What does distance-learning paramedic school cost?

Yep, you've always wondered, so here we go...
(All in US dollars)

$200 Non-refundable Application Fee
$1500 Non-refundable tuition deposit (to accept your seat in the class)
$6000 Tuition payment, due one week before class starts
$800 Distance clinical fee - due when clinical paperwork is signed

$70 Anatomy & Physiology book/self study class through the University of Texas
$500 Paramedic book package

~$2000 2 Week trip to Massachusetts for skills "boot camp"
~$1000 gas/incidentals to travel to clinical location - not sure exactly where this will be, but it's at least 100 miles from my home and I've got 500 hours to put in...

$110 NREMT Paramedic Exam
$500 Travel to NREMT Practical (probably will need to fly somewhere for this)

What am I forgetting?

Drum roll...

Total estimated cost: $12,680
<gulp>

I'm going to keep a running log of what I buy/spend money on for this, just in case anyone is interested.  Maybe I should track my hours spent as well.  Could be interesting.

I'm in

Paramedic school.
Accepted.
Loan taken out.
Books ordered.

Freaking out that in a mere 18 months or so, I will be the one people are looking at for the answers.
Nothing has felt more correct than this decision, not in a long time.

Classes start in a month - join me on the journey?

Waiting

Had my interview last week for paramedic school.
Now just waiting for the acceptance/denial.
And I'm not freaking out.
Really.
Well, maybe a little.
If it happens, it happens.  If not, I can always re-apply.
Right?

We've got the runs...

Busy.

In the village fire department, we're all volunteers.  We call ALS from the park as needed, but really it's a handful of EMT's and EMR's that keep things going.  An unusually well-oiled machine perfected through years, sometimes decades of working together.

We all have day jobs.  Some have more than one.

But when the pager tones us out, we go.  Sometimes 3, 4 EMS runs a day.  Each trip to the hospital takes a minimum of 3 hours.

I respond when I can, but with the single-lane road choked with tourists it can be 25 minutes 'till I'm on scene.  Clear road at night?  I can make it in 12.

But the others are already there.  On scene, figuring out how to get the patient out.  Taking history, vitals.  Packaging, moving.  They are pros at this.

Our small town swells with tourists in the summer.  And the seasonal help that goes along with tourism.  Cooks, river raft guides, bartenders, housekeepers.  Every bed in town is full.

10 motels, dozens of vacation rentals, 8 bars, 20 restaurants, 3 gas stations, a couple grocery stores.

And one little fire station.

Two dozen volunteers with pagers and radios, ready to roll when needed.

Decision made: Paramedic

Yep.  Bailed on the AEMT class.

Was chatting with my sister about the 6 week plus clinical AEMT class.
She listened.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" I replied.
"Screwing around with EMS.  You want to be a paramedic.  Find a class and go be a paramedic."

Darn it if, she's not right on.

Why take the time and expense of getting certified as an AEMT when I can just kick ass at paramedic school?  So here I go.  Looking around for a course ANYWHERE nearby.  Closest university course is 200 miles each way...

My Background:
I have a B.A. degree, two actually.  And an A.A. degree.  And I'm working on my M.S.  I don't need to take Math and English 101.  (I am, however, doing self-study medical terminology on http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/  I'm also working through two A&P textbooks)

WFR (not current)
WFA (not current)
EMR for a year
EMT for 6 months

My Requirements for a Class:
Not an extremely "compressed" class - I need a decent amount of time to absorb, ponder, study, practice (we have an assortment of training equipment at our location so I can practice skills - no "sim man" but plenty of disembodied parts lying around.)
Distance learning (need to keep my job)
Excellent recommendations/reviews from students and professionals
Not too pricey
OK with the Pit Boss (our EMS Director) = a place to work as a paramedic once I finish
Somewhere local to do clinical hours

Try doing a search for "online paramedic program" - OY!  I sorted through mountains of "Paramedic to RN online.  Fast! Cheap!" ads, looking for a gem in the gravel.  I found a couple.

Jems had a list of accredited paramedic programs, which I went through for all the surrounding states:
http://www.jems.com/resources/directory/Accredited_EMT_and_Paramedic_Programs.html
Unfortunately, no brick-and-mortar program within commuting distance.

Also kept getting referred back to the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP):
http://www.caahep.org/
But didn't find much good info on programs.

New York Methodist Hospital looks promising:
M,Tu,W 1830-2200 EST
518 didactic
572 clinical
3 trips to NY (8 days each)
Tuition: $9,750
http://www.nymahe.org/about_ems.php

National Medical Education and Training Center (NMETC)
Tu, Th 1900-2200 EST
??? didactic (10 months, about 42 weeks)
500 clinical
1 trip to MA (100 hrs skills training & evaluation)
Tuition: $7,995
http://www.nmetc.com/index.php


PERCOM - looked OK, but clinicals have to be done in Texas - might work for someone who lived closer...
Unknown days

??? didactic
??? clinical

Unknown number of trips to TX
Tuition: $4,500
http://percomonline.com/index.php

Found several more sites, but most required either too much time on location, or seemed kinda shady - like diploma mills.  I realize I will get out of whatever class I decide on with the skills and education I push myself to learn.  So here I go.

Mr. Medic is good with this.
Pit Boss is fine with it.  He's looking into local options for clinicals.

NMETC it is.

Searching for a way to raise $8,000 tuition in less than 2 months.  Wish me luck.

(too bad I'm not prettier - hookers make good money, don't they?)

Already thinking about the next step?

So Mr. Medic surprised me the other day.  Mr. Medic, Van and I were having a chat after class, cleaning up the room, washing coffee cups, etc.  We were discussing the potential lack of ALS support in the area.  One long-time paramedic passed nursing exams and turned in notice.  An EMT-I is retiring.  Last year we had a summer season paramedic on staff, this year not.

So here's the stats for our area:
~1,000 square miles covered (500 road miles)
3 ambulances (plus 2 local volunteer)
1 Paramedic
5 AEMT (2 don't go on calls much)
~20 EMT (maybe 10 are actively responding to calls)

I brought up the question, "Since our EMS service is largely law enforcement based is there a precedent for someone who works in another department, say, making maps, who also was an ALS provider..."
"Funny you bringing that up." said Mr. Medic, stretching his arms up behind his head, "But I've been meaning to talk to the Pit Boss about that very thing.  There's an AEMT class supposed to be scheduled next winter and I want to get you in it."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Shock.
Surprise.
Disbelief.

I mean, I'm not the smartest kid in class.  I'm (relatively) old.  And loud.  Out of shape.  And a pain in the ass.  I constantly feel dwarfed by my fellow EMT students' skills and total recall of inane crap out of the book.
I have to read, and read again, and research when there's not enough information given.
I need to know why something is happening, and why what we're doing is fixing it.

My original plan consisted of finishing up EMT class, getting through exams, hitting my graduate school classes hard (while working and running with EMS) then re-evaluate in two years when my comps and thesis are behind me.  Should I then go on to Paramedic, at least I wouldn't be trying to do that along with grad school.

I never considered the middle ground.

According to the new scope of practice, AEMT is 150 more classroom hours, and 100 or so clinical/field  Doesn't seem like much, but it's double what I've just gone through.

Now my original plan is pushed to the back burner.  I could do a 6 week AEMT course all in one go.  Plus clinical/field hours.  I'd have to take leave from my job, travel 1000 miles out of state, but it wouldn't cost me any tuition.
So what's the down side?  It's not being a paramedic.  But at this stage there's no class close enough to my home anyway.

What's the next step?  Convincing my boss that me being out of the office for 6 weeks will work.  Gulp!

Stay tuned...

Tiredness

The summer drags on.
Thankfully temperatures have cooled off 10-15 degrees, and are nice and crisp overnight (woke up and was actually COLD this morning - yay!)
Still have our share of calls - people hiking for hours without water in 85-95 degree heat , chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, several car and motorcycle accidents.  Just working a ton and still not getting very far.  The summer seems to fly by.  Need to get out, take some days off and enjoy myself.  But as the saying goes, I've got to make hay while the sun shines.  We have ambulance runs aplenty in the summer, not so much other times of year.  So for the sake of my paycheck and skills advancement I continue to work through.
And I'm tired.
Going to get a cup of coffee now...

Last week's schedule

Sunday:  aka "the day of rest"
0530 - wake up to new dog needing to go out
0700 - back to sleep
0730 - wake up to new dog wanting to play, given up on sleeping in
0800 - sister decides that "we" need to get a ton of yard work done, build a fence and gate, and clean house (sigh)
1700 - try to catch a nap despite oppressive (for us) heat
1930 - pager tones - ALS for chest pain
2300 - back home
0200 - sleep

Monday
0530 - wake up to new dog needing to go out (really?  again?)
0800-1800 - work regular job
2000-2200 - driving EMS supplies around, restocking
2330 - sleep

Tuesday
0200 - wake up to hacking noises - sister's cat is vomiting in my room...
0220 - pager tones for allergic reaction
0530 - back home
0600-0730 - nap
0800-1700 - work regular job
1900 - collapse to sleep
1920 - pager tones (I think)  May have had a phone call with Mr. Medic in my sleep...did not respond to this call
2330 - wake up thinking "crap, it's almost midnight and I'm awake"  take dog for walk, eat a snack, read, feel tired enough to try sleeping again

Wednesday
0210 - pager tones for pediatric diabetic emergency
0545 - back home
0600-0730 - nap
0800-1700 - work regular job
...
I really don't remember what the "rest" of the week was like - it's all a blur.
Summer in paradise.  There aren't enough hours in the day.

Busy, again

Suddenly, it's summer.  In the alpine, in the meadows.  It's here.
Normally when the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing triple-digit weather we are still bringing our tomato plants in at night.
Calls, constantly inconsistent, but calls keeping us busy.  In particular Mr. Medic has been running crazed, as have EMT-I's George and Sid.  In our surrounding area many of our ALS providers (half, or more) are not in service - on vacation, sabbatical, out on medical or family leave.  And the people are here, having their medical issues despite that!
Some crazy calls...my first "real" pediatric patient for instance...but that will just have to wait for a bit.

Will type more later, promise.

And I'm doing OK with the loss of my buddy.  Getting better every day.

Losing a friend

He was in pain, there at the end.

We knew that the pain meds he took for chronic arthritis were taking a toll on his liver.  That, and surgery made the pain tolerable for years, but not forever.

Over the last few weeks we watched the changes.  Urine turning orange, increased thirst, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, finally jaundice and acites.  Liver failure.  It came on too quick.

I had to make the decision for him, my good friend.  He couldn't say the words, but his eyes told me.  There would be no transplant, no saving him.

Ten years was not long enough.  He died in my arms, on the grass, listening to the water play along the creek bed.  Under the clear blue sky.

I will miss my friend.

on irrigation and irritation

OK, I'm all done whining...for now.

Still very few to no calls going on - how can this many people stay so healthy?  We need a good lightning strike, or emu attack, or...

So we had our weekly training night and 'cause I was the idiot who brought up the subject of wound irrigation last week, Mr. Medic said, "well great!  Next week, Ambulance Ranger will be doing the teaching on the wound care protocol."

Should have kept my big mouth shut.

Actually, though, we had a ton of fun.  We kinda McGyvered what we thought would be the best pressure-irrigation setup out of what we had - syringe, 18 guage IV catheter, IV tubing, and normal saline.  Floyd will no longer go on any runs unless there's a wound to irrigate.

Actually, the whole thing became a lesson in 'how to spike an IV' - something I was pretty sure everyone already had done several times.  Apparently not.  I think we got it down by the end of class.

We took the last 15 minutes to play with the ring cutters.  Found out that only one of them actually worked.  This is the stuff we need to do more of.  Every week we work on moving patients, backboarding, c-collaring, KED use, etc.  Which yes, we do need to practice.  But we gotta do the 'fun' stuff too, or people get bored.

On call this weekend, so no beers for me :( - just hope those tones go off and I'm actually needed and wanted on a call.

[crossing fingers]

Otherwise I swear, I'm going back to playing World of Warcraft...

Useless

I'm just another EMT in the bin of EMT's.

Working on the paperwork - senseless paperwork where databases that should work well with each other...do...not...relate.  Checking credentials.  Hand-entering NREMT data (how stupid is that?)

Between one and two hundred providers in our system, maybe a double handful of them are actually good at their jobs.  Who want to do medical calls.  Who care.

Studying, training for the big calls.  Not getting called.  Budgets are down, people are circling the wagons.  We don't need all those resources, you see.  Don't bother paging out the call.

So I sit.  Waiting.  Working.  For what?

We are broken.  EMS is broken.  Why am I putting my time and energy into the ridiculousness of this?