PA-Climb Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I have searched the forums regarding my question, however I mostly come up with people asking about what type of jobs count towards HCE/PCE. My question is a little different from what I have seen during my search. I have experience as an EMT and as a Paramedic, and I am currently a firefighter/paramedic (mostly assigned to an ambulance). I work 24 hours on and 48 hours off in a busy 911 system. I am years away from completing my pre-reqs, but I am curious how HCE/PCE is calculated when I go to apply for schools. Do I count all 24 hours for each shift towards experience hours? I ask because I am obviously not with a patient for the entire shift. Some days I might only see 1 or 2 patients and other days I could see 15. Thanks for any clarification you can send my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 26, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 26, 2015 yes, count all hours. some schools(maybe 5) ask medics to break down hours into pt care/non-pt care, which I don't think is fair because other professions are not asked to do this. when I applied I had worked as a medic as well. 24 hr shifts, 10/mo x # years worked is what I gave them. this was probably an underestimation as it did not include overtime. I imagine if your # is > 10,000 as mine was that they won't quibble over a few hrs here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cop to pa Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 The current CASPA has you put down the average number of hours per week and the number of weeks worked for your job. Nothing further. So... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 27, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2015 The current CASPA has you put down the average number of hours per week and the number of weeks worked for your job. Nothing further. So... count them all....they don't make nurses subtract time spent at potlucks or on break after all....which can amount to maybe a third of each shift....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-Climb Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Ok that makes me feel better seeing as that puts me over 9,000 right now and probably close to 20,000 by the time I apply. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 27, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2015 Ok that makes me feel better seeing as that puts me over 9,000 right now and probably close to 20,000 by the time I apply. Thanks for the info. even if forced to count 50% of your hrs as non-pt care you would still be over 10,000 hrs at application, putting you in the top 5% of likely applicants with regards to hce hrs. 20 yrs ago that would have been typical. today it's spectacular...I had > 10,000 hrs and was among the youngest and least experienced in my class. we had many folks with > 20,000 hrs as medics/rns/rts/etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2GA Jake Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 I've already applied this cycle, but I appreciate this thread because I was a little nervous about the same issue. As a full time FF/Paramedic for almost 13 years and a flight medic for the past 8 years my total hours have definitely added up (nearly 50,000) and I was a little worried they may ask me to try and break those down to patient care only...definitely a daunting thought. I really appreciate the experienced PA's on this forum who are so willing to answer questions for all of us nervous candidates. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 27, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2015 I've already applied this cycle, but I appreciate this thread because I was a little nervous about the same issue. As a full time FF/Paramedic for almost 13 years and a flight medic for the past 8 years my total hours have definitely added up (nearly 50,000) and I was a little worried they may ask me to try and break those down to patient care only...definitely a daunting thought. I really appreciate the experienced PA's on this forum who are so willing to answer questions for all of us nervous candidates. Thank you! easy. "we were almost always busy" count 90% of my 50,000 hours as direct patient care". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakingpatience Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Not sure about your fire shifts, but I counted 100% of my hours worked on the ambulance when I applied last year. I believe my fireman/ EMT classmate counted all of the hours worked at the fire department as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted August 27, 2015 Administrator Share Posted August 27, 2015 I counted every single hour of mine. If I was at the station and available to respond to 911 calls, that time was counted, no school quibbled about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 27, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2015 I counted every single hour of mine. If I was at the station and available to respond to 911 calls, that time was counted, no school quibbled about that. that was my experience as well, and honestly, working in busy 911 systems in L.A. and Philadelphia, we didn't have much down time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious_Ignoramus Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 I was a military medic in my prior life; I did not list any hours at all. If you have been doing this kind of full time work for a few years, and can provide the references to corroborate your claim, then your school will see it in your application under your work history. Eg, I have my official discharge paperwork which lists my military occupation and the dates I was in service which has been adequate for my application; counting up the actual hours which comprise that service would just be an exercise in vanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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