My certification is on the line!

[emt_hound]

I'd find out what I could do about filing complaints with the NYS OEMS, the NREMT, and your school. It may not help you, but it will help others.

It sounds like you both got screwed. You may not have any other option except to find and take a EMT-B course again. At least you'll both be older and wiser for it.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you.

[EMTChris]

It sounds kind of strange to me that if this was an official test out, the instructor was asking you questions and hinting at answers? Are you guys sure you were officially supposed to take the practicals, or were you both just testing the waters? When I took mine this past December, we had a couple CFR's who were there just to see how they would do. I honestly don't see how you took the EMT-B course 2-3 days/nights a week while going to school. It sounds like you took an abbreviated CFR course through high school, but you weren't registered through the state for EMT-B

[xaby]

The thing about the course is that it's a high school elective course, HOWEVER...given that you are old enough to be a candidate for certification, you can also get certified by taking the course. It was an official certification course that was a regular part of my high school schedule. So, I got high school credit for it, but at the same time I was supposed to be able to have gotten certified.

[vs-eh?]

Now, he asked me what the pulse rate on the trauma patient€™s femoral artery would be. I honestly did not know what it was. He told me that if I don’t answer and get it correctly, that he’d fail me right there. I took a wild guess and didn’t get it right.

I don't quite follow...what the PULSE rate would be? Well ideally it would be the same as radial/brachial/carotid/apical/etc...Did you/he mean to say what the ballpark BP would be if you just palpated the femoral artery? If that was the case the whole 80/70/60 systolic thing is inaccurate at the best of times. I would just dig up some literature and argue it. If it was truly what rate the femoral was, then I assume you just got rattled.

[EMTChris]

xaby, did you both fill out the state registration form? If you did you have a viable case to fight this. It just seemed from the description above that the instructors weren't taking this very seriously. I know that in NY, you have to have so many class hours to test out (120 I think?) and if you don't have enough hours you can't test out. State requirement. I'm just wondering if the elective classes you took in school were as intensive as the state course you should have taken. I would start with the person who told you that you would be a state certified EMT at the completion of this course. Please keep us posted and good luck!!

[Raistlin]

Indeed, we spent far more many hours than what is required. This was due to the fact that the one instructor involved in all of this was teaching more than a 6 student class, which the state would require to have 120 hours. Since there were more, he had to teach more hours.

[SmiLey]

Hello,

I am actually in the same EMT-B course offered by the same high school. The information of them not being able to pass the skills exam came as a shock to me because they are excellent students in the class. I was actually in Las Vegas, NV when I received this news. Why bring up LV? Because I could not take the test the days the instructor has offered, but I was able to take it the day I came back from Vegas. The fact that the instructor said he didn't have time or space is confusing to me, I'm sure he definitely had time the same day I took my skills exam, as for my exam only took about 30 minutes or so.

I do not believe the instructor offered xaby and Raistlin the registration forms, so I am not sure if they were registered at the state. The instructor only offered it to people that passed the exam the registration forms.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING,...

The instructor REPEATEDLY said in class that if you fail two or less stations, he WILL let you retake the skills exam, but for what ever reason he changed his mind, he should get things straight because this is not fair to the students that have done the same amount of work not to have an opportunity to redeem themselves, maybe due to nervousness or lack of experience, or even distractions from the school PA system.

Good Luck XABY and RAISTLIN,...

SmiLe on...

[EMTChris]

The instructor cannot "change his mind" about the 2 or less fails. That is a state rule. Something still isn't adding up here.

[Ridryder 911]

Didi you talk to the school administration ? You need to follow the "chain of command" & file grievance. If this does not work , contact the State, the need to do a fromal investigation. If you do not get your questions answered I would consider possible legal action.

Be safe,

Ridryder 911

[Raistlin]

The administrator of the program said he could not help us.

As of now, we both sent letters to Karen Meggenhoffen, Training coordinator and assitant director of education at the State DOH. We also sent letters to Eunice Mitchell,Sr. Emergency Medical Care Representative, also of the state DOH. We have been told an investigation will be started by prompt of a written letter, but we havnt received written or formal replies yet.