Reccomendations for coursework or study work?

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pdellison2

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Hi,

I am going to be entering into a Paramedic program late this year and wanted to know if anybody has any opinions on specific classes to take or things to study before going into the program. I want to make sure I am preparing myself the best I can so that I can ensure success. Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Patrick
 
Medical terminology. Take it from me, if you pay attention and pass that class you will be far ahead of your classmates in Paramedic. Not only does it teach terminology and how to read medical words, it goes into anatomy, physiology and pathologies of a lot of diseases.
 
Daedalus,

I am in Southern California as well, but can't seem to find any medical terminology classes. Do you reccomend any?

Thanks,

Patrick
 
I wouldn't be too concerned with the medical terminology course. I mean it's nice, but assuming you are a critical reader and take an anatomy and physiology or biology course, it wouldn't be of much more benefit. Besides, medical terminology is easily enough self-taught. There are a lot of decent books out there on the subject which are all short reads.

I would recommend however the following courses in the order of priority:

1.) Anatomy and Physiology- With a background in A&P, it is much easier to rationalize a patient diagnosis, the mechanisms of a disease, drug mechanisms of action, etc. These benefits are why A&P is the core of all medical courses, no matter what field you are going into. If you learn A&P, and learn it well, you will be the best paramedic in the world.

2.) Biology- For the same reasons as above, biology gives you a background in the science of life. It covers the topics of physiology, albeit in much less depth, but you gain a better appreciation for medicine (and even A&P for that matter) as a science. Just as anatomy and physiology gives you a basis for the understanding of medicine, biology gives you the basis for the understanding of anatomy and physiology.

3.) General Chemistry- I am a strong supporter of requiring that medics learn the pure sciences. Due to my reductionist view of the world as a scientist I believe that with general chemistry, biology will make a bit more sense. Also, with an understanding of buffers, acid and base physiology will make a bit more sense when you get to it.
 
I should mention on ITUNES there are A&P classes and Pathophysiology classes on podcasts for free. You can look up the college class through the listed website, get the text book if so desired and self study. Just an idea.
 
ccmedic said:
3.) General Chemistry- I am a strong supporter of requiring that medics learn the pure sciences. Due to my reductionist view of the world as a scientist I believe that with general chemistry, biology will make a bit more sense. Also, with an understanding of buffers, acid and base physiology will make a bit more sense when you get to it.
Click to expand...

That's because biology is really chemistry while chemistry is really physics while physics is really math while humanities is a waste of time. :ph34r:
 
ccmedic said:
I wouldn't be too concerned with the medical terminology course. I mean it's nice, but assuming you are a critical reader and take an anatomy and physiology or biology course, it wouldn't be of much more benefit. Besides, medical terminology is easily enough self-taught. There are a lot of decent books out there on the subject which are all short reads.

I would recommend however the following courses in the order of priority:

1.) Anatomy and Physiology- With a background in A&P, it is much easier to rationalize a patient diagnosis, the mechanisms of a disease, drug mechanisms of action, etc. These benefits are why A&P is the core of all medical courses, no matter what field you are going into. If you learn A&P, and learn it well, you will be the best paramedic in the world.

2.) Biology- For the same reasons as above, biology gives you a background in the science of life. It covers the topics of physiology, albeit in much less depth, but you gain a better appreciation for medicine (and even A&P for that matter) as a science. Just as anatomy and physiology gives you a basis for the understanding of medicine, biology gives you the basis for the understanding of anatomy and physiology.

3.) General Chemistry- I am a strong supporter of requiring that medics learn the pure sciences. Due to my reductionist view of the world as a scientist I believe that with general chemistry, biology will make a bit more sense. Also, with an understanding of buffers, acid and base physiology will make a bit more sense when you get to it.
Click to expand...
I strongly disagree.
I am a biology major, I have taken biology, chemistry, physics, etc. I have found medical terminology to be an amazing class for EMTs, it is very high yield and is packed with anatomy, physiology, biology, and pathology. You practice reading pathology reports, radiology reports, learn abbreviations, review body systems, learn common pathologies of those systems, and learn to dissect a word you do not understand. I cannot advocate it enough. My class was taught by a RN/NP who is 84 years old and still is a clinical professor of nursing. She is an amazing teacher so perhaps I am biased in favor of that class,

OP, Corexcel.com offers an online version that I have heard is pretty decent. But I implore you to visit your local community college. PM me with where you live and I will help you out and link you to my paramedic program.
 
VentMedic said:
Humanities a waste of time? Young man I don't believe you have taken the right humanities or have been poorly advised.
Click to expand...

I think he is speaking towards what the admissions communities want to see. I bet you JP would have liked to spend more time in humanities, but he was forced to get nitty griddy with hard sciences to be a competitive applicant.
 
VentMedic said:
Humanities a waste of time? Young man I don't believe you have taken the right humanities or have been poorly advised.
Click to expand...
I think it's an eternal debate among technical majors. Not like "ALS vs BLS" or "career vs volunteer" here, but close :rolleyes:
I tried to take Humanities and Social Science electives (we are required to take 6 of these in addition to comunication class) which were relevant or at least interesting. I can't say they were completely useless for me as an EMT - I learned some interesting things about mental illness and social deviance, diseases in ancient and modern populations, human skeleton, etc... But I would learn all that and much more relevant material if I took specialized classes.
 
Foxbat, those requirements are made to create a well rounded graduate. A positive thing. Its good to step outside our bubbles, even if they do not directly apply to our career.
 
Humanities are good classes to take. I understand the interest in classes directly related to EMS.

Management classes are relevant. Psychology classes are relevant. Criminal Justice classes are relevant. Healthcare issues are relevant and even the ones that don't deal with EMS.
 
Med Term

Well, Med Term one of the required "pre-reqs" for the EMS program I am applying for in April.......

So as a current Med Term student, my assessment is in favor of the class. It is moderately difficult, but worthwhile.


We took a quiz this morning on prefixes, abbreviations, planes of the body, anatomic positioning, and other topics (dysplasia's etc).

We do learn conditions, procedures, and anatomy in the course.

Overall, a good class.

Anyhow, just my $.02.
 
I'm in the process of taking classes that I feel will help me be a better EMT and future paramedic. The basic sciences, humanities, communication, some math and some business are all on my list of classes to take. I'm in luck though, I have a school in my state, (fully accredited) that will take the classes and turn them into a Bachelor Degree as long as I have enough credits.
 
I was mostly speaking in the biting sarcasm only possible from a hard science major when I mentioned humanities. Hey, at least humanities are ranked above arts majors.:ph34r:

Oh, and most social "sciences" aren't science. Someone please tell me where political science meets the criteria for falsifiability? (for the record, I have a minor in poli "sci")
 
daedalus said:
Foxbat, those requirements are made to create a well rounded graduate. A positive thing. Its good to step outside our bubbles, even if they do not directly apply to our career.
Click to expand...
It depends on what an alternative is. Is somebody with humanity classes better educated than somebody without them? Yes. But if I have to choose between a professional who spent 18 credits on becoming a well-rounded man and somebody who spent these 18 credits on taking relevant classes, I personally would pick the second one. I don't really care if an EMT/paramedic that treats me knows something about ancient cultures, I care what he knows about medicine. I'm all for making students more well-rounded while they are in middle/high school (it is a little disturbing when people can't find their country on a map or tell which countries fought in WWII). But I think in college this should be a personal choice.
One can make an argument that electives improve student's communication skills. It depends. Communication skills elective and/or writing intensive courses do. But so far I have written more text in classes which were relevant to my major than in my electives.
 
I had taken quite a bit of bio and chem before my EMT-I course, and it saved me hours upon hours of homework. While my classmates studied for 8-10 hours a day, I studied an average of an hour a day, which allowed me to work FT and not worry about my success in the class. A&P was the single most useful course from those I had taken, but knowing cell bio and microbio was also useful at times. I found few references to chem, genetics, or biochem.
 
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