EMT Basic.

[ams17]

What can I expect to be covered throughout the class? I've heard a lot about the abc's and cpr. Anything I can do to get a bit of a jump start? I've read some about glossary and terms...but I don't want to get too far ahead of basic and only end up confusing myself. I've tried to pick these answers out of other threads but there's still holes haha.
thanks in advance!!!

 

[NomadicMedic]

Second week is chest tubes, skin grafts, trach placement and field transplantation of kidneys and livers.

Actually, its mostly memorization and repetition of a lot of basic skills.

Just wait til your class starts. They'll tell you everything you need to worry about during the class. If you try to do too much before, you may end up needlessly confusing yourself.

 

[nwhitney]

The majority of the students I see struggle with Medical and Trauma. It may be worth it to review those skill sheets. You can find them on the NREMT website. I wouldn't stress out over the details of those two skills. Rather just memorize the order nothing too crazy. You could also memorize (don't get too stressed over these) SAMPLE and OPQRST.

As n7lxi said its mostly memorization and repetition.

 

[MexDefender]

Emergency Care 12th Edition By Daniel J. Limmer, Michael F. O'Keefe

That is the current book that we used and other schools in my area used. It also comes with a workbook which you will be expected to fill out. Amazon has it for $123 or you can find it at your local barnes and noble. Although I would hold back on purchasing but just go to the store and flip through it, they provide the book in the cost for the class at least for my class so you might want to look into that.

A&P would help you if you want to get further in the field beyond EMT-B and you can find a good book at any book store on Anatomy and Physiology.

If you really want a leg up on your class you can go to youtube and look up Medical/Trauma Assessment Final, you can find a good number of people performing their final skills test. Also a couple guides for assessing a pt.

 

[hogwiley]

You can go to the NREMT website and see the minimum curriculum for the class. The standards the NREMT set on what is to be taught and how its to be taught. That should answer your question in detail.

Otherwise if you already signed up for class, see if you can get your textbook early and read through it. Its a lot of information if you have no previous medical training or knowledge so wouldnt hurt to get a head start.

 

[Tigger]

Just wait til your class starts. They'll tell you everything you need to worry about during the class. If you try to do too much before, you may end up needlessly confusing yourself.

What he said. The class is designed for students with no prior medical knowledge, only an HS Diploma.

 

[Jambi]

What he said. The class is designed for students with no prior medical knowledge, only an HS Diploma.

Well, you have to have a pulse too...

I'm associate faculty at an EMT program

Don't worry, it's not that bad.

The biggest issue we have is that students, because of lack of barriers to entry into the program, suffer from a lack of academic skills. It's is a lot of information to cover in one semester, and those with no or poor academic ability suffer. It'll be help to know how to study and how you learn. The colleges where many EMT programs are at often offer students services that help students determine how he or she learns. Academics skills courses like learning how to study, take notes, etc are also usually offered.

With that said most of the issues stemming from a lack of academic skills manifest as either basic knowledge deficiency (doesn't know the information), or inability to apply basic EMS concepts to dynamic situations (critical thinking). Often the latter is highly dependent on the former, but possessing the former doesn't equate to good performance of the latter.
I.E. if you don't know it, one cannot not put things into action

but just because one knows the information doesn't mean that it can be put into action...if that makes sense.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Perhaps it's time to start to require prerequisites before EMT class?

A basic English 101 and human biology should be the bare minimum, A&P would be fantastic.

I'm also a fan of requiring prospective EMT students be affiliated before they take the class. It would certainly cut down on the overwhelming glut of EMTs that will never obtain certification or any field experience due to lack of jobs.

 

[Jambi]

Perhaps it's time to start to require prerequisites before EMT class?

A basic English 101 and human biology should be the bare minimum, A&P would be fantastic.

I'm also a fan of requiring prospective EMT students be affiliated before they take the class. It would certainly cut down on the overwhelming glut of EMTs that will never obtain certification or any field experience due to lack of jobs.

In my dream world, and I think I posted this elsewhere:

for EMT:

Intermediate or college algebra
Intro to Chem
Intro to A&P (At least)
Eng 101
Sociology 101
Psychology 101

For Paramedic:
College algebra
Eng 101
Intro Chem
A&P 101 & 102
Microbiology
Psychology 101 and abnormal psyc
Sociology 101 and intercultural relations

All with a B or better and require a GPA of 2.5 or better

I'd also like to turn EMT into an associate degree and Paramedic into a BS, but I'd settle for associates for medic for now.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Without a major overhaul in the Basic EMT curriculum, what you posted seems to be a bit of overkill.

I'd be happy with the EMT basics who could write a coherent sentence, not just "Mongo put everyone on backboard".

I also agree that the entry-level education for the paramedic program needs to be increased. Most programs already require A&P and English… I'd like to see, at the very least, the addition of algebra, chem and lifespan psychology as basic requirements. Technical writing, statistics, critical thinking and public speaking might also be a good fit.

 

[JPINFV]

In my dream world, and I think I posted this elsewhere:

for EMT:

Intermediate or college algebra

For Paramedic:
College algebra

Err... what's the difference between intermediate and college level algebra? The last time I took an algebra course was in high school (Algebra 2/Trig. Calc courses in college).

 

[Jambi]

Err... what's the difference between intermediate and college level algebra? The last time I took an algebra course was in high school (Algebra 2/Trig. Calc courses in college).

I honestly don't know how to quantify it against highschool to be honest with you.

At the CC I teach at, College algebra are for those that have completed and demonstrated competency in the typical high school math courses. Those that had completed Alg 2/Trig can go into either pre-calc or calc right of the bat depending on how he or she tests.

at my CC is broken up like this elementary -> Intermediate -> college algebra -> precalc (trig etc) -> Calc

 

[JPINFV]

...and at my school the "algebra->geometry->alg2/trig->pre-calc" seemed to be the standard pathway. Of course at about 3,000 students, it really sort of get segregated into AP, college prep, and everyone else with everything but English (9th and 10th grade English was either regular or AP. 11 and 12 was regular, college prep, AP).

 

[ken158]

EMT-B isn't that hard. I finished my training about a month ago, and it was all just memorization.

Knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing what to do.

 

[Handsome Robb]

EMT-B isn't that hard. I finished my training about a month ago, and it was all just memorization.

Knowing why NOT to do something is just as important as knowing why to do something.

Fixed it for ya.

If you understand the material rather than just memorize it things fit together much better in the real world rather than monkey see X, do Y, get Z.

 

[NomadicMedic]

But that's expecting too much. In most EMT classes the "why" is never taught. It's simply an algorithmic study of "if this, do that."

 

[JMorin95]

Anything you can learn about about anatomy and physiology would help you to gain a better understanding of why you are supposed to do something. It is better to understand, than to memorize.

 

[JMorin95]

I also suggest that you do as many ride a longs as you can. I found my ride along time to be very informative and a great time to get some experience.

 

[ams17]

Wow, thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I've been trying to find out what books and such they will be using for class but everyone says they're not sure. So, I guess I just have to sit back and wait. Bummer. Anyway, another thing i'm curious about. I saw another post on opinions of going straight to paramedic from emt-b. There are plenty of mixed emotions on it for sure, so i'm still undecided on what's the best choice. How do you feel about working as an emt while going to school for paramedic?

 

[Medic Tim]

Wow, thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I've been trying to find out what books and such they will be using for class but everyone says they're not sure. So, I guess I just have to sit back and wait. Bummer. Anyway, another thing i'm curious about. I saw another post on opinions of going straight to paramedic from emt-b. There are plenty of mixed emotions on it for sure, so i'm still undecided on what's the best choice. How do you feel about working as an emt while going to school for paramedic?

Having university level chem, A&P with lab, microbiology, pathophysiology etc will serve you much better than the experience you will get as a basic. Some work as an EMT while doing this, Some just work and some do the extra classes along with medic. It really depends on your background. Having those classes and understanding them will make medic class much much easier.