starting ol' paramedic school.

[ghostmed3]

Just looking for insight from those that have gone through. I'm an 8 year army medic vet and closing on 10 years as an EMT. I feel the classroom side won't be bad but what can I expect out of clinical rotation? Any surprises or do most programs keep it simple?

[Just Plain Ruff]

Way to go brother,  I haven't set foot in a classroom in 20 years but I'm damn proud of ya!

I would go in with an open mind, let the wind take you where it will and soak up the knowledge.  You got the smarts I'm sure of it.  Just learn and never stop learning.  

I'm in a new stage as well, gonna get my ITIL certification for my IT job.  I'm thinking I'll be overwhelmed in about a week.  

But good luck to you.  We may both need it.  

 

[ghostmed3]

Good luck to you as well! I'm planning on trying to stay above water by going over some acls and med dosages before it starts. Hopefully it will help

[Just Plain Ruff]

well most of what I'm learning is change management in an IT shop.  I already know a lot about Change management but putting it into Theory and pulling it from a book into a test form that will cost me 269.00 to take the test, that's the stressful part for me.  

[ghostmed3]

I just don't know of I could do that kinda stuff lol

[Spock]

Well I'm sure everybody on the City wishes you the best of luck with Paramedic school.  You have a great advantage over some of the EMTs I see in my area that go into the paramedic program immediately after finishing EMT school.  The have no concept of what really happens in the back of the truck and they struggle to be good medics.  You on the other hand, have a wealth of experience in the field and precepting should be easy.  The real problem you will have is adapting to the classroom because any paramedic program worth its salt does not "keep it simple" because medicine and the credentialing bodies are complex.  Don't spend time before class trying to get a head start since that will only make what is presented more complex than necessary.  Take the assignments given and keep up on them in a timely fashion.  Last year, I completed my doctorate and I found the best way to keep up with my academic work was to block out a specific part of the week when I did nothing but my school work.  For me, that was Sunday afternoon but it could be different for everybody.  The point is, stay on top of your classroom work and don't get frustrated and NEVER tell an instructor they are wrong based upon your significant field experience.  

In other words, DON'T piss off the person that grades your tests!  That will be your biggest challenge!

Good luck and check back on occasion.

Spock

May the tube be with you.

[paramedicmike]

Good advice above.  I'll add something a little different: Open your mind.  You've been doing things long enough to develop your own ideas and your own way of doing things.  This could potentially come back to bite you over the course of your paramedic education.  Open your mind to new ideas.  Open your mind to new ways of doing things.  Unlearn your bad habits (hard to do, yes).

With regard to your direct questions rotations will be handled however your program handles rotations.  The process varies from program to program.  It will depend on local resources, clinical sites, preceptor availability.  While most places try to keep things simple sometimes local limitations can complicate even the most simple of things.  Expect things to be pretty straight forward; expect that there are new and innovative ways to make a mess of it.  Kinda' like the Army.

Keep us updated on how things are going.  As always, if you have questions let us know how we can help.

[ghostmed3]

Thanks for the comments. My hope is the experience will allow me knowledge so that not everything is brand new, however, I am concerned on breaking the bad habits (not my strong point) and things I have picked up over time. As far as the clinicals go, I have never done rotation on the civilian side. Having said that, when you do service rotations do you usually stay with the same preceptor or get bounced around?

[paramedicmike]

Back when I was in school I got bounced around.  This was good and bad.  I got to see a lot of different practice styles.  If I was paired with a rotten preceptor I only had to deal with him/her for the short duration of that assignment.  The downside was that I worked with a couple folks who were *really* good clinical teachers and I only had the opportunity to work with them for that assignment.

As I mentioned above, though, every place does things a little differently based on clinical site and preceptor availability.  Your mileage may vary.

[Spock]

My field experience was with the same preceptor throughout my training but that was for complicated political reasons.  It was actually very valuable for me but it is not the norm around here.  Students go to several services and have different preceptors at each one. I think they rotate every 2-3 months but since I don't precept, I'm not certain.  

May the tube be with you.

Spock