lawndartcatcher
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Rather than hijacking an existing thread I figured I'd post here and let other folks chime in / complain / ask questions (but NOT flame - go do that on one of the various "whacker" threads if you need that kind of ego pump).
Accelerated EMT-B (NOT PARAMEDIC. Please do NOT post about so-called accelerated Paramedic classes. Paramedic classes are significantly different from EMT-B classes because of the larger scope, clinical requirements, etc. Just so we're clear - please don't chime in saying "I took an accelerated Paramedic class at so-and-so". The purpose of this thread is to get opinion and spark discussion about accelerated EMT-B classes. If you want to start a similar thread about accelerated Paramedic classes that'd probably be a cool thread on its own. Just not here.) courses are classes who take the same requirements of any other EMT-B class (# of hours, material covered, etc.) and compress them into a shorter time period (typically by increasing the number of hours spent in class in a day).
The up side, of course, is that you end up finishing the class a lot faster. For folks who can afford to spend the majority of their day in class it's a nice option.
There are several obvious downsides; first, students need to work a lot harder to absorb and internalize information. Often with these classes you end up with a lot of information regurgitation (I memorized the muscles of the forearm for this quiz. This quiz is now over, so I'll just go ahead and forget that information since I need that short-term memory for the next quiz) and it's harder to cram stuff into long-term memory. Folks with less-than-stellar studying habits or folks without a lot of practice being students really struggle with these classes since they're trying to remember the bones of the forearm at the same time as they're trying to remember how to study for a test.
The other major obvious problem with a "condensed" class is that you need to be able to find 6-8 hours per day for most of the week so you can be in class. This doesn't include clinical time, study time, sleep time, etc. Unless you have a very, very liberal boss it's going to be tough for anyone who's working a full-time job to survive one of these classes. Yes, there are some superhuman people who can do this, but they're often the exception and aren't particularly fun to be around while they're doing it.
I, personally, took my EMT-B in my last year of college over the intersession. Since there were 5 colleges in the area there was enough of a pool of people that the guy who ran it (an absolutely great instructor) scheduled it over "Jan term". So I ended up taking and completing the class in 17 days by going 6 1/2 hours a day, 6 days a week (this was '95, when the minimum # of hours were less but there was still a clinical component in MA). Needless to say I had the luxury of being able to concentrate mostly on the class (I was also writing my senior thesis at the time but had no other coursework and was only working 15-20 hours / week). Passed the states first time through, passed all the reciprocity exams for the states I applied to (graduating from college with an EMT license was a nice backstop). Having taught multiple EMT-B classes I feel like there was no difference in the material or skills taught vs. a "full length" class.
If you've taken a "compressed" EMT-B class:
1) Did you finish?
1a) If not, why? Time / personal conflicts / etc.
2) Did you feel it was worth it?
3) Would you recommend it to other folks?
3a) Do you feel it's for everyone (I don't; different people learn at different rates)?
Accelerated EMT-B (NOT PARAMEDIC. Please do NOT post about so-called accelerated Paramedic classes. Paramedic classes are significantly different from EMT-B classes because of the larger scope, clinical requirements, etc. Just so we're clear - please don't chime in saying "I took an accelerated Paramedic class at so-and-so". The purpose of this thread is to get opinion and spark discussion about accelerated EMT-B classes. If you want to start a similar thread about accelerated Paramedic classes that'd probably be a cool thread on its own. Just not here.) courses are classes who take the same requirements of any other EMT-B class (# of hours, material covered, etc.) and compress them into a shorter time period (typically by increasing the number of hours spent in class in a day).
The up side, of course, is that you end up finishing the class a lot faster. For folks who can afford to spend the majority of their day in class it's a nice option.
There are several obvious downsides; first, students need to work a lot harder to absorb and internalize information. Often with these classes you end up with a lot of information regurgitation (I memorized the muscles of the forearm for this quiz. This quiz is now over, so I'll just go ahead and forget that information since I need that short-term memory for the next quiz) and it's harder to cram stuff into long-term memory. Folks with less-than-stellar studying habits or folks without a lot of practice being students really struggle with these classes since they're trying to remember the bones of the forearm at the same time as they're trying to remember how to study for a test.
The other major obvious problem with a "condensed" class is that you need to be able to find 6-8 hours per day for most of the week so you can be in class. This doesn't include clinical time, study time, sleep time, etc. Unless you have a very, very liberal boss it's going to be tough for anyone who's working a full-time job to survive one of these classes. Yes, there are some superhuman people who can do this, but they're often the exception and aren't particularly fun to be around while they're doing it.
I, personally, took my EMT-B in my last year of college over the intersession. Since there were 5 colleges in the area there was enough of a pool of people that the guy who ran it (an absolutely great instructor) scheduled it over "Jan term". So I ended up taking and completing the class in 17 days by going 6 1/2 hours a day, 6 days a week (this was '95, when the minimum # of hours were less but there was still a clinical component in MA). Needless to say I had the luxury of being able to concentrate mostly on the class (I was also writing my senior thesis at the time but had no other coursework and was only working 15-20 hours / week). Passed the states first time through, passed all the reciprocity exams for the states I applied to (graduating from college with an EMT license was a nice backstop). Having taught multiple EMT-B classes I feel like there was no difference in the material or skills taught vs. a "full length" class.
If you've taken a "compressed" EMT-B class:
1) Did you finish?
1a) If not, why? Time / personal conflicts / etc.
2) Did you feel it was worth it?
3) Would you recommend it to other folks?
3a) Do you feel it's for everyone (I don't; different people learn at different rates)?
