500hours
UC San Diego
500 healthcare hours at application. Some shadowing, volunteering or educational experience can count.
UCSD requirementsTrack 1 · Right now
Noemi, here's your planYour plan to land an ER tech job.
You already have what most ER tech postings near Pico Rivera ask for: an active California EMT and BLS. This page puts the verified openings first, shows what employers expect, and lists exactly what to confirm before you apply.
With love, from your cousin David
verified openings
to the nearest
per hour
EMTActive California EMTYour strongest asset
BLS / CPRHeld · issuer unknownCheck for AHA
ExperienceAmbulance workDocument dates & duties
EKG · PhlebotomyNot yetSome employers train
Your first four moves
Confirm your EMT card
Save the front and back, write down the expiration, and note any National Registry or LA County credential you also hold.
Check your BLS issuer
Several local postings ask for American Heart Association BLS. Renew only if your card isn't accepted.
Apply to the five targets
Lead with your EMT, BLS and ambulance patient care. Apply to each requisition that fits your shifts.
Ask about EKG & phlebotomy
Ask each hospital whether it trains EKG setup and how long you'd have to get a phlebotomy certificate.
Open ER technician jobs · Pico Rivera
Apply now: five strong targets
These openings were verified with the employers and last checked October 20, 2026. Postings close fast, so confirm each one is still open before you apply. Describe your ambulance skills accurately and only list credentials you actually hold.
What ER employers ask for
From the 101 job descriptions I reviewed
This counts how many descriptions mention each requirement. A mention can mean required, preferred, or trained after hire, so read the posting itself before you decide you're missing something.
ER game plan
From paperwork to job offer
These are the steps to get hired: documents, credentials, EKG and phlebotomy prep, your application packet, and interviews. Each one says what "done" looks like. Your status is saved in this browser.
Prefer paper? Print the one-page application checklist.
Hospitals within 20 miles
103 places to look beyond the five targets
Distances are straight-line from central Pico Rivera, not drive time. A careers link means a hiring page exists, not that a job is open. A missing link doesn't mean a hospital isn't hiring.
Job description research
Read the 101 descriptions
Use these to practice for interviews and learn the vocabulary. Most are wider-market benchmarks or closed leads, not local openings. Apply from the five targets above.
Where this job leads
This job is also the foundation for PA school
PA programs want documented, hands-on patient care. Start an hours log on your first ER shift with dates, duties and your supervisor's name. Don't rebuild it from memory later.
Track 2 · The long-term goal
Your path to physician assistant
Every ER shift can become documented patient-care hours. This track turns them into an application you can prove.
The ER job builds the patient-care hours. This track turns them, along with your degree and coursework, into an application you can prove line by line. Admission is selective and every school decides for itself. The plan makes sure everything you control is visible and backed by evidence.
0verified hours yet
2,000hour floor
CA programs
DegreeUC San Diego graduateVerify transcript
GPA & prerequisitesNot calculated yetNeeds your input
Ambulance hoursUnclassifiedAsk each program
Clinical hours0 recordedNot established yet
Your first four PA moves
Collect every transcript
UCSD and any other college you attended, including community college, summer and AP-credit courses.
Calculate CASPA GPAs
Cumulative, science and prerequisite GPAs under current CASPA rules, counting every attempt and repeat.
Document ambulance work
Employer, dates, paid status, duties, schedules and pay records, plus a supervisor who can verify them.
Ask programs what counts
Ask each target school in writing how it classifies your ambulance duties. Keep their replies as evidence.
Patient-care hours
2,000 verified hours is the floor. 3,000+ is the stretch.
These are planning targets drawn from several California programs' requirements and published cohort data. They are not a universal cutoff. Schools define hours differently, and their categories don't convert into each other. An hour one program counts may not count at another.
Hours scale, 0 to 3,000+. School minimums are shown for comparison only.
1,000hours
UC Davis
1,000 hands-on patient-care hours.
UC Davis clinical experience2,000paid hours
Loma Linda
2,000 paid hands-on hours. EMT waiting and transportation time is excluded.
Loma Linda requirementsWhy the target sits above some minimums
Published averages for admitted students at some programs run higher than their stated minimums.
Start an eligible-hours log on your next shift. Don't estimate past hours from memory. Use schedules and pay records.
Readiness dashboard · yours to verify
Resolve these in order
Your GPA, prerequisite audit, ambulance duties and hours, shadowing, service and recommenders are left blank on purpose. Only you can confirm them. Mark each one as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser only.
0 of 0 verified
PA game plan
Building the application, step by step
Every step lists the evidence that shows it's done. Filter by priority or search, and track your own status.
California PA program matrix
20 programs, each with its own rules
Deadlines are for the 2026–27 cycle. A passed deadline is a target for a future cycle. Reconfirm every requirement with the program before you count on it.
A note from me
Noemi,
I know this is a lot, and I know you already have a lot going on. I also know you're more than capable of doing this, and I'm really happy you're still pursuing the medical route.
If you have questions about any of this information, reach out. If you want to do some interview prep, reach out for that too. Just let me know and I'm happy to help in any way I can.
I've got you. — DL