many EMS employers offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit. Companies such as American Medical Response, one of the nation’s largest private ambulance services, offer this benefit for employees who wish to pursue advanced certification. In most cases, the employee must work with the organization for a minimum number of months before becoming eligible for this benefit and may be required to remain employed with the company after attending the training program for which the benefit was allocated. However, these programs can be a great way to advance your training with little or no out of pocket expense.

Receiving Financial Aid Through an Accredited Degree Program

If you are planning to attend EMT training through an accredited educational institution, you might also be able to seek assistance through the financial aid department of the school you attend. In most cases, this option will only be available if you will be enrolled for a two-year or four-year degree, however, it can provide you access to institution-specific scholarships and grants that are allocated to specific areas of study. Even if you aren’t eligible to apply for aid, most vocational schools and community colleges will provide several payment plan options to ease the financial burden of attendance.

Types of Overseas Paramedic Jobs

If you’re seeking employment abroad as paramedic, you’ll be able to find both temporary and long-term positions. Let’s first discuss the types of openings you can find abroad and what role the paramedic would play in these overseas placements.

Volunteer Positions
There are many areas around the globe that do not have access to quality medical care and several volunteer agencies have stepped in to help out by bringing in qualified health care professionals from developed nations to provide care for remote communities. These programs allow qualified health professionals, such as paramedics, the opportunity to serve in a volunteer capacity in many destinations around the globe. The programs can range anywhere from one week to a year with most of the organizations that coordinate these opportunities. While you aren’t paid for your work, your living expenses are generally covered. For example, programs through one of the very popular world health care volunteer agencies, A Broader View, range from one week to three months and during your time volunteering for your chosen project, you will be provided housing with a host family, as well as three meals per day.

Required working hours can also very from one project to the next, however, most of the projects require a full-time or near full-time commitment, often 35 to 40 hours per week. Other considerations you need to think about if you’re interested in serving on a volunteer project overseas as a paramedic include:

*Will you be required to bring any supplies with you to the project?
*Are there language requirements beyond English that are required?
*Will you be responsible for your own airfare to and from the project?

While most of the required supplies, if any, will be minimal (gloves, mask, diagnostic kits, etc.), it’s crucial that you find out about any secondary language requirements and airfare, as traveling to some volunteer destinations (particularly in Africa and Asia) by plane can often run into the thousands of dollars.

Again, these volunteer positions aren’t going to provide a boost to your bank account, but they will offer you the opportunity to see parts of the world that you may never have chosen to visit. They’ll also provide you with new professional abilities that can boost your confidence back home, as dealing with language and cultural barriers will help hone your interpersonal skills in ways that you wouldn’t be able to do in a more comfortable and familiar environment.

If you are interested in overseas volunteer opportunities as a paramedic, here are two links to begin your research:

http://www.unitedplanet.org/healthcare-volunteer-abroad
https://www.abroaderview.org/programs/medical-dental-healthcare.php

Paid Contract Positions
For those who are interested in taking home a paycheck while visiting new parts of the world, there are countries which are seriously understaffed with prehospital care professionals. Some emergency medical agencies (particularly private hospitals and ambulance services) around the globe have turned to offering very attractive salary and benefits packages to entice qualified medical professionals from around the world to consider making the leap.

The pay and benefits will vary from one location to the next, but many paramedics who accept long-term contracts for overseas jobs regularly see pay levels reaching at least twice what they may be able to earn in the States. Vacation benefits are also typically better in most other countries than in the U.S., meaning paramedics abroad may receive two or three times the amount of paid time off that they received at home.

So where can you work exactly? Currently, the leading location for overseas paramedic jobs in terms of the number of openings is in the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates (most notably Dubai) and Saudi Arabia. There are dozens of global petroleum companies operating in the region and they tend to fill clinics and ambulance services with contract workers from outside the region, as the number of qualified prehospital care professionals in these countries is extremely low. Petroleum companies also hire medics to staff oil rigs, which can provide another opportunity for those who wish to work abroad.

Additionally, there are civilian contract positions available with the U.S. military. These positions may be located at various bases throughout the world and allow a civilian paramedic the opportunity to provide care for armed forces members. While the pay for these positions is not as lucrative as it may be for private defense companies or hospital and ambulance staff members in the oil-rich nations of the Middle East, this can be an invaluable opportunity for paramedics who want to work overseas. The value of one of these positions on your resume upon returning to the U.S. cannot be overstated. You will become a very attractive job candidate.

For those interested in researching paid contract positions abroad as a paramedic, Simply Hired seems to have the most comprehensive listing of international positions for paramedics.

Furthermore, you may want to read through some of the posts on blogs from medics who are currently serving on extended contracts overseas. My favorite is MadDogMedic, however, you might also want to read through Jason Ernest’s very comprehensive commentary from a few years back at EMS World as the Middle East Medic.