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JackieFF

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I've been wanting to be an EMT for the last 6 years or so of my life. Now that I am about to start school (Hopefully in January), I guess nervousness is catching up to me. Like theres a voice in my head asking "Are you sure your ready to see these horrible things, and deal with the stress"? I mean, I've been a volunteer firefighter for that long, and its actually what put the idea in my head to become an EMT, I guess what I am asking is: Is this natural? Dont get me wrong, I'm excited, but yeah nervous to.

Thanks

oh and for the sake of the section, any tips for EMT school to pass on? I got the obvious to take notes, PAY attention, and all that. :)
 
Relax. It's taught at a fourth grade reading level so unless you have a tendency to drool on yourself or you barely squeaked by in elementary school, you should have nothing to worry about. Having been through both fire training and EMS training, I can safely say that most fire training is far more difficult which is kind of frightening when you think about it....
 
usafmedic45 said:
Relax. It's taught at a fourth grade reading level so unless you have a tendency to drool on yourself or you barely squeaked by in elementary school, you should have nothing to worry about. Having been through both fire training and EMS training, I can safely say that most fire training is far more difficult which is kind of frightening when you think about it....
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First, welcome to EMTLife!

One way to not be so nervous is to prepare. Do a search and see what you can do now to make school easier.

usafmedic45, we had many people in our class that just finished the fire academy, and they unanimously agreed that the EMT-Basic class was much more challenging and academic. No need for a debate, just an observation.

Good luck!
 
JackieFF said:
I've been wanting to be an EMT for the last 6 years or so of my life. Now that I am about to start school (Hopefully in January), I guess nervousness is catching up to me. Like theres a voice in my head asking "Are you sure your ready to see these horrible things, and deal with the stress"? I mean, I've been a volunteer firefighter for that long, and its actually what put the idea in my head to become an EMT, I guess what I am asking is: Is this natural? Dont get me wrong, I'm excited, but yeah nervous to.

Thanks

oh and for the sake of the section, any tips for EMT school to pass on? I got the obvious to take notes, PAY attention, and all that. :)
Click to expand...

What USAF said is very true. EMT-Basic is not a difficult class at all. There are ways to deal with what you see, you just need to find your specific way of how you deal with it in a healthy manner.

For what it's worth, I'm getting ready for my paramedic internship for medic school and I am scared. It's a natural reaction, most if not all people on here will tell you that. The one thing I will say is medic vs. EMT is a little more intimidating since you're the person in charge of care and have the final say.

You'll be fine. The two things I'd add to your tips is read the assigned chapter prior to the lecture so it's not brand new material to you and prepare questions on subjects that confuse you. Ask questions! People say the only dumb question is the one not asked which is true, to a point. I have heard some ridiculously dumb questions but honestly if you are unsure, ASK! My only point to that is think about what you are asking before you ask. Many questions can be answered by thinking it through or letting the person giving the lecture progress through their lecture.

How busy is your VFD? How active are you? Are you comfortable on medical calls or do you freak you out? You have experience on your side, look back on what you have seen and I'll bet you are more comfortable than you think.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like. I've had the same fears recently with my pending internship and have gotten some very good advice from members and friends alike.
 
we had many people in our class that just finished the fire academy, and they unanimously agreed that the EMT-Basic class was much more challenging and academic. No need for a debate, just an observation.
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Hmm....I just found it to have a lot more information than the EMT-B course. To each and to their own I guess.
 
NVRob said:
What USAF said is very true. EMT-Basic is not a difficult class at all. There are ways to deal with what you see, you just need to find your specific way of how you deal with it in a healthy manner.

For what it's worth, I'm getting ready for my paramedic internship for medic school and I am scared. It's a natural reaction, most if not all people on here will tell you that. The one thing I will say is medic vs. EMT is a little more intimidating since you're the person in charge of care and have the final say.

You'll be fine. The two things I'd add to your tips is read the assigned chapter prior to the lecture so it's not brand new material to you and prepare questions on subjects that confuse you. Ask questions! People say the only dumb question is the one not asked which is true, to a point. I have heard some ridiculously dumb questions but honestly if you are unsure, ASK! My only point to that is think about what you are asking before you ask. Many questions can be answered by thinking it through or letting the person giving the lecture progress through their lecture.

How busy is your VFD? How active are you? Are you comfortable on medical calls or do you freak you out? You have experience on your side, look back on what you have seen and I'll bet you are more comfortable than you think.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like. I've had the same fears recently with my pending internship and have gotten some very good advice from members and friends alike.
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Thanks to all of you for the info, I tried sending you a pm NVrob, but unfortunately I need that 5 or greater post. So I suppose I'll post it here haha


Well for the FD, typically most calls we run are alarm systems, MVC's, with maybe 3-4 working jobs a year. I only just graduated from FF1 in August (still waiting for that first working job lol), but in the academy when they put us through the burn building I never had any problems with nervousness. I mean pending up to the point of actually starting it, I was a bit dazed, but once it got going I was all in with no trouble or worries what-so-ever, hell I actually took the reigns on a few occasions when my assigned squad wasn't doing :censored::censored::censored::censored:.

I think I just feel different with the EMT stuff because well, its not engineering, or you know fire, its actual people with problems who rely on you to get stuff done, and you know fix them.

Thanks!
 
usafmedic45 said:
Hmm....I just found it to have a lot more information than the EMT-B course. To each and to their own I guess.
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I agree with EMT-B being easier than it should be. If you want to split hairs Intermediate and Medic courses are sub-par depending on the standards you are using/referencing.

The difficulty level of a class depends greatly on the interests of the person taking the class, IMO.

Example: *Sorry for the generalization* but someone interested in fire suppression/prevention may find an EMS class more difficult than someone interested in prehospital medicine since they are 'forced' to take the class rather than picking a class that interests them.
 
To JackieFF! It seems you and I have are work cut out for us these next couple years or maybe plus! I am starting my journey to become a EMT/Paramedic in January as well. From what I hear we'll be fine.

Good Luck to you!
Eric
 
JackieFF said:
oh and for the sake of the section, any tips for EMT school to pass on? I got the obvious to take notes, PAY attention, and all that. :)
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Read your book-absorb the info. use common sense. Far too many people get caught up in doing stuff word for word by the book, if someone is having shortness of breath give em o2 don't stand there trying to get a complete history while they turn blue. Giggle, but ppl do it. =\


You'll be fine, it's ok to be nervous. Carry that desire to help with u thru class and it won't even seem like work :)
 
There's really not much I can add to what others have already posted, however I want to emphasize that if you don't fully understand something, don't be afraid to ask.

Like Rob said, most people experience some sort of anxiety, you just have to work through it. EMT-B is really a very simple course, just read the material, show that you have the ambition to learn, and be very open to criticism...especially around here.

You'll find that just like anything else, that nervous feeling will start to subside with experience. You'll begin to get comfortable with your skills and with your treatments, it is at that point that you must be cognizant of the fact that there is still so much more to learn and that complacency can have bad outcomes.

Anyways, good luck. Keep in mind that sometimes the members here can seem a bit rough, but if you stick around, you'll learn a ton.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jackie and Airwreck, I'm starting B in January as well here in Greenville, SC. We will be using "Brady-Prehospital. Maybe we can start a study group somewhere here on EMT Life?
 
Jimmy29687 said:
Jackie and Airwreck, I'm starting B in January as well here in Greenville, SC. We will be using "Brady-Prehospital. Maybe we can start a study group somewhere here on EMT Life?
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Oh dear G-d. :ph34r:
 
Jimmy29687 said:
usaf...why? is there better place for this post?
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No, it's just how simple the material is. There really shouldn't be a need for a study group at least not online. You're more than welcome to it so far as I am concerned, just I happen to find it a bit amusing.
 
I would add that it also(should not) depends on where you enroll for your EMT program. They are not all the same. The Junior College programs will be far tougher than the private course with few exceptions. However, if you pass the Junior College programs,(we started with 32 and graduated 14) you will have a much better understanding of the anatomy/physiology/pathophysiology etc, and gain a much better chance of passing you National Registry Exam the first time.

One of the reasons for this is that the Junior College EMT programs have prereqs to get into the EMT program. Generally speaking, you must first take a 1 semester First Responder course(3 units), then the next semester you can enter the EMT program(5 units) plus lab(1 unit). In total, it would then take roughly a year to apply, get all your vaccinations, complete all the classes, rotations, sit for, and receive your NREMT.

Note, I found the Junior College FF1 Academy to be extremely challenging. You basically have no life during the program. However, the challenge is not
so much the academics but the program as a whole. We were on 6:30AM to 7PM M-F. We were not allowed to leave the school to retrieve anything out of our vehicles, and cell phones had to be placed in our lockers. We only received a 30 min lunch break, and most of the time we were going over something as we were trying to eat. I came home exhausted every day but I slept like a baby.

This said, we had several students that passed the Jr. College FF1 academy that did not pass the Jr. College EMT program, and then went outside the college system and passed a private EMT course.

I applied, and hope to be accepted to Paramedic School next Semester(Jan 12). I also am very nervous and I think that's natural for all of us.

Good luck. It is exciting to learn, challenging to succeed, and rewarding to graduate.
 
Relax OP

Read EMTLIFE. If most of us can (actually) have passed the course, you can.
Also, don't let the sensational stuff scare you or doubt your ability to handle it. Even the most serious stuff really is mundane once you stop gawking and get in there. We make it sound hard to impress the new kids and sell study guides.
 
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