Confused on EMT-B?????

mn_nurse · Mar 28, 2010

I was an EMT-B in Texas several years ago. They would always pair a Paramedic and a basic together. Some EMT-B's were used soley for transport though. The pay range 5-6 years ago was 12-14/hour. I am sure Chicago would be higher. Texas usually has lower cost of living. Being an EMT will help with the skills part of nursing school.. accuchecks, IV starts, IM injections...

Good luck with your goal of being an RN.. just don't get stuck in the EMT-B rut

kybsnrnemt-bcen · Mar 28, 2010

Dear Proudpops,

I have my emt-b, and I did a little ride time with ems. As an emt-b usually you do transport, but you also assist in extracation, and getting the equipment ready, and hooking up a pt to the monitors. Some times if you are with a great paramedic and they know you are in nursing school they usually show you more and explain more of what they are doing. The knowledge you gain from working in the field will make you a great ED nurse if you are interested in that area. Also shifts are mostly 24 hour shifts where I live, but a busy ems service will sometimes work 12's. Pay isn't that great but better pay than cna's make and pts are alot more glad to see you. My emt-b certification helped me land a job working for a flight company as a flight nurse. So don't let people discourage you, ems isn't for everyone, but it lead me to great things. Good luck in nursing school, and with the little one. that adds a challenge but hang in there it pays off in the end.

stiltarget · Mar 28, 2010

WOW, here in NYC, do to the high call volume, 2 EMTB'S staff a BLS (basic life support unit) and respond to all the trauma jobs; gunshots, stabs, jumper downs, MVA's and lower level priority call like difficulty breathers with no history and asthmas of a certain age. our system and FDNY respond to about 1 million calls a year. i have been a paramedic for sometime and i can tell you the EMT's get the bloody stuff, they call for our help when it is unmanageable. the starting is $20ish for the hospital based and $17ish for the municipal based BLS units. just last night we had a double shooting and one was a traumatic arrest. EMT'S got there first and requested medics for the traumatic arrest... we also get dual assigned on all medical arrests one BLS unit, one ALS unit(2 paramedics), a fire engine and a patrol supervisor. so the moral of the story is, anything high profile or just plane gruesome there will be EMTBS AND MEDICS working it side by side.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Mar 28, 2010

I've been in EMS for 9 years and worked in extremely busy 911 systems in 3 counties in NY. Our company averaged about 60,000 calls a year...thats 911 and transports combined. As an EMT-B you are pretty much a medics ***** until you prove yourself and your abilities. Find an older medic who has been in the business for a while and knows the ropes. Be a sponge and keep your mouth shut and ears open. Forget what you learned in EMT class cuz in the real-world, we don't do things like the text book says. If you think that you're ever going to get the textbook CHF, or Chest pain call then you're pipe-dreaming. You hope for the best and always plan for the worst. Remember that in EMS it's at an Emergency level, so whatever pathology the patient has is evolving, you have to have extremely good assessment skills and be able to pick up on things that signal that your patient is about to 'circle the drain' and crap out on you. Idk what your protocols are in Chi-town but out in NYS we were able to administer only a few meds, ASA was just added for CP calls last year. So the list of med is Epi pens, Albuterol, ASA, activated charcoal, NTG, Oxygen..and maybe one more i forget. The best thing i got out of being an EMT (and i still ride) is my assessment skills. Not to gas myself up but my assessment skills are nasty good. I could spot a CHF-er from a mile away and I knew exactly what to do and what my medic needed before he even could spit it out. You have to learn to stay ahead of the game and expect whats coming next even tho it might not come. You also will become desensitized to the whole death and dying thing. Altho at this current point in my life idk if thats such a good thing. People are going to die on you, so don't ever think that wont happen to you. You have to be prepared to see, not only that but alot of traumatic injuries, GSWs, car accidents etc. It's not for the weak hearted, honestly. I've been covered in more bodily fluids than I can count to be honest. EMS isn't pretty. It's a thank-less job, most people don't give a hoot about your or what you do, they just wanna go to the hospital and its your job to get them their. Be prepared for those people who abuse the 911 system and call for things that are not emergencies, and the drug seekers, and your frequent flyers etc. Besides all the bad crap i just talked about. I'll tell you one thing. EMS is awesome, if you love the adrenaline rush, the absolute sheer madness of a code, working your ass off in the middle of the street trying to work up some gang banger that just got blasted and looks like swiss cheese then you'll enjoy it. I love being an RN and I found that love thru being an EMT...Any other questions PM me. And remember, we don't do EMS for the money or the fame, we do it cuz we love it.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2010

A lot of EMS/transport systems will NOT hire EMTs under age 21 because of insurance problems. A lot of hospitals will not hire EMTs without EMS/transport experience.

APNgonnabe · Mar 28, 2010

Dear OP- Basics learn assessment and basically the down and dirty of primary trauma management and medical calls. I worked for a Private ambulance in chicago 5 yrs ago. I started out at $9.50...as it sounds this is about what others were making. For the private services you'll probably run basic/basic. Another poster pointed out the 21 rule..most insurance companies will not insure you to drive their ambulance under 21. The company I worked for had several people that could not drive due to insurance issues(either age or driving record) but they still hired them and paired them with someone that could drive. good luck

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Mar 28, 2010

I am an EMT-B also and worked in the ED. We had many young men under 21 working for us as EMT techs so I guess it depends on the hospital? I have never had ambulance experience either. The experience in the ED was invaluable. And in EMT class you learn assessment skills and all the questions to ask. In RN school I answered a question about chest pain saying I would ask all the OPQRST questions. Everyone was like what? What did you say? They hadn't learned that so see you really learn something in EMT.

But EMT-B is a good start to a nursing career. Most guys here were taking the EMT-B class to get into firefighting as it's required. (another great career with great retirement and benefits for a family man)

Good luck to you! :)

creativetype2007 · Mar 28, 2010

If you are looking for critical care go volunteer in the ER at a hospital. USC Med center has an amazing program, all emergency medicine. But as an EMT, at least what I did it's mostly transport. At least during the day. But at night, you get more runs from Convelencent homes to ER non emergency usually but it's a lot more interesting the dialysis runs.

mn_nurse · Mar 29, 2010

Here is the link to SBAR:

http://www.medleague.com/Articles/medical_errors/sbar.htm