HERBIE1 Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 All good thoughts so far. I think kids are certainly more tech savvy, but I believe that skill comes at a cost. Many of the students become so reliant on things like spell check that they do not understand or pay attention to things like the differences between using words like their and there. No spell checker will understand context and proper word usage, and the students assume the program will take care of their mistakes. Part of the problem is the educational process, which starts long before they enroll in EMT, nursing, or paramedic school. It seems that too many kids are not well equipped to handle the rigors of a solid program, much less a traditional college curriculum. It seems to me that many schools embrace and emphasize technology in order to make them competitive in the workplace, but that technology should only be a tool- the basics still need to be taught and mastered.
Kiwiology Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Our systems are totally different, here to become a Paramedic you require a Bachelors Degree and Intensive Care Paramedic (our top level) requires a Post-Graduate qualification ontop of the Degree. Having put that disclaimer in I feel education has changed for the worse. Everybody wants something for nothing and no effort or zero synthesis of ATP as the maximum required exertion is commonplace.
EMT Instructor gal Posted September 30, 2011 Posted September 30, 2011 I currently teach in Alaska as part of a technical prep school.. It is for high school students who have the chance to go to the prep school part time and get real hands on skills and working knowledge of the industry to see if it is the field they want to persue. Being that they are high school kids, I get the typical lazy, unsure and disrespectful students. They have only 1 option in my class that I make very clear the first day; you will see things you can't unsee. You will deal with death and dismemberment ( you must learn very quickly to get over it!) if you act in a way that I feel is a harm to your future patients or a disgrace to the EMS profession, you will not test to be an EMT! Usually I lose a few students that way, but it helps weed out the ones I wouldn't want working on me or my family members anyways.. As an educator for the school district I have a curriculum I must follow along with the EMT guidelines for my state, so there is a lot of information and way beyond the 120hours required to test. My EMT experience was different and I still wish there was more to it! Better clarification on why, not so much what! Anyways.. Sorry for rambling! I just love what I do and want to produce great, confident and professional future EMTs 2
FNGfirstresponder Posted October 5, 2011 Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) I think we are superior to students of past generations, in that we want it more, and study harder. EMS used to be the career you fell into when you dropped out of a college for another career, now we are professionals who want this as our career. Edited October 5, 2011 by FNGfirstresponder
systemet Posted October 6, 2011 Posted October 6, 2011 I think there's a tendency as you get older to look at the current generation of students and highlight their flaws, while forgetting what you were like when you were a student yourself. I haven't done a lot of teaching in EMS in a few years, although I've done some teaching in other settings. I do think that the educational requirements we set in EMS are way too low. I believe that we've reached a point where if we want to develop into a profession, we need to increase the training time. This isn't going to be easy, and is going to require a coordinated effort.
DFIB Posted October 6, 2011 Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) About 60% of my students are lazy. The worst are the ones that think that they know enough to be an EMT because they have spent a couple of volunteer shifts at the Fire station. We are able to bring about 20% up to speed. the other 40% either don't really want EMS bad enough or just dont have the muster to get it done. Being good is an individual choice. Edited October 6, 2011 by DFIB
BushyFromOz Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) I think we are superior to students of past generations, in that we want it more, and study harder. EMS used to be the career you fell into when you dropped out of a college for another career, now we are professionals who want this as our career. No dude, you dont have to drop out of college to do EMS, in fact, you dont even have to go to college at all. Kid, get some edeucation behind you, toss your scanner in the bin, get a degree and come back in 3 or 4 years and then you can call yourself professional Edited October 8, 2011 by BushyFromOz 1
island emt Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 Students today are two separate groups: The middle age folks [30's & 40's ] that have already had a career and have stability, & the punk kids who know everything, have done everything and spend their lives texting . Yes the kids are more tech savvy, but they can't spell , they can't read and they don't know how to study. They want an APP for that. The older group is doing this because they want to expand their knowledge and may be changing professions. The kids are there because mommy said to go do something besides laying on the couch and burning up the gamebox.
P_Instructor Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 No dude, you dont have to drop out of college to do EMS, in fact, you dont even have to go to college at all. Kid, get some edeucation behind you, toss your scanner in the bin, get a degree and come back in 3 or 4 years and then you can call yourself professionala Great comeback Bushmaster. I agree with what you said, and also believe that todays young student need much more basic training before they even think of pursuing the 'professional' EMS career.
Tactical Spork Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 From my point of view, the main issue with EMS education is the lack of time. In a degree program, you measure a student's progression in years, whereas in EMS you measure a student's progression in months. With time, you can 'guide' or correct a student's behavior. They have time to learn and mature. I know the topic of 'degree' or 'college' prepared EMS providers has been discussed in other threads, but I do think that is the key here. Regardless of the ratio of mature, immature, heroes, sand-baggers, to joe average they are still out the door before you know it. Especially at the BLS level, but there are still a few ALS patch mills out there. Of course, it would be hard to convince someone to complete an EMS degree program with the current salary options in EMS. Of course, as you raise education requirements income tends to follow (as well as the quality of patient care).
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