I might be changing jobswith one of the conditions of the new position is I must get a paramedic license (certificate?)  in three years.

I'm 48 - have a degree in computer science earned 25 years ago (crap I'm old) and was a Navy officer once upon a time.

I should be able to do this right?  Just looking at the training at local college seems you take one class per semester for four semesters plus 'field time'

Around here the hardest part would be eating the six meals a day required to get up to the 375 minimum weight.

Not hard my mom almost finished at a later year in life and if she had not gone in for double knee reconstruction she would have finished.
All that was left was the ride along.

Welcome to the club...I am 40 and start medic school in August.  Here the program is 11 months (broken down in to 3 phases).  Phase one is mostly reinforcing stuff you learned in EMT school along with doing shifts at a hospital.  I think the hardest part is the time factor.  I am already working 24 hour shifts and now on my days off I am going to be doing 12 hour clinicals at hospitals and eventually 24 hour rides with the fire department.  My class/lab schedule is based on fire shifts.  We meet every 3rd day except Sundays when the school is closed.

If you already have a college degree, you ought to be more than able to handle the academic requirements.

The biggest factor is the time requirements, especially if you're working full time and going to school at the same time.  Think classroom time, clinical hospital time, ride-along time, and then study time.  It can be a big commitment, and if you have a family they'll have to be understanding.

On the other hand, if your company/department is footing the bill, an is paying you for all of your class/clinical time, or counting that time as your normal work schedule, you can either bring home some nice checks or not worry about the time spent.

You should be able to do it.  It is a lot of work with a lot of study time. Most people feel lost for about the first 2/3 of the program then it comes together.

the didactic portion (classroom) is actually the easy part by comparison.  drop below 80% on any exam, and you're done.  drop below an 80% average at any point in time, and again- bye bye.

the clinical portion is pretty grueling- as your circadian will never equalize- as you're always going to different hospitals on different shifts, doing different things.  learn from it though-  you cant be expected to do it on the streets if you cant prove that you can do it in a well lit, air conditioned environment.

the field internship is key- and where the majority fail out.  know your drugs, know your treatment protocols, and know your didactic that you learned in the class room, and that's just the beginning.  you still have to convince a preceptor that you know what you're doing, and meet the state minimum standard for a couple months before he signs off on you-  and if he doesn't thing you're going to make it, he can cut you.

then, there is always the National Registry exam.  no picnic either.

needless to say, after 14 years as a P, and 2 as a B before i went to school-  8 years on a medic engine, 6 flying, and the entire time working part time as a medic on our local tactical team...  and oh yeah-  teaching at paramedic school, and precepting interns myself...  all i can say is:

im glad i let my license expire last year!  

-but, good luck.  its a survivable experience if you apply yourself.  with your background- applying yourself doesnt sound like something you are unfamiliar with.  you should do fine.

90 days if you are in a hurry.

teex

Not difficult academically but it is alot of time devoted for about a year. Time management is key.

Like others have said, with your credentials, the academics aren't hard, but the time managment, etc will be the tough part.

I don't remember for sure, but I think I've seen 'combo' classes that combine Basic/Paramedic into one shebang. You still have to actually pass the Basic test to proceed.

 

It's more a position managing the equipping and training of specialized EMS and other medical folks it's a brand new position.  A lot like being a Division Officer back in my navy days, managing , leading, coordinating, scheduling  a batch of well trained specialists.

I'm not academically qualified for the position as written but there some ways around this.  I could be given the position with a requirement being I get academic 'creds' in the next three years.  One option would be to get a masters in either Education or Public Health another would be to take EMS courses up to Paramedic.   I think I'd rather suck start a 9 mm before going back for a masters degree.  So committee or other has to rule on the modification to the requirements but the man ram rodding the whole process  is pretty confident he can swing it.  
Thanks for the input.

Hmm. While it sounds like a Paramedic cert might be helpful, I'm not sure it would be helpful enough to warrant going through the song and dance to get it, especially since you wouldn't actually be using the cert. As the 'boss' you don't necessarily have to have the technical knowledge and skills your actual specialists have in order to do a good job. Could you post a job description?

 

While I don't have a Masters degree, I can tell you that I invested more time and effort into getting my Paramedic than I did in the whole time I spent getting my Bachelors, and the hoops to jump through for medic now have only increased.

All of that extra time and effort wasn't necessarily because I wanted to either, but because the class required it.

Just something to consider.

Edited to add:  I've had people ask me if medic school is right for them over the years.  My answer has always been, don't go to medic school unless you really want to be a paramedic.  Don't go because you think you want to be a better EMT, or just for fun, or because you think it will give you a leg up in medical school later, etc.

listen to the guy above me.  

I am 48 and started paramedic school last may, we test in aug, it has been a grueling year and a half.  I have a bachelors degree and have completed two police academies in the last 26 years.  This is one of the hardest things I have done.  also the most rewarding.   I will get no more money in my current job for being a paramedic but they have supported me through the last year and a half.  They will benefit from my training.
DO not do it unless you want to be a paramedic.  we started with 15 students and hopefully will graduate 9.  The didactic part is the easiest.  clinicals suck.  do not wait till the last minute to get them done.  also never ever get behind.  the pace is too quick to easily catch up.  
You will need family support.  my wife has been a single parent for a year and a half.  I am home while they are on vacation because of clinicals.  If your heart is in it...do it.  education is the one thing no one can take away from you.

 let me add Clinicals have been the worst and best part of the program...if that makes sense.

That's actually pretty good advice for your particular situation.  Like I said a couple of posts up, I wouldn't recommend to anybody that they go to medic school unless they really want to be a paramedic.

Also, having  a medic cert or being a medic is a pretty narrow field....

A few years down the road and you decide you want to change jobs again, that Masters may be of far more benefit to you than a medic card.

Thanks for all the insight folks lots of good thoughts.   The medical director standing program  up is trying to run a ‘no useless eaters’ department.  For example our admin assistant is going to get a driver’s license so she can (maybe a he) can drive on of the big disaster vans.

I’m going to start   EMT110 in about a month.  As long as I get a ‘B’ the class is paid for 100% so while the committee or board or whatever sorts out the details.  Worst case they say no and I end up with more first aid training.  In my current gig as a computer guy here in the hospital sometimes we forget the   purpose of this  place is to provide care for patients.  Plus  I get to do the classroom part during work hours.

And WOW I thought my son's college books were expensive ...

Thanks again - I may be around begging for help down the road.  How hard can it be right ....

I'm just a lowly A-EMT but I was planning on doing paramedic after I get some more field experience.

But after doing my Clinicals and internships with paramedic students, I said fuck that. The time requirements are ridiculous, especially if you are trying to work full time while going to school.

I will have a military retirement check coming in so the pay difference between A-EMT and Paramedic isn't a big consideration for me. I can't imagine trying to do that school and work full time, I don't see how they do it.

Good luck though, it's a tough school but there's a reason why we call them "Para-Gods."

Paramedic here, the medic program sucks, it's not something that you can just walk thru, it takes commitment and excellent time management, but it's doable. Thousands do it each year.

EMT since 1990, got my EMT-I in 94 and my medic in '09. One year private EMS, did four years in Brooklyn and been at my current EMS job since 96 alternating between the street and training. HM2 USN-R from 98-06 with a Marine unit. I went to medic school 3 times. A post 9/11 deployment knocked me out 8 months into my first go round in '02. Cancer knocked me out in 05. I finally started and finished the 14 month school in '09.  

To your main question. Work wise the school is demanding. Med math, cardiology, pharmacology, medical terminology, college level A&P 1&2*, and numerous other areas are like new languages, ways of thinking or skills sets you need nowhere else. Time wise with classes, ambulance rotations and clinicals it is profoundly consuming. Add in the study hours outside all of that.

After you get your EMT most programs require 6 months or more of full time EMS work experience. Some don't though. Some will also require the National Registry EMT cert which may be independent of your state testing you did to get your original EMT cert.

*Some states may require A&P 1&2 before you get admitted to a program. Other let you take it while you're in medic school.

Like police work and FD work it takes a unique dedication to do the job. It sounds like you'll be admin as soon as you graduate. But many states require patient care/contact hours to maintain the cert and you may need a part time EMS ob to do that. Quizzes, tests and exams are easier to pass as a student. It's then reinforced with the work you do to firm it up. When recert/refreshers come that when you need to reach back to your experiences and knowledge base to get through the state/National Registry tests. You'll need to maintain ACLS, PALS and CPR(and maybe GEMS and PHTLS) certs which expire every two years. As long as your employer pays for them you're golden. But if you haven't unsheathed a needle, paced a cardiac patient, hung a dopamine drip, performed an RSI or two, ran through your ACLS protocols and pronounced a patient, or done a Parkland formula you may find keeping the cert really difficult.

If you're gonna jump into the biz do so ith both feet. There's nothing worse than the line folks looking at their "leader" who's barely every touched a patient or pushed an ambulance for a living  spec'ing their gear, telling them what they'll work with and how they'll do it.

More so, are you ready for blood, gore death and suffering? Are you ready for the chance to be exposed to Hep C and HIV? Needlesticks, being bled on, assaulted, and vomited on are part of the job. Lifting obese patients, crawling into wrecks and that could all be in just ambulance time and clinicals inside of a few months.  Are you an empathetic and compassionate person? Do you have a well developed coping mechanism? That dedication is needed to push yourself through medic school.

Good luck.