The Journey to Becoming a Paramedic When choosing a career there are many things you must take into account. Money, hours, stress, longevity, passion, and opportunities to advance are just a few. Being passionate about what you choose to do is one of the most important. When you pick money over all other things your long term happiness can tend to suffer. So when I decided on my career money was a factor but the main question was “Will I be happy doing this forever?” My goal is to earn the knowledge and certifications to work as a Paramedic. The first step on my path to being a paramedic is completing the necessary prerequisites to be accepted into the KCC EMT program. The EMT program is based on a “best qualified, first accepted” rating …show more content…
The Mobile Intensive Care Technician program teaches you advanced prehospital life support. As well as the knowledge obtained as an EMT, paramedics are also required to know how to administer fluids and medications, perform endotracheal intubation,etc. The program provides two pathways in which you can take completion with an AA in Science, Mobile Intensive Care Technician (Paramedic) which is 71.33-75.33 credits or a Certificate of Achievement, MICT which is 40.33 credits. I am choosing to go the CA route at this time. It works better with my schedule and needs. This program will take three semesters not including prerequisite coursework. Completing the program you are now qualified to take the National Registry Exam for certification as a paramedic and can apply for work with an ambulance service. To keep your license MICTs must attend at least 72 hours of retraining courses every two years. My final step to complete my goal is to apply for a job working as a Paramedic. In Hawaii you can either work for City and County or for a private company such as AMR. City and County deals mostly with 911 while AMR does interfacility transports and 911 backup. This is one of the reasons I am leaning towards applying for City and County positions. While EMT positions only offer the potential for a limited term contract as a MICT you have the possibility to apply for a permanent