any advice for the first day of classes?

[Fahnrich]

Tuesday I start my classes for becoming an EMT. These are the first set of classes I will be taking towards my EMT-B (I believe there's two classes). I'm both very excited, but at the same time incredibly nervous. I got a list of stuff that I need Thursday which I can't get until Saturday, including my text books. I am hoping you guys can give me some ideas as go what to look out for and stuff, or share your experience with the first time in the class.

Right now my biggest concern is that I'm going to be the only girl in there (I want one other one in there). We already have out first quiz that day that I've been studying for, it's on CPR but I want to make sure I have everything down. I often play off of instinct too much than brains. It works well in some cases but not all.

 

[berkeman]

Tuesday I start my classes for becoming an EMT. These are the first set of classes I will be taking towards my EMT-B (I believe there's two classes). I'm both very excited, but at the same time incredibly nervous. I got a list of stuff that I need Thursday which I can't get until Saturday, including my text books. I am hoping you guys can give me some ideas as go what to look out for and stuff, or share your experience with the first time in the class.

Right now my biggest concern is that I'm going to be the only girl in there (I want one other one in there). We already have out first quiz that day that I've been studying for, it's on CPR but I want to make sure I have everything down. I often play off of instinct too much than brains. It works well in some cases but not all.

After you get your textbooks, work to stay ahead of the material that is being covered. It's a big help to have read the material at least once before hearing it in class.

There is a lot of memorization in EMS, so work to see what memorization techniques work best for you. I found that writing things down over and over without looking at the book or protocols really helped me to memorize well. The first few times you write down the Patient Assessment Skill Sheet protocol, you will need to keep referring to it, but after a while you get good at writing it down line-for-line. And after that you get good at remembering it as you actually go through your patient (Pt) assessments.

Don't worry about being the only female -- do well in the classwork and physical/didactic skills, and you should do fine.

 

[RebelAngel]

The best advice I have is to so Observe as much as you can while going through your course. Ride along as much as you can, if you can, because as you watch and observer others doing things you will learn better, faster, and more efficiently. If you can, record the lectures to listen to at a later time.

As far as studying goes, find what works for you and do it. We're working from the Emrergency Care 12th edition from Brady. I print out the lecture notes in advance of the class. I do the vocab first (yes, I write all the vocab out) before I even start the chapter, then I pre-read chapters, and work through the multiple-choice review (which we're graded on in class). With the MCRs though I don't write the answers in, only the page numbers the answers can be found on, until we've gone through the lecture in class. My book also came with the MyEMSKit site, which has the lecture notes which I print, games, and other things I work through if I feel like it. I am also open for ride-alongs, and will go on as many as I can, because I know observing will really help everything to click for me. Plus, I will become more comfortable mentally and become more familiar with things. I tend to read in the evening, after the kids go to bed, until I am ready to go to bed. I also find things all over the 'net to supplement my learning. For example, this for the chapter of Anatomy and Physiology: http://docmo.hubpages.com/hub/A-Z-of-Medical-Terminology-2-Finding-your-way#PhotoSwipe1379480696890

Oh, and this really helped me with my study habits. Interestingly enough, it validated what I was doing was good to do: http://www.buzzfeed.com/marcelle/23-legit-study-tips-according-to-science

ETA: Don't be afraid to ask questions, just make sure they're well thought out questions to show that you're thinking and processing and not just a ditz looking for someone to do the work for you. I ask questions to my squad Captain, the other active EMT in our squad, inactive EMTs, firefighters and the Chief of the FD and my Paramedic friend (more often) and nurse friends (less often so far) depending on what type of question it is. Sometimes I'll ask more than one person the same question to get different perspectives and recommendations.