Recommeded sites for nremt-b

[ablackwell]

Anybody have any recommended web sites for a stressed out soul taking the nremt in less than 24 hours?

Also interested in books to purchase for paramedis school. Thank you in advance for you advice.

[Dustdevil]

www.emtb.com has some practice tests over each chapter of the EMT text. While this is a good way to gauge how well prepared you may be for the test, there is no site that is really recommended for preparing you for the test. Either you learned your stuff or you didn't. And if you don't pass, then more study is the answer.

Books are not the way to prepare for paramedic school. School is the way to prepare for paramedic school. Before you even think of starting, you should have completed two or three semesters of college level prerequisites in Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, Sociology, English Composition, Speech Communications, and Algebra. And any school that does not require those courses prior to admission is a lame patch factory that sucks, and will result in you being a less than fully competent paramedic.

Edited July 25, 2009 by Dustdevil

[mobey]

you should have completed two or three semesters of college level prerequisites in Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, Sociology, English Composition, Speech Communications, and Algebra. And any school that does not require those courses prior to admission is a lame patch factory that sucks, and will result in you being a less than fully competent paramedic.

I ask this in total sincerness.

Do you know of any school that actually requires this in North America?

My school is one of the highest rated Paramedic programs in Canada (University of Alberta) and the only pre-rec's were a 6 credit A&P course (University level), fluent english, EMT cert, and good highschool grades. My 2 year diploma makes me immediatly eligable to enter into the 4 year degree program, so you can rest assured it is a credible school.

I looked into almost every school in Canada before choosing this one, and I saw no pre-rec's like the ones above.

I find it hard to believe the U.S. has any schools like you speak of given what I have read on this forum.

[Dustdevil]

Quite a few, actually. Microbiology is the only one that isn't pretty standard fare for most paramedic degree programmes. Some more. Some less. But, of course, with few exceptions, the quickie tech schools you usually hear of don't require anything but a pulse.

[rock_shoes]

I ask this in total sincerness.

Do you know of any school that actually requires this in North America?

My school is one of the highest rated Paramedic programs in Canada (University of Alberta) and the only pre-rec's were a 6 credit A&P course (University level), fluent english, EMT cert, and good highschool grades. My 2 year diploma makes me immediatly eligable to enter into the 4 year degree program, so you can rest assured it is a credible school.

I looked into almost every school in Canada before choosing this one, and I saw no pre-rec's like the ones above.

I find it hard to believe the U.S. has any schools like you speak of given what I have read on this forum.

I think you're forgetting two important factors here Mobey.

1) It probably took you almost as much time and effort to obtain your EMT (equivalent to PCP in other provinces) cert as it does for someone stateside to go through one of the "medic-mill" programs dust refers to. This is all before you where even eligible to apply for an EMT-P (ACP in other provinces) program.

2) In Canada the algebra competency level required to be successful in an EMT-P program is covered in high school math courses (provided you take academic high school math as opposed to the bare minimum required to graduate). Any Canadian high school kid can also meet the language proficiency requirements provided they stuck to the academic path instead of the bare minimum (a huge portion sticks to the bare minimum unfortunately).

A little aside for non-Canadian readers

PCP stands for Primary Care Paramedic (called EMT-A in Alberta) and is roughly equivalent in scope to EMT-I

ACP stands for Advanced Care Paramedic (called EMT-P in Alberta) and is roughly equivalent in scope to EMT-P

By the way Mobey did you end up going to SAIT? Right now SAIT is at the top of my list of schools to apply to for the fall 2010 intake.

[spenac]

Definitely check out Ebay for books. I suggest getting a copy of all 3 major Paramedic sets. (Mosby, AAOS, Prentice hall). Make sure the one the school wants you to use is the newest edition and the other two can be a few years old ( which means cheaper ). I found by having all 3 available that if I did not understand something I could look in the other books and most times one of them would say it so I understood.

[ablackwell]

What about books for EKG interpretation and pharmacology?

[spenac]

What about books for EKG interpretation and pharmacology?

Bob Page 12 lead

Gail Walraven EKG

Pharmacology Prehospital Emergency Pharmacology

Also use search feature at top right hand corner and you will find some debates about various books.

[chbare]

Actually, these courses are fairly standard pre-requisites for nursing and allied health programs in the United States. Some community colleges that offer paramedic, nursing, and other allied health programs require the same pre-requisite courses. This can come as a shock to nursing students who expect a two year program, only to find that the core program is two years long; however, they end up spending an additional year finishing pre-requisites.

Just over a decade ago I had to take the following pre-requisite courses:

-Biology I: 3 credits with 1 credit lab (was able to CLEP)

-Human A&P I: 3 credits with 1 credit lab

-Human A&P II: 3 credits with 1 credit lab

-Introductory Algebra: 3 credits

-Problem solving: 3 credits (A hybrid statistics and algebra course)

-General Psychology: 3 credits

-Microbiology: 3 credits with 1 credit lab

-English compesition: 3 credits

-English literature: 3 credits

Co-requisite courses

-US and state government: 3 credits

-Nutrition: 3 credits

-Wellness: 2 credits with 1 credit lab

I cannot see how Dustdevil's recommendations would be considered unreasonable. The level of paramedic responsibility and clinical decision making really does require a solid foundation of pre-requisite courses that are at least comparable to nurses and other allied health health providers.

As far as ECG and pharmacology books; you are better off taking courses in anatomy and physiology prior to thinking about ECG interpretation and pharmacology. You need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of cell physiology, general anatomy, and histology to really understand concepts such as three dimensional receptor agonists, metabolites, and the current of injury.

Take care,

chbare.

[EMT City Administrator]

Let's stick to the OP original question. If you want to talk about medic training, you are welcome to start a new topic.