# medic school @ st. johns in springfield, MO....



## emt_angel25 (Sep 29, 2009)

ok  so i went through medic school once and dropped the program for some outside reasons.

so im thinking that i want to go back and i really have been looking into applying for the program at st. johns in springfield. 

what i want to know are there any missouri medics who went there or if you know anyone who went there and what they think of the program as a whole.


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## EMS49393 (Sep 29, 2009)

I am a product of St. John's.  It's taught by Bob Page, and it's so good it makes other paramedic programs jealous.  It's an intense program and you need to be committed to pass.  Classes were two full days a week.  The mornings were didactic and the afternoons were generally scenarios.  He broke the class up into teams of 3-4 people and those would be your "partners" for the entire class.  Scenarios were not easy and you got to perform in front of the entire class.  

If you haven't had college level A&P you would have to take it online during during the program.  It's not your standard grade online A&P course, Bob uses the Martini book which makes the Marieb book read like a kindergarten text.  There is also a cadaver and pathology/perfusion lab at Ohio State that the entire class attends during a weekend in March.  The year I went, we also got to do a cadaver lab at SMS with Lifeline.  They are required, period.

You are required to attend all the weekend symposiums held by St. John's that occur throughout the class.  There are 2 or 3 of them.  The David Miller Symposium is one of them.  I can't recall the name of the other one off the top of my head.

You have to attend several other weekend classes, NRP, ACLS, PALS, ABLS, ITLS, ITLS - access, and a few others.  I graduated with 11 additional "fluff" cards from the program, most of them weekend requirements.

You must wear your uniform during class, clinicals, and ride time.

Clinical hours are done at St. John's Hospital.  You will do rotations in nearly every department including Cath Lab and Respiratory Therapy, which is something not many classes make students attend.  We did rotations in OR, Peds, OB, burn unit, MICU, SICU, CCU, Cath Lab, ER, and Respiratory.  You will also do a physician mentorship in the ER.  In addition, you do extensive ride time.  You have minimum skills to meet.  You also have to document a complete H&P on every patient you assess.  You'll have a minimum number of encounter types you need, such as 100 medical patients, 50 cardiac, 20 obstetrics, 40 pediatric, etc.  The H&P is done in the same format the physician uses.  They are generally one full typed page with attachments as needed, i.e., ECG's, capnography, etc.  I had over 250 patient profiles by the end of class.

There are seven modules.  There is a general pharmacology class at the beginning of the class that goes over the mechanisms of drug classes however all the actual drugs are learned during the class.  For example, you start your medical module with respiratory emergencies.  This is when you'll learn the respiratory drugs.   The final exam consists of six essay questions.  He gives you a scenario and you are required to regurgitate everything you would do including possible complications and what you'd do when they arise.  Six scenarios.  It took me over three hours to complete.  (And yes, I got a high A on it).  You also have an exit interview with the medical director of the EMS service.  She will plop the single volume paramedic text in front of you, tell you to close your eyes, open the book and point.  She builds a scenario based on what you were lucky enough to chose.  You also have to get a letter from your EMS preceptors that endorse you to be approved to sit for the National Registry exam.  I'll warn you now, you can complete his entire program including clinicals, and if you can't function to Bob's satisfaction, he will NOT let you test.  He is not willing to put his name to any paramedic he doesn't believe in.

They use the five volume Brady text.  Bob is good friends with Bryan Bledsoe, whom I was not only lucky enough to meet, but he autographed my volume 1.  He also provides the Walraven text for basic ECG's, and his 12-lead book.  Prepare yourself for over 400 hours lecture in cardiology.  He also gives you a fantastic massive drug guide, a medication calculation textbook, and some other textbooks.  You'll get most of them the first day, so bring a big book bag.  

Bob has a lot of guest speakers attend his classes and hold lectures.  The medical director even guest lectures a few of his classes.  He draws from the large cache of specialty nurses to hold lectures as well.  

There is an entrance exam.  It consists of basic reading comprehension, language skills, and mathematics.  There is also some sort of psychological test you have to take.  There is a minimum score for the reading, language, and math exams.  You can meet the minimum and still be turned away if you have a low score.  He takes the top performers first.  

I'm not telling you all this to scare you off, because believe me, if you work hard and you really want this, Bob can make it happen for you.  He'll help you as much as you're willing to help yourself.  You'll get a first class education.  In addition, the class is accredited by Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, so you take this class, take the other required classes at SBU and have a degree, and a degree is not only preferable, it sets you apart from many other paramedics in this country.    

I never realized how important a persons paramedic instruct was until I applied for my current job.  I'm reasonably certain I was hired because I went through Bob's class.  Sometimes reputation is everything.


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## ah2388 (Sep 29, 2009)

EMS49393 said:


> I am a product of St. John's.  It's taught by Bob Page, and it's so good it makes other paramedic programs jealous.  It's an intense program and you need to be committed to pass.  Classes were two full days a week.  The mornings were didactic and the afternoons were generally scenarios.  He broke the class up into teams of 3-4 people and those would be your "partners" for the entire class.  Scenarios were not easy and you got to perform in front of the entire class.
> 
> If you haven't had college level A&P you would have to take it online during during the program.  It's not your standard grade online A&P course, Bob uses the Martini book which makes the Marieb book read like a kindergarten text.  There is also a cadaver and pathology/perfusion lab at Ohio State that the entire class attends during a weekend in March.  The year I went, we also got to do a cadaver lab at SMS with Lifeline.  They are required, period.
> 
> ...


This sounds very similar to SCCAD in St. Charles, MO

Sounds like a phenomenal program


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## emt_angel25 (Sep 29, 2009)

that is great!! thank you so so much....this decision is tough for me. you hear so much good and so much bad about every school you look into. i hadnt heard too much about this program. im still considering everything i know and hopefully will know where i want to go by the first of the year. 
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!


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## DT4EMS (Oct 1, 2009)

I never attended their program but I know a lot of people who have gone through it. Most of them became sound medics. In the area it is well respected. 

And yes, so is SCCAD in St. Charles. I know several folks in both areas.

Kip


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