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I'm sorry but I don't think you can reach this person. Yeah I'm gonna be the asshole here but seriously, If grandma brown down the street has a cardiac emergency we activate the paramedics. I am sure somewhere in the EMS training we will cover it. If not, then I'll go ahead and see if they offer a CEU for cardiac emergencies or not. If that makes you feel any better lol. I'm not just going to let a patient suffer. I will do everything in my abilities to assist them. So if you don't cover cardiac emergencies are you going to wait until you get Grandma down the street in a cardiac emergency and then take a class or are you going to take the CEU prior to it? Your answers are all over the board. And Yes someone is paying for this class, be it with tax dollars(yes you are paying for the class if you pay taxes) or with grant money(and that comes from Taxes a lot of times) or whatever and damnit, if you aren't fully vested in passing in the 90% then save the taxpayer/grant giver the money and don't take this class. The only person who you should be worried about passing this course is YOU and you alone. Don't worry about your fellow classmates, you need to worry about passing this class. Who cares if it's free or if it's a million dollars, the time and effort that you put in this class should be the same. And I do completely believe that all you are taking this class for is to make yourself look good to a fire department to become a fire fighter. But you will of course find fault in all that I wrote and that's ok as well.

There's a lot of truth to the saying "you get what you pay for". Although, I do understand the attraction of a state sponsored/funded class through your vollie squad. I've taken a couple of these type classes in the past, too. The question of the pass rate of the class(es) in question becomes a bigger issue if 50% of the people who attempt this course really do fail. Nothing is ever free. You might not be paying money. But you'll be paying something. Just where do you think the money that's paying for this class is coming from? No. You didn't say you were going to blow off the class. It was the "it won't be so bad if I fail... it's free..." comment that makes it sound like you're saying you don't care one way or another. If that's not really what you meant then why did you say it? Hard to say without knowing more about you. To take this in a slightly different direction, are you doing this simply because you think having an EMT cert will make it easier for you to be hired as a FF? Or are you doing this because you honestly, truly and genuinely want to be an EMS professional? If the former, please reconsider your career choice. The last thing EMS needs is another person getting involved simply because s/he thinks it'll offer an easier "in" with a fire department. If the latter, please stick around and keep an open mind. This site is full of dedicated EMS professionals from around the world who take their job and their career choice *very* seriously. As a general observation we don't tolerate fools lightly. That being said, you will *not* find a better site for knowledge base, support and education out there. If you are genuinely serious about being an EMS professional, please stick around with an open mind. Don't take things personally unless they're directed at you personally. If you put in an honest effort I think you'll find honest efforts to help you.

Damn, I woke up today and went to work, I will work until 7pm tonight at a job I really like and I will not get a nap, so quit your bitching about not getting a nap.

You probably want to verify this. A 50% pass rate is abysmal. If their pass rate is that poor you want to avoid them altogether no matter how long the class is they're offering. Please drop this attitude now. If this is really how you feel then please forget about taking an EMT class and stick with being a FF. What would your patient say to you if you told them "...don't worry if we don't get it right the first time... it's free..."? Would you want that person taking care of you or your family member? If you're not in this to do it right the first time then don't do it. This isn't high school. You say you want to make a career of this? Then dedicate yourself to doing it right and prove to your future employers that you take this seriously. Accelerated EMT courses are tough. On one hand it's not rocket surgery. On the other hand it's really a lot of information to be able to process in just two weeks never mind be reasonably expected to draw on that under stress. For someone who has some medical background behind them an accelerated course wouldn't be too bad. For the otherwise uninitiated, and based on your comments here that's you, a longer course would be more beneficial.

Holy crap, Klutzy, that is a horrible story. I think we need a little palate cleanser right now. OP, some transports are complete BS as it sounds like this one was. Remember, it is not the pt that called and they should not be the target of your anger. Blame the people that called. We once had EMS bring in a guy from the local NH that was sent because he pinched a nurse. The complaint on the form from the NH was, "Aggressive behavior and altered mental status." When EMS brought him in he was laughing and making jokes. I asked him if he had any complaints which he denied. I asked him about the "aggressive behavior," and he said something like, "Hell yeah I pinched them. Those girls are bitches and deserved it. If they would just listen to me I would stop doing it." "Sir, do you want to be here?" "Nope, I want to go home and go to sleep." "Okay, have a good night." We got a call from the charge nurse from the NH who was pissed and told us that if he pinched anyone else that she would be sending him back.

No, she deserves the compassion. I'm not a big fan of people who smoke crack, but damn. This woman is near the end, let her have whatever fun she wants. You also can't force her to go against her will.

Lots of things will factor in on how well you do in the course ranging from the Instructor's ability to teach, and your ability to learn....my classes are a ton of hands on and critical thinking, other courses are a ton of power point and Redbull to keep the students awake... Some things to check into are what the pass/fail ratio of the course is, talk with prior students if you can, talk to your prospective employer's..... Your employer will know which course you took when you fill out your job application..... Edited to add: Never forget that whatever course you take, when you get that certification, you have learned the "minimum requirements" to enter the field. Don't stop with what you learn in the classroom! Use trusted sources for furthering your knowledge~~

http://emcrit.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Anesth-Analg-2004-Mort-607-13.pdf