First Week of Paramedic school....

[ZootownMedic]

Sooo...I just finished my first week of Paramedic school. So far its a mix of nervousness, excitement, and happiness. I am so happy to be here and can't wait to really start jumping into ALS skills. Our instructor destroyed us with work the first week(weeding out the weak...I think) such as reading, writing papers, case studies, and memorizing drug cards. My stress level was through the roof and I felt like I was gonna fail my first week! I pulled through(a few didn't and already quit) and ended up getting a 100% on my drug card test. I guess my question is, to those who have been through what I'm going through, did you all feel the same way. I consider myself to be intelligent, but it is all so overwhelming. There are a few students in my class who have been EMT's for a while and they seem to understand some more advanced terminology and skills than I know(Ive only been a basic for a little over a year and not alot of street experience) but I feel like I am keeping up with them on the new things we are learning. Just want a little encouragement I guess and to make sure Im not the only one that went half-crazy the first few weeks! Thanks in advance.

 

[Hunter]

I feel you man, im halfway through my medics course and I still feel like all the infomation is overwhelming about to do my ACLS megacodes and freaking out!

 

[Chief Complaint]

Relax! Ive been there before and its rarely as tough as it seems at the time. Some programs require more work than others, but they want you to pass, so they will teach you to a level that will help you to achieve that goal.

Its not super easy but its not overly difficult material either. You'll find your groove and things will start to come easier for you. Keep in mind that almost all of the material you will be taught is new to you. Of course its going to seem hard at first. It gets much easier.

When we began ACLS i felt nervous and underprepared, but the instructors were great about using lab time to go through mega codes and in no time at all it just clicked with me. It requires some memorization of the algorythms, which look confusing, but arent if you really think about it.

Trust me man, it will get easier. Feel free to use this thread to ask any questions you may have.

 

[ZootownMedic]

Haha thanks man. I was actually in a special operations unit in the Army and am used to high stress courses...which was part of the reason I was semi freaking out. I NEVER get flustered and I felt like I was a little unprepared coming into this class....I feel better now and the 'old' BLS skills are starting to come back to me. I think your right and I just need to find my groove.

 

[EMSDan]

I'm in my 3rd week of Medic school, and I feel the same way. It does feel overwhelming, but from what I'm told there will one day be a moment where it all clicks. Until then, I'll just keep studying until my eyes bleed.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I haven't had anything completely overwhelm me yet in my first 2 months. With that said we are starting cardiology this week and I have a feeling it's gonna be a rough month so I'll get back to you on that one haha.

 

[jh0n001flip]

so after you finish EMT course you went ahead and take the paramedic course? cuz i thought u need an on the field EMT experience to get into medic school?

 

[EmtTravis]

I also just finished my first week of medic class. We haven't went over anything hard at all so far just the history and ethics of ems. We will start getting into the harder things in the next 2 weeks. I've already read about 10 chapters of the book and done the study guide and I am now looking to download the acls, pals, phtls books on my e-reader so I can get a jumpstart on those also..

 

[Handsome Robb]

so after you finish EMT course you went ahead and take the paramedic course? cuz i thought u need an on the field EMT experience to get into medic school?

Not at all. Thats more of a California thing.


It's been argued too many times on if you need EMT experience to be a medic.

 

[jh0n001flip]

Not at all. Thats more of a California thing.


It's been argued too many times on if you need EMT experience to be a medic.

oh okay. yeah i really wanna get my medic started too but the requirements to get an on the field experience is holding me back from taking the medic course. i did a thread about working as a non emergency ambulance will that qualified as on the field experience?

 

[adamjh3]

oh okay. yeah i really wanna get my medic started too but the requirements to get an on the field experience is holding me back from taking the medic course. i did a thread about working as a non emergency ambulance will that qualified as on the field experience?

Not exactly sure by what you mean by a "non-emergency ambulance" but if you're referring to an IFT job, then yes. It should. Otherwise, call the school(s) you plan on attending and ask them.

 

[ZootownMedic]

I think it all depends on the person on whether going to Paramedic school soon after EMT will really affect you all that much. I have good study habits and Im disciplined so I keep up pretty good with the EMT's who have more street experience.

She gave us drug cards with ALL the information you would want to know for ASA,O2,Albuterol, and Activated Charcoal on Tuesday evening and we had to write WORD for WORD fill in the blank Wednesday morning. One guy had an anxiety attack and quit that same day. I was stressed out as hell but got a 100% on it studying my *** off. That first week I think she put us all through the ringer to see who would push through. This week we have IV fluids and Dextrose and then in two weeks its Epi and Nitro before the module final.

Its good to know there are at least a few of us on this board going through medic school at the same time. Im glad Im not the only one stressed haha

 

[EMT-IT753]

I am fresh out of medic school, but I clearly remember the struggles. There were times when we were pounded with reading, worksheets, presentations, and tests. You will find a groove after awhile and then prioritze objectives. No matter what, you will find out that you are not going to have a life outside of medic school

You may not think you are remembering much of the material, but you really are. One day things will start to "click" and things start to make sense.

Some people will make it, some won't, that is a given. But if you work hard and give it your best, that is all you can do and see where the cards fall.

Here is hoping you are one of the ones who "make it" :beerchug:

 

[dstevens58]

First day was yesterday and yeah, even though human resources was there to get out ID cards and background checks started, there was a considerable amount of work to do. I came home and worked on stuff for about four hours and I'm still not done.

The instructor is hard core, but he has the tools and pass/fail ratio that gives him a good reputation (which is one of the reasons why I chose this program).

On another note, yeah, I just graduated EMT-B four months ago, I also had prior experience in the military, formerly registered EMT back in 78, and experience on an ambulance. So, that probably went in favor of me through the interview for this school.

 

[EMSDan]

I finished EMT school around 3 months before I started Paramedic. So the only real experience I have is 82 hours of 911 clinical time. Pretty soon I'm going to try and find an EMT job while going on with Medic school just for the experience, but if I can't find one no big deal. Most of my class are already working EMT's out in the field, but being fresh outta class has it's advantages. The BLS information and patient assessment skills are fresh in my memory, so all the "seasoned" EMT's are struggling a little.

 

[epipusher]

I gave up being a preceptor due to all the local medic programs no longer requiring a significant amount of emt-basic experience. as a preceptor i ended up having to teach them how to be an EMT before even attempting to help them be a medic. very frustrating .