a female perspective, please

[PapaBear434]

It's all stuff that needs to be gone over in the cardiac chapter, and if your instructor was just skimming through because he or she assumed you should know, then they were a horrible instructor.

Having looked back over my BLS book, they covered very little of that in the cardiac section. Anatomy, what valve does what, and what vessels pump where. But it has nothing about the nodes, SVT, or various nerve "tricks."

Maybe it's just Virginia's protocols, or maybe it was the fact a BLS certified fireman taught our BLS class.

 

[Sasha]

Having looked back over my BLS book, they covered very little of that in the cardiac section. Anatomy, what valve does what, and what vessels pump where. But it has nothing about the nodes, SVT, or various nerve "tricks."

Maybe it's just Virginia's protocols, or maybe it was the fact a BLS certified fireman taught our BLS class.

I was talking about your Medic class, but even in Basic at the very end my book went a little into EKGs, different rhythms and such, just to understand what was going on.

 

[PapaBear434]

I was talking about your Medic class, but even in Basic at the very end my book went a little into EKGs, different rhythms and such, just to understand what was going on.

Yeah, our BLS didn't cover any of that. As far as my introductory ALS classes, they were talking about the vagals and SVT the first couple days. Like I said, I had JUST come out of my BLS class the semester previous, and had approximately 24 hours of actual road time under my belt. They went into it later on, what the vagus nerve was, what it did, how to stimulate it... All of that in depth later on, no worries there.

But what I'm saying is that when you got in there, they expected everyone to have a baseline of knowledge and experience that comes from just being out on on the truck and watching the medics do their "thang." And this was, obviously, above me.

Taking a little time off to see the real-world application of this stuff was well worth it, even if I didn't think it at the time.

 

[yogakat]

.

What was the original thread?

ummm...my original question was 'a femal perspective' on being an EMT...at some point i asked which would be better, EMT experience or straight to medic school...boy did THAT generate some responses

not that i'm not grateful...they've given me lots to think about...and i'm not letting anyone know which i'm thinking...

and i'm really thankful to all who posted reponses to my original post...it looks as though my marriage CAN survive this!

and, i'm a great gift chooser for those that mentioned that particular benefit of having a female partner

 

[traumaangel26]

ummm...my original question was 'a femal perspective' on being an EMT...at some point i asked which would be better, EMT experience or straight to medic school...boy did THAT generate some responses

not that i'm not grateful...they've given me lots to think about...and i'm not letting anyone know which i'm thinking...

and i'm really thankful to all who posted reponses to my original post...it looks as though my marriage CAN survive this!

and, i'm a great gift chooser for those that mentioned that particular benefit of having a female partner

Like reaper stated before make sure your husband does not get jealous easily. Let ur husband know you will be working with male partners and let him meet ur partner.
My ex-husband could not handle the fact that I worked with other males. We worked 24 hr shifts so we slept in the same room. No big deal for you or me but it was for him.
If you have a bad call talk to ur husband about it. He may not fully understand but as long as he feels like he is a part of what you are doing I think you will be fine.B)

 

[Kookaburra]

I've noticed that guys who get jealous like that end up being the ones who cheat. They are worried that you'll do it because they know they would if they were in a similar situation.

 

[AJ Hidell]

1. Save the war stories for smoke breaks or lunch.

2. Read all materials at least twice before class.

3. Listen at least 20 times more than you speak.

4. Remember it isn't about What you know, its about LEARNING what you DON"T KNOW.

Quality post, Duke.

But what I'm saying is that when you got in there, they expected everyone to have a baseline of knowledge and experience that comes from just being out on on the truck and watching the medics do their "thang." And this was, obviously, above me.

Taking a little time off to see the real-world application of this stuff was well worth it, even if I didn't think it at the time.

Papa, I completely understand what you are saying. However, your logic is flawed. You could have known all that information, and succeeded, simply by following the four rules that smvde listed above.

There is very little that should surprise you in class if you reading your assignments carefully and completely ahead of time. This is why distance education can work so well. But it is also a reason why people fail. They go into a program not to learn, but to be taught. Instead of taking responsibility for their own education, they just sit there and expect it to sink in through osmosis. Instead of taking their reading assignments seriously -- which is the greatest possible factor in successful learning -- they think that their instructor is going to tell them everything they need to immediately know, and that they will just learn the rest in the field. It doesn't work that way. And it absolutely cannot work that way in the shorter paramedic courses.

The experienced EMTs are the worst about that "teach me" attitude. They learned a few tricks in the field that have them convinced that they have an "edge", so they take the educational process for granted. And that is why those with little or no field experience have a significant edge in paramedic education.

 

[Aidey]

Just because something is mentioned in class, but isn't explained right at that second doesn't make the school a bad place. It sounds like PB left medic school, so it's entierly possible he left prior to that section being taught.

Edit: Good grief this discussion moved fast.

 

[Aidey]

I'm a little late to the game here, but different people are going to progress differently in this field. For some people they need to get experience and familiar with EMS prior to becoming a medic, for others they are able to go straight into Medic school. In my Medic class the people who had experience did better across the board than anyone else. We were evenly split, 6 with experience, and 6 straight out of B school. All 6 with experience finished the program and got their NREMT first try. Of the 6 without experience 3 dropped out, and 1 never passed his NREMT, 1 took 3 tries to pass NREMT and the 6th actually did really well.

I personally think that there should be a 1 year minimum requirement between getting your EMT B and MICP with a minimum number of pt contacts during that time. (Unless the person has prior approved experience, such as military medic, nurse etc). I think this would really help weed out a lot of people that are not ready for medic school.

I had 2 1/2 years of experience as a basic before I went into Medic school and even though I'm sure I had to unlearn some bad habits, I couldn't have done it without the prior experience.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Neither graduation, drop out, or failure rates are a measure of how good a practitioner a student ultimately becomes in practice after graduation. And how good a practitioner you ultimately become is the only measure of success that counts.

 

[reaper]

I'm a little late to the game here, but different people are going to progress differently in this field. For some people they need to get experience and familiar with EMS prior to becoming a medic, for others they are able to go straight into Medic school. In my Medic class the people who had experience did better across the board than anyone else. We were evenly split, 6 with experience, and 6 straight out of B school. All 6 with experience finished the program and got their NREMT first try. Of the 6 without experience 3 dropped out, and 1 never passed his NREMT, 1 took 3 tries to pass NREMT and the 6th actually did really well.

I personally think that there should be a 1 year minimum requirement between getting your EMT B and MICP with a minimum number of pt contacts during that time. (Unless the person has prior approved experience, such as military medic, nurse etc). I think this would really help weed out a lot of people that are not ready for medic school.

I had 2 1/2 years of experience as a basic before I went into Medic school and even though I'm sure I had to unlearn some bad habits, I couldn't have done it without the prior experience.

So what is different from medic and RN school? There is no experiance required to go to Rn or med school. You get the education, then you gain the experiance. What makes EMS so different from the rest of the medical world??

 

[PapaBear434]

Just because something is mentioned in class, but isn't explained right at that second doesn't make the school a bad place. It sounds like PB left medic school, so it's entierly possible he left prior to that section being taught.

Edit: Good grief this discussion moved fast.

Actually, no. That class was taught by a first time teacher, who was teaching to the national standard. Unfortunately, the State of Virginia treats "Intro to ALS" as EMT- Enhanced school (non-standard certification unique to Virginia and Minnesota that allows for certain meds, IV's, and intubation.) Thus, the ciriculum didn't match.

Out of the combined 32 people out of both of her summer classes, only four passed. The college tossed our grades and offered us to take the class again because of it.

Either way, though, my time of just working BLS was important to sharpen my BLS skills. ALS is fine and good, but if you have crappy initial BLS skills, you won't make a very good medic in my view.

 

[reaper]

Actually, no. That class was taught by a first time teacher, who was teaching to the national standard. Unfortunately, the State of Virginia treats "Intro to ALS" as EMT- Enhanced school (non-standard certification unique to Virginia and Minnesota that allows for certain meds, IV's, and intubation.) Thus, the ciriculum didn't match.

Out of the combined 32 people out of both of her summer classes, only four passed. The college tossed our grades and offered us to take the class again because of it.

Either way, though, my time of just working BLS was important to sharpen my BLS skills. ALS is fine and good, but if you have crappy initial BLS skills, you won't make a very good medic in my view.

Again, Why can you not hone all the skills after medic school? You get to hone the skills and have more education and knowledge to help your pt with, from the get go!

 

[medic417]

Again, Why can you not hone all the skills after medic school? You get to hone the skills and have more education and knowledge to help your pt with, from the get go!

Applause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Excellent. Common sense says better education would lead to better patient care.

 

[CAOX3]

I would definitly spend some time as an EMT first. Not for the experience, although I think its helpful.

To decide if this is something you want to do with the rest of your life, before you drop ten-thousand dollars then figure out you dont want any part of EMS.

 

[BossyCow]

A good student who is heavily invested in becoming a good medic will do well. Some will work as an EMT first, others won't. Crappy medics will come out of both approaches and so will excellent ones. I think the quality of the medic relies as much on what they bring to the school as the school itself. The best school in the world isn't going to turn a lazy, shortcut taking slacker into a good medic. Nor is a bad school going to stand in the way of someone deeply invested in learning. It may make it more difficult, but it won't stop them.

We learn from every patient, every call and every other medical professional we work with. It never stops.

 

[Aidey]

So what is different from medic and RN school? There is no experiance required to go to Rn or med school. You get the education, then you gain the experiance. What makes EMS so different from the rest of the medical world??

Medics have a lot of autonomy compared to everyone else. RNs have A LOT more over sight and assistance, both by their peers and Doctors, RTs etc. They are also required to do more clinical hours.

Even pre-hospital flight nurses are required to have experience before they can be flight nurses in most cases.

As much as we practice medicine, I think Medics should at least be competent and well versed in the skills they are going to be using before they are let loose on patients without any support.

 

[Aidey]

Double post, oops.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Medics have a lot of autonomy compared to everyone else. RNs have A LOT more over sight and assistance, both by their peers and Doctors, RTs etc.

And doctors have more autonomy than any of them. Yet doctors are not required to work for two years as an RN before medical school. Again, this nonsense simply does not happen in ANY other medical profession, so it is proven an invalid theory.

They are also required to do more clinical hours.

Exactly. So forget that stupid EMT experience stuff and spend more time in clinicals. This is the FAILURE of so many paramedic schools. Instead of taking responsibility for educating, they expect that all their students will have a foundation simply from "experience" which cannot be qualified. And this is what happens when most of our instructors have no more education than the people they are teaching. If you don't have formal education, you cannot know how to give formal education.

Even pre-hospital flight nurses are required to have experience before they can be flight nurses in most cases.

Now you are talking about specialization, which is a very different scenario from initial education, no matter what the field. Keep it apples to apples.

As much as we practice medicine, I think Medics should at least be competent and well versed in the skills they are going to be using before they are let loose on patients without any support.

Agreed. But until they get it in paramedic school, they cannot get the practice to acquire that skill competency. Spending twenty years as an EMT-B is going to contribute nothing to that requirement.

 

[sir.shocksalot]

As medic school stands right now, you need experience as an EMT to succeed. I would love to see EMS go the way AJ wants it to go, but as it stands right now the clinical experience received in medic school isn't adequate. Also keep in mind that as a paramedic, more often than not, you will be the only one on scene that knows ACLS. The experience you gain as an EMT will allow you to stay calm in that situation. Now if school required more clinical ride time, then yes experience would be pointless because you would gain better experience on your rides.