EMT School

sb0219

Forum Ride Along
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Not sure if anyone here can help me, but I truly don't know what else to do. I have been in classes to become an EMT for about 2 months. I still don't understand any of it. Everyone in my class is failing, and I'm not sure what to do. My instructor has not been any help and doesn't see any problem with her teaching style. I am very disappointed as the medical field is the only thing I wanted to be in. If anyone has study guides or helpful tips please let me know. Thank you.
 

RESCUERANDYEMS

Forum Crew Member
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Not sure if anyone here can help me, but I truly don't know what else to do. I have been in classes to become an EMT for about 2 months. I still don't understand any of it. Everyone in my class is failing, and I'm not sure what to do. My instructor has not been any help and doesn't see any problem with her teaching style. I am very disappointed as the medical field is the only thing I wanted to be in. If anyone has study guides or helpful tips please let me know. Thank you.
We use JB Learning which is a great tool in my opinion. What study materials do you guys have? Are you just required to read the book and test or do you at least take notes?
 

mgr22

Forum Deputy Chief
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sb0219, when you say "Everyone in my class is failing," do you mean that literally? If so, how many people are in your class?
 

Kevinf

Forum Captain
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That's a fairly common drop rate. Read the assigned chapter, take the corresponding test. Pay attention on the practical/skills portions. JBLearning is a nice supplement. That's about all there is to it.

What specific questions did your teacher not answer?
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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You started with 50 people, and only 19 made it to the state exam? that's a 60% drop rate..... that's actually a lot higher than I would think, and could be cause for alarm. But in order to cause the alarm, you need to dig deeper, and ask why is the drop rate so high.....
1) are the students not passing the written exams?
2) are the students not passing the in class quizzes?
3) did they decide EMS was not for them?
4) were they unable to put forth the time commitment required for the class?
5) are students not passing the practical exams?

One of my colleagues was taking an EMT class, and wasn't doing very well. His instructor gave him a take home quiz that he needed to turn in the next class. So another EMS instructor and I decided to take a look at the exam. Out of 20 questions, I knew 3 or 4 of them. The rest were so obscure, or not relevant to the EMT class or anywhere near the EMT level, that I saw that the problem wasn't coworker, but the instructor. That instructor (and the program director) have since been replaced), and my colleague retook EMS class through another college.

If you don't understand any of EMT class, yet you are passing all the exams, maybe you simply lack confidence because you lack experience (which is super common by the way). Study guides are great but in the real word, you don't get to use them. If you don't understand A&P, why not take a college level anatomy and physiology class? if the diseases are causing you issues, maybe a pathophysiology class at the local CC would help you

I can respect your desire to be in the medical field, but if you aren't understanding any of it, than the possibility may be that the medical field is not for you.
 

Peak

ED/Prehospital Registered Nurse
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Back in the day... we lost about two thirds of the students by the end of my EMT class. By comparison we only lost 2 students out of my medic cohort of about 15 and 3 out of my nursing cohort of 90. At least around here these are fairly common rates in the college systems, the hospitals that teach seem to have lower drop/failure rates but I'm not sure if that is a good thing.

You are cramming an insane amount of information into a short period of time for students who often have no prior medical experience and few if any prerequisites. While there was also a vast amount of information in medic and nursing school I had already taken multiple classes that helped to gain a better understanding of the information being provided so everything just made more sense.
 

Xciceroguy

Forum Ride Along
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I watched YouTube videos and downloaded a few apps on my phone. Some stuff your going to need to know is how the heart works. Do a search on YouTube, some really good ones there. Good luck.
 

IamNomad

Forum Ride Along
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EMT-basic? the teacher is evidently doing something wrong if most of the class is failing. I just passed the NC EMTB exam in January after taking a hybrid EMT with Lenoir Community College. It wasn't easy, but only a few dropped out. Definitely use youtube as a resource, there is alot of good stuff on there. Lots of lectures and skill videos.

I am currently in week 5 of the 16 week AEMT/Intermediate program and it is pretty tough. Plus we have to complete 96 clinical hours or more depending on when you hit your mark with the required skills. I work fulltime and have a wife and 3 boys with full schedules so I am struggling with this course. Finding the time to get the clinicals done will be quite tough.
 
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