Super EMTs?

Super Duper
 
Super EMTs? Do they get to wear capes???

Rope Rescue is somethng that should probably be taught in a class that deals with extrications and rescues and not being in EMT class.
 
I sure hope its an add on and not built in to the 110 hours EMT course. EMT's are already short changed on education and to take away even more hours for this should be a crime. If an add on no problem. Of course to the title well just ridiculous. I'm super emt here to do nothing but hold your hand and watch you die as I chose this fun rope course rather than going and getting medical education, super aye.
 
Whoopee do!.. So what? That's nice...too bad they probably don't know jack squat about medical care.

"Daughtrey says he decided to get involved with the Super EMT class because of the great opportunities it provides."

Oh yeah, so many EMS performs repelling right after that nursing home call.... gimmee a break!

This needs to be within a specialized rescue or wildnerness EMT course.

Our local program used to have repelling within the Basic class also, yeah real helpful in the flat lands! It was later replaced with Scuba diving... again, nice in the plains. How ironic, whatever the Instructor new side business was she mandated within the program....

How about increasing the clinical hours or anatomy, or something they will really use. Make it fun, sure but be practical.

R/r 911
 
WTF?!

Wow, what a shining example of journalistic excellence.

"I don't know of any other place around here that does it," said Sarah Ferrell, an EMT-B and instructor for the class.
Click to expand...

Why is an EMT-B the instructor for an EMT-B course?
 
LucidResq said:
WTF?!

Why is an EMT-B the instructor for an EMT-B course?
Click to expand...

Which is why she probably has no idea there is more medical stuff that can be taught. As well, she is probably not an educator. Unless the program is in a college, there are few if any requirements for EMT(P) instructors. You just have to hold a cert at the same level you are teaching. A two week EMT or a 3 month medic mill grad can start instructing a class in some areas almost as soon as they pass their cert exam.

This article is a great example of cluelessness about the profession. The medical material in the EMT-B is barely adequate to even do first-aid and yet they want to learn more exciting skills because they obviously don't know enough medicine to see how that can also be exciting as well as a vital asset to being an EMT.
 
So, if you are an EMT and you are also taught how to perform rope rescue work, then you are labeled a S-EMT? COOL! In that case I am a RSD-EMT (Really Super Duper Emergency Medical Technician)!

I have no problem with EMTs and Medics expanding their emergency services training in a non medical way. In fact, several agencies around my area require rope rescue certification for EMTs because if there is (for instance) an over the bank MVC, the ambo crew will also rappel the embankment with Fire (most of which are MFR).

But to make it part of your EMT class seems a little... well... stupid. If your grandma is having a stroke, you really do not care if your EMS crew is certified, in ropes, swiftwater, dive, a probate lawyer, or as a mime. You want them to have an exceptional medical education. My EMT class was 150 hours (without A&P and basic cardiology), and would have liked it to been at least 250 hours. Based on the photo in that article, they are performing high angle techniques. In my area, the low angle class is 27+ hours and the high angle (must be taken in that order) is 24+ hours. Even if you can somehow compress that (how do you do that safely, while providing the EMT with the training needed on a real ropes call), those are a lot of hours taken away from EMT class that is only offered on the weekends for 3 months! On top of that, are the EMTs you put out there going to have a post-schooling opportunity and ability to perform the ropes skills they have learned? As Rid stated, how many times have you been forced to rappel into a SNF? So those skills will be forgotten and lost over time, never having been used in the field... so what was the point. Personally, a good part of my SAR gig is ropes; and despite the fact that I train regularly on those skills, I still have issues with staying fluent in those skills. FOCUS ON THE MEDICINE!!! If you want/need to learn ropes, ICS, water rescue, dive, haz-mat, etc. go to separate classes that teach and certify those things. Do not take time away from what limited hours EMT is already compose of and allow the students to focus on one thing at a time!!!
 
LITTLE RESEARCH and I am not sre how many hours this class is, however it appears to be 4 months of cramming to be part of the local rescue squad. In addition to EMT, there is a lot of awareness level training, ropes, trench, confined space, etc... Sounds like they are trying to provide as much information and certification as possible ion a short amount of time so that they can put non-fire EMS/Rescue vollies out there to protect their community... good idea, but wrong way of doing it IMHO!!! I am not a "boo voliie" person (like some), but I have issues with the way some present volunteering in emergency services as is demostrated by this setup. Take out the EMT portion of the course and it is all good! Good medical care should not be thrown in there!!!

http://www.rescue1.org/semt.html

"Super" EMT Class is unique to CARS. First taught in 2001, the class was designed for individuals to become well versed in rescue and EMT-B over a four month time period. The class is intense, with EMT lecture/practical taught on weekdays and rescue related classes taught over weekends. With eight years of experience sponsoring this class, we have found that most SEMT graduates join CARS and make an immediate impact on staffing and tend to stay longer. Many close friendships are made and each class tends to become very unique. In addition to the standard EMT-B curriculum, the following certification classes may also taught:

VDFP Hazardous Materials Awareness
CARS Technical Rescue Awareness*
CARS Fire Scene Awareness*
CARS Swift Water Awareness*
CARS Vehicle Rescue Operations
CARS Trench Rescue Operations
CARS Rope Rescue Operations
CARS Confined Space Rescue Operations
NFA Rescue Systems I
NIMS ICS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System**
NIMS ICS-200 ICS for Single Resource Incidents**
NIMS ICS-700 National Incident Management System**
Helicopter Landing Zone Awareness
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So you can't be an EMT-B instructor if you're an EMT-B?


Give me a break :rolleyes:


Sure its great to have a Paramedic level as an instructor.
 
Hockey9019 said:
So you can't be an EMT-B instructor if you're an EMT-B?


Give me a break :rolleyes:


Sure its great to have a Paramedic level as an instructor.
Click to expand...

Actually, many states has provisions of RN's can be one without being an EMT. Actually a lot of EMT instructors are actually just Basic EMT's.

My state just require one to have two years experience and be at the least the same level or above to teach any EMS course. (CPR instructor is required)

R/r 911
 
Ridryder911 said:
Actually, many states has provisions of RN's can be one without being an EMT. Actually a lot of EMT instructors are actually just Basic EMT's.

My state just require one to have two years experience and be at the least the same level or above to teach any EMS course. (CPR instructor is required)

R/r 911
Click to expand...

In this case, these are all volunteers and the traiing is provided in-house, so EMT-B is probably all that they have available. If you look a that site above, the cost of the course is 25$ to cover the cost of 2 t-shirts (oh no, the t-shirt thread again :P). They probably have a few "old-timer" EMTs that they arranged to get any additional training/certification to teach (if any). IMHO, I'm okay with EMTs working with a higher level provider to teach the class, provided that the EMT has a lot of real world experience. In my case, the class was taught by a 30-year vet Paramedic that used 2 EMTs and a MICN to teach certain portions or when he had other parts of the EMS program to deal with. One EMT was a 20 year vet of Ambo and Fire (District Chief) who knew his stuff and the other was a Wilderness EMT that came in to teach the environmental portions of the class. Worked for me.
 
Mountain Res-Q said:
One EMT was a 20 year vet of Ambo and Fire (District Chief) who knew his stuff
Click to expand...

But if you have no prior medical experience, he could have just been spinning a good tale and you may never know the difference. Remember the old saying "Just dazzle them with BS when you don't have the answers to their questions".

Some instructors are also voted most popular by the cool stories they tell instead of talking about all that boring medical stuff in the book.

Sections that require special knowledge and skills such as those pertaining to the environment or wilderness may be taught by someone who has experience. However, I have sat in on some SCUBA classes given by "experienced" divers that are just dangerous in that they have learned too many dangerous shortcuts and have forgotten the basic priniciples.
 
Hockey9019 said:
So you can't be an EMT-B instructor if you're an EMT-B?


Give me a break :rolleyes:


Sure its great to have a Paramedic level as an instructor.
Click to expand...

Just strange to me considering in my area it is absolutely standard for EMT-B instructors to be paramedics at a minimum, and instructors are required by the Dept. of Health to complete first an assistant EMS instructor course, then a primary instructor course.
 
LucidResq said:
Just strange to me considering in my area it is absolutely standard for EMT-B instructors to be paramedics at a minimum, and instructors are required by the Dept. of Health to complete first an assistant EMS instructor course, then a primary instructor course.
Click to expand...


Same here though just sayin ;)
 
CNAs require an RN as an instructor.

RNs, RRTs, SLPs, PTs ect require their educators to hold a Masters or Doctorate.

Surely it would not be too much to ask to have instuctors hold at least 2x the education of the cert they are teaching. Although for EMT-B, that still might only be 4 weeks.
 
I know from some situations I have been in it would be nice to have parmedics who are trained in rope rescue and other fields,but this should not be built in with the EMT-B program. Every area has its own special needs that medical personnel have to deal with at one time or another. We recently ran into a call where a patient was trapped on top of a water tower with a possible femur fracture. We were on scene with this patient for close to an hour rigging every thing to lower him to the ground with only basics and intermediates tending to him. Three paramedics who were on the call had no training in high angle work.so we had to wait on giving pain meds until two medics who are also volunteers with our rescue unit to get back from an out of town trip to give any pain meds to this patient. And as an answer to an earlier Question two of the medics that were on scene had just returned to service after a call at a nursing home. So yes we should be prepared to handle what evr might come in in our area. This however should not be a part of a basic class,rather astand alone class after the medical part is completed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top