Eagle24

EMT-I was great for me going into medical school when I didn't have time to do the medic course/rotations. Once I had the cert, I practiced my skills with medics who I had worked with as an EMT-B for years. It was not only good to put on school applications,but it gave me a huge leg up in school in many areas, as well as the ER I work in now. I recommend the CC course now because the recert for EMT-I is going to be impossible without the CC training from what I understand.

I'm utterly speechless as a police officer, hurt as an American and beyond disgusted as a father. May the man responsible for this burn in h3ll.

I think you guys all got the right idea. The value of an EMT-I in this part of New York is, thankfully, not that high because of the proximity of most medic units. However, as an EMT-I myself, I think the course is very valuable for any EMT that is going to be riding calls simply for your own benefit of knowledge and experience(rotations during the course).
Having said that, you will only get to practice your skills on a small amount of calls (if you get to at all). I've found that if you work with the same medic "group" long enough, and they know that you are a COMPETENT EMT-I(and are MAC'd), they do not have a problem with you practicing your skills when appropriate(under their supervision). Do I ask to start every IV line? No. But if there is an arrest and everything else is taken care of except for intubation and IV access, then yes I might ask to do whatever the medic isn't working on (assuming BLS care is being taken care of by other EMT-B's on the crew).
If you have the time, just go for the medic course. But if you can't manage that into your schedule, then an EMT-I course might be a good way to get a good foundation in emergency care.