Tips for Medic School

[EMSANTHEM]

By the time i start paramedic school i will have about 8 months of EMT-B exper. under my belt which starts mid-august wondering if anyone on here had any tips for what i can do now to prep for medic school ?

Thanks EMSANTHEM!

 

[DrankTheKoolaid]

Obviously having taken the core sciences ahead of time would be of great benefit to you. Find out what text is going to be used and begin reading the pharmacology and cardiology sections.

Thinking further ahead, figure out where you plan on doing your internship and begin studying the protocols. It will help you in school and when ready for internship. Remember internship isnt when you learn your protocols, you should already have them closed to memorized when you begin them so your preceptor can evaluate your ability to perform patient care and fill in any gaps in your education

 

[Medico]

Definitely learn your pharmacology. That will be a time saver and put you ahead of your classmates.

 

[EMSANTHEM]

thanks for replying guys & im on it with that thanks again

 

[duncklee5]

Thanks for all of your tips for medical school the way you define everything is amazing and gave many new and interesting information.Its a great stuff to read and learn important tips.

 

[EmtTravis]

Plan on not having a life lol. If you can get your hands on a ACLS book and PHTLS and PALS and read them before hand. So far we've done ACLS and PHTLS in my class and thank god their over. Also like others have said read up on pharmacology and cardiology.

 

[EMTVeg]

I am loving medic school and finish this August. The classroom time isnt a problem for me it is the 600hours of clinicals that is making me wanna shoot myself. I thought PHTLS and ACLS have been some of the easiest parts of the course alone with cardiology. The toughest part for me was pharmacology. Once drugs start clicking in your head you will be set but they seam to almost be like a foreign language that takes a while for you to learn how to memorize them. Just find whatever works for you and stick with it. A good portion of EMS, as I am sure you already know is, common sense. With everything you learn use your head and thinking about how it links to everything else you know. A lot of students that struggle in my class are struggling because they don't have basic analytical skills to work through the information. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Veneficus]

If you have time...

The very best thing you can do for yourself is take a University general chemistry course.

It will teach you acid/base, osmosis, diffusion, ideal gas law, (which is dead useful for volume of distribution in pharm) and most importantly, conversion factors.

Other classes that are beneficial are Intro to bio for science majors and A&P.

The most important thing to remember is paramedic class is not about what goes on in the street. It is school and what is important in school is all that book stuff.

If you ever once read part of a chapter and think "I don't need to know this" you have taken the first step towards failure.

Drug abusers can start IVs
Lay people can do CPR
First responders "immobilize" patients
I have seen 7 year old children of instructors intubate Fred the head to NR standards.

Skills make up a very small part of what you need. Don't get too focused on them.

If you don't learn what you need to pass the book test, what "matters in the field" will not matter, because you won't be in it.

Always ask "why" and never be satisfied with the answer.