larocca465 Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Hi everyone, I am starting an EMT-I course this coming fall after being a basic since 2000.........I would greatly aprpeciate any advice or tips, or general secrets/tools of the trade so to speak. Thank you
Dustdevil Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Browse through the "student" forum (where most people ask this question) and you will find many similar questions with lots of good advice. Number 1 advice: If you are serious about EMS as a career, forget training and get some education instead. Skip Intermediate school and get into college. You will acquire more relevant and useful knowledge in a semester of Anatomy & Physiology than you will in any Intermediate class. Knock out A&P, Microbiology, Chemistry, Algebra, Psychology, and Sociology, then go straight to Paramedic school and be the best you can be. Without all that, no matter how well you do in Intermediate school, you'll still be half arse. Good luck!
VentMedic Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 larocca465 Take Dustdevil's advice before moving on to ventilator theory. (See thread Vent questions/concerns). A solid foundation will make everything come together a little easier.
larocca465 Posted July 6, 2007 Author Posted July 6, 2007 Thank you both........I have completed micro biology and A & P 1, still need 2 though; my thought was that getting to intermediate school would help me get some more advanced experience as I go through more schooling. And with my vent question, I have a basic idea of the function, just I have never used one on 911 calls, we always pulled it and bagged. I suppose I just need more exposure.
Dustdevil Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Thank you both........I have completed micro biology and A & P 1, still need 2 though; my thought was that getting to intermediate school would help me get some more advanced experience as I go through more schooling. Cool. Good job on understanding the importance of a solid foundation. Do you have the option of attending a full paramedic school instead of going the Intermediate route first? I know in some, mostly rural places, the Intermediate route is the only route available. But if you have the choice, seriously... skip the Intermediate thing. It's a sub-standard way to go, not to mention, a longer way to go. Because it really isn't a useful level at all, it is disappearing from many states altogether. And those who already have it find it harder and harder to find a completion class, and end up having to attend a full paramedic programme anyhow. It was a good thing at one time, 25 years ago, when EMS was still trying to establish an educational system and limited skills outreach programmes like that were still an advancement. But these days it is well recognised that a fragmented and disjointed educational plan in broken steps like that just doesn't prepare you well for advanced practice. Not to mention that we have also pretty well established that the limited skills you acquire with EMT-I just aren't that useful in an isolated context anyhow. Sounds to me like you are a serious and intelligent person who knows what he wants to do. That is the kind of person who needs to move straight for the big prize, and not get sidetracked by shortcuts and intermediate steps. You'll get to medic faster, and learn better. Good luck!
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