Taking EMT-B course without any other experience/courses?

Wldcat10

Wldcat10

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Hows it going? I'm new to this forum and glad I found it. I'm going to be taking the EMT-B course at my local commounity college soon and had some questions.

1. Has anyone ever taken the EMT-B course wthout any experience or other EMT courses before?

I don't have any experience in the field but have always been interested in the EMT field. I'm starting my course soon and just wanted to see if anybody has taken the course without any other experience/courses. How did you do in the EMT-B course with out experience? Any pointers/help would be apprecited, thanks!
 
Wldcat10 said:
1. Has anyone ever taken the EMT-B course wthout any experience or other EMT courses before?
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Yes.



EMT class isn't necessarily hard, but does have a decent drop-out rate due to people not taking it seriously. If you do your job, take it seriously, and put some effort in to it, you'll be fine.
 
Wldcat10 said:
Hows it going? I'm new to this forum and glad I found it. I'm going to be taking the EMT-B course at my local commounity college soon and had some questions.

1. Has anyone ever taken the EMT-B course wthout any experience or other EMT courses before?

I don't have any experience in the field but have always been interested in the EMT field. I'm starting my course soon and just wanted to see if anybody has taken the course without any other experience/courses. How did you do in the EMT-B course with out experience? Any pointers/help would be apprecited, thanks!
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I just finished my EMT-B class almost two weeks ago, and I had never taken any kind of medical classes before. The best advice I have is study hard, take notes and take it seriously. We had a 8 or 9 people who thought it was a joke and never read the chapters...they didn't make it. It's not brain surgery, but there are a lot of things you will need to know, some simple, some a little more advanced. Just apply yourself and you'll be fine.
 
I don't think the basic class was any harder than any class I ever took in High School. Yes, there are psycho-motor aspects of the class that must be "mastered," but if you put in the time and thought you'll do just fine. Also, just read the damned book, it's really not that long when broken down into chapters and while it may a textbook in size, the level that it is written at should not be any cause for concern.
 
I had no EMS experience prior to taking my class. They don't expect you to come in knowing anything, in fact the few people in my class who did have some experience running some calls with volunteer agencies ended up being incredibly difficult because they were so convinced they already knew what to do, they disregarded any constructive criticism the instructor tried to give.

Expect to have to spend studying for your tests, the reading isn't difficult but there is a lot of information to retain(especially if you haven't taken any anatomy/physiology before). Also when it comes to your skills, try to get as much hands on practice as possible & ask questions if you don't feel like you are getting it. A lot of people in my class were too worried about doing the skills wrong and looking silly so they didn't want to practice at all. But that's really how you learn.
 
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No experience required. There may be some medical terms that you've never heard before, just don't be afraid to ask what thy mean.
 
Its good to know that I'm not alone. I'm going to make sure I work my hardest to get whatever needs to be done, thanks guys!
 
Hey buddy! I am in southern Arizona as well and I took mine at Pima, like you are! if you need any info just ask!
 
Do you know who your instructors are?
 
Although I had around 15 years of experience (former Navy corpsman, former NREMT, First Aid, CPR Instructor), I believe the class was presented in such a manner that anyone (little experience, to the experienced) would be able to learn. Learn to ask questions of your instructor and assistants.
 
Thanks everyone for all the replies and tips! Its greatly appreciated!
 
I'm not going to say anything too new here...but I'm going to say it anyway.

I had no medical related study before the EMT class; I was in a class of about 46 students, close to half of which were college pre-med or some type of biology or other life science-related major, and I ended up 2nd in the class.

There's a fair amount of memorization, but nothing's that hard. There were students who would constantly show up late, not do homework, barely study, not be able to answer simple questions, and after several attempts at running through the patient assessments, sounded as though is was the first time they were hearing any part of it. It was pretty ridiculous, actually.

As long as you put in some effort and stay engaged at all, you should do just fine.
 
My $0.02

Good Luck!

Study hard and you will be just fine!

A site I send my students to so they can take the on line tests with feedback is emtb.com.

Hope that helps!

__________________
Tom Perroni
Doc "Gwedo"

"Trust me, I'm a medic"

The “State of the Art” in medicine is constantly changing –unlearn outdated medical training @ CCJA.
 
One thing that might be worth doing, if you're interested in EMS as a career, is seeing if you can do a ride-along with a local service, before you commit a bunch of time and money to training. You could try contacting one of the schools and seeing if they'd help organise this.
 
The only kind of medical instruction I had before the EMT-B class was from boy scouts when I got my first aid merit badge. And that was about 5 years ago. We learned splinting of most limbs, a lot on environmental emergencies (snake bites, hypothermia/hyperthermia, etc.), and how to control bleeding (and of course I know the new methods)
 
The main thing missing from most EMT courses is an A&P prereq. It is like teaching a mechanic to fix cars without knowing how a car works. While in class, I saw so many students struggle because they did not have any background in biology. Even Bio101 would be a good start.
 
systemet said:
One thing that might be worth doing, if you're interested in EMS as a career, is seeing if you can do a ride-along with a local service, before you commit a bunch of time and money to training. You could try contacting one of the schools and seeing if they'd help organise this.
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This^
 
Ride alongs with no clue what to expect, I dunno? It could overwhelm some and make them feel they do not have what it takes.
 
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