I'm brand new to EMT (haven't even started training yet) and would love to get the perspective of folks who've been at this for a while. I'd be tremendously grateful for your insight into any of the questions below:
• What advice or information do you have for someone entering EMT training?
• What are some ways that I can be an excellent student without being a big goober?
• What mistakes did you make early on that you'd like to share?
Thanks so much!
Welcome.
I am unable to offer any specific guidance regarding American education because I have not been exposed to it from a learning standpoint.
The following generically applicable comments should help however;
1) Emergency
medical services is the application of
medicine in emergent out-of-hospital settings. Remember that you will be seen as
medical professional in the eyes of your patients and thier families; to them you are all knowing, wise and experienced with the ability to treat whatever you come across. They are (for the most part) ignorant as to what an "Ambulance Technican", "EMT", "Paramedic", "Intensive Care Paramedic" or "Advanced EMT" is; they have probably never heard of "basic" and "advanced" life support and don't understand a "scope of practice".
2) Having said that; conduct yourself in a professional manner and make an attempt to get a professional education. Enrol in a college-level anatomy and physiology and pathophysiology courses (the pathway of disease and altered physiology) and some basic pharmacology wouldn't hurt either. The six or ten pages of A&P in my EMT-Basic book is just not adequate to render proper medical care.
3) Even while in school show up with your boots polish, your shirt tucked in, your name badge (if you get one) on straight etc; take pride in your appearance and that of your profession. Don't roll up with your hair down to your bum and two weeks of growth on applicable areas for your sexuality (or not so applicable areas if you're on those sexy hormone pills :lol
.
4) Read a medical journal or two; Journal of Prehospital Emergency Care, NEJM, JAMA, Lancet etc are all fairly good. You can get free extracts from
PubMedwww.pubmed.com and may be able to get free access through your school if it's at the local community college or a unversity. Even if you can't get full access to the articles at least look around for words like "paramedic" and "prehospital" ("EMS" is not used so much in the journals) at what research is being conducted.
5) Understand paramedicine is still in many areas the b@$t@rd child of the medical profession; not all of what we do is based in double-blind, peer reviewed prospective trials; we are still doing things that Johnny and Roy did in the seventies and may or may not have any benefit.
6) Please don't be a "junkie" - this job (at least in this part of the world) is not about "trauma" and "lights and sirens" or "cool toys". (See No. 1). You are doing yourself and the professional standing of EMS a dis-service if all you want to do is drive fast with lights and noise, shock people and give them drugs. Don't get lights and decals and signs and stars of life on your car and tattooed on your bum!
7) May I suggest soem light reading?
- Marieb's Anatomy & Physiology 7e (Green book)
- Merck's Manual of Patient Symptoms
- Any good pathophysiology reference (I don't have one off hand)
8) You may not be able to as it may be your course book, but
stay away, far, far away from anything published by AAOS and that has an orange cover; they're nasty and awful and full credit to Nancy Caroline, MD but those books are really bad (that's more personal experience but they're not very good).
Whew, I hope that helps!!
Oh here, have a brownie the plate is over there ....
