All this talk about bad schools

[Mario1105]

How can i find out if my school is a bad school its a specialty emt program school

 

[Achromatic]

Hints to look at:

How long is your program? An EMT program is meant to be at least 120-160 hours. If that is squeezed into, say, 2-3 weeks, unless there's a specific reasoning for the "acceleration", in all probability, you're not getting a quality of education. Whilst there is nothing amazingly complex about EMT education, you owe it to yourself, and to your patients, to let it sink in and be absorbed, and to be able to spend time gaining proficiency with the various skills, be they bleeding control, splinting, patient exam, extrication.

Same for a medic program, I believe 1,000 hours is the NR 'standard', as such, so extrapolate out. If you have a school that says it can pump you out as a fully fledged EMT-P in 3 months, be wary. You might learn a lot... you might pass your NREMT if you sit it a few days after graduation. Unless you are an outlier, though, in a month's time, especially if you don't have a job, you will have forgotten significant portions of it.

And most services that are worth a damn quickly learn what the 'diploma mill' schools in the surrounding states are, and won't touch you with a bargepole.

Added: You /could/ call your local Fire Departments and ask them not what they recommend (because they'll be reluctant to do so), but where they send their FFs for EMT training, presuming they don't do it in-house/in-county.

 

[Mario1105]

well thanks for the heads up
now u have me really worried there only a 2day a week program with 8sat's for 4 months

 

[Mario1105]

well what i know about the instructor is he works for the local fd so he probably is legit

 

[Achromatic]

well thanks for the heads up
now u have me really worried there only a 2day a week program with 8sat's for 4 months

That's not too bad. Our EMT class was 2 nights a week x 4 hours for 17 weeks, 136 hours, plus about 8 Saturdays of 8 hours, 192 hours. (Our program was entirely FD, run by the County ALS service).

 

[281mustang]

The length of the program is a start but only tells you so much, but to be honest the instructors aren't going to make too much of a difference when it comes to BLS. It's all pretty straight forward and a lot of it is just common sense. For what it's worth my program was 2 nights a week for the first semester(the state mandated 120 hours) plus 48 hours of ER clinicals and the second semester was 1 night a week with 48 hours of ride time.

 

[Achromatic]

The length of the program is a start but only tells you so much, but to be honest the instructors aren't going to make too much of a difference when it comes to BLS. It's all pretty straight forward and a lot of it is just common sense. For what it's worth my program was 2 nights a week for the first semester(the state mandated 120 hours) plus 48 hours of ER clinicals and the second semester was 1 night a week with 48 hours of ride time.

True, I was more talking about the duration of the course - if the course squeezes that 120+ hours into 2 weeks, or less, then you have to think about your ability to process and retain that information (as said, it's not rocket science, but there is a substantial volume and most people can only retain information they are taught at a certain rate).

 

[Mario1105]

That's not too bad. Our EMT class was 2 nights a week x 4 hours for 17 weeks, 136 hours, plus about 8 Saturdays of 8 hours, 192 hours. (Our program was entirely FD, run by the County ALS service).

yeah thats almost like mine cpet we have to do 8hrs of ER time

heres the course
EMT-Basic

Class covers 42 sessions of both evening and some Saturday full days. The purpose of Saturday classes is to shorten the calendar length of the class. These classes break down to 24 lectures and 18 lab sessions. At the completion of this course the students that meet the state minimal requirements will be allowed to take the Rhode Island state Licensure test to become certified EMT-Basics. Students will learn Skills in Basic Life Support, Respiratory Emergencies, Trauma Emergencies, vehicle extrication, and a new section on Terrorism awareness as it pertains to EMS . There will also be sections on medication administration, use of Automated External Defibrillators, and ambulance operations. Students will also be required to document 8 hours of observation time in a hospital Emergency Room. Students are responsible for all transportation to and from all classes. Students must obtain a minimum 70% grade point average on all quizzes, the mid-term exam, and final exam to be able to attend the state licensure exam. Lab sessions will have the students involved with hands on practice of learned skills with experienced EMS Instructors and their fellow students. Students shall be responsible to bring with them a working wrist watch as this piece of equipment is an essential piece of your work uniform once you pass your licensure exam and begin working as a Rhode Island EMT. There will be a 10 student minimum to run the EMT – B program. If there is not more than 10 students, those that have given tuition will have the option of a reimbursement or to be added to the next EMT – B Session.

 

[apumic]

From the description, it sounds fine. The min 70% std and similar "automatic fails" are pretty typical. My program req'd a min 80% on every test to pass. The clinical hours seem a bit low (only 8?) but all-in-all, it's probably a decent course. Good luck!

 

[Mario1105]

From the description, it sounds fine. The min 70% std and similar "automatic fails" are pretty typical. My program req'd a min 80% on every test to pass. The clinical hours seem a bit low (only 8?) but all-in-all, it's probably a decent course. Good luck!

ty yes only 8 but the college course i was going to take wich was more money and longer only required 4hrs lol so i think i made the right choice and yes i wish i did get to get more clinical time but i mean if im just observing then its not much i can do so good thing its only 8 hrs lol

 

[ceej]

Hints to look at:

How long is your program? An EMT program is meant to be at least 120-160 hours. If that is squeezed into, say, 2-3 weeks, unless there's a specific reasoning for the "acceleration", in all probability, you're not getting a quality of education. Whilst there is nothing amazingly complex about EMT education, you owe it to yourself, and to your patients, to let it sink in and be absorbed, and to be able to spend time gaining proficiency with the various skills, be they bleeding control, splinting, patient exam, extrication.

Same for a medic program, I believe 1,000 hours is the NR 'standard', as such, so extrapolate out. If you have a school that says it can pump you out as a fully fledged EMT-P in 3 months, be wary. You might learn a lot... you might pass your NREMT if you sit it a few days after graduation. Unless you are an outlier, though, in a month's time, especially if you don't have a job, you will have forgotten significant portions of it.

And most services that are worth a damn quickly learn what the 'diploma mill' schools in the surrounding states are, and won't touch you with a bargepole.

Added: You /could/ call your local Fire Departments and ask them not what they recommend (because they'll be reluctant to do so), but where they send their FFs for EMT training, presuming they don't do it in-house/in-county.

This seems pretty well aimed at one particular school. That school happens to have a very stellar reputation in this and surrounding states.

Many people look at the three month Medic program as a diploma mill and fail to realize it is a program built for MILITARY medics to bridge their certs to civilian; not a zero to hero deal.

As far as the two week EMT thing goes, I will say it is popular enough that many FD's in the country send whole class loads of students to it.

 

[reaper]

This seems pretty well aimed at one particular school. That school happens to have a very stellar reputation in this and surrounding states.

Many people look at the three month Medic program as a diploma mill and fail to realize it is a program built for MILITARY medics to bridge their certs to civilian; not a zero to hero deal. There is no bridge for military medics! They need to go through a full course and have A&P, like the rest.As far as the two week EMT thing goes, I will say it is popular enough that many FD's in the country send whole class loads of students to it.

That right there explains why a 2 week course stays open!

 

[ceej]

That right there explains why a 2 week course stays open!

That three month course includes college level A&P before the "Medic" portion even starts

 

[Achromatic]

This seems pretty well aimed at one particular school. That school happens to have a very stellar reputation in this and surrounding states.

Many people look at the three month Medic program as a diploma mill and fail to realize it is a program built for MILITARY medics to bridge their certs to civilian; not a zero to hero deal.

As far as the two week EMT thing goes, I will say it is popular enough that many FD's in the country send whole class loads of students to it.

Actually, it wasn't. It was aimed at short duration courses in general with a heightened sense of caveat emptor. i.e. "If your school says they can turn you out as a medic in under 3 months, while all these other colleges are saying 9 months - 1 year, why is this?" (In your example, not knowing what school you are referring to, "because it is targeted at military medics bridging, not green new students" would be, to my mind, an acceptable answer).

 

[EMSLaw]

I think the consensus is that the programs aren't inherently evil, and that they would work for people with a medical background, but for someone who's only medical training is EMT-B, the compressed format is too short.

 

[DrParasite]

Many people look at the three month Medic program as a diploma mill and fail to realize it is a program built for MILITARY medics to bridge their certs to civilian; not a zero to hero deal.

the problem is, most MILITARY medics have minimal training in medical emergencies. guess what most of your ALS calls involve?

Most military medics deal primarily with people 18-30, and how to deal with traumatic injuries they sustain. They don't focus on medical emergencies, because most of your soldiers are pretty healthy.

before you argue this point, please answer this: how many military medics carry oxygen in the field? or a cardiac monitor? do they carry the full spectrum of drugs like civilian medics do?

and not taking anything away from those who do serve in our military, but there is a reason a military medic training is only equal to an EMT in the civilian world

 

[rhan101277]

Mississippi has some good schools, mine lasts 12 months. 5:00-10:30 PM three days a week.

But Jones county junior college has the longest at 18 months, three days a week 8:00AM-5:00PM

Both you get AASaramedicine

 

[ceej]

the problem is, most MILITARY medics have minimal training in medical emergencies. guess what most of your ALS calls involve?

Most military medics deal primarily with people 18-30, and how to deal with traumatic injuries they sustain. They don't focus on medical emergencies, because most of your soldiers are pretty healthy.

before you argue this point, please answer this: how many military medics carry oxygen in the field? or a cardiac monitor? do they carry the full spectrum of drugs like civilian medics do?

and not taking anything away from those who do serve in our military, but there is a reason a military medic training is only equal to an EMT in the civilian world

The way I understand it from talking to these students, most of them worked in military hospitals. There must be some validity to what they're doing, as the military is paying for the classes