Straight to Paramedic

[tniuqs]

tcripp' timestamp='1307975734' post='260284']

I can't tell if you are really against me...or not. I apologize, but I'm having difficulties with your post. What "IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE PROBLEM"? Not providing field experience (which, by the way, is way not what I was saying)? Before I open my mouth (or let my fingers loose), please clarify your point.

Firstly I am not afraid of your fingers ! IT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE PROBLEM with this so called profession and if we DO NOT ABANDON this stepping stone education concept EMS is doomed to remain in the dark ages.

Fiz - Love your post! Especially the point I copied above regarding prospective paramedics. Yes, it would suck to get through the full program to say, "Ummm. Maybe not."

Fiz basic reasoning:

-EMS isn't all about clinical medicine. Medicine accounts for maybe half (possibly even less) of what we actually do in practice. The rest is bedside manner, operations, managing a scene, adverse conditions, learning the system, giving reports to hospital personnel, working with a partner, interviewing family members and witnesses, lifting, etc, etc etc. Those are the things you learn how to do well as an EMT, (BUSTED a gross assumption, how would one evaluate these life skills ?) and I strongly believe any good paramedic needs that foundation (agreed and far beyond a 200 page book or the gospel according to Brady ONLY !) before he/she can expect to do medicine in the EMS environment. People like to blow this stuff off as "not important" or "easy to learn," but it really isn't. It can be very difficult to integrate all of those tasks smoothly together-- especially when scenes start to get chaotic. I would argue that those tasks account for probably more than half of what we do as EMS providers, require real skill and experience, and are as deserving of excellence as any other of our medical duties.

Xselerate - be careful. We didn't ALL jump on you. I count at least two on your side here.

Quote Be careful of what and on your side ?

[tcripp]

Typing from my phone, so this will be short and sweet. I'm not taking anything personally. I truly was trying to see your point of view and wanted to understand it before I replied. I just found myself lost in the post. Secondly, I used to be one of those who said "straight thru" was the best way and now I truly do believe that some field experience is better than none. And, lastly, my note to xs was to let him/her know that there are some on his side that he/she apparently missed.

I'm not looking for a fight and I appreciate all your years of experience. I happen to work in a service where our team is basic/medic. I don't know that we will ever see a dual medic truck. So, I can see where it has been beneficial to work at that level before moving up.

[fiznat]

tniuqs - you GOTTA stop formatting your replies like that! I'm so confused as to who is saying what with all those nested quotes and multiple colors!

[tniuqs]

tniuqs - you GOTTA stop formatting your replies like that! I'm so confused as to who is saying what with all those nested quotes and multiple colors!

You should have seen the mess before I actually fixed the multi quote deal ...

[Quakefire]

Where I am you require a year at a EMT level before going into the paramedic program. You can go straight out of school as an EMT with no work experience into the intermediate level.

Speaking from personal experience, if they want to pay for it, go for it. I found myself to be at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to assessment skills and confidence in my treatment plan when it came to scenarios and first field practicum, where others with much more field time seemed to have an easier go with it. Regardless your going to have to work your ass off, maybe a little more than some classmates with more experience. keep in mind though I don't work with a medic very much, others do, I had very little exposure to ALS medications before paramedic school so I had zero comfort level with those drugs.

[mobey]

tniuqs - you GOTTA stop formatting your replies like that! I'm so confused as to who is saying what with all those nested quotes and multiple colors!

You should talk to him in person

Squint:

Just kidding buddy... BTW: get your rhum ready, I wanna learn more about chest x-rays soon

[tniuqs]

Whadyahmean ? .... rambling is my middle name I guess

Ok will dust those "items" off, headed to land of smoke, blisters, bad teeth, sore throat, caribou, mossies, smoke ... and did I say smoke ?

[Siffaliss]

Most schools here won't accept a potential paramedic student who doesn't have at least a year or two of experience on the road (transfers and industrial do NOT count). The occasional applicant may make it through perhaps based on good interview skills and who knows what else, I obviously don't do the interviews.

On day 1 of medic classes at the school I attend, we were all told those with limited experience or no ALS experience would likely have a much harder time. The instructor was correct; those people did have a more difficult time especially on practicum #1.

A practitioner should be 150% competent with their BLS skills and able to effectively run a BLS call from beginning to end before advancing to the next level. This of course only comes with experience.

Learn to walk before you learn to run.

[ERDoc]

I think this goes back to the whole education debate that keeps rearing its ugly head. With the way the system is setup right now, yes you probably should have some experience as an EMT first. Only because there is an assumed level of competence in medic school. I would guess that most medic schools don't spend much time on how to take vitals and CPR. They probably assume that you know this already. This is where we need to chage the education system. Let people into medic class with no experience and with no EMT card. Start from the beginning and teach them everything. It will require more time than it does now, but so what. It sounds to me like we are starting to build a college level program. Let people select the level they want to go for. If you want to be an EMT, you take an EMT class. If you want to be a paramedic, you go to college and get your paramedic degree.

Of course someone with little experience is going to have a harder time in medic class, so what? It doesn't mean they can become good paramedics. As many have said in the past, we need to get over this whole ALS/BLS skill thing. There should be no such thing. It should be EMS skills.

Just as a random thought, how does putting on 1000 KEDs in the field versus 10 in a class room make you a better candidate for paramedic school?

[fiznat]

Just as a random thought, how does putting on 1000 KEDs in the field versus 10 in a class room make you a better candidate for paramedic school?

That's like asking why people can't learn to intubate from only mannequin experience. Simulation always fails to capture the challenges of the real world, and it is never about the isolated skill. When we KED someone out of their car, there are many other concerns such as safety, directing resources on-scene, managing other injuries, multiple patients, deciding on a hospital, figuring out what level of care the patient needs, etc etc etc. I've never seen an in-class simulation that really captures all of the forces that exist on a real emergency scene.