Do you have a clean driving record to be an EMT?
A bad driving record does not make you ineligible to be certified EMT-B, unless you were charged with a crime. The concern with the driving record comes into play with EMS employers. For instance, an employer may say you cannot get hired if you have more than 1 minor traffic incident within a 1 year period prior to hire date (speeding <10 mph over speed limit, failing to yield, seat belt infraction, etc.). Then they will have a larger threshold for more serious infractions. For instance, with the same company, they will not hire you if you have had a more serious traffic infraction within the past 5 years (speeding >30mph over limit, DUI/DWI, Reckless endangerment,etc). These specific time frames can vary from employer to employer. However, according to the Department of Health (Florida specifically), the only record that will prevent one from becoming a certified EMT is criminal.
Want to become a firefighter... bad driving record.?
I have recently graduated paramedic school and am very anxious to start working on a fire-department. I just applied to my first dept. and am worried about my driving record. I had numerous speeding tickets and was caught driving while license suspended several times when I was much younger, late teens. I went to court with an attorney and we were able to successfully file a motion to vacate for most if not all the tickets. Being that firefighter is a government position can they "find" the tickets that have been vacated from my record. Do they have access to this information. I know my insurance cannot see what has been vacated and the private ambulance company that I currently work for found no trace of the vacated tickets. I asked a relative to run my driving record through there construction company and none of my vacated tickets showed up as well. I am just worried that a govt. position such as a firefighter would mean being able to see further into my driving record. Thanks.
EMT or Paramedic in Tennessee with criminal record.?
From time to time you will hear about a professional in the medical industry stealing a patient's identity for money or drugs. As with every profession there are bound to be a few bad apples. It seems incredulous that a ambulance service provider would hire someone who has already proven they will steal someone's identity and commit felonies. You can imagine the liability they would incur if he reverted back to his old ways. Pretty much no chance at all in a public safety career.
How can I become an EMT without having a driver's license?
Getting your drivers license will probably be easier than getting your EMT. Remember it's designed to be passed by 16 year old high schoolers taking a part time class while in high school, so if you already have the time/money/motivation budgeted to take an EMT course, you can take a drivers training course. Plus having a drivers license will benefit you far more in the long run. I'm assuming you're currently getting around via public transportation/taxi cab/uber/lifts from friends...you can most certainly still use all those options with a drivers license right now, but say a situation comes up where you need to borrow a friends car...or follow your career and move to an area that doesn't really have public transportation (say the suburbs), already having a license keeps your options open.If the EMT course you're looking at is a semester length course through a community college it will be child's play to take a drivers training course at the same time. You'll more than likely have your drivers license in hand before you sit to take the NREMT.The simple truth is that without a drivers license it will be very hard to get hired on by an ambulance company/EMS agency. In my area no one hires drivers only and attendants only, i.e. EMTs and Paramedics are expected to be able to drive. Having a drivers license is a minimum requirement for your application to be looked at. A few very rural areas dependent on volunteers may have ambulance drivers and an EMT who never drives, but that is rare. You may be able to find an ER Tech job where you work in a hospital as an EMT in the ER, but those can be hard to get without ambulance based experience. So I highly suggest making life easier on yourself and go get your drivers license. You've already successfully made enough time for CPR and First Aid and are planning on having time for EMT (as well as being able to afford it), simply pretend your EMT course is an extra month or two long if need be and use that time to get your license and go enjoy working on an ambulance.
What type of criminal record would withhold me from becoming a paramedic?
Felonies for sure and any violent crimes that are misedemeanors like assualts, domestic violence, battery and oreven threats. It really depeds on age. Simply being arrested an not conmvicted can be enough to disqualify an applicant. EMT background checks, like police background checks, are very thorough given that someone's life is literally "in your hands." With that they must make sure that there applicants are responsbile and can handle the stress. A hisotyr of violence, say anger issues or assualting someone after an argument can lead to issues on the job, such as being stressed out at a patient for not complying or a family member that won't back up. They don't want an EMT or medic to start throwing punches. theyw ant to see a strong history of good character. I agree that a crime committed a kid is just from imaturity but sometimes these things will come back to haunt people later on. Yes when someone is dying, the patient won't care of the EMTs background, as long as they can do their job but the fire department may see it differently. They don't want any liability issues. So felonies of any crime and violent misdemeanors will automatically disqualify and other minor misdemanors will be carefully looked at. Oh and of course, a good driving history is needed to. Excessive speeding, parkig tickets, and of course DUI and wreckless driving will not look good.
Do paramedics hire professional drivers for ambulances?
In most EMS systems, if a paramedic is providing care on an ambulance, it’s what’s known as an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance. In many localities, to operate an ambulance at an ALS level, there needs to be a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) on board as well. So, most ambulance services employ EMT’s as drivers. That being said, most paramedics are just as qualified to drive an ambulance as an EMT. The education required to drive an ambulance varies from locality to locality, but many places require a clean driving record, a drivers license (sometimes even a commercial drivers license), and some sort of emergency vehicle operating course (EVOC or CEVO).
In transport nursing do you need a good driver's license?
I've lived mostly in Canada and Hawaii so I'll answer what I know from that....I did mostly NICU so if I was transporting a patient ie. a little premie baby that was well enough to go to the nursery in the town where his parents lived, I would be watching over my little patient who would be in an isolette and we would be in the back of an ambulance traveling at a normal highway speed....medics and paramedics would be up front ...one person driving and the other in passenger seat...I certainly wouldn't be driving... If I would be driving I would have paramedic , medic and possibly a firefighter trained as the former and yes you would have to be a good driver too with a clean driver's license . Other than that I don't know what you mean by transport nursing...nobody is involved in a transport when driving that doesn't have some sort of medical training...If you are flying a transport plane, you have to be a certified pilot but you don't have anything to do with the patient who is being transported..
What qualifications must you have to become an ambulance driver?
The four previous posts have pretty well answered this question. A little history - - back in my childhood days a long, long time ago, ambulances were old Cadillac or Pontiac hearses. Another version was an old panel truck or “meat truck” as some were called. The drivers were normally taxi drivers because they knew their way around town and wouldn’t get lost. The medical attendant, if there was one, could be anyone with an level of medic training. It was mainly a “scoop and run” service. Today, most states and ambulance services require the person driving to be part of the healthcare team. Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), or Paramedic (EMT-P) make up most of the crews in the U.S., augmented by First Responders, Firefighters, or other rescue personnel. Nurses and/or physicians may provide care in specialty transport units and still others may offer care in the home. Internationally, you will find every configuration in the book and then some.