Just got a job as a EMT skills instructor. .

[ryujinn]

Hello EMTLife!

I was just recently offered a position out of a pool about 50 applicants to be a EMT Skills Instructor at a local university. I am really excited. Soon, I will put in my resignation for my local ambulance company (though I kind of want to finish my year there. . 2 more months). The application and interview process were excruciating when it came to skills presentations, sample curriculum & agendas, and Q & A. But I feel very privileged to have been offered this position, as I teach at a church on the side and am also a workshop facilitator and tutor for a high school and also at my university campus.

The nature of my job includes doing presentations and didactic lectures on various skills EMT-Basics by national standards should know (i.e. splinting, CPR, AED, etc.) My orientation is in a couple of weeks. . and it's about 20 hours, which also includes certification as a BLS Instructor. The pay is about 22 dollars/hour. . way more than what I make now.


One nature of the job though intimidates me. .

Along with teaching EMT students, I will also be asked to re-certify health care providers in BLS (a portion of my job). Some of these students will be physicians, medical students, nursing students, etc. that need to be re-certified by an agency? I've always just worked with college/high school students when it came to presentations, lectures, etc. But to work with people who have years of education on me. . it's really intimidating. Though I am confident in my abilities as an instructor, I keep imagining being called out for some reason by like a graduate student saying I'm doing this wrong. But I know I have to maintain my calm and ensure the atmosphere of the class is still a educational environment and not some 2 way exchange. Any tips on overcoming this small insecurity?

If any of you have any questions. . I'm definitely free to answer them via reply or PM. I hope you understand I may try to be discrete about specifics on an online forum.

Sincerely,

Michael

P.S. Though this job is better pay and better hours. . I can't help but feel kind of sad I am leaving the field. . and being on the rig and tending to patients. . but now I am in a educational position - and it's much different. Sigh. But I know I can't always be in my comfort zone, right?

 

[AnthonyM83]

Hey Mike,

Congratulations on trying to better yourself and the EMS field.

Do not let your audience psych you out. If you're teaching doctors, it DOES mean you need to know every detail of your BLS manual, but it doesn't mean they're going to ask every question under the sun. It doesn't even mean they're going to know more than you on the specific topic (out of all the other things they have to know). Most doctors and nurses aren't in Emergency Medicine. It's likely they haven't run a code in years (if at all?). It's likely they just want to hear the info, get the cert, and be gone.

Teach them just like the regular students. Be just as hard on them, too. Twenty years as a nurse doesn't mean they know the latest AHA updates. But at the same time respect their experience, just let them know these are specific things AHA finds very important and wants to make sure everyone knows. Honestly, some of the new EMT students might grill you just as hard about BLS stuff.

Is this job full-time? Why did you quit your ambulance job? Or was your ambulance job also part-time? If you work as an instructor and in the field at the same time, at least at first, it can really help solidify your own skills, in my opinion.

AND if you do things wrong, always own up to it. Excuse yourself for it, then do it right. Preparation is key. Over prepare. As with anything, when you're not worried about the content of WHAT you're saying (because you know it so well), you can then concentrate on HOW you're saying it. Delivery and such. You'll also be able to use your brain power for analyzing student response, feel of the audience, time, get creative, etc.

 

[8jimi8]

You'll be fine. I went to an ACLS class as a student nurse. I was the only person in the room, besides the instructors who even READ the material. I studied for a few weeks to prepare... there were doctors and nurses and lvns, who all "had" to take the class ... and they were receiving their materials (some of them) on the first day of class!

Don't let a title make you feel insecure. Chances are, you could get a stumper of a question,

But if that question doesn't have to do with the topic you are on, you can always offer to do some research and move on!

 

[EMT De Kam]

Hey Mike, I agree with AnthonyM83. I also was wondering are you able to keep running with you ambulance service. It would be a plus for you, the service and your students.

 

[ryujinn]

Thank you Anthony and 8jimi for the warm words and support. I feel definitely more confident going into teaching my first sessions (usually 2 hour skill portions that include presentation, practice, and evaluation for the EMT Class and also some days I certify people in CPR). Definitely will remember to keep my poise as an instructor and not maintain any air of "power" just because I am the instructor, but rather, someone who empowers his students if they have trouble with a skill / procedure.

Veneficusalso gave me a lot of great pointers as a veteran EMS instructor himself, so thank you EMTlife for the great support. My goal is to foster a friendly learning environment, and encourage peer learning instead of the typical teacher talks all the time and the student listens. I'm the type to not only follow of course by curriculum, but allow time to facilitate discussion, critical thinking, and uphold the mantra, "Each one teach one." As studies show in various education journals, that peer learning and facilitation are effective in memory retention and learning. Various people are different types of learners too. . visual learners that need to SEE, audio learners that need to HEAR, and kinesthetic learners that need to DO. I'll address all these needs during my sessions.

As far as the comments about working. .

I'm a full-time university student right now, and working as an EMT for almost a year already I definitely have found a balance in academics vs. work. However, when a full time student always has to have a job, there's bound to be various sacrifices and time management issues regardless :/. I have been working 20 hours/week on my rig, and sometimes asked to come in by occasion (but supervisor might give me less hours next week). This new job as an EMS instructor requires 12 hours minimum and 40 hours maximum of work (so you sign up for 'shifts' in like 4 hour intervals, which include prep time, teaching, etc.) With my minimum already as an EMT with the 12 hours as an instructor, it is definitely no dice. .

I will be working both in the summer though - but there will be a time where I will definitely resign as a field EMT because well. . it's only logical I switch to this part time job from another part time job if (1) less hours and (2) better pay.

I would love to work both. . and who knows, might be able to work something out with my supervisor to come in per diem sometimes right? But that's my game plan right now.

Thank you everyone for the warm words. I know there's a lot about EMS education that I am very unlearnt in, but I truly do wish to use this opportunity as an instructor to grow holistically, empower my students, and also gain a better understanding of what I can do to improve the quality of EMS education, and also see the faults within it too so I can be a part of its improvement cycle.

Regards,

Michael