# EMT Certification



## LawMan2545 (Mar 24, 2004)

How much weight does an EMT cert carry compared to someone without one? I am EMT certified and in the running for 3 open positions and am the only EMT off the list to get a card, 8 canidates out of 12 cards. I have other credentials and such, I am just curious on how much weight it bears. On that note is it wrong for a dept to make an EMT certification mandatory to get hired in that town/city? Also, is it worth getting Nationally registered if I were to apply out of state?


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## Irishpride (May 5, 2002)

The importance of an EMT cert. is really determined by the size of the community. If you are in the running for a large city then they probably won't care about the EMT cert because there is usually a good response time for an ambulance. But if you are shooting for a small PD with limited EMS resources then I think the EMT cert will be a big plus. If you are going to look out of state getting your National Cert can't hurt.


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## K9Vinny (Sep 25, 2005)

When I was a local my EMT skills helped out a lot. However, I decided to let my certification run out because of the abandonment laws. It was much more comforting to be a first responder, still know what do to, but not be held liable or responsible to have to stay with the patient until equal or more skilled help comes and relieve you. For example, if you are an EMT officer and one of the first on scene at an accident, you have to stay with the patient until the ambulance arrives, even if the F.D. is there (assuming they are not EMT certified), instead of dealing with the "police work" that you also need to do. Just my .02, but the EMT training will make you a better officer, and many chiefs will realize this.


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## LawMan2545 (Mar 24, 2004)

Irishpride said:


> The importance of an EMT cert. is really determined by the size of the community. If you are in the running for a large city then they probably won't care about the EMT cert because there is usually a good response time for an ambulance. But if you are shooting for a small PD with limited EMS resources then I think the EMT cert will be a big plus. If you are going to look out of state getting your National Cert can't hurt.


 I am going for a small town, that has paramedics in the Fire Dept. The new fire chief hasn't hired anyone who isn't a paramedic since my grandfather retired as the chief 5 years ago. So the importance of being a cop with an EMT doesn't seem as important. When I say small town I mean 40 Officers from Chief to rookie and the town is maybe 4-5 square miles.


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