How strong do you have to be to be an emt

[46Young]

Front squats, deadifts, stiff-leg deadlifts, and dumbbell rows will help you. 5x5 with an 8 rep max, with a fast, powerful concentric motion will get the job done.

Just because you can lift your half of a 250# patient in a controlled testing environment doesn't mean that you're ready for the street. Many lifts are done with unfavorable leverages, and may need to be done from an awkward angle. Think about an obese pt in a bathtub, someone wedged between the bed and the wall, or carrying a stair chair down a staircase that has a small landing, and tight turns.

 

[hogwiley]

Core strength and lower body strength is much more important than upper body strength for this job, that's why many smaller women manage just fine as long as they are fit. Being able to bench press a lot is almost irrelevant. Dead squats are a little more relevant though, and women usually don't have as big a gap with men in this regard. I've certainly encountered women that can probably squat more than I can.

Its the really short really skinny women that can sometimes have problems. Having toothpick legs isn't conducive to lifting lots of weight, so working on lower body strength is important, as is technique.

Personally I think EMT schools need to have students spend more time lifting patients on a cot. In some cases they give you a demonstration, maybe have you do it a few times, then you rarely see the cot again. So you see new EMTs who look like they've never touched a cot in their lives. I think it should be used in every class, for as many patient scenarios as possible.

Almost every call you go on as an EMT results in you loading a patient on a cot into the ambulance, so as far as im concerned almost every patient scenario, backboarding, ked, and traction splinting you do in class should end with the patient being loaded onto an ambulance, so every student is comfortable doing it and knows what they need to work on.

My EMT class did this, we almost always had to package each other for transport, move them up and down some stairs and outside to an ambulance. When I'm helping with lab I make them do it, the cot never just sits there in the corner unused.(I also make them take manual BP for most scenarios and not just voice it).

 

[Niesje]

I'm not very large myself, but I can do it. The only issue I'm having starting out is lifting the stretcher from my waist up to my shoulders, but I'm still managing it. Nothing some curls won't fix I'm doing a weightlifting routine and yoga, but it hasn't been that long. It helps. Seriously, stay in shape. Even if you aren't an EMT, you'll avoid a lot of injuries if you have a strong core and strong legs. But if you're short, do some curls cuz you'll have to lift the stretcher higher to get it in the truck.

 

[Fire51]

Size does help sometimes but your lifting techniques are more important. Working out will help when lifting patients of course. I have personally seen lots of shorter people left just fine and others that can't lift anything. It's helps your partner out a lot if you can lift very well. So just practice, read and look at examples of the right techniques to use , also working out wouldn't hurt.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

http://www.ems1.com/search-rescue/articles/1455817-Ga-EMTs-push-patient-uphill-to-hospital