Basic, general overview of diseases

[JPINFV]

My words are not coming out how they are in my head. If I have any excuse for asking something that may seem like a no brainier (or that makes me look bad) to you guys is because I am not even in EMT school yet. I am still working on all my general ed for the AS part of my medic degree / certification. My EMT classes start in January, and I will be finishing all the rest by the time that wraps up in May.

The problem is that the 'diagnose v don't diagnose' is one of the arguments that stands at the very basis of what EMS is and you might have unwittingly ran into it. [slanted comment]Are we, EMS, health care professionals or protocol monkeys?[/slanted comment] Given the environment that EMS works in, it's either one or the other. Either there's room for independent thought or there is not.

[fiznat]

If you are in school already, why not take some A&P and/or biology? If you want to know this stuff well then you've got to put in the time and learn from the ground up. Casually reading a few books will give you a very small part of the story, and even then you'll only remember bits and pieces. That can sometimes be more of a problem than a benefit.