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Critical Crazy
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I received either a blank stare or respect when it became known that I was an EMT. However, I was extraordinarily careful in how I presented the fact. Occasionally I would be the one who got called on particular question types... and I just had to give an answer if I had one or honestly say when I didn't meet their assumptions about my knowledge.
If you bluster, are cocky, tell tons-of-war stories, or have anything that hints at either a know-it-all attitude or the idea that the paramedic way is superior, you will not be favorably treated. Now, sadly, these attitudes are commonplace in EMS and an educational environment where one feels insecure with the massive amounts of new knowledge to master tends to bring them out even for those not naturally inclined to present themselves in that fashion.
It is rare to find emnity towards EMS in nursing education as most have had little dealing with EMS and are usually ignorant about what a medic or EMT can do or how they were trained. When you do find it, it usually has a story: they had a cocky know-it-all EMT in their class last semester... or some medic talked down to them at the hospital.
And you can take that entire post above and swap every EMS/Nursing noun out and it will be just as true the other way around.
However, if you are in a program that "transitions," then the professors will be very familiar with EMS and will likely have had some students with attitude. Watch your attitude carefully and think about perceptions you create.
If you bluster, are cocky, tell tons-of-war stories, or have anything that hints at either a know-it-all attitude or the idea that the paramedic way is superior, you will not be favorably treated. Now, sadly, these attitudes are commonplace in EMS and an educational environment where one feels insecure with the massive amounts of new knowledge to master tends to bring them out even for those not naturally inclined to present themselves in that fashion.
It is rare to find emnity towards EMS in nursing education as most have had little dealing with EMS and are usually ignorant about what a medic or EMT can do or how they were trained. When you do find it, it usually has a story: they had a cocky know-it-all EMT in their class last semester... or some medic talked down to them at the hospital.
And you can take that entire post above and swap every EMS/Nursing noun out and it will be just as true the other way around.
However, if you are in a program that "transitions," then the professors will be very familiar with EMS and will likely have had some students with attitude. Watch your attitude carefully and think about perceptions you create.