EMT-B 55 Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Should a pre-test be given for the EMT-Basic course? This is a discussion that is on-going bertween three lead instructors. I believe a pre-test is a good tool for both the instructor and the student. The instructor gets a handle on the level of understanding thje students have and the students get a glimse of what will be expected from them through out the course.
ERDoc Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 I think a pre-test for the benefit of the student is a good idea. It will give them an idea of what to expect. It should be at the level of the final state exam or NR exam. I don't think it is helpful to the instructor, who will have to teach to the least common denominator, which in this case should be assumed to be 0. It should be assumed that the lowest person has no EMS/medical experience and as such, that is how the course should be taught. It would be a different story if it was a medic class, where you are dealing with students who have been in the field and have experience but for an EMT class, assume the worst.
FireMedicChick164 Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 When I took my EMT -B class (11 years ago) the academy I was attending gave a practice exam to the students who wanted to take it a few weeks before the actual exam took place. They had a pool of questions from previous tests and quizzes and gave us a 50 question practice exam. It was great because we were able to focus on what areas we were weak in and either get remediation or just study extra on those topics. If your school is considering it I'd say it's a great idea. They even gave a practice exam when I took my EMT-CC 2 years ago and it helped me quite a bit. It can only help you! Good luck!!
tcripp Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Should a pre-test be given for the EMT-Basic course? Before responding, I'd be curious to see what kinds of questions you'd be asking since many will come to you without any medical training whatsoever. Are you thinking basic math, grammar, spelling reading and comprehension skills?
Dustdevil Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Before responding, I'd be curious to see what kinds of questions you'd be asking since many will come to you without any medical training whatsoever. Are you thinking basic math, grammar, spelling reading and comprehension skills? Yes, there are several different types of pre-tests, with varying goals, so it would be helpful to know more specifically what we are talking about. There are general aptitude tests, that test the candidate's potential for academic success. I like these. A lot of applicants simply do not have the potential to amount to anything, and it would be nice to know this ahead of time. There are pre-tests, like given in ACLS, where the questions are the same as the post test, simply used to quantify the learning done in the course. I don't see any significant value to this in the pre-EMT-B setting. After all, it's an entry level course, not con-ed. And there are pre-tests that are given to determine how much prerequisite study has been done by the student in preparation. I like these and use them. Students are required to have an understanding of A&P and medical terminology before enrolment. This type of pre-test assures that they have made that serious commitment to success, and are ready to begin intelligently comprehending medical concepts.
Lone Star Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 Yes, there are several different types of pre-tests, with varying goals, so it would be helpful to know more specifically what we are talking about. There are general aptitude tests, that test the candidate's potential for academic success. I like these. A lot of applicants simply do not have the potential to amount to anything, and it would be nice to know this ahead of time. There are pre-tests, like given in ACLS, where the questions are the same as the post test, simply used to quantify the learning done in the course. I don't see any significant value to this in the pre-EMT-B setting. After all, it's an entry level course, not con-ed. And there are pre-tests that are given to determine how much prerequisite study has been done by the student in preparation. I like these and use them. Students are required to have an understanding of A&P and medical terminology before enrolment. This type of pre-test assures that they have made that serious commitment to success, and are ready to begin intelligently comprehending medical concepts. As arrogant as this may sound, I've held the idea for a while that we need to raise the bar for the 'lowest common denominator' in EMS. I've seen far too many 'cook book providers' in the field that don't know enough to be able to distinguish their ass from a hole in the ground! Even at the EMT-B level, mistakes can be made that can potentially cost our patients their lives. Not every 'hero wanna-be' is qualified to break into EMS, no matter how in love with the flashy lights and loud noisemakers (sirens) they may be. If other medical professions can weed out the slackers, the hobbyists and the glory seekers, why shouldn't EMS do the same simply to purify the gene pool? Don’t get me wrong here, I’ve met some fantastic people in this field, but not all of them were cut out to be in EMS. I’ve also met some people that are adequate or better providers, but have no business in EMS because of their jacked up attitudes. The bottom line though, is that in order to start looking to become recognized as a healthcare profession, we have GOT to stop allowing just anyone with an 8th grade equivalent education into the field, where the only way that they can render care is “because the book says so”! I'm not saying that everyone in EMS needs to be a Rhodes Scholar, but the current arrangement isn't working out so well as it is...
m0nster986 Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Pre-test for EMT-B... NO! It is an entry level position. Pre-test for EMT-P... YES! If you do not have EMT-B knowledge mastered then you should not be a Paramedic! 1
kbrozenick Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 I am confused by what you mean by a pre-test. Are you referring to a pre-test that involves knowledge of EMS and/or EMT-B related information? Or are you talking about a pre-test that is determining student academic aptitude? I am not sure in regards to specific EMS potential that a pre-test would be helpful at this level. At a EMT-A or Paramedic level sure, I think that would would be a helpful tool. However, at the EMT-B level I do not think that type of test would be very helpful. Now if your talking about reading comprehension and their ability to learn, I would definitely say yes to that type of pre-test.
JakeEMTP Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 Pre-test for EMT-B... NO! It is an entry level position. Pre-test for EMT-P... YES! If you do not have EMT-B knowledge mastered then you should not be a Paramedic! I disagree, somewhat. Yes EMT-B is an entry level position, but I still think a pre-test along the lines of the HOBET test should be administered prior to enrolling in class. It doesn't need to be as extensive, but you get the jest. As for the second comment, you will find many here that disagree with being a basic first and advocate acquiring at minimum an AAS degree. With 2 years of full time classes with clinical time, one should be able to master the skills of a Basic fairly easily. Anyway, it's all pt. care as in total pt. care, not BLS/ALS right?
NYCEMS9115 Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 EMT-B Pre-test.... Incumposses: Maff: addin, subtrakin, times, & deevisun, Reeding: Nahvels, speaches, pomes, & eses, Riting: Gramer, speling, punchuation, & sentance struckyer. HS should have prepared a EMT-B candidate. They should have some basic test. The student should be able to read, write, and solve basic math problems. We do that at the College before a student can take College Courses...
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