Starting EMT School - Help?!?

[SAR-EMT1]

I also wanted to add that a pocket mask is encouraged by several EMS providers but I dont carry one.

Also in class start EVERY senario with the phrase: Scene safety, PPE on...

Finally: ISUhawkeye, I make min. wage at my current department, is yours hiring?     ( to an extent I AM serious )

[fyrfitrmedic]

I also wanted to add that a pocket mask is encouraged by several EMS providers but I dont carry one.

Also in class start EVERY senario with the phrase: Scene safety, PPE on...

It almost goes without saying that this needs to be more than just lip service but deeply internalized. One of my personal peeves among my own students and among candidates I've evaluated is watching them recite something to the effect of "Scene safety, PPE" or "Scene safety, BSI" while raising their hands in some sort of weird hokey-pokey move... after which they attempt to continue into the scenario with little or no situational awareness.

[BlueLakes1]

If you're going to make a career out of EMS, don't jump into being a paramedic too quick. Be sure you get some good experience as an EMT-B first, it will help you in the long run.

The guy who runs the paramedic program at my college actually told me the exact opposite. I was going to get my EMT-B cert a while back, (I'll be starting paramedic clinicals this May) and my advisor told me that by not having the EMT-B knowledge, they wouldn't have to untrain the quirks I had learned as an EMT-B.

Do you disagree with this logic?

Actually, yeah, I do disagree. I've precepted a number of paramedic graduates during their field internships, and some of the most difficult ones to deal with came from a college program that allowed you to go from "zero to hero" in two years. Now, for the grads who came to us with prior experience as an EMT before they went into the program, they were usually pretty good, but the ones who had no experience when they came in were oftentimes awful. Those folks could quote ACLS backwards and forwards, but couldn't apply a sling and swathe for an arm fracture. I've seen similar results from folks who finish EMT school and jump right into medic school, although it's usually not quite as obvious because the non-college folks are working full time as EMTs while they're in medic school.

That's not to say that all are bad; there are some folks who just "get it", and it's no big deal for them. But, as a preceptor, I've got you for 500 hours (at least in KY), and I'd rather work around quirky habits then have to teach you how to be an EMT from the ground up.

Any of the other instructor type folks have a take on this?

[flyerthom]

27 years EMS, 16 nursing, former EMT/M instructor (who me old?) current CEN EMS RN,
ACLS instructor. Flight Nurse yadda yadda.

Get and have a hobby completely outside EMS. Smoking, drinking and chasing girls do not count.

Get it and read it.
the 60 Second EMT

A study skills guide would be helpful.

Practice hands on skills as much as possible.

always have a pair of exam gloves in ready reach.

When in doubt -  airway.

In EMS - the more patches / bling  on the uniform ->the higher chance of I D 10 T errors Dale jr will commit.

The bigger the holster -> same as above.



Readily adaptable to EMT:

Terrible Tommy's ER Nurse observations:

Observation 1:
The busier you are the more likely the number of visits will drop off dramatically at 6:30 so it appears to the next shift you've been goofing off the entire time.
Corollary A: If you've been light the entire shift at 6:30, 7 ambulances will show up and three chest pains will arrive in triage so the next shift comes into complete chaos.

Observation 2:
The louder they can scream and curse, the more likely they do not need a high acuity bed.
Corollary A : If they can't or don't want to scream - get out an intubation tray.

Observation 3: In most cases; Rudeness in inversely proportional to acuity - the ruder they are the less ill they are. Sick people don't have the energy to be nasty.
Exception A: 90 pound little old ladies with CVA's or hypoglycemia have the strength of a weight lifter on steroids and the attitude of a badger with inflamed hemorrhoids.

Observation 4: The more tattoos, the more likely they are afraid of needles.
Corollary A: The more afraid of needles, the more likely they are in the ER due to violence received from a fight.
Corollary B: The higher the incidence of minor cuts due to violence, the more likely they are to demand immediate care because they don't want to or "can't" wait.
Corollary C: The more they need a CT scan the more likely they are to refuse it.

Observation 5: It's not psych till it's sober and psych
Corollary A: The ETOH / Recreational Pharmaceutical levels are inversely proportional to the therapeutic drug levels.

Observation 6 : The phrase "I can't afford my medications" will almost always be followed by "Can I go outside for a cigarette."
Corollary A: 50% of the time and higher on weekends sniffing will reveal a strong odor suspicious for alcohol.

Observation 7 : When it's all said and done, no matter where you are from, we all look the same on the autopsy table.
Corollary A: At the end of the autopsy, the brain ends up sliced and in a plastic bag in the bottom of the body cavity (in your buttocks).
Corollary B: It may have been there prior to becoming deceased.

Observation 8 : The human capacity for stupidity will never cease to amaze me.
Corollary A: Warnings to stupid people only mean the stupid become more creative in their stupidity.
Corollary B: Truly creative stupidity does not require nor does it rule out a college degree.


And if I haven't mentioned it, The 60 Second EMT.

[Hoser]

9th Observation: Fools are far more ingenious than anyone can imagine

[SAR-EMT1]

If there is an MVC after midnight and no driver is present... keep looking, he's passed out somewhere.

I would echo the statments about a psych vs sober psych and the 90 year old ladies who fight like wildcats.

[Jolt]

I'll echo the "stay caught up on the readings" that everyone else has mentioned.  Most EMT-B courses have classes with a large enough time span to get all of  the reading done.

Although there may be different ways of doing things out on the streets vs. in the classroom, always remember both (it makes it easier to write down that you did what you were supposed to do  ).

Treatment is simple.  If they're not breathing, breath for them, if they're bleeding, put the appropriate bandage on the wound, and if their heart isn't beating, make it beat for them.  Remember to learn all of the anatomy and physiology so that your treatments make more sense.  Patients rarely ever fit the textbook definitions for the conditions they have, so if you know how the body works, it will be much easier to find things that are wrong with it.

And as for the belt...  I wear EMS pants, boots, my service's polo shirt, a watch, and I carry pens, note paper, a pen light, trauma shears, a stethoscope and some extra gloves.  The rest of the equipment I need is readily available to me elsewhere.

Good luck!

[isuhawkeye]

Unless you have a class uniform do not wear EMS pants, coat, or other flare to class.

and the ultimate.  DO NOT WEAR YOUR PAGER TO CLASS.

If you are on a department, and they are sending you to the program you are more valuable to them as a certified EMT than you are on the calls during class.  If you fail because you were absent from class you wont be able to help people

[fyrfitrmedic]

Unless you have a class uniform do not wear EMS pants, coat, or other flare to class.

and the ultimate.  DO NOT WEAR YOUR PAGER TO CLASS.

If you are on a department, and they are sending you to the program you are more valuable to them as a certified EMT than you are on the calls during class.  If you fail because you were absent from class you wont be able to help people

Wearing a pager to class is in some places a very quick way to get dismissed from the class. It was one of the 'deadly sins' when I was an EMT student.

[SAR-EMT1]

Unless you have a class uniform do not wear EMS pants, coat, or other flare to class.

and the ultimate.  DO NOT WEAR YOUR PAGER TO CLASS.

If you are on a department, and they are sending you to the program you are more valuable to them as a certified EMT than you are on the calls during class.  If you fail because you were absent from class you wont be able to help people

Wearing a pager to class is in some places a very quick way to get dismissed from the class. It was one of the 'deadly sins' when I was an EMT student.

Actually I had exactly the opposite when I was a (Basic) student and I see the opposite in the classes Ive assisted in.

- My basic class was composed primarily of volunteer firefighters between the ages of 18 and 25. We also had one ER bound Physicians Assistant, a pre-med major and a few lifeguards. The class was held during summer break at a hospital.
I cannot count the number of times that folks left class enroute to the firehall after getting a page. ( The FD local to the hospital consists of 4 stations and is one of the busiest in the state)

It wasnt "that big" of a deal because every vollunteer was already an MFR.

Now if its a Paramedic class I would have reservations....

[CadetProgramGuy]

Well I bought a Stethascope and BP kit from the College, already don't like it.  Cheap.....

I have the books, chapters 1 and 2 by monday, working on chapter 3 right now.

I already have a high motivation for this class, I have been wanting to attend this class for about 3 years.

ISUHawkeye and another mutual friend Troy have attended this class, and both recommended it very highly.  I could have chosen another facility - Mercy, but I have been thold this is the best facility in the area.

I just read the opening chapters in the workbook, consituting the clinicals and ride time, 20 hours of clinical at the 3 metro hospitals and 16 hours of ride by DMFD.

ISUHAWKEYE - you mentioned not to show up at clinicals with the sethoscope around my neck, I don't want to get the belt keeper, what is your suggestion?

Thanks for all of the input from everyone, I will keep you all informed as to my progression.

Monday is Day 1.

[SARMedTech]

Well I bought a Stethascope and BP kit from the College, already don't like it.  Cheap.....

I have the books, chapters 1 and 2 by monday, working on chapter 3 right now.

I already have a high motivation for this class, I have been wanting to attend this class for about 3 years.

ISUHawkeye and another mutual friend Troy have attended this class, and both recommended it very highly.  I could have chosen another facility - Mercy, but I have been thold this is the best facility in the area.

I just read the opening chapters in the workbook, consituting the clinicals and ride time, 20 hours of clinical at the 3 metro hospitals and 16 hours of ride by DMFD.

ISUHAWKEYE - you mentioned not to show up at clinicals with the sethoscope around my neck, I don't want to get the belt keeper, what is your suggestion?

Thanks for all of the input from everyone, I will keep you all informed as to my progression.

Monday is Day 1.

Good Luck on monday. Wear your scope wherever you like. I wore mine around my neck the entire time I did clinicals and also in class because we had to get a complete assessment signed off on every other person in the class. The only time I had any one say anything about my scope around my neck (its a cardiologists scope) was when one medic lost his somewhere and the other was having trouble auscultating breath sounds and asked to us my slightly more sensitives scope. If the folks you work with call you a whacker, thats on them. CNAs, RNs, PAs, RTs, patient care techs have been wearing their scopes around their necks forever. No reason an up and coming EMT cant.  Andy hey...please PM and let me know how your first day went.

[isuhawkeye]

put everything in your bag use what you need when you need it.  clinical are different form class room.  In class room wear your medic pants, your white polo, your ID badge, and your stethoscope.  In the clinical arena you want to look like an EMT

[Jolt]

Don't worry about the poor quality stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (Everyone: that's how you spell both words.  I'm just throwing that out there.) because you really want to use those to learn the technique of taking a blood pressure.  If it's a little off, so what?  You also get some practice taking vitals in difficult conditions.

Good luck with your class, sir!

[CadetProgramGuy]

put everything in your bag use what you need when you need it.  clinical are different form class room.  In class room wear your medic pants, your white polo, your ID badge, and your stethoscope.  In the clinical arena you want to look like an EMT

Just read through the class requirements, dod not see anyting resembling a dress code for class.  I did see a dress code for clinicials and ride time.  Black or blue pants, blue polo, No logos of any kind, ID Badge from college, ect....

[Slim]

sphygmomanometer

Or, thankfully....BP Cuff 

I always get kinda nervous when students try to impress me with their newfound language skills.  One of my favorite lines is "I work the street, speak English."  Which isn't to say you shouldn't learn the proper medical terms, but a distal transverse fracture of the tibia and fibia is still a broken ankle.  One of those little quirks to working the street, I guess.

[CadetProgramGuy]

sphygmomanometer

Or, thankfully....BP Cuff 

Which isn't to say you shouldn't learn the proper medical terms, but a distal transverse fracture of the tibia and fibia is still a broken ankle.  .

I am learning Basic Anatomy and you are abolutely correct.  having to say the proximal end of the forearm instead of the elbow....

[Jolt]

sphygmomanometer

Or, thankfully....BP Cuff 

I always get kinda nervous when students try to impress me with their newfound language skills.  One of my favorite lines is "I work the street, speak English."  Which isn't to say you shouldn't learn the proper medical terms, but a distal transverse fracture of the tibia and fibia is still a broken ankle.  One of those little quirks to working the street, I guess.

Ouch...

Three things: 1) I'm not an EMT student.  2) There is no fibia.  3) I never say "sphygmomanometer," I was just pointing out that it was spelled wrong several times in the topic.

[CadetProgramGuy]

Fibula.....

Ok Night 1 is done, Let me just clarify a few things.

31 Started the class, 28 finished...And that just tonight.....

Paperwork must be done in time, complete, and without mistake, or you get it back.

Every 15 minutes you are out of class = 1 hours of makeup time.

Advanced reading of homework is a must, because they hit you with PPT and a chapter in about 30 minutes.

[isuhawkeye]

oh yeah I forgot to warn you about the first day speach.  that speach makes EMT class harder than medical school. 

glad you started.