EMT-B course, what to expect?

[Youngin]

I'm starting my EMT-B course at the end of the month, and I was wondering if anyone could suggest some things I could be studying now. I (unfortunately) dropped out of high school the first semester of my junior year, so I never really studied anything about the human body or took any biology/chemistry courses.

I'm not a slow learner or anything, but I just wanted to see if anyone could suggest some things I could be looking at now to make the course a little bit easier. I don't know how deep into science you'd get at the Basic level since, from what I've read here, Paramedics do most of the clinician type stuff (or whatever you call it), but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[FeatherWeight]

I wouldn't worry too much about the biology/chemistry classes. Study patient assessment and learn to get in a rhythm for actually doing it. Don't hesitate to ask your professor if you have any questions. You'll be fine

 

[Strap]

I think the best thing you can do at this point is to start reading your textbook if you have it or can get it.

 

[Melclin]

-Wikipedia: don't hang your hat on it, but its still a good resource. They often have good diagrams and they've got all the greys anatomy drawings as well. Its good for "exploring the body" because of the links.

-You tube: there is no end of interesting and education vids there. I use it endlessly for teaching. Just plug whatever topic you're studying in and see what happens.

- The free online Merck Manual. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/index.html

-eMedicine: I google the topic followed by eMedicine, eg "cardiogenic shock emedicine" and you get the following, generally as the first result, http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759992-overview . This is my bible.

Copied from a similar post I did about this.

 

[MrBrown]

Even at the Paramedic level, the requirement for any chemistrr or biology is brief and practically nonexistant.

Knowledge of chemistry and biology however are going to serve you in much better stead than anything you can "read up on" out of your book beforehand.

 

[Strap]

Knowledge of chemistry and biology however are going to serve you in much better stead than anything you can "read up on" out of your book beforehand.

That would be fine if his EMT class was a year or several months out. The more background or underlying knowledge you can get the better. But he starts in less than a month. I think now is the time to start focusing on the specific requirements of the class itself, just getting through and doing as well as possible. Get the first several chapters read in the book, work the review questions at the the end of the chapters, start memorizing the skill sheets, etc.

I did that and tried to get as far ahead as possible. It certainly helped, but even with that, by about week 4 my "lead" had already disappeared and I was dragging *** and having to work hard just to keep up.

 

[EMT-23]

get your textbook and start reading...try to understand the material...not just read through it...google things you dont understand...ask people questions on this website that you dont understand...we are here to help you...

 

[octoparrot]

Developing a good study plan will help. Make sure you have a clean, quiet area to study where you will not be distracted. Good luck!

 

[joeshmoe]

Not to get on a rant, but this sums up the problem with EMS education. Do you at least have a GED? If not how did you even get into an EMT program. Im skeptical you could even get your license without that.

Also someone told you to skip the chemistry and biology and go right into perfecting your patient assessments. I dont know how good an assessment your gonna be doing if you dont have even basic knowledge of the human body, and without knowledge of those two you are gonna have a hell of a time understanding human physiology. If I was you I would focus on at least getting a high school education before trying to break into health care. Yes you could possibly pass an EMT class if bad study habits werent the source of your dropping out, but it would be rough getting a job as an EMT without a HS diploma. Hell its rough even with one.

 

[mediKate]

Yeah, read up in your books and everything, but I would really suggest trying to get in a few ride alongs with a local service before your course starts.

All that A&P and assessment stuff is going to make a lot more sense after you have gone on a couple calls, and seen it work in real life. You can only get so much out of a book.

 

[Youngin]

Not to get on a rant, but this sums up the problem with EMS education. Do you at least have a GED? If not how did you even get into an EMT program. Im skeptical you could even get your license without that.

Yes, I have a GED, and I'm fully aware that having a high-school diploma beats having a GED in every aspect, but I'm fairly certain I'll make it work. Also, I don't understand how asking for advice on what to study to make sure that I'm prepared for my class "sums up the problem with EMS education". I would have guessed that wanting to learn as much as I can would be a good thing...

Also someone told you to skip the chemistry and biology and go right into perfecting your patient assessments. I dont know how good an assessment your gonna be doing if you dont have even basic knowledge of the human body, and without knowledge of those two you are gonna have a hell of a time understanding human physiology. If I was you I would focus on at least getting a high school education before trying to break into health care. Yes you could possibly pass an EMT class if bad study habits werent the source of your dropping out, but it would be rough getting a job as an EMT without a HS diploma. Hell its rough even with one.

What led to me dropping out of high-school actually had nothing to do with my study habits. I know most people make the assumption that someone in my particular situation (high-school dropout, even with a GED) isn't very bright, but that's not exactly true. I do fine with Math and English, but the only science class I took in high-school was Physical Science, which was why I posted this thread.

Anyways, thanks for the advice everyone, I appreciate it.