# Ex-Student sues over EMT course



## RESQ_5_1 (Sep 10, 2009)

An Edmonton man is suing the Canadian College of Emergency Medical Services for $88,000, alleging the emergency medical technician course he took was not up to snuff and he was unjustly failed after unsuccessfully completing the ambulance practicum. 


http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/columnists/tony_blais/2009/08/23/10570941-sun.html


----------



## nomofica (Sep 11, 2009)

I was gonna post this after reading the article in the newspaper, but I never got around to it.

CCoEMS is a joke of an institution.


----------



## rescue99 (Sep 11, 2009)

nomofica said:


> I was gonna post this after reading the article in the newspaper, but I never got around to it.
> 
> CCoEMS is a joke of an institution.



There are many institutions which need to be shut down. Guess I should say; we absolutely need to strip a lot of IC licenses and find some decent quality instructors/education coordinators. It is sad that ethics hasn't a real strong presence in EMS education. Inconsistent at best.


----------



## fortsmithman (Sep 11, 2009)

nomofica said:


> I was gonna post this after reading the article in the newspaper, but I never got around to it.
> 
> CCoEMS is a joke of an institution.


I was thinking about applying there for EMR good thing I didn't. What's your opinion of Emergency Services Academy as a school.


----------



## nomofica (Sep 13, 2009)

fortsmithman said:


> I was thinking about applying there for EMR good thing I didn't. What's your opinion of Emergency Services Academy as a school.



I'm not sure as to how bad they are when it comes to EMR, but definitely if you pursue EMT-A or -P, CCoEMS is the worst avenue to go down.

I had a buddy go through ESA for his EMR. He said it wasn't too bad, but "not too bad" is the extent of my knowledge about ESA other than the fact that it's in Sherwood Park and not Edmonton, but there's not much of a distance between the two cities (Sherwood Park is basically just a giant suburb of Edmonton). From my discussions with him, it sounds like the instructors are decent and the equipment (CPR mannequins, stretchers, OPA/NPAs, training AEDs, etc) are, for the most part, well taken care of. So my opinion of ESA is that of "it's no NAIT, but it's no CCoEMS either". I think it's about $100-200 cheaper than NAIT but I could be greatly mistaken with that. At NAIT it was $1100 and $100 for the text.


----------



## fiddlesticks (Sep 13, 2009)

so did all his class mates fail or just him. cause if thats the case then maybe he just wasnt good at this job. i know lots of ppl who didnt pass and it was only casue they sucked at skills.


----------



## nomofica (Sep 28, 2009)

fiddlesticks said:


> so did all his class mates fail or just him. cause if thats the case then maybe he just wasnt good at this job. i know lots of ppl who didnt pass and it was only casue they sucked at skills.



CCoEMS has a very, very high failure rate. Especially when in contrast to NAIT or ESA.

If the institute's failure rate is pretty high, I'm pretty sure they're doing something wrong. Face it, I'm pretty sure reality isn't saying "all the crappy prehospital health care providers go to CCoEMS and the rest of the good ones go to NAIT and ESA". That's more unlikely than me winning the lottery this month, and I don't even buy lottery tickets.


----------



## Medic One (Sep 28, 2009)

In CT all programs must be registered with the State Office of EMS and also with the Regional offices that report to the State.

They have to advise of the class dates, size and submit the syllabus outlining the program.  Post program they must report class pass and fail rate.

I would contact the local regional EMS office and State OEMS to get stats on programs to see what would best suit you.

The other think that you need to remember is that the program is a teaching tool and it is up to the student to study the content of the books and not only their notes from what is taught.


----------



## SES4 (Sep 28, 2009)

It's really a simple concept:

A course gives you the knowledge.  What you put into it is what you get out of it.  And hard work pays off.


----------



## rescue99 (Sep 28, 2009)

SES4 said:


> It's really a simple concept:
> 
> A course gives you the knowledge.  What you put into it is what you get out of it.  And hard work pays off.



OOOOO..I don't agree this is true as often as we'd like. Only a % of the population can teach a complex course to themselves. If a course is spooged, a significant portion will fail that would otherwise have passed. Upward of around 20% more will fail a poorly taught course. Considering a normal course will already lose +10%, this is a lot.


----------



## SES4 (Sep 28, 2009)

rescue99 said:


> OOOOO..I don't agree this is true as often as we'd like. Only a % of the population can teach a complex course to themselves. If a course is spooged, a significant portion will fail that would otherwise have passed. Upward of around 20% more will fail a poorly taught course. Considering a normal course will already lose +10%, this is a lot.



I was not referring to extremely poorly taught course.  _You do have a valid point though._  Even in poorly taught courses people can do well.  Sure it makes it a heck of a lot easier to do well when the course is done the way it should be but nontheless people can succeed with A LOT of work outside class.  

Anyone whose ever attended a somewhat large to large public university can attest to this.  The situation: Professor who barely speaks English teaching a class in English.  Somehow there are people who get C's and above, heck some even get A's.  Some of those who get higher grades, even some who earn an A are in a major that has nothing to do with this course.  I know from personal experience.


----------



## Aquariae (Oct 29, 2009)

SES4 said:


> It's really a simple concept:
> 
> A course gives you the knowledge.  What you put into it is what you get out of it.  And hard work pays off.



This is SO true. The bottom line is that I can use the classes as a guide to get the basics but I will need to teach myself the text. Perhaps that is the case in any institution ...

I agree that if I knew then what I know now, I would not have chosen CCoEMS either.


----------

