Starting EMT School - Help?!?

[CadetProgramGuy]

Well I am off to EMT School at the local Community College.

It runs from now until May 2 nights a week with 2 Saturdays and additional Clinical and Ride time.

Any thoughts that would be considered usefull?

[Stonewall]

Study and get a good partner.  Don't do what I did and got the hottest chick in the class to be my partner.  She ended up almost failing us during practicals.  Luckily, we packaged and loaded up the patient in under 10 minutes anyway.  Since it was a "load and go", aka <10 min, the only thing we didn't do was say "it's a load and go".

EMT school should be easier than, say, algebra.  You're in EMT school because you want to be which should already be a feather in your cap.  It's always easier to learn something you actually enjoy.

You'll be fine, just pay attention and don't be afraid to touch the patients during the clinicals.  I actually volunteered for a few extra rotations in the ER.  Also, in an effort to hook up with a nurse...which worked BTW.

I've been an EMT for 15 years now.  Got it in the Army and always, on my own, went to recert classes or took the entire course again just for my own benefit. 

Good luck.

[Slim]

Don't do it!!!!!

Just kidding.

Actually, Kirt's right on the money.  This is something you want to do, so you're already going to be more motivated.  I really can't offer up more academic advice than what he did.  Study the materials, learn the treatment algorhythms, and keep an open mind.

What I would like to offer advice in is when it comes time to do ride alongs.  My company works with the local community college, and a few different fire department based academies, so it seems like we always have students coming in and out.

When the time for ride-alongs comes:

• Keep an open mind.  Remember, this business is like most others; there's the school way of doing things, and there's the way we do things on the street.
• Don't be a know-it-all.  Nothing alienates a crew quicker than the words "They taught us to do it this way in class."  As long as it isn't going to get someone hurt, remember that we see a hundred plus patients in a week.  A lot of us have developed shortcuts and better ways to do things that still get the desired results, but may not be "By the book."
• Be prepared.  Show up in whatever your school's clinical uniform is, including appropriate shoes/boots (I recommend boots for the ankle support and extra protection) and a jacket/coat.  Hat and insulated gloves if the season warrants.  Remember, we can get stuck outside for a loooong time on an MVA/extrication.  Not only that, but have a watch and pen with you too.  If you want to bring your own stethoscope and BP cuff, feel free; sometimes the stuff we buy isn't the best.  There's a reason most companies stopped buying good diagnostic equipment--it kept disappearing.  If you bring your own stuff, keep track of it.
• Don't show up with more crap on your belt than we carry in the jump box.  Privately, we call such students "Fisties".
• I don't know if you plan on going into the business full-time; if you are, treat your clinicals as an audition.  In my area, there aren't a lot of places to work, so we pay close attention to what our students do and how they act.  If you're a bad student, chances are you're going to be a bad employee.  Nothing sucks more than to spend all that time, money and effort to get licensed and not be able to find a job because no company will hire you.
• As Kirt said, don't be shy, or be afraid to get your hands dirty.  If you're doing a good job with your patients, and your crew trusts you, they just might let you run the whole call, from assesment to PCR.  They'll have to sign off on it, but if they trust you, and you did everything right, that shouldn't be a problem.
• Bring something to do on your down-time.  You're not going to be running calls the entire time; you're going to spend a lot of time sitting in a station, or on a street corner somewhere.  Don't count on the crew to entertain you.  Either bring your books to study, handheld games, magazines, portable DVD players, etc.  Just don't bring a ton of stuff, remember that your crew has their stuff too, and it should be compact enough to stuff under a seat or in a cabinet.
• Stay with your crew at all times.  We've had to leave students at hospitals because they wandered off and we couldn't find them.  If you've got to get out of the truck alone, ask them to use a portable radio or a pager or something.  If it goes off, or you hear your unit number, get back with your crew ASAP.  Don't get left behind because you were dropping a deuce.
• Don't plan on sitting anywhere other than the jump seat in back

I'm not trying to scare or intimidate you here.  All of these situations have actually happened in my company.  We've had fisties, we've had students who complained all day because they were stuck in the back.  We actually had one student who thought he was going to drive the rig in because they had a critical patient.  Our employees are with us for two months before they even think about sitting in the drivers seat.  We've also left people behind because we couldn't find them, or they were too involved in their constitutional to get out to the truck.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.  If you have any questions, feel free to pipe  up either here or via PM.  I fell into this job by accident almost 17 years ago, and I've enjoyed it.

[CadetProgramGuy]

To you all this seems trivial, but to me this is good stuff.

Runnning several calls a day, a hundred a week you all have your tips and quirks (good things), I just want to learn a few of them, and not become a "Fisty".

Did plan on getting my own Sethoscope and clothing shears....

[fyrfitrmedic]

 Speaking as both an EMS provider and an instructor, here are a few tips:

- Keep up with the material
- Find a partner who seems to have a bit of a clue
- Show up 'ready to go', whether on rotation or in class
- If you're going to buy a stethscope, buy a decent one
- Don't wear a belt that makes Batman jealous
- 'Get in there' and get hands-on, whether in practicals or on rotation
- EMS tends to be a small world; what/how you do in class or on rotation will be remembered

[isuhawkeye]

you will be required to get a stethoscope, and sphigmomanomiter (SP) for the class (I was in the same program). 

when you show up for clinicals do not have it around your neck

[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. We can teach you the book stuff all day long, but the only way to learn good judgement is to make runs and gain experience. I'd been an EMT-B (well, back then it was EMT-A) for almost two years when I started paramedic school, and I sometimes wonder if I should have waited.

And to reiterate what's been said, don't get the "Batman Belt". It's often said that you can easily judge an EMT's experience by looking at his belt, as the amount of crap on it is inversely proportional to his/her experience level.(I must be getting old...I only carry my cell phone and radio on my belt!)

Tony's right in everything he has said, pay close attention to his advice!

[JohnKachenmeister]

Learn the anatomy and the terms so that you dream about them.  Your reports will be much more professional with terms like "Lateral aspect of the left thigh," than "Outside of the left leg."  Sometimes it helps to understand the Latin words that medical abbreviations refer to, like "O.D." being "Oculus Dexeter" as opposed to O.S.," Oculus Sinister.

[Stonewall]

...when you show up for clinicals do not have it around your neck

And don't go for the nursing student look either and throw the stethescope over your review mirror.

And to reiterate what's been said, don't get the "Batman Belt". It's often said that you can easily judge an EMT's experience by looking at his belt, as the amount of crap on it is inversely proportional to his/her experience level.(I must be getting old...I only carry my cell phone and radio on my belt!)

Same goes for CAP.

[Horn229]

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?

[Stonewall]

Do you disagree with this logic?

I disagree with it and I'm not a paramedic.  In fact, I think it would be beneficial to have real world EMT experiences to bring with  you to the classroom.  Like a lot of things, law enforcement included, there are "classroom" ways of doing things and "the way we do them in the field".  You can't have the second without the first, if that makes sense.  You'll learn several different ways to do something in the field, but the basics (what you learn in the classroom) is the foundation of all the other handy-dandy things you do in the field.

I remember in Basic Training, the drill sergeants said they'd rather train someone to shoot that has never touched a gun before than someone who grew up hunting.  Personally, I never noticed the difference in the types of trainees.  You had hunters that could score expert and hunters that couldn't shoot worth a darn.  Same for the first-time shooters....

[SJFedor]

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?

It depends on who you are as a person.

I'm not an EMT (yet), but plan to head to school when I get the time away from REAL college. But, I do work in a urban ER/Level 1 trauma center as an ER tech. A lot of the techs I work with are nursing students, whom my hospital hopes to hire on once they graduate.

Long story short, I've seen some that excel because of their prior department experience; they know the computer system, they know the flow of the department, they know the people. I've seen others that, once they're GNs or RNs, they struggle to step up to the next level, because all they've ever done is work in the capacity of a tech, and tend to still think like one for a while.

But, in the long run, having the practical field experience when you go to Medic school will make you a better medic. I've known people who were EMTs for 5 years and went to medic school, and were awesome medics. But, I've also seen people who have sped through EMT and Medic school, and also turned out to be great medics. It all depends on who you are. But, your patients are the ones that will benefit most from your experience.

[arajca]

There is a saying:
Paramedics save lives. EMT's save paramedics.

[SARMedTech]

you will be required to get a stethoscope, and sphigmomanomiter (SP) for the class (I was in the same program). 

when you show up for clinicals do not have it around your neck

We were never required to get our own stethoscopes of SPs. The school provided the former and the services provide the latter. You dont need to be carrying around a BP cuff becuse either the ER or EMS agency you ride with will have one. Maybe get a Littman stethoscope, but dont waste your money on the cuff.

There has long been a discussion that only doctors where their scopes around their neck. Non-sense. I wear mine there and with good reason. If I take it off and lay it around my neck, I always no wear it is. Its easier to access then when its carried in a pocket or holster. Everytime I use mine, I take it off my neck and drape it around my shoulders. What you dont want to do is wear it hanging off your neck ( like a neck tie). Ive seen medics do this and they either drop their scopes on the ground, it makes a good "grab handle for your patient". Finally, where else are you going to put it.

As for stuff on the belts...where what you feel you need to do your job. On my belt I wear a black holster/pouch (contains bandage and trauma sheers, tape, a pressure bandage, seatbelt cutter, ring cutter,pen light and window punch. I also keep a pair of kevlar lined gloves stuck in my belt for use during extrications or other times when I am likely to get cut. I wear my cell phone on belt and a Stinger Scorpion in a holster and obviously my radio. I carry a knife with a three inch blade clipped into my right front pocket. The only thing I carry in my cargo pockets are gloves and a pocket EMS field guide. A lot of crap in the side pockets looks terrible.  You could also get a duty belt from somewhere like Galls which would fit over top of your pants belt and could hold your gear. Its easier to take off when you need to sit, go in the water after a patient or when sleeping in the barricks room. Oh yeah, I also carry a 5" kubaton on my belt. Ive been attacked twice by patients and dont intend to be defenseless again.

As I say, carry a pen and a notebook for your patient care reports and make your own PCR for class. Dont rely on the medic to supply you with a copy most of the time they dont.

[Hoser]

Hoser's rules of EMS

1. Everything you learn in school is wrong.
2. People die and you can't do squat about it.
3. Occasionally people live because you did.

[isuhawkeye]

sarmedtech.

I have taught for the program that he is going through.  I have a pretty good idea as to what that specific class will require.  I am also a manager for one of the 3 service choice options with witch he will ride.  please don't blindly discount my advice

[♠SARKID♠]

I have only this to say on the subject.


My dad's a firefighter/EMT and loves it, so good luck to you!

[Nomex Maximus]

Ah, yes the EMT textbook... my favorite gross picture:

THE PROTRUDING EYEBALL !!!

EEEEEEWWWWWWWWW !!!

[SARMedTech]

sarmedtech.

I have taught for the program that he is going through.  I have a pretty good idea as to what that specific class will require.  I am also a manager for one of the 3 service choice options with witch he will ride.  please don't blindly discount my advice

I wasnt blindly discounting anything. Its just that it seems silly to spend $60 on a BP set up when either the hospital or rig will have it. In my class, we had enough to give each student one to practice with. What I was getting at was that its not a skill that needs to be practiced all the time at home, since the whole process takes 10 minutes to learn. What I was basing that on was that most services around here want you to use their gear anyway.

[SAR-EMT1]

Advice:

Classroom: In addition to the BPC, Stethascope and lobotomy kit, make sure you get a mini tape recorder and a "pocket reference" while some may chalenge this, there is nothing better then to be able to find an answer or recall some info at a moments notice.
Finally: NEVER be afraid to ask (intelligent) questions. Folks that never ask questions are either arrogant fools or are too shy. Either one is dangerous in the field.

I was one of the folks that was asking a question every other minute. Other students thought it was a drag, but the only guy in the class that did better then me ( and I had a 98%) was a PA from the local Level 1 ER. I was also immediately offered a job by one of the local EMS providers.

Clinicals: get a pair of EMS pants: they are blood and vomit resistant, Khaki dockers are NOT. Get a good pocket flashlight. ( I have a AA size minimag) Also a pocket "rite-in-rain" notebook for vitals and a pen that works on said paper.

At work when Im on the Rig (ambulance) I wear the required dept polo, black EMS pants (black works with ANYTHING) a riggers belt, a decent pair of shears, the minimag, stethascope, ( AROUND MY NECK  )  my radio, my cell, a mini tape recorder, a vitals notebook and two pens in the drop pouch and a pair of Nytrile gloves.               While this may seem like a lot, its not.

I dont have a special belt and I dang sure dont look like batman. 
I have proctored several new basics ranging in age from 18 to 50 who looked like inspector gadget.

-- As its a Fire Dept one compartment in the Rigs have two full sets of Bunker Gear with basic extrication gear.  ( Anything that we cant handle and we just call the Rescue)

I am an EMT I am not an Ambulance driver, I am not a Paramedic (yet) and as such not an Officer.

There isnt a single Officer that hasnt had his arse saved by one of his troops at some point or another. 
Just dont put it in their face... it tends to make them cranky, and you will get stuck with nothing but rectal bleeds for the rest of the month in return.


As for going straight from Basic to the Paramedic class: in my system its not even allowed except in very special cases. (must have six months in the field) However it is allowed to go directly from Basic into the Intermediate Class.

[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. 

[SARMedTech]

I think that was the speech we got when we started with a class of 28, half that at mid-term, 7 on the night of the final exam and 5 took NREMT.  Dont let 'em psych you out. And when you get to the A and P section, remember that the tibia leads and the fibula follows.

[Slim]

.  2) There is no fibia. 

Der....don't I feel like an idiot  .  That's what I get for posting around these parts after four hours of watching "Profession of Arms" SOS videos.  The blond with the monotone made me do it.

Like I said, I speak English, and the docs would rather hear that or "Tib/Fib" than listen to someone hyped up on caffiene halfway through a shift from hades say "Transverse fracture of the distal tibia/fibula" any day.

Good luck CPGuy, don't let the odds get ya down.

[flyerthom]

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.

Keep a sense of humor about it all. Laughter is the best stess valve.:



This ought to help for A&P   

[CadetProgramGuy]

Basic Anatomy is hard enough......

Now I have to learn musical Anatomy...............

[CadetProgramGuy]

OK fellas....Medical Terminology....

I have a workbook that follows the textbook....kinda....I have sone terms I need explained that I cannot find in the book....

I will give the term and give you my idea of the definition...

C/O = In Care of

NOI = ??

PH/PMH = ??

[flyerthom]

OK fellas....Medical Terminology....

I have a workbook that follows the textbook....kinda....I have sone terms I need explained that I cannot find in the book....

I will give the term and give you my idea of the definition...

C/O = In Care of

NOI = ??

PH/PMH = ??

C/O = complains of  i.e  Patient C/O substernal chest pain / pressure  radiation to LT arm onset at rest approx 1600 hrs

NOI I've never used

PH/ PMH or sometimes PMHx = Previous History or Previous Medical History. i.e

Patient has a PMH of HTN, MI, IDDM, LT Arm traumtic amputation while attempting to hand prop a CAP 172.

[isuhawkeye]

LOL FOF TMB

Little Old Lady

Found on Floor

With a chief complaint of

To many Birth days

[Hoser]

DRT dead right there
ART assuming room temperature
SPT stupid people tricks
TID no not three times a day but typical idiot deal
TED terrible everything disease
TBC total body crunch
plus several others that decorum prohibits me from posting   ;-)

[Jolt]

NOI is "Nature of Illness"

It usually goes along with MOI, "Mechanism of Injury."

[Slim]

DRT dead right there
ART assuming room temperature
SPT stupid people tricks
TID no not three times a day but typical idiot deal
plus several others that decorum prohibits me from posting   ;-)

CTD circling the drain
ARTG allergic reaction to gravity
FDGB fall down go boom
HUA need I explain

[BlueLakes1]

DRT dead right there
ART assuming room temperature
SPT stupid people tricks
TID no not three times a day but typical idiot deal
plus several others that decorum prohibits me from posting   ;-)

CTD circling the drain
ARTG allergic reaction to gravity
FDGB fall down go boom
HUA need I explain

That is the coolest portalpeople dude I've ever seen...

You know, I (no kidding here) used to be assigned to a "Squad 51" at work. My partner was named Jon, and my middle name is Roy...

We had fun with that 

[CadetProgramGuy]

Little update.

Exam 1 = 89%, Skills session 1 was basic vitals, immob on backboard ect....

Having a blast in class though.

Scary thought is that a former CAP'er is a skills evaluator in class......

[isuhawkeye]

Who's that.

Hey I dont know your work schedule these days.  Give me a call some time

[CadetProgramGuy]

Former cadet Lowrey.

I work overnights at the hospital
I work 3 evenings a week part time was well
I goto school 2 nights a week
I sleep 1 night a week

Will do in the phone call

[Dustdevil]

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.

I'd sure like to know what school this is, and who the instructor is.  I'd like to send him a letter of commendation.  Your instructor speaks the wisdom.  This is extremely intelligent and progressive thinking that only the sharpest instructors, or those who have a real background in adult education (not just a stupid EMS instructor course) are on board with yet.  But this is the future of EMS education, and your school realising it is a very good sign.  You'll still find the majority of Paramedic schools still parroting the old skool party line out of ignorance, as well as a warped sense of wanting to see newbies "pay their dues", but it is nonsense.

For a student who is serious about a career in EMS (as opposed to just a hobby or volunteer gig), the only time  that should be spent between EMT school and Paramedic school should be that time spent completing the prerequisite foundation courses, even if your school doesn't require them.  That means, don't even think of starting medic school until you at least have both semesters of Anatomy & Physiology.  If you're serious about a quality educational experience, you won't start until you also have Microbiology, Intro Psychology, Child and Developmental Psychology, Sociology, Algebra, English Composition, and Speech Communcations done too.  In fact, any Paramedic school that doesn't require those is to be suspected of suckage.

Also, any Paramedic school not Nationally Accredited should be suspected of suckage.  Check your school against this list: http://www.caahep.org/Find_An_Accredited_Program.aspx

Give me somebody with a blank slate and the above course load, and I'll give you a well prepared, above average medic.  Give me somebody that just wasted two years playing ambulance driver as an EMT and I'll waste two semesters trying to break bad habits and convince them they don't know what they think they know.  If I pass them at all.

Thirty-five years in EMS (and fifteen as an RN), and absolutely the best, most competent medics I have ever had the pleasure to work with were all medics who went straight to Paramedic school without ever working as an EMT.  Oh, and they all had a lot of college work too.  Be one of the few, the proud.  Don't be just another average loser.

Best of luck!

[Major Lord]

FTF= Failure to fly
LOL in NAD=Little old Lady in No apparent Distress (see also LOM)
QS= "Q" sign
OS= "O" sign
GOMER= Get Out of My Emergency Room
Gomere= Female Gomer
OH=Orthopaedic Height ( The height that a patient must be dropped from to cause fractures)

[SAR-EMT1]

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.

I'd sure like to know what school this is, and who the instructor is.  I'd like to send him a letter of commendation.  Your instructor speaks the wisdom.  This is extremely intelligent and progressive thinking that only the sharpest instructors, or those who have a real background in adult education (not just a stupid EMS instructor course) are on board with yet.  But this is the future of EMS education, and your school realising it is a very good sign.  You'll still find the majority of Paramedic schools still parroting the old skool party line out of ignorance, as well as a warped sense of wanting to see newbies "pay their dues", but it is nonsense.

For a student who is serious about a career in EMS (as opposed to just a hobby or volunteer gig), the only time  that should be spent between EMT school and Paramedic school should be that time spent completing the prerequisite foundation courses, even if your school doesn't require them.  That means, don't even think of starting medic school until you at least have both semesters of Anatomy & Physiology.  If you're serious about a quality educational experience, you won't start until you also have Microbiology, Intro Psychology, Child and Developmental Psychology, Sociology, Algebra, English Composition, and Speech Communcations done too.  In fact, any Paramedic school that doesn't require those is to be suspected of suckage.

Also, any Paramedic school not Nationally Accredited should be suspected of suckage.  Check your school against this list: http://www.caahep.org/Find_An_Accredited_Program.aspx

Give me somebody with a blank slate and the above course load, and I'll give you a well prepared, above average medic.  Give me somebody that just wasted two years playing ambulance driver as an EMT and I'll waste two semesters trying to break bad habits and convince them they don't know what they think they know.  If I pass them at all.

Thirty-five years in EMS (and fifteen as an RN), and absolutely the best, most competent medics I have ever had the pleasure to work with were all medics who went straight to Paramedic school without ever working as an EMT.  Oh, and they all had a lot of college work too.  Be one of the few, the proud.  Don't be just another average loser.

Best of luck!

I dont know you, so please do not construe this as an attack.

That said: NO!
As someone who has been a basic for a year while waiting for a slot to open in a local P class ( There are so many folks that want to take it, there is a waiting list)
I have seen several medics that went from B-to-P without anything except the 1 required ambulance shift and the 8 hours required in the ER for the B-cert.

Ive had a 'medic ' ask me (basic) if it was safe to start a saline line on a patient without first getting approval from medical control.  Same guy cared more about administering things like EPI and was down right careless when pushing morphine.

Ive also had a medic- doing ride time to apply for a job. Gets a call for a guy who fell and has a possible closed fracture to the femur. Ok... get on scene, the guy is on the ground screaming in pain.  The medic (the jobhunter, not my partner) asks the vic if he can walk to the ambulance so that he can start a line and get some pain meds flowin.

Now, you can say that these folks are applicants to the Darwins and leave it there. BUT the fact is, that in the process of focusing on getting the ALS down they have completely forgotten their BLS foundations. That is dangerous for pt care and irresponsible on the part of the instructors not to screen for this in class.

Remember the adage, walk before you run.

Paramedics save patients, Basics save the Paragods.

[Dustdevil]

I dont know you, so please do not construe this as an attack.

That said: NO!

I don't know you either, but I wouldn't attack you even if I did.

That said, do the math.  Your one year as a basic vs. my thirty-five years in EMS, including plenty of time as an instructor and field preceptor for paramedic students.  With all due respect, LT, you're speaking of things you really aren't qualified to authoritatively comment upon.

Ive had a 'medic ' ask me (basic) if it was safe to start a saline line on a patient without first getting approval from medical control.  Same guy cared more about administering things like EPI and was down right careless when pushing morphine.

Ive also had a medic- doing ride time to apply for a job. Gets a call for a guy who fell and has a possible closed fracture to the femur. Ok... get on scene, the guy is on the ground screaming in pain.  The medic (the jobhunter, not my partner) asks the vic if he can walk to the ambulance so that he can start a line and get some pain meds flowin.

No doubt that there are idiots at all levels, regardless of experience.  You don't have enough time to sit here and read all the horror stories I could tell you about so-called "experienced" students, nor would you understand since you are neither a paramedic, paramedic student, or even experienced.  Apparently, you are the victim of the same old skool misinformation that permeates EMS so thoroughly, like an urban legend that never goes away.  This is one of the big reasons that EMS is in the horrible shape that it is.  We have barely progressed at all in three decades because so many people are still living out 1972 reruns of "Emergency!" instead of moving into the future.

Now, you can say that these folks are applicants to the Darwins and leave it there. BUT the fact is, that in the process of focusing on getting the ALS down they have completely forgotten their BLS foundations. That is dangerous for pt care and irresponsible on the part of the instructors not to screen for this in class.

Interesting theory, but you FAIL to illustrate it, since both of the examples you give are of them forgetting their ALS, not their BLS.  Regardless, it's just pure nonsense.  Anybody who "forgets" their so-called BLS "skills" simply isn't cut out for EMS in the first place.  Nobody "forgets" how to take vital signs or do CPR, which is all EMT is.  The more obvious explanation for what you are seeing is that your employer sucks.  Any agency putting rookie medics with a basic EMT sucks, plain and simple.  The failure of those medics is on the agency's shoulders, not the medics.  Even new physicians are supervised by more senior physicians.

Remember the adage, walk before you run.

Paramedics save patients, Basics save the Paragods.

Nonsense.  I sure hope you don't wear a t-shirt with that on it, because if you do, people are laughing behind your back.  Every EMT who ever thought he was "saving" me in three decades turned out to be wrong.  About half of them ended up unemployed shortly thereafter.  EMTs are a dime a dozen in this country.  You know why?  Cuz we can produce them in a month or less for next to nothing, and half of them work for free.  There is nothing indispensable about that.

An EMT brings absolutely nothing to the table that another paramedic partner wouldn't bring better.  I'd take the greenest medic as a partner over the most "experienced" EMT any day.  All the experience in the world is absolutely useless unless it is built upon a solid educational foundation.  Again, do the math.  120 hours of night school is hardly an education.  It's just an overpriced first aid course.  Future plans are already being discussed for EMT to be completely eliminated from the professional EMS (Paramedic) curriculum. Paramedic will be an entry level college degree, like every other medical profession, and EMT will become the new First Responder, which is really all it is worth.  Nurses aides and nail technicians have more training than an EMT.

Ask yourself this; do physicians have to practice as nurses before medical school?  Do nurses have to practice as nurses aides before nursing school?  If this basic experience theory is so sound, then why is it that no other medical profession in the world thinks it is important?  Why don't you have to work at Jiffy Lube for two years before you can enrol in a mechanical engineering programme at the university?  Why don't you have to be a cop for two years before going to law school?  The answer is self evident.  EMS is the only one that is so young that it has no true education professionals running education -- just a bunch of nimrods with a week-long instructor course -- and has not yet progressed beyond it's amateur roots.

By the time I retire, I'd like to see EMS finally become a real, educated career profession, instead of a part-time job for firemonkeys, and an exciting hobby for whacker vollies.  Guys like Redfire11 and his programme director are the ones leading the way to that future.  They're the guys I want to see taking my profession into the 21st century.  God bless them.

[Jolt]

Can a moderator please put a lock on this thread?
I've seen paramedics rant like this before and it just doesn't stop/get better.  Although I'll admit that they have their points at times, this particular poster seems incredibly worked up (constant use of the word "suck," and namecalling such as "firemonkeys" and "whacker vollies") and the thread is only going to go down hill from here.