That's just the process that wherever you looked at does. The only reason you'd be doing county protocols at all is if it's a local EMS agency that's doing the training and those programs are geared to be a feeder for employment WITH that agency, and they'll pick up whoever was a good performer in the course as per the results from the course as well as proctor report cards during the ER/EMS rotations. Any collegiate level course isn't going to incorporate it because there's no point (no guarantees that you're hunting for employment in that county or even state, no specific agency feeder design)...
Most Paramedic schools nationwide incorporate EMT-B as part of the program right out the gate, if you come in with it great but it's not a necessity and you're still sitting through the classes so that everyone's on the same sheet of music.
I honestly don't see the point in EMT-B time prior to Paramedic training being a requirement anyway, because that "time working" can vary from
The board just helps weed out people who just aren't a decent fit for the program and career field when there's limited space in the course... and what is most important is what they actually teach you in the course.
Anywhere you go, you're going to be doing protocol certification within the agency you work for prior to getting cut loose to "go forth and heal the peoples", and you'll most likely be teamed up with a senior crew anyway as a new hire before really and truly being "on your own". Scope of practice varies wherever you go, and protocols are just a combination SOP for what to do... as well as a CYA for how much risk that agency is willing to take on patient care. Your protocols also vary within the military as well.
Case in point:
Without ER rotations to maintain currency on the ability to throw a tube, those "Paramedics" are going to be pretty useless... and I would argue they're close to useless anyway at that point since the time spent on the radio asking permission is time that patient DOES NOT HAVE AN AIRWAY... but I digress...
The scope of care, method of/order of concern of care, as well as equipment carried was a full 720 rotation with a moonwalk thrown in, between civilian NREMT-B, and Ranger medical operations. The only thing that kept us "straight" so we weren't all fucked up once the course was done was the RMED operations classes during/immediately after passing the course, as well as follow-on training afterwards (RFR, PHTLS, live tissue, tactical care considerations classes, etc), that kept us oriented on what we would be doing as squad EMT's individually as well as new parts to the casualty care team, working under the tutelage of our platoon medics and senior medics for the company and BN.
I can totally see someone who's been a medical professional in the civilian sector being totally fucked up in military medical training. There's so many CYA considerations civside that are ignored in the military because they don't make sense as a necessity to render proper aid for a given injury.
To bring it all back to the original focus, I would say anatomy classes would be useful and give you a bit of a leg up IF you are already in college... if you're not, just buy an anatomy book and read through it so should you get to that point in training, you won't be totally lost. Any actual dedicated civilian medical training is of... questionable utility given the significant divergence between military equipment and methods of care, and civilian medicine.
Most Paramedic schools nationwide incorporate EMT-B as part of the program right out the gate, if you come in with it great but it's not a necessity and you're still sitting through the classes so that everyone's on the same sheet of music.
I honestly don't see the point in EMT-B time prior to Paramedic training being a requirement anyway, because that "time working" can vary from
- having been a security guard/medic at a remote site with zero patient contacts whatsoever
- Transport company where you're just an overqualified handicapped van driver with an AED and not even a BLS bag
- actually running with the primary ambulance service for the second highest call density of the state and often doing turn and burns at the ER
- working the front line on a rescue engine
The board just helps weed out people who just aren't a decent fit for the program and career field when there's limited space in the course... and what is most important is what they actually teach you in the course.
Anywhere you go, you're going to be doing protocol certification within the agency you work for prior to getting cut loose to "go forth and heal the peoples", and you'll most likely be teamed up with a senior crew anyway as a new hire before really and truly being "on your own". Scope of practice varies wherever you go, and protocols are just a combination SOP for what to do... as well as a CYA for how much risk that agency is willing to take on patient care. Your protocols also vary within the military as well.
Case in point:
Without ER rotations to maintain currency on the ability to throw a tube, those "Paramedics" are going to be pretty useless... and I would argue they're close to useless anyway at that point since the time spent on the radio asking permission is time that patient DOES NOT HAVE AN AIRWAY... but I digress...
The scope of care, method of/order of concern of care, as well as equipment carried was a full 720 rotation with a moonwalk thrown in, between civilian NREMT-B, and Ranger medical operations. The only thing that kept us "straight" so we weren't all fucked up once the course was done was the RMED operations classes during/immediately after passing the course, as well as follow-on training afterwards (RFR, PHTLS, live tissue, tactical care considerations classes, etc), that kept us oriented on what we would be doing as squad EMT's individually as well as new parts to the casualty care team, working under the tutelage of our platoon medics and senior medics for the company and BN.
I can totally see someone who's been a medical professional in the civilian sector being totally fucked up in military medical training. There's so many CYA considerations civside that are ignored in the military because they don't make sense as a necessity to render proper aid for a given injury.
To bring it all back to the original focus, I would say anatomy classes would be useful and give you a bit of a leg up IF you are already in college... if you're not, just buy an anatomy book and read through it so should you get to that point in training, you won't be totally lost. Any actual dedicated civilian medical training is of... questionable utility given the significant divergence between military equipment and methods of care, and civilian medicine.
