I don't know where NR gets their questions from, but the randomness of the questions in my test was craziness.
The questions are not random, they are based off of the curriculum.
In my experience, many instructors do not understand the basic and clinical science elements of the latest curriculum. Tyey are simply teaching what they were taught or what they do which is no longer enough for modern providers.
What does real world pre-hospital medicine have to do with ethylene glycol??? If you were called to a scene of an accidental juvenile ingestion of a liquid, you would be told it was antifreeze.
In real world medicine, we use the worldwide chemical formula, it is a mark of professional inclusion so we can all communicate effectively. We aso use ethanol and methanol instead of simply saying alcohol.
Ethylene glycol is not only a common toxicology in kids, it is also consumed by long term alcoholics.
Toxicology is one of only two sudden life threateniing emergencies. The other is trauma, and it seems EMS spends in inadequte time with both.
You may not be told it was antifreeze, you may be told "I don't know what the problem is." But when you give your report to the doctor, you will sound like and earn more professional respect when you use the medical term.
Luckily, I knew this answer due to my age and world experience. But never learned that from my medic class.
Then you had bad instructors and you should demand your money back and tell others not to go to that program because they do not properly prepare students.
This just further exacerbates the debate as to the relativity of NREMT to the real world! I don't feel like the organization or test does a very good job for the industry. But that's just my opinion.
I agree 110% with this statement. Though probably not for the same reasons you do.
I think they hold EMS back because they are still more than a decade out of date. It is probably better I am not making the test though.
So, back to the question...what does knowing the comon name for ethylene glycol have to do with pre-hospital medicine?
Asked and answered.
But there is also the fact that it isused in more capacities than to simply make antifreeze. Which means you may have an exposure to it and nobody is thinking or reporting an antifreeze ingestion.
Welcome to medicine.
