EMT/MEDIC Mill?

Rabbit

Rabbit

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Hi,

I've read the term .. I think it was something like.. Medic Mill or EMT Mill? and then also 'shake and bake'.

I'm taking an accelerated EMT-B course this June/July and then a longer course for specialist and paramedic which will be 17 months long. The school informed me that routinely only half of the students make it to the end of the class.

I'm curious how does one know if the school is a 'mill'. Sorry if I'm not using the terms correctly, I don't think I understand them fully. My school isn't on the list of accredited schools, but only two in Michigan are, and they are both far from me.

How can I really research to find out if this school is really going to provide me with the education I need to be a great EMT? I do not know any other students that have attended so I can not ask them.

I'm in Grand Rapids, Mi so if anyone here has gone to this school please let me know what you thought of it.

Thanks.
 
Rapid EMT = no problem, you don't really learn it it. And the 17 month medic program is pretty long.
 
Are you saying in an accelerated program the students don't really learn?
 
Rabbit said:
Are you saying in an accelerated program the students don't really learn?
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For EMT-B at least... Not much to know. If the airway is closed, open it, if they aren't breathing, breathe for them, if the heart aint pump, pump it :P
 
exodus said:
For EMT-B at least... Not much to know. If the airway is closed, open it, if they aren't breathing, breathe for them, if the heart aint pump, pump it :P
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And hold the neck. Don't let it move.
 
If there's a hole, plug it
 
Okay, I just want to know what a mill is and how to avoid going to school at one.


I know emtb's don't do much or learn much, that's not in my control. I can't skip it and go straight into being a paramedic. What is in my control is which school I attend.

Since I'm new I don't know what exactly all this talk about shake n bake and mills means, so I am asking.. what exactly does it mean, why is it a bad thing, and how do you know if your potential school is a 'mill'.

Thanks.
 
Rabbit said:
Okay, I just want to know what a mill is and how to avoid going to school at one.


I know emtb's don't do much or learn much, that's not in my control. I can't skip it and go straight into being a paramedic. What is in my control is which school I attend.

Since I'm new I don't know what exactly all this talk about shake n bake and mills means, so I am asking.. what exactly does it mean, why is it a bad thing, and how do you know if your potential school is a 'mill'.

Thanks.
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For EMT-B, mills are usually 2 week programs or something near them. For P-school, a mill is a program that requires very little or no pre-reqs like A&P, Pharm, or hard sciences. Can also be as short as... what, 6 months?
 
Okay good to know, thanks. My emtb program is 2 months, so I feel a lot better about that now.
 
I used to run an EMT /Medic Mill. We stored our extra medics and EMT in those tall things they keep other crops in.
 
How many hours is the course? 2 months sounds short to me, and why do so many not complete their course?

My basic class was 290 hours(counting clinicals) and lasted a little under 6 months. I'd guess the average one is 4 months, but they seem to vary.

Some people here seem to be suggesting that you can just blow off your basic class as unimportant.

Firstly, I think that attitude is a great way to wind up being one of those that dont finish the class.

Secondly, your EMT-b training lays the foundation for later training, so I'd take it seriously from day one. If someone is not very good at doing patient assessments or some other skill at the basic level, I cant imagine them turning it around in medic school.

Thirdly, you may decide you wanna work on an ambulance before becoming a paramedic. There seems to be disagreement on this here, but the medics I talk to in person seem pretty unanimous that you dont want to be taking your first EMS job as a medic right out of school.
I've seen a medic on calls where this was the case, and I didnt envy him(or his patients).
 
joeshmoe said:
Secondly, your EMT-b training lays the foundation for later training, so I'd take it seriously from day one. If someone is not very good at doing patient assessments or some other skill at the basic level, I cant imagine them turning it around in medic school.
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I think there is a slight misconception here. What is acceptable at the basic level and what is acceptable at the paramedic level are different. (especially in physical exam and history)

There are also exceptions and caveats to some of the basic skills and ways of thinking.

Go right to medic school. There is absolutely nothing in basic you can't master in a few hours and in most medic schools I have seen you will practice these basic skills till they are such a part of you it doesn't matter that you didn't spend a year or so in the dialysis derby or mindlessly immobilizing every patient that complains of toe pain "just in case."
 
Veneficus said:
Go right to medic school. There is absolutely nothing in basic you can't master in a few hours and in most medic schools I have seen you will practice these basic skills till they are such a part of you it doesn't matter that you didn't spend a year or so in the dialysis derby or mindlessly immobilizing every patient that complains of toe pain "just in case."
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I agree there's probably nothing to learn on a BLS rig that would benefit someone as a medic, but an ALS one might result in some valuable experience. ALS is all there is in my area.

You will at least be exposed to situations a medic will have to deal with, and have a chance to assist them.
 
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i need to find a quick basic program this summer and pretend to be new.
 
joeshmoe said:
I agree there's probably nothing to learn on a BLS rig that would benefit someone as a medic.
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Seriously? What about patient assessment? What about gaining intuition? What about learning how to talk to people? Learning how to do a head to toe assessment? What normal/abnormal breath sounds are? Learning how to tell someone that their loved one is dead? Do you really want to be learning those "basic" skills at the same time you're trying desperately to remember contrindications and dosages?

I think this should be required reading for every EMT: http://theemtspot.com/2009/02/02/theres-nothing-basic-about-being-an-emt-basic/

Then, if you want more reason to work as a basic for a while before going for paramedic, check out this one:
http://theemtspot.com/2010/01/18/the-rise-of-the-emt/#more-2465

I, too, am drawn to the idea of being able to give someone adenosine for their PVST and nebulized albuterol for their asthma. I think giving D50 and waking an unresponsive hypoglycemic diabetic would be very rewarding. I want to be a medic. But I want to be a good medic, and I know that that means first I have to be a good EMT, and I sure as hell didn't learn what I need to be a good EMT from the EMT course. Only experience is going to teach me those things, but they DEFINITELY will benefit me when I become a medic.
 
ajax said:
Seriously? What about patient assessment? What about gaining intuition? What about learning how to talk to people? Learning how to do a head to toe assessment? What normal/abnormal breath sounds are? Learning how to tell someone that their loved one is dead? Do you really want to be learning those "basic" skills at the same time you're trying desperately to remember contrindications and dosages?
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Err... paramedics do do internships, right? I mean, it's not like we just throw them out there after lecture with a big ol' "Have at it boy." After all, when do medical students and nursing students learn to do all of those things. Oh, wait, during our clinicals.
 
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