New Utah Student

[hannahblumel]

Hi everyone! I start emt basic courses at the end of August. I'm wondering if any of you are in Utah. Any tips specific to Utah or in general? I'm so excited to start these courses.

[DwayneEMTP]

Hey Hannah! Welcome to the City!

I'm afraid that I've got no Utah specific advice, and I'll skip the Mormon references.

A word of advice for EMTCity though. Jump in. Watching is OK, but you will get a hundred times more value here if you participate. Ask, answer, guess, theorize, joke, but POST! Trust me on this....I'm a paramedic, what could possibly go wrong?

Good to have you girl...

Dwayne

[Kiwiology]

An Ambulance Officer is many things however broadly speaking it is 98% people management, 1.9% fundamental praxis and 0.1% advanced care.

Most of the jobs you will go to are acute exacerbations of chronic disease (angina, heart disease, asthma/COPD, diabetes, renal failure etc) and are not glamorous or exciting. Despite what your poorly written textbook tells you, most patients are not in an immediate threat to life. There is nothing exciting about attempting to resuscitate somebody in cardiac arrest on the floor of their home with the family watching you when you know full well there are overwhelming odds he is going to stay dead. There is nothing exciting about having to tell that persons family their loved one is dead and Brown finds it an incredibly undignified way to die.

Many Americans it seems are "trauma junkies" well news flash trauma is a horrible disease which has a profoundly devastating effect on society. There is nothing "cool" about assessing and treating somebody who amputated his arm with a rotary saw and may never be able to use it properly meaning he can't work and support his family any longer or going to a road traffic accident where the occupants have died meaning their families are going to forever be burdened with grief, anger and the untold emotional pressure of loosing a loved one.

Do you have an interest in talking with people and building meaningful rapport with them in order to provide care? Do you have an interest in biology, chemistry and the inner workings of the body as they relate to physiologic and pathophysiologic states? Do you have an interest in continuing education? Do you think you are able to relate well to people in different circumstances and situations? Do you work well with others?

[DFIB]

Hey Hanna!

It is great to have you! Dwayne is right participation is the key. There is nothing more thought provoking than to have you ideas challenged. I try to stubbornly defend my hypothesis even if sometimes I am pretty sure I am in the ditch. It helps me organize my thoughts and increases learning.

I joined while I was still in EMT school and got my but handed to me frequently .... I still do but I hang around because the forum teaches me way more than O could ever contribute. There are some guys and gals here that are wicked smart and are nice enough to share with us all.

Jump in and get your feet wet.

[hannahblumel]

Hey Hannah! Welcome to the City!

I'm afraid that I've got no Utah specific advice, and I'll skip the Mormon references.

A word of advice for EMTCity though. Jump in. Watching is OK, but you will get a hundred times more value here if you participate. Ask, answer, guess, theorize, joke, but POST! Trust me on this....I'm a paramedic, what could possibly go wrong?

Good to have you girl...

Dwayne

I'm not Mormon lol

Thanks for the welcome!

An Ambulance Officer is many things however broadly speaking it is 98% people management, 1.9% fundamental praxis and 0.1% advanced care.

Most of the jobs you will go to are acute exacerbations of chronic disease (angina, heart disease, asthma/COPD, diabetes, renal failure etc) and are not glamorous or exciting. Despite what your poorly written textbook tells you, most patients are not in an immediate threat to life. There is nothing exciting about attempting to resuscitate somebody in cardiac arrest on the floor of their home with the family watching you when you know full well there are overwhelming odds he is going to stay dead. There is nothing exciting about having to tell that persons family their loved one is dead and Brown finds it an incredibly undignified way to die.

Many Americans it seems are "trauma junkies" well news flash trauma is a horrible disease which has a profoundly devastating effect on society. There is nothing "cool" about assessing and treating somebody who amputated his arm with a rotary saw and may never be able to use it properly meaning he can't work and support his family any longer or going to a road traffic accident where the occupants have died meaning their families are going to forever be burdened with grief, anger and the untold emotional pressure of loosing a loved one.

Do you have an interest in talking with people and building meaningful rapport with them in order to provide care? Do you have an interest in biology, chemistry and the inner workings of the body as they relate to physiologic and pathophysiologic states? Do you have an interest in continuing education? Do you think you are able to relate well to people in different circumstances and situations? Do you work well with others?

I'm not doing it for the excitement. I just want to help people and be a part of the medical field. I love working with people work well with everyone. Thanks for the advice.

After I finish basic I do plan on getting Paramendic certification.

[DwayneEMTP]

...After I finish basic I do plan on getting Paramedic certification degree...

Fixed that for you...

And I've nothing against Mormons. I've just heard that there might be one or two in Utah.

Good on you for posting. Many want to wait until they have some schooling. They want to wait until they 'know' things so that they don't look foolish. So they just never post....most, like me I think, never learn enough to 'know' a lot of stuff in this crowd. But that's the point in posting, right? If I wanted to hang out with a bunch of rah rah bullshit wankers I'd go to that other site.

Not sure I know what I'm talking about when I mention 'knowing enough'? Take a look here...

I should probably be embarrassed. And I am a little, but more than that? I'm really glad that I don't have those same wrong thoughts any more.

You're off to an excellent start. I look forward to your thoughts.

Dwayne

[tcripp]

Not in Utah...but I teach an EMT Basic course...so holler if you have questions!

[paramedicmike]

Welcome. I'll second the pursuing a degree option as well.

[DFIB]

Not in Utah...but I teach an EMT Basic course...so holler if you have questions!

Toni!!! It is so good to see you post!

Hannah, Toni was one of my EMT-B instructors and is absolutely wonderful! Her unpretentious nature will make her want to say that is not true. Don't believe her.

You could not have a better person offer you help.

I am not even in the same league as most you will find here but love to help as well.

[DwayneEMTP]

Unpretentious? Now that she has her fancy new job to you see her hanging out here with the great unwashed?

Nope...to good for us now....breaks my heart....