Observing/Ride alongs?

[N.S. ACP]

WOW, our basics in Nova Scotia have to do 32 12hr shifts on the trucks as well as 24hrs in ED and a number of shifts in other departments in the hospital befor they get their tag.

[Guest]

DOT Curriculum Standards REQUIRE that you complete clinical rotations... EVERY program that teaches and certifies EMT-B's MUST have the minimum standard Clinical Rotations Hours. I would seek guidance from your state EMS Division.. (some are Bureau's, some are Units.. just depends). I would be highly suspicious of a program that didn't allow for any Clinical Training. Let me know if you have any other questions.. I'm WAY TOO familiar with EMT and FR Level DOT Curriculum Guideline Requirements.

[FFEMT-B779]

That seems kinda of odd that the emt-b class Pose is taking doesn't have any clincal practice time the class I took 4 years ago had 48 hours of ride and 24 hours of ED. I felt I learned more in the practical application of then I did in the class room. class room gives you the basics but the ride time and ed time builds running knowlegde of putting it to use.

[emtek]

Woaaa, I was feeling deprived with only 24 total ED hours and 48 ambulance. I learned more in one 8 hour shift in the ed last week than I have in some weeks of class.

I know, I wish we could do more but they say there are so many EMT-B students, Paramedic students, nursing students that they say there's not enough room for us to do mare then one 12on the ambulance and one 8 in the ED. We were told that once everyone gets a chance we can sign up for more.

[Guest]

I guess that is where I'm lucky I'm in Dallas area. We have a lot of students but there are a lot of hospitals and fire departments to ride with/go to.

[Guest]

Hi Pose,

I just completed my EMT-B class in MA this past Spring. We weren't required to have any time on an ambulance to finish the course or apply for our state tests either. I was fortunate enough to third ride with a private service for several months, unfortunately they recently have started doing the same as many services do, which is not allowing observation/3rd ride time until you're licensed .

Where abouts is your class being held? I don't see why the town you live in wouldn't be able to at least show you around the ambulance... I'm in the process of looking around at smaller private, and municipal services to see if there are any that will let me get some third ride time in while I wait to get my license.

I was very disappointed that the basic curriculum didn't require any clinical or observation time to complete the class. I'm sure most of the basics that come out of them have never stepped foot on an ambulance unless they were the pt.

Good luck, and PM me if you have any luck!

[noahmedic]

The following is taken from the DOT-NHTSA EMT-Basic National Standard Curriculum Instructor's Course Guide

If anyone is interested the weblink is http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/ems/pub/emtbnsc.pdf

Clinical/Field Rotations

In addition to the required 110 hours of instruction, this course requires that the student

have patient interactions in a clinical setting. Ideally, areas that have access to an

Emergency Medical Services system should send students into the field with

experienced preceptors. However, in low volume systems or systems with legal

considerations, the training program may utilize emergency departments, clinics, or

physician offices. The program director or medical director must establish appropriate

relationships with various clinical sites to assure adequate contact with patients.

The student should interview and assess a minimum of five patients. The student

should record the patient history and assessment on a prehospital care report just as

he would if he were interacting with this patient in a field setting. The prehospital care

report should then be reviewed by the Primary Instructor to assure competent

documentation practices in accordance with the minimum data set. Regardless of the

clinical educational system, the program must establish a feedback system to assure

that students have acted safely and professionally during their training. Students

should be graded on this experience.

Students who have been reported to have difficulty in the clinical or field setting must

receive remediation and redirection. Students should be required to repeat clinical or

field setting experiences until they are deemed competent within the goals established

by the Program Director.

In extreme cases, when students are not able to obtain experiences in a clinical or field

setting, it may be necessary to utilize programmed patients. All variances must be

approved by the state EMS office or licensing agency.

If I understand correctly the states were encouraged to adopt this curriculum, and it is required for National Registry testing, but each State has the right to develop their own curriculum. I could be wrong however.

Personally I had 36 hours of ambulance time, and 24 hours of ER time for my Basic clinicals. I also had a month long academy with my first job.

[EMTB2EMTP8605]

My EMT-B class required 8 hours in our 2 ED and and 8 hours in each of our three city ambulances. As we go up we gotta go for longer.[/font:e272ee0131]

[travis]

the fire company i run with is doing the class im in and sense im a member i can ride along any time i want

[kuo34]

Our B course requires 24hrs ambulance ride time w/at least 10 calls and 8 hours in the ED. We're allowed to schedule all we want as their schedule allows though.