Advice to students of EMS, from another point of view

[AnthonyM83]

I suppose I had a different experience with my classmates. My class of 15 was made up of people in their 30s with stable respectable jobs and full-time CC students who knew the career they wanted to get into (Nursing, FF..), as well as a couple HS students with med school plans. I was the odd one out, having just graduated college and working several part-time jobs/internships/trainings allowed me to slack a bit on those and immerse myself in the EMS/Medical world.

I also know the relaxed attitude on professionalism allowed everyone to look forward to this class (for several people it was their weekly highlight). I believe that part was appropriate to our class. I wish the relaxed attitude on depth of structure & medical material on part of the instructors was NOT so, though. I believe it was enough to get into the field (our instructor would definitely know), but not enough to be immersed in it.

NOW, after Dustdevil &Cookie's posts, though, I see there is a DEFINITE need for more stringent professionalism requirements in some areas. I agree Dustdevil that it would be doing those youths a disservice. I think the ideal would be for schools/instructors to self-callibrate for each class, but that might not be plausible.

[Asysin2leads]

I've touched on my paramedic class before, so I won't go into it, but the class was not taught by firemen, it was taught by paramedics who also were nurses, administrators, or had 20+ years of experience. They were brutal, but they were right to be. I came out with an appreciation of prehospital care and its challenges that I think should be instilled in anyone who wears a star of life on their arm.

The problem is this. With more and more schools opening up, what is the incentive for a school to run a course properly? If you're too 'hard' on the students, i.e. hold them to a proper standard, they'll bitch and moan to administration, then demand a refund and go to a a school where the instructors don't put in as much effort and therefore it isn't as tough.

And as for the tests you have to pass at the end, forget it, they don't test how well you can perform in the field, if you're signed off and you can get a 75%, you're a paramedic.

Don't worry though, its not just EMS, its pervasive throughout all of higher education. There was article I read by a professor lamenting the attitudes of his students. He ended it with "Your degree is not a t-shirt. You don't get one just for showing up."

But no matter how much we bitch and moan, there isn't anything you can do to make someone understand why being in a field where you deal with human life and health means you have to put your all into it. If someone is willing to go stick needles in someone when they do not have the basis of knowledge necessary to assess and implement the correct course of action in a patient, how are you ever going to convince them of that? If they don't get why its wrong, you can't make them understand.

How are you going to take a 19 year old kid, who's been raised on microwave dinners, instant access, on demand channels, and tell them "hey, listen, if you want to be a paramedic, you have to really work at it?" You can't. Maybe you'll get the one or two wonder kids who will have that kind of epiphany, about the ramifications of their actions, as some do when they start doing their rotations, but unfortunately they are all too rare.

But what is an instructor supposed to do when he wants to throw a kid out of his class because they're an idiot? If the administrator doesn't work in medicine, they won't understand that you don't want someone who doesn't even have the sense to remove his baseball cap when he is in the classroom playing with drugs that can induce cardiac arrest. In the end, you can lead a student to a textbook, but you can't make him think.

[Cookie]

I would like to add about the people in our class, we all had full time jobs outside ems, as everyone in this county is strickly volunteer, including our paramedics. Having said that everyone except one student was over 25. The two oldest, my husband and myself are in our mid 50's and my brother in law is late 40's. I think that for us being the age we are had the advantage as having a pretty good idea of what commitment we were making and how we generally present ourselves to the public and society in general, and what amount of studying and learning we would be doing. Believe me I know some young folks that have no clue on how to study and where to study and how to comprehend what they are studying. :study:

[Asysin2leads]

Yeah, and I know plenty of older people who stumble into EMT-B class and expect it to be like basket weaving courses at the YMCA. I remember one 40ish woman who complained to a former EMT-B instructor of mine that she was "disturbed by the gory pictures in the book."

No joke.

[Cookie]

I like the gory pictures, and basket weaving looks like a bore to me. I would rather watch Trauma life in the ER during dinner than

Vanna White turning letters. If pictures in books are gory, how the heck would they stand the real thing like someone taking a shotgun and blowing their head off, or a vehicle rollover and people ejected!

[AnthonyM83]

If the administrator doesn't work in medicine, they won't understand that you don't want someone who doesn't even have the sense to remove his baseball cap when he is in the classroom playing with drugs that can induce cardiac arrest. In the end, you can lead a student to a textbook, but you can't make him think.

I don't get it. Do you mean the cap, as in the brim, is a safety hazard? Or are you referring to a dress code for professional reasons? If the latter, then I ask if a police officer or a trauma surgeon is any less effective in skills wearing jeans and a t-shirt (provided they have all their tools). Perhaps psychologically/subconsciously they are (which could actually be a valid reason), but for the most part I'd say no.

Of course, there's something to be said for having a super strict, almost academy style of training, THEN easing up on things.

PS

I forgot to mention this in my original post in this thread, but if I were to go to a convention, you probably could pick me out as the EMTB, but only b/c that's the only place I wear a company shirt...among other EMTs...I don't dress in company polo shirts & baseball caps outside of work, usually.

PPS

Some of my posts might seem like they're going both ways on this issue...mainly b/c I want to put out possible thoughts/counter thoughts. I don't actually know what stance or combination of stances is best there. Perhaps surveying different schools, student demographics, and then career success rates would be bet. Like how school alumni offices keep track of their graduates.

[AnthonyM83]

I think that for us being the age we are had the advantage as having a pretty good idea of what commitment we were making and how we generally present ourselves to the public and society in general, and what amount of studying and learning we would be doing. Believe me I know some young folks that have no clue on how to study and where to study and how to comprehend what they are studying. :study:

There's a good reason to require some sort of degree. It shows they've entered the higher education system and were resourceful enough to survive it and have experience in successful studying (even if they needed outside help in reaching that point).

[Asysin2leads]

Because you're supposed to remove your hat when you enter a building, unless you wear it for religious reasons. Its a sign of respect, it shows you are there and you are not leaving anytime soon. But you see, this is the whole point, there has been a complete breakdown in the whole instructor/student relationship. It used to be you showed respect to your teachers, you did what they asked of you while you were in their class, it was a big mark of your character and showed you were someone who could be trusted, which is really important if you're going to be handling narcotics and putting things inside of people. In paramedicine you will be allowed to do things that only fully trained doctors are normally allowed to do, but to be allowed to you need to demonstrate that you will abide by the rules and protocols that guide you. If you can't even follow something as simple as removing your hat, what hope is there for you when the really tough situations come up? That's why a strict academic setting is necessary. But people are such self centered, lazy, cry babies anymore that the instructors with the honor and dedication to teach paramedicine the way it should be taught take it on the chin by everyone. If some people can't hack it, that's too bad, but learning medicine is not "even if you don't do it right you still are a bigger better person and that's the important thing." That's kindergarten class.

[AnthonyM83]

I don't think it's a sign of instructor/student relationship, though perhaps a breakdown of cultural customs.

The only kind of hat I've ever worn is a cap and we only had to remove them through 8th grade (before I even started wearing them), not high school or college. It went away, just like asking permission to go to the bathroom in elementary school. I think actions should (for the most part) be judged on intentions.

I show my respect for my teachers by following their rules. If it's specifically a no-hat rule and I respected them, I would never wear a hat. I show respect by following their wishes, speaking well of them, putting extra effort into their class, and being honest.

[Neb.EMT]

Overall, I think getting into EMS is too easy. Classes are too easy. I'm an I/99 and I'm in medic class. My Basic class was terrible. I think out of 15 of us 3 passed registry. This was a combination of instructor and student problems. My I/99 class wan't much better. High quality instructor, low quality administration. There were many students, who IMHO, shouldn't have been there and I pray either didn't pass registry or never work on me. My medic class is actually the best of what I've seen so far in EMS education. Our instructor is excellent, administration works for us, and most of my classmates either work full time in EMS or have plenty of experience.

That being said, we are quite casual. Our instructor is by all means respected, but he is also very approachable. Our class gets along w/ each other, which makes group projects and study groups work better. The program I was in taught I/99 first year, P second year. This program starts w/ A&P, followed by P. Takes the same amount of time but it's P straight through. I will be repeating alot of what I already know but find it worth it due to the quality of this program vs. the other.

Now, on a sidenote. I completely agree w/ knowing your material. However, when it comes to homework I have some complaints. Personally, I don't agree with it most of the time. I know the information and can show it when test time roles around. I can and do actively participate in class discussions. I (b/c I'm an I/99 and have a head start) also help my class mates as much as possible. Homework is something that I honestly have little time for. Everybody here knows that using the words scheduling and EMS in the same sentence is a joke. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I could use what little free time I have studying things I know I have problems w/ rather than doing some busy work to make sure I read a chapter. I believe that at test time it will show who's been studying and grasping things. Why must we waste time doing homework that isn't really needed. Papers, presentation, etc... are alright, I can understand the purpose in those. It's the mundane everyday "answer these questions at the end of the chapter" or "write the deffinition of these words" kind of thing. If you are a responsible and dedicated student wouldn't you know where your weaknesses are and work on them anyways? As I said, this just takes away time from doing just that, studying what is difficult for YOU. Let the test show if you know what you should. If you don't that is your own fault for not knowing your material. Everybody learns differently, so why have a singular approach when it comes to homework. I'm sure I'm going to hear plenty about my anti-homework stance, all I ask is to keep it civil. I actually would welcome some input.