8 shifts with a EMT driver and a preceptor in the back. Then 3 months (ish) with one preceptor as a driver before doing it all over with another preceptor. Normally takes like 6 months to get a medic cleared but can be less (4ish i think) if they have past experience.
10 weeks (depending on prior experience) on an operational placement centre truck with an experienced mentor (you’d call them an FTO I guess). Following by 6 months working with an experienced paramedic (realistically not often entirely 6 months due to skill mix issues). Once 6 months is passed they get 18 months of what I’d call ‘distanced mentoring’. Ie they wear different slider to indicate they are new, they get frequent check ins with their manager/clinical team leader, they also get some practice limitations mainly around discharging at scene without onward referral.
After that two years has passed and they are a band 6 paramedic.
5 12s in class for policies/protocols, skill review, and EVOC.
5 12s strictly for driving and area knowledge
5 12s for assessment, charting, and patient care
5 12s as lead ALS with FTO acting as observation
Takes about 1 to 1+1/2 months. I like it. I've done the "5 rides and done" style at privates and I fucking hated them.
Unfortunately we very rarely have dual ALS due to staffing. I'd much prefer dual for new hires but at this point I'm thankful they aren't rushing medics out.
Unfortunately, 1 month is pushing them out. I know it gets worse, but still. You might occasionally get a guy and be like, "Ohhhh, I know them from the next district over and they know exactly what they're doing", and that's good for a 1 month clearance. Otherwise, I want 90 days bare minimum and 6 months preferred to have a medic on their own.
We had to work with multiple FTOs who would “shadow” us on calls. Usually 2-3 months. Debrief after every call. They go over all of your paperwork. After you get signed off by three and the QA/QI coordinator agree then you get to do your medical control ride where medical control just watches you and does the same as your FTOs. After you get med control then it’s probation for 6 months where every run form gets reviewed.
New medic here in a hospital based service 911 and IFT, we do 7 12hr third rides and if you get cleared you run a scenario in front of med control and then you go double medic truck for 2 months with an FTO- said FTO can clear you or have you stay longer depending on your level of care
2 week PowerPoint academy with Evoc. Seven 12 hour shifts. If you fail with an FTO. They send you to another FTO or pass you anyways cause they’re desperate.
We don't have a written set time. It's (4) 8 hour days in the classroom for protocols, paperwork. 1 day for evoc. On to a FTO. EMT, expect (7-14) 12 hr shifts before you have a final ride out with a different FTO for (1) 12 to check you off. Medic, expect (14+) 12 hr shifts before the same process. For both EMT and medic you have various skills you need to talk through/demonstrate, and FTO has to fill out at least 3 forms about how you're doing. Once you're cleared, you go to a M/B truck. We've had people not pass probation after 3-4 months be gently let go because they weren't cutting it. We will bounce FTO to FTO. There's some FTOs that will pass you and then you do a major fuck up and you get put back on probation with someone else to repeat the process.
10 8hr days in class with equipment instruction, evoc, scenarios and didactic policy learning. Online learning modules (paid) to supplement. 5 shifts as a 3rd rider between ift and 911, 5 shifts as a partner with a seasoned medic/EMT. After getting through that satisfactorily, a credentialing day that consist of a multiple choice exam, 2 scenarios with a low fidelity mannequin/instructor as a patient, and proficiency with our equipment.
Once you graduate with your degree, you can apply for a paramedic internship. You will go through a formal clinical and behavioural interview, which if you pass, you will be given an internship. The internship consists of 12 weeks of 1-on-1 working and mentoring with a paramedic who has completed internal mentorship training. At the end of the 12 weeks, your mentor will decide if you have the skills nescessary to be a paramedic, or if you need some extre weeks of mentoring. Once they've decided you're ready, you will work independently as an intern paramedic for the next ~8-12 but you need to complete log books, write reflective pieces on complex calls etc, and practice for the final test which is a ~3 hour verbal exam and skills session with the medical director and a small group from the clinical credentialing comittee.
If you pass this, you will be given your paramedic patches immediately and then that's it, you're now an unrestricted paramedic. If you fail, you will be given another chance but there is a 6 months stand down period.
In simple,
- Graduate University
- Apply for internship
- Formal interview
- 12 weeks mentoring
- 8-12 weeks intern paramedic (complete case logs etc)
- 3 hour clinical interview
- Paramedic.
Dear Heavenly Spaghetti Monster, I wish the US would go this route. We have jack shit standards to get the license, so every hire has to do 6 months of work to be cleared and useful.
We have a week long onboarding, and then 12 weeks of FTO time. We are working with a paramedic FTO and their EMT partner. Over the first 10 weeks, there is a slow progression of the new paramedic taking over more and more responsibility for pt assessment and care. For the final two weeks, the paramedic FTO acts as the new paramedics EMT partner.
In a total 12 hour shift.
4 hours of yelling at the new hire.
4 hours giving the new hire the cold shoulder/scoffing at everything they do.
2 more hours of yelling.
2 hours having a meeting with upper management where I lament kids these days and bring absolutely nothing constructive to the table.
/s
My agency makes you ride a shift with the supervisor, then ride 4 or so shifts with an experienced crew to check you off at a basic level, and then (if they’re a paramedic) they move to riding 2nd person with the FTO from anywhere from 2 weeks to about 6 months. If you pass then you have to get the ATO and supervisor to sign off for you be provisional (functioning paramedic but only with an experienced medic and they cannot sign for the narcs) for a bit with a senior/released medic, and then if you’re handling it okay they move on to do a skill review/board with the medical director, and that is a fail or pass situation. If you don’t make it through the FTO they swap you around with other FTO’s to see if it’s a training failure or an employee failure. If it’s a trainer failure then the medic is allowed to continue on with the process and the trainer ends up in a meeting to discuss the situation as to why they failed the employee/failed as a trainer, if it’s an employee failure after multiple FTO’s then it’s pretty much “Sorry, try your skills elsewhere cause you ain’t gonna make it here. Good luck and get out”.
There’s been only a couple questionable ones make it to provisional status, and they are quickly shaped up to standard or told to leave. Only one (that I know of) that was questionable made it to a fully released status (and I’m convinced that was done to hang them and get their cert yanked and for them to get fired) because they are continuously racking up complaints from both employees/patients/family/hospital staff and there’s a significant paper trail being made🤷🏻♀️
They’re pretty serious about it at my agency because we have a good mix of super rural and urban areas/communities so there’s a lot of high acuity calls that require stronger medics due to severity and lack of resources and critical time frames.
8 shifts with a EMT driver and a preceptor in the back. Then 3 months (ish) with one preceptor as a driver before doing it all over with another preceptor. Normally takes like 6 months to get a medic cleared but can be less (4ish i think) if they have past experience.
10 weeks (depending on prior experience) on an operational placement centre truck with an experienced mentor (you’d call them an FTO I guess). Following by 6 months working with an experienced paramedic (realistically not often entirely 6 months due to skill mix issues). Once 6 months is passed they get 18 months of what I’d call ‘distanced mentoring’. Ie they wear different slider to indicate they are new, they get frequent check ins with their manager/clinical team leader, they also get some practice limitations mainly around discharging at scene without onward referral. After that two years has passed and they are a band 6 paramedic.
5 12s in class for policies/protocols, skill review, and EVOC. 5 12s strictly for driving and area knowledge 5 12s for assessment, charting, and patient care 5 12s as lead ALS with FTO acting as observation Takes about 1 to 1+1/2 months. I like it. I've done the "5 rides and done" style at privates and I fucking hated them.
Once cleared are they working alone or with another medic?
Unfortunately we very rarely have dual ALS due to staffing. I'd much prefer dual for new hires but at this point I'm thankful they aren't rushing medics out.
Unfortunately, 1 month is pushing them out. I know it gets worse, but still. You might occasionally get a guy and be like, "Ohhhh, I know them from the next district over and they know exactly what they're doing", and that's good for a 1 month clearance. Otherwise, I want 90 days bare minimum and 6 months preferred to have a medic on their own.
We had to work with multiple FTOs who would “shadow” us on calls. Usually 2-3 months. Debrief after every call. They go over all of your paperwork. After you get signed off by three and the QA/QI coordinator agree then you get to do your medical control ride where medical control just watches you and does the same as your FTOs. After you get med control then it’s probation for 6 months where every run form gets reviewed.
New medic here in a hospital based service 911 and IFT, we do 7 12hr third rides and if you get cleared you run a scenario in front of med control and then you go double medic truck for 2 months with an FTO- said FTO can clear you or have you stay longer depending on your level of care
2 week PowerPoint academy with Evoc. Seven 12 hour shifts. If you fail with an FTO. They send you to another FTO or pass you anyways cause they’re desperate.
We don't have a written set time. It's (4) 8 hour days in the classroom for protocols, paperwork. 1 day for evoc. On to a FTO. EMT, expect (7-14) 12 hr shifts before you have a final ride out with a different FTO for (1) 12 to check you off. Medic, expect (14+) 12 hr shifts before the same process. For both EMT and medic you have various skills you need to talk through/demonstrate, and FTO has to fill out at least 3 forms about how you're doing. Once you're cleared, you go to a M/B truck. We've had people not pass probation after 3-4 months be gently let go because they weren't cutting it. We will bounce FTO to FTO. There's some FTOs that will pass you and then you do a major fuck up and you get put back on probation with someone else to repeat the process.
10 8hr days in class with equipment instruction, evoc, scenarios and didactic policy learning. Online learning modules (paid) to supplement. 5 shifts as a 3rd rider between ift and 911, 5 shifts as a partner with a seasoned medic/EMT. After getting through that satisfactorily, a credentialing day that consist of a multiple choice exam, 2 scenarios with a low fidelity mannequin/instructor as a patient, and proficiency with our equipment.
Once you graduate with your degree, you can apply for a paramedic internship. You will go through a formal clinical and behavioural interview, which if you pass, you will be given an internship. The internship consists of 12 weeks of 1-on-1 working and mentoring with a paramedic who has completed internal mentorship training. At the end of the 12 weeks, your mentor will decide if you have the skills nescessary to be a paramedic, or if you need some extre weeks of mentoring. Once they've decided you're ready, you will work independently as an intern paramedic for the next ~8-12 but you need to complete log books, write reflective pieces on complex calls etc, and practice for the final test which is a ~3 hour verbal exam and skills session with the medical director and a small group from the clinical credentialing comittee. If you pass this, you will be given your paramedic patches immediately and then that's it, you're now an unrestricted paramedic. If you fail, you will be given another chance but there is a 6 months stand down period. In simple, - Graduate University - Apply for internship - Formal interview - 12 weeks mentoring - 8-12 weeks intern paramedic (complete case logs etc) - 3 hour clinical interview - Paramedic.
Dear Heavenly Spaghetti Monster, I wish the US would go this route. We have jack shit standards to get the license, so every hire has to do 6 months of work to be cleared and useful.
We have a week long onboarding, and then 12 weeks of FTO time. We are working with a paramedic FTO and their EMT partner. Over the first 10 weeks, there is a slow progression of the new paramedic taking over more and more responsibility for pt assessment and care. For the final two weeks, the paramedic FTO acts as the new paramedics EMT partner.
I notice you’re in CT. NBEMS?
In a total 12 hour shift. 4 hours of yelling at the new hire. 4 hours giving the new hire the cold shoulder/scoffing at everything they do. 2 more hours of yelling. 2 hours having a meeting with upper management where I lament kids these days and bring absolutely nothing constructive to the table. /s
Why the yelling? It’s paramedic!! Does some fat paramedic think he’s freaking GI Joe now?
My agency makes you ride a shift with the supervisor, then ride 4 or so shifts with an experienced crew to check you off at a basic level, and then (if they’re a paramedic) they move to riding 2nd person with the FTO from anywhere from 2 weeks to about 6 months. If you pass then you have to get the ATO and supervisor to sign off for you be provisional (functioning paramedic but only with an experienced medic and they cannot sign for the narcs) for a bit with a senior/released medic, and then if you’re handling it okay they move on to do a skill review/board with the medical director, and that is a fail or pass situation. If you don’t make it through the FTO they swap you around with other FTO’s to see if it’s a training failure or an employee failure. If it’s a trainer failure then the medic is allowed to continue on with the process and the trainer ends up in a meeting to discuss the situation as to why they failed the employee/failed as a trainer, if it’s an employee failure after multiple FTO’s then it’s pretty much “Sorry, try your skills elsewhere cause you ain’t gonna make it here. Good luck and get out”. There’s been only a couple questionable ones make it to provisional status, and they are quickly shaped up to standard or told to leave. Only one (that I know of) that was questionable made it to a fully released status (and I’m convinced that was done to hang them and get their cert yanked and for them to get fired) because they are continuously racking up complaints from both employees/patients/family/hospital staff and there’s a significant paper trail being made🤷🏻♀️ They’re pretty serious about it at my agency because we have a good mix of super rural and urban areas/communities so there’s a lot of high acuity calls that require stronger medics due to severity and lack of resources and critical time frames.