# What should I start studying before my Paramedic program starts?



## nbas2b (Jul 2, 2008)

In about 2 weeks, My paramedic program is starting at NCTI. I just become an EMT about a month ago, so I dont have any experience as an EMT. I'm really nervous and excited at the same time, I've heard its pretty much hell for a year, but well worth it. Is that true? Do you guys have any suggestions on how to study or what to study? What worked for you guys and what didn't? A part of the reason why I'm so nervous is because I did struggle in the EMT class, but I wont let my learning disability stop from doing what I want. And I've heard that if I struggled in my EMT class, don't have any experience as an EMT, Im setting myself up for failure. 

ANY SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.


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## MSDeltaFlt (Jul 2, 2008)

Advice?  Easy.  Don't go just yet.  Wait at least a year.  In the meantime, get a position with a busy ALS service.  The busier, the better.  One thing you absolutely cannot learn from a book is experience.  If you start medic school now, you will realize that you only thought you struggled in EMT class.  You ain't seen nothin' yet.  Give it a year.  Then go.


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## jedirye (Jul 2, 2008)

I disagree. Sure, experience does account for something (albeit a large part), but I've seen first hand what happens when an EMT goes right into medic and I've come to this conclusion: it depends. You'll see some fail, pass and be horrible, pass and be mediocre, or pass and be great. It depends on who you are, how quickly you pick up things, etc. etc. I would suggest working as an EMT _while _in medic school so you'll at least have that year experience before actually being a medic. Stay focused and study hard and you *yourself *will determine what kind of medic you will be.


-rye


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## mdkemt (Jul 2, 2008)

I think either way is fine.  I had to work 2 years FT before I could go into my paramedic in which I also start in a month!
I always review the text.  Try and refresh my memory of all the material and do quizes to see where my strengths and weaknesses are.
Good Luck!

MDKEMT


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## nbas2b (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks a lot guys. Well I do take longer than most people to catch on or absorb the information, so that means I just have to study longer and harder, Kinda sucks when you gotta learning disability. 

Do you guys if you have to have an ambulance drivers Cert. to work for AMR as a basic?

That was my plan to work as a basic through medic school, I just wasnt sure if personally I would be able to do it.  I guess i'm confused on whats so important to having experience as an Basic, because I know the first 6 months of working with AMR as a basic, your stuck on just transports. What can you possibly learn from that?


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## IrishMedic (Jul 2, 2008)

you can learn a lot on transports, its great time to practice vitals and monitoring etc...transports dont always go to plan....remember that....when your transporting u can look at a patients chart cos theyre in ur care and learn about conditions or if i come across a weird allergy or drug im not familiar with; things like that, ill ask the patient how it effects them...theres always opportunity to learn in the back of an ambulance, even the most mundane transports u mite pick something up, and remember use the time to make sure u can get BP by auscultation etc.. (equipment can always fail) and if ur pt is on a monitor try learn cardiac rhythms etc.......if u have to study longer n harder in the long run you could make a better medic....dont let it get you down, youll do it if you really want to, you can do anything you want....you gotta believe you can....


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## Sapphyre (Jul 2, 2008)

nbas, yes, you have to have the ambulance driver's cert to work for AMR.


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 2, 2008)

if your going in with no A&P tehn your going to get blind sided. if you can read an entire 1 year A&P book in 2 weeks and retain most of it...then your good.


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## nbas2b (Jul 3, 2008)

I also have one other question. What do you guys think would be more beneficial? Working as a ER Tech or working as an EMT. 

There are positive and negatives with each. But it seems to me that I would earn a lot more working as a ER Tech just because I would be around doctors and nurses. What do you guys think and where do you guys think I should try to get a job with?


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## IrishMedic (Jul 3, 2008)

i can see the pro's n con's of doing both. if you could get on with a service that you'd be working with medics i think you could learn alot from that. i mean you get street experience, driving experience and also your medic could help you all the way through...it be like doin clinicals all the time...personally i would favour ambulance over ED. thats jus my opinion. go with what will work best for you


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 3, 2008)

nbas2b said:


> I also have one other question. What do you guys think would be more beneficial? Working as a ER Tech or working as an EMT.
> 
> There are positive and negatives with each. But it seems to me that I would earn a lot more working as a ER Tech just because I would be around doctors and nurses. What do you guys think and where do you guys think I should try to get a job with?


 Depends on what you plan on continuing up to be. if you want to work in the hospital one day then ER tech is great. but beware you will learn to do things as an ER tech that you cannot do as a Basic.


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## Jeremy89 (Jul 3, 2008)

mikeylikesit said:


> Depends on what you plan on continuing up to be. if you want to work in the hospital one day then ER tech is great. but beware you will learn to do things as an ER tech that you cannot do as a Basic.



Like what?  Only thing I came across was foley placement.... it may be different for your area though.


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## nbas2b (Jul 3, 2008)

Yea but if I got a job with as an EMT, Id be working with AMR, and they require I work BLS transport for atleast 6 months before I can move on to dispatch calls.


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 4, 2008)

Jeremy89 said:


> Like what? Only thing I came across was foley placement.... it may be different for your area though.


 It is a bit different in every area. Depends on what the ER docs/RN's are willing to let you do. i did sutures  as a basic because i got good at it and they always called me in while i was working to do them. i did the foleys but hated that so every time a new RN came in and asked if i could start one i would say "no body has shown me how yet".


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## shannon williams (Jul 28, 2008)

I had very little experience as a basic before I took my paramedic, which I just passed, by the way, and I think I'm better for the lack of experience, and that is why I passed.  The less experience that I have, the less bad habits I can develop.  I had to learn everything by the book right away, that left no room for mistakes in testing due to confusing the way the book says to do things versus the your squad does things.  Know what I mean?


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## awhiting (Jul 31, 2008)

*study material*

I too am starting medic school in 3 weeks. Are there any websites I can go to to purchase things like flash cards or study guides for things like drugs and A&P terms?

thanks!


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 31, 2008)

awhiting said:


> I too am starting medic school in 3 weeks. Are there any websites I can go to to purchase things like flash cards or study guides for things like drugs and A&P terms?
> 
> thanks!


 There are a ton, just Google it. There are no sites in particular that i have found to be better than the other. So it is basically as far as i know, just a take your pick type thing.


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## shannon williams (Aug 3, 2008)

awhiting said:


> I too am starting medic school in 3 weeks. Are there any websites I can go to to purchase things like flash cards or study guides for things like drugs and A&P terms?
> 
> thanks!



www.infomedguides.com
There is a great EMS Field Guide, ALS version.  fits in your pocket.


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## Sapphyre (Aug 3, 2008)

Just a correction, that's a bad address.  Try www.informedguides.com


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## Hastings (Aug 3, 2008)

awhiting said:


> I too am starting medic school in 3 weeks. Are there any websites I can go to to purchase things like flash cards or study guides for things like drugs and A&P terms?
> 
> thanks!



If your program is any good, they should give you that stuff when you start it.


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## cakilcrease (Aug 3, 2008)

i am in the paramedic class right now in southeast texas, i have a year and a half under my belt as a basic and am making a 85% in the class while working full time, doing clinicals, and raising two children.  it is also is the hardest thing that i have ever done!!  if you are prepared to not have a life for the next year or however long the course is and are ready for ridicule from paramedics that did wait a little while to take the class, i say go for it!!!  but do not crack a book until you have gotten into the classroom, getting ahead of yourself is the worst mistake you could possible make in this class.  you will learn everything you need to learn in good time... my advise to you is to get as much sleep over the next two weeks, go see a movie, go out to a nice dinner with your family and explain to them that they will not see you for the next little while.  this class is very intense, informative, and i curse the day i signed up for it... i also know that i am going to be able to make a difference in the world when i finish. just remember you only get out or it what ever you put into it... SO STUDY YOUR BUTT OFF AND DON'T LET ANYONE (EVEN THOSE THAT YOU RESPECT) STAND IN OUR WAY (AND THEY WILL).


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## Katie (Aug 4, 2008)

i'd have to agree.  also keep in mind that the way that the material is presented in your book or books may not be anything like what the instructors will teach.  for us the book is like a supplement in addition to the lecture and the printed material we're given each class.

once you start school it's amazing how life goes away.  enjoy the your time off now


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## fcfiremedic (Aug 19, 2008)

class for me went a lot easier the more books i got. granted, the books your instructor will provide contain the information you need, but i cant even tell you how many different pharmacology guides and EKG books I have. Also, know your A&P as well as you possibly can. I have several friends that just took the EMT-P NR written and say it hit really hard on A&P and Mechanisms of Action for meds. Ive seen some paramedic classes just teach pharmacology like, "ok, you give 'x' drug when this happens, and give 'x' amount". i hate that. pure cookbook medicine. I STRONGLY believe its important to know WHY you are giving a drug, and HOW it works on your body. Don't try to "memorize" the material. unless you can truely grasp it, and understand it, memorizing wont really do you any good (except when it comes to ACLS algorithms). I can teach an entire paramedic class to a 2 year old chimpanzee, the key is understanding the material and finding a way to relate to it.


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## VentMedic (Aug 19, 2008)

Reading through the posts on this thread should give one an idea why a standardized and structured EMS education should be implemented.

There are several reasons why people struggle with Paramedic or even EMT-B school.   The students may not have been exposed to any prior class work since high school.  Their study habits may not have been that great in high school and now they are asked to comprehend a fair amount of material in a relatively short amount of time.  And no, in comparison to all the other healthcare professions, EMT-P is just "certificate" of information in many places with only 700 "hours of training" being required.   The exception of course is for those in a college degree program.

When one goes through a college degree program, there are several prerequisites that serve many purposes.  Besides the content of the class itself, it prepares one to read, study and comprehend many different concepts.  Even English literature has a purpose for reading comprehension, analytical study of the data and putting your views of the subject on paper from both an objective and subjective point of view.   

If you take many science classes such as A&P (at least 2 semesters), Microbiology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology (2 semesters), Psychology and at least College Math or Algebra, you will be prepared to understand and apply the concepts Paramedic school is asking of you.  As it is now in some places, Paramedic school is more *memorization than comprehension*.  With the proper prerequisites, you would already understand how the body works and what a medication does. You just need to apply it for some aspect emergency medicine.    

Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiology and all the other healthcare students usually look forward to *starting classes in their chosen profession after 1 - 2 years of prerequisites classes.* The rest of their classes will then take another 1 - 3 years minimum but with their specialty in focus.   It is actually exciting to start a learning process knowing you have been adequately prepared. 

During the perquisite classes, students may also be introduced to other professions.  One may find that EMS,  patient care or any part of health care is not for them early even before they start EMT or Paramedic classes.  However, the other classes and study habits can be transferred to another program of study.

I mentioned before about the Paramedic program being just a certificate for others.  Some places do require RRTs and RNs to be Paramedic "certified" to do flight if it requires scene response.  Often there can be a challenge or a short bridge class of 200 - 300 hours or a couple of college courses.   They have all the A&P and Pharmacology information and now just need to know how to apply it to EMS.   After their years of studying for their own profession and more hours of qualifying for professional certs within that profession, even 700 hours is not a big deal.   It takes an RN almost 1700 hours to qualify for the CCRN test.  Neonatal RNs and RRTs usually need a Bachelors degree along with many more professional certifications (not including PALS and NRP which are basic)  and 5 years of experience before they do transport outside of the hospital.


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