Benefit of Psychology

[johnnyreb132]

I'm just about to finish up my AP psychology course finally!
Anyway, does anyone believe that any psychology background is beneficial in anyway as an EMT? Personally, my course being the equivalent of a college intro, it did help introduce me to the functioning of the brain and all the nervous systems as well as possible reasons why the psych patients became who they are, but besides that I can't really think of any reasons that justified my taking of it.

 

[MMiz]

Really? I found that my Intro. Psychology course gave me a good foundation of knowledge when dealing with many of my patients emotional needs. It also provided basic information on disorders that I found useful. It by no means was a comprehensive course, but it provided a good foundation of knowledge.

 

[VentMedic]

An intro class is just the beginning. To get a better understanding one would need to take at least another college level psych class. There are also other systemic conditions that can result from very psych disorders which may be part of the disease or part of the treatment.

If you go on to be a Paramedic, understanding the different disorders will also give you an understanding of the meds they are taking. Many of these meds have different reactions especially when combined with other medications, some of which may be administered by the Paramedic which can cause very serious consequences. Sometimes giving something like Albuterol, to which many believe to be BLS, can have a serious cardiac effect and may need to be on a monitor just for a nebulizer if the patient is on certain medications for a psych disorder.

 

[Ridryder911]

I'm just about to finish up my AP psychology course finally!
Anyway, does anyone believe that any psychology background is beneficial in anyway as an EMT? Personally, my course being the equivalent of a college intro, it did help introduce me to the functioning of the brain and all the nervous systems as well as possible reasons why the psych patients became who they are, but besides that I can't really think of any reasons that justified my taking of it.

Just think every patient you will encounter really has a psychiatric episode. Pain, emotional distress, overwhelming emotions all produces instability of the psyche.

Now, do any of those above seem to be associated with the patients we encounter?

Then yes, Psychology was worth it. It should be a prerequisite prior to any health care career course.

R/r 911

 

[trevor1189]

I took psychology in high school and in college. I would say it is definitely helpful to have. I think pretty much everyone would benefit from taking psychology at some point in his or her life.

 

[BossyCow]

Aside from the benefit for dealing with pts with Psych issues, the general understanding of how the human brain functions, learns and reacts was invaluable to me.

 

[johnnyreb132]

My psychology course was mainly focused on human development, memory, language, learning, personality development, etc. The only parts of the course that I feel like helped me in EMS are the stress, perception, emotion, and abnormal chapters, but they were a very small portion and would say they were about 15% of the course's focus. Maybe the age of the book had something to do with it? I do believe it made me a more worldly person and encourage others to take some course in it, just make sure you research the class first. I'll probably take a more specific and in-depth course sometime in the near future.

 

[Burlyskink]

Oh, Im glad that you guys find it useful. I am taking it senior year of high school next year, along with my EMT-B class. I can't wait, and I am glad that I chose to sign up for it.

 

[WarDance]

As a current psych major I would say it would be most useful for an EMT to have taken clinical and abnormal psych. Also a psychopharmacology class would be pretty useful so you would have a better understanding of why someone is taking a medication and how it works.

The AP psych and general psych in college is just an overview of the main fields of study. Psychology is really much more!

 

[Melclin]

It should be a prerequisite prior to any health care career course.

... big +1 ...

 

[mperkel]

lol

Basically what I'm using as a base for my medical career!

I am a Psychobiology major. I feel with many of the classes I have taken, I have a better understanding of a career in medicine and dealing with patients then any other pre-med in their major.

Some of the classes I've taken:
Intro to Psycho bio
Health Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Cognitive Psychology

All very good intros to medicine. The health psychology directly relates to medicine and current research. Ab Psych has the entire DSM IV, going through an overview of disorders, treatments, and pharmacology. Cog Psych and intro to psychobio provide excellent starts for understanding the human body and it's processes.

Just my two cents.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Best partners I ever worked with were psych majors. Probably three-quarters of the practice of medicine is psycho-social, not physiological. In order to practice competently, you have to be able to communicate with your patients and understand where they are coming from. And to do that, you need a solid educational foundation in the psycho-social sciences. High School psych just scratches the surface. That's why they call it INTRODUCTION TO psychology.

There is no way for us to convince you with mere words on how important this part of your education is. It's not tangible until you use it. But once you start practicing, you will feel it. And once you begin observing those who do not have this education practicing, you will see the difference in their competence. And you'll be glad you're the one who has it.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Mperkel, if you want a real edge for management potential in your future, you would do well to take Organizational Psychology. The vast majority of the questions that we constantly hear people ask about how to manage their personnel are answered in that course. Even if you aren't interested in management, it helps you in your dealings with management.

 

[mperkel]

Mperkel, if you want a real edge for management potential in your future, you would do well to take Organizational Psychology. The vast majority of the questions that we constantly hear people ask about how to manage their personnel are answered in that course. Even if you aren't interested in management, it helps you in your dealings with management.

I've done a little bit of that, I'm sure it will be covered later in more details, I still have a few more psych classes to complete.
I am currently pre-medicine, working as an EMT. I completely agree with what you said in your previous post.