EMT student looking for some advice

[Wanderlust]

Hi all,

I'm starting an EMT training course in Boston next week, so I thought I'd try to get some advice/ future support from a group of seasoned EMTs. No serious questions yet, but I'm sure they'll come spilling out in the weeks to come! Anyone who is working or has worked in MA, I'd love to hear from you especially.

See you around the boards,

Wanderlust

[paramedicmike]

Welcome.

Boston EMS is one of the better EMS agencies in the country. It's kind of a shame that the rest of the Commonwealth is so far behind.

[EMTDenny]

Good luck and have fun. WELCOME

[emtdennis]

Welcome to the boards!!!!!! Lots of fantastic people here....

For your EMT course:

Take notes

Keep an open mind

Ask a lot of questions

Get your hands into it

[DFIB]

We are honored to discuss EMT stuff with you so long as we are not doing your homework for you!

[DwayneEMTP]

...Take notes...

No disrespect to you Brother, but this is one of those pieces of advice, given by anyone that's ever taught or learned pretty much, that I completely disagree with. Read your book and spend your class/lecture time learning to understand what you've read. I've hated taking notes since middle school. What the hell was everyone writing so furiously that wasn't already in the book to be studied? In context in fact....

I would read the chapters before class. Then re read them with a highlighter trying to highlight just those things in the paragraph relevant to that paragraph and the subject matter, ending up with each paragraphed being significantly condensed by the highlighter. And then condense the the highlighted material further onto hand written flash cards. By the time that you're done you've read the material three times, condensed it twice, and written it once. Somewhere I got convinced that condensing material is a great way to understand it, and it really seems to work for me.

Then, come class time, I'd use that time to listen, discuss, clear up anything that wasn't clear.

Doesn't that make more sense??

[emtdennis]

To be honest with you, I have seen the same thing. Even as an electronics/telecommunications instructor I couldn't understand why students had their noses buried in a notebook for the whole class.

My only point is using notes to make something understandable for you to remember. I only imply to make a few notes, don't rewrite the book!