I wanted to write this article so visitors can get clear on the process of becoming a paramedic. As you may have seen from other pages on the site, paramedics care for patients in dynamic, chaotic and potentially dangerous environments, so they must be able to handle stress well.

Being a paramedic requires compassion and caring as you treat patients and them from the scene of an accident to a medical facility where they can be more thoroughly cared for. During the course of your paramedic career, you’ll most likely save several lives and become the hero of every patient you treat.

The Importance of Paramedics

There is something to be said for having paramedics. An accident can occur anywhere and immediate help is needed; car accidents, plane crashes, people having heart attacks, pregnant women going into labor or even emergency transport to other hospitals are all handled by paramedics. They are health professionals and first responders. They are the people we depend on to save our lives before we get to a hospital. Even though they are not as intensely trained as doctors, paramedics are just as important.

There are many people who are interested in how to become an EMT or how to become a paramedic. In this article, you will find the resources that will guide you to selecting a suitable paramedic courses or school where you can be trained in this profession. As you may have seen from other pages on the site, paramedics care for patients in dynamic, chaotic and potentially dangerous environments, so they must be able to handle stress well. This sometimes does not come naturally and with continuous training and conditioning, anyone can become a paramedic.

Being a paramedic also requires compassion as you treat patients and then transport them from the scene of an accident to a medical facility where they can be more thoroughly cared for. During the course of your paramedic career, you’ll most likely save several lives and become the hero of every patient you treat. Paramedics carry the most senior and highly trained classification within the emergency medical services profession, above that of EMT-Basic and EMT-Intermediate/Advanced.

Training Programs for Paramedics

Once you have made up your mind about becoming a paramedic, there are a number of things that you need to do first before starting any paramedic courses. Find out what the requirements are in the specific state that you live or will be practicing in. Then find the programs and schools that are sanctioned or recognized and any other detail about their paramedic training programs. You will want to ensure that they have labs, internships, clinical rotations and comprehensive, well structured courses. If all these are in place then you can rest assured that the local medical facilities will have a network with that school. This ensures that you will benefit from some hands on experience when your internship begins.

There are quite a few paramedic training schools. They include El Camino Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, Sanford-Brown Institute, Drexel University, University of Phoenix, California EMS Academy, Houston Community College N.E. Coldwell Campus and Miami Dade College School of Health Sciences. The duration for a paramedic training program varies. It can take anywhere upwards of two years. There will be a final test so that a national certification can be acquired. This test is the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians or NREMT exam.

In California their program lasts for over one thousand hours. Candidates have to complete and pass a heath screening as well as have an EMT certificate. Areas of study include patient assessment, toxicology, cardiology, trauma, legal issues among other courses. Anyone having firefighting experience has an added advantage. There are various levels in the training program offered in Houston, ranging from basic to intermediate EMT training and then onwards to their final stage of becoming a fully fledged paramedic. Background checks and drug tests are a part of the matriculation process.

In Miami, the course program takes three semesters this of course is after a candidate has completed an EMT program. This is a very intense program and requires the full focus of the candidates; hence it is not encouraged that they have full time jobs during the paramedic school training.

For more specific details on joining the EMS field as an EMT/Paramedic, see our detailed information on how to become an EMT, which is a requirement of becoming a paramedic. After serving as an EMT Basic for at least 1 year, one can then go to paramedic school and learn how to become a paramedic by passing all of the required paramedic courses.