EMT concerns, please help

[Hoff81EMT]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum. My name is Jeff, and I am 26 years old. I graduated from college with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. After testing with various police departments, and sitting on eligibility lists, I've decided to explore other avenues. I've always had a huge interest in Firefighter/Paramedic. So, I've decided that I would take an EMT class to see how I like it. Anyway's, in doing so, I have some concerns. I've heard from various people that it's a VERY hard class. I would think being a college grad, I should be able to pass it. My class will run Tues/Thurs from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. at a local hospital. Here are my concerns.

1. How is the curriculum set up? What exactly will I do for the 4 hours of class? Is it half lecuture, half lab? How is the lab set up? Do you get to choose your partner? Do you have demonstrate your practicals in front of the entire class?

2. Since I am taking this course in IL, will I have to take a big National test at the completion of the course? If so, how difficult is this test? Is it just a written test, or does it incorporate the practicals as well?

3. How much time did you spend at the hospital doing clinincals? While there, what did you do? Did you strictly observe, or did you actually help out?

4. I went to the bookstore to get the text for this class, and I found out that there is NO TEXT REQUIRED. How could this be? Do they pass out information during the class?

5. Am I really crazy to take this? I figure that it might lead to a rewarding career.

If someone could help me out and ease my nerves, that would be great!

Thanks Jeff

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Hoff81EMT]

NO ONE has any thoughts or comments? Come on...

 

[pseudoknot]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum. My name is Jeff, and I am 26 years old. I graduated from college with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. After testing with various police departments, and sitting on eligibility lists, I've decided to explore other avenues. I've always had a huge interest in Firefighter/Paramedic. So, I've decided that I would take an EMT class to see how I like it. Anyway's, in doing so, I have some concerns. I've heard from various people that it's a VERY hard class. I would think being a college grad, I should be able to pass it. My class will run Tues/Thurs from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. at a local hospital. Here are my concerns.

This seems reasonable, although you should be aware that in many areas it's quite a bit more competitive to become a firefighter/paramedic than a police officer. As for how hard the class is, it's going to depend on your background and how it is taught, but in general an EMT-B class should be very easy compared to college science courses.

1. How is the curriculum set up? What exactly will I do for the 4 hours of class? Is it half lecuture, half lab? How is the lab set up? Do you get to choose your partner? Do you have demonstrate your practicals in front of the entire class?

If I remember right, my course was more lecture than lab, but they might be close to half. Basically they will show you various skills and then you will practice them, and I imagine most places would let you choose a partner but
it's possible they would assign them (I've not heard of that happening). Typically for practical exams you might have to do the skill in front of others or alone, and for some skills you need to work as part of a team.

2. Since I am taking this course in IL, will I have to take a big National test at the completion of the course? If so, how difficult is this test? Is it just a written test, or does it incorporate the practicals as well?

I believe the skills certification for National Registry is done by your class, and then there is a separate written test (on computer now? I never had to take it) which is administered by the National Registry itself. However, it looks to me like Illinois isn't a National Registry state:
http://www.IDPH.state.il.us/ems/instruction_guide.htm
Again, I'm only certified in California and Virginia so someone else should verify this.

3. How much time did you spend at the hospital doing clinincals? While there, what did you do? Did you strictly observe, or did you actually help out?

Usually you will do an 8-12 hour shift at an ER, and they will have you do stuff within your scope as an EMT student (obtain vitals, perhaps assist with bandaging, other non-invasive tasks). Similar for ambulance ridealongs but you will do more than one (I did three for my class but I think maybe we only had to do two).

4. I went to the bookstore to get the text for this class, and I found out that there is NO TEXT REQUIRED. How could this be? Do they pass out information during the class?

It's quite possible. My class had a required textbook but I barely read it and did very well.

5. Am I really crazy to take this? I figure that it might lead to a rewarding career.

If someone could help me out and ease my nerves, that would be great!

Thanks Jeff

So, a few more comments:

I can understand someone being interested in both law enforcement and fire/EMS, and I think all of those can be great and rewarding careers if you know what you are getting into. The EMT class probably won't be a big deal for you and is a good first step to seeing if EMS is for you, but be aware that it is only a first step and the class doesn't really teach you that much that you will use as an EMT (not exactly anyway).

Have you done any ridealongs with fire or EMS in your area? Also, you may want to consider what kind of job you can get after getting your EMT cert. In some areas it is pretty easy to get either a 911 or IFT job, but in others it's very hard to get any kind of 911 exposure fresh out of school. Also if you want to do fire, you will likely need several years in the field with a private ambulance service as well as going to a fire academy on your own and possibly paramedic school, at least if it's anything like California.

Good luck, let us know if you have more questions.

 

[pseudoknot]

NO ONE has any thoughts or comments? Come on...

Oh yes, and this board is really mostly used by premeds/med students and such, so the EMS forum is a bit less active...you may want to wait more than 12 hours for a reply next time!

 

[Vee]

For a lot of your questions you'll want to talk to someone who's specifically gone through that particular course in your state, since curriculums and protocols can (and do) differ. I'm from a different state but we had a huge textbook and for clinicals, just spent some time in the ER pretty much hanging out. They didn't let us do too much but had us watch things closely.

It can indeed be a rewarding career. And, being a college grad, I don't think you'll have trouble passing the basic EMT course as long as you do the work, pay attention and all that good stuff. If you later decide to go to medic school (a lot of ff's do), that will be more difficult.

Good luck!

 

[docB]

I think that in general the academics of an EMT class should be able to be handled relatively easily by someone who has experience with college level classes. What might prove more challenging are the skills tests because these are totally different than anything you run into in traditional academics. If you find that these are difficult for you they absolutley can be mastered by going over mock testing with your teachers and classmates. Some people require lots of extra practice but with some work you are likely to be successful.

 

[Hoff81EMT]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the responses. I will post up tonight my thoughts and concerns about the class. I look forward to using this forum!

Thanks again!

Jeff

 

[Hoff81EMT]

Hey guys,

The first day of EMT class went well. We didn't really do anything other than discuss the policies and expectations of the class. I'm not too concerned about the academics right now, but I do have some concerns about the hands on practicals. I tend to get really nervous, and I am worried that I might forget something really small and fail. Does anyone have any good advice for me? Also, what is the HARDEST hands on thing that you had to deal with in EMT-B?

Thanks much.

Jeff

 

[pseudoknot]

Practice makes perfect. You should have a copy of the checklist they use to grade you for the practical, and if you go over it enough in advance you will be fine. Also, if you fail something on a practical usually you can redo it, as long as it isn't happening often. Just keep up with the class and practice, and you'll be fine.

 

[greytmedic]

Illinois is a National Registry state only for EMT-basic. The state went over to National Registry for EMT-B a few years ago, and since then every course I have been associated with has put on the skills practical at the location of the course. Then the students go to some kind of testing center for the "written" test which is now on computer. If you have any other concerns you can PM me or I'll try to answer some of your other questions when I am not getting ready for class.

 

[howelljolly]

Based on my experience in teaching EMT-B courses, the specific skill thats most problematic for students is spinal immobilization, both KED and longboard. Both procedures are done in a specified order, and have critical criteria, and that can be confusing for some.

If you have a BA, I cant imagine that you'd have a problem with this though. Try and understand the concepts of what you are doing. Yes, there are concepts to everything, and they are not always explicitly taught.

For example, you'll learn that certain steps of immobilization should be done first, or last, or that you should never... Many students want to secure the patient's head and neck first, however these should be secured last. This, and some other 'rules' revolve around damage control if things go wrong. If you've got the head and neck attached to the board, and the body slips sideways, or convulses, or the patient vomits, you've got a serious problem on your hands.

So, if you make up a concept in your mind such as "This procedure needs to be done as fast and efficiently as possible, and needs to take into account that the body weighs NNN lbs, and the head weights N lbs, that I need to protect the ABCs, and that I might have a situation where I need to move the patient before the procedure is finished, so I need to do certain things first"

or something like that.

I dont know if that helps, but thats how my convoluted brain works. And I have a LOT of trouble with practical exams. EMT-B and P, millions of CPR courses, ACLS, and med school... and Im still AWFUL at practicals. I forgot all about lidocane for a megacode once... I simply forgot to give it each time it was indicated.