Struggling with practicum

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Hey guys so I'm currently doing my EMT-B practicum and I am having a really hard go of it. It's basically been a combination of things that have contributed to my suckyness during practicum. I really need some advice, encouragement and so forth. Are there any good EMT websites that can help students ?
I seem to do alright on some calls but then have epic fails on other calls. I need to find some kind of consistency here. I also seem to be struggling with the differences between the stuff you learn in school and how things go in the real world.
Are there any good EMT websites that can help students ?
 
EMT-B practice is really nothing more than advanced first aid.

If you can remember the basics of assessment (SAMPLE, OPQRST) and the skill sheets you'll be tested on, you should have no issues.

My suggestion is, stop overthinking it.
 
Ok, thanks!

Anyone else have any advice for me ?
 
I worried about the practical exam too — I found that memorizing the skill sheets and going through the actual stations at least a half-dozen times apiece were very helpful
 
I should clarify things guys. I'm talking about my actual preceptorship where you go out on car and do the calls and your preceptor evaluates you. The school I went to was one of the shorter programs with very little classroom time and a whole lot of independent study.
Are there any good websites out there with scenarios or anything to help me out ?
 
I don't know of any websites that would be relevant to the EMT-B level, aside from the scenarios forum on here. Why not get with your classmates and create scenarios for each other? Or find an experienced emt/medic to help you. It takes experience to get comfortable. Everybody was in your shoes at some point.
 
Just a hunch here, but do the calls you tend to "fail" on tend to be, well, more advanced in nature, requiring a Paramedic instead of an EMT? Advanced problems requiring a deeper understanding of the underlying issues and what to do with said issues?
 
And I understand the difference between practicals and practicum. :)

As I was saying, the actual skills and duties of an EMT are actually very simple. The hard part is "connecting the dots". When you have the mechanics down, your hands do the work without conscious thought, and you have more time to think about the actual causation.

So, my advice stands... Know how to conduct a solid PT interview and know how to obtain vitals without having to concentrate on it. Know the solid basics of your craft and the rest comes with experience.

Good luck.
 
First off, for testing purposes forget that the real world exists. It will make you sloppy on how you are "supposed" to do things for skills testing and ruin you.
 
NYMedic828 said:
First off, for testing purposes forget that the real world exists. It will make you sloppy on how you are "supposed" to do things for skills testing and ruin you.
Click to expand...

Practicum tends to be the Canadian equivalent of "internship" or "clinicals"
 
It takes a while to get into the rhythm of things and honestly you probably won't find that rhythm during your ride alongs. My program had a relatively heavy amount of truck time (72 hours) and I really didn't start feeling really confident until after I'd been volunteering for 3 months or so. Try slowing things down and as other folks here have said take things one at a time and check off each box on the list just like the textbook says. If you need to make yourself a checklist in a little notebook and pull it out and refer to it on the calls. Don't worry about looking like a new guy, you are a new guy.
 
Linuss said:
Practicum tends to be the Canadian equivalent of "internship" or "clinicals"
Click to expand...

:huh: disregard my post then.

experience and confidence comes with time yada yada yada etc etc
 
bigbaldguy said:
It takes a while to get into the rhythm of things and honestly you probably won't find that rhythm during your ride alongs. My program had a relatively heavy amount of truck time (72 hours) and I really didn't start feeling really confident until after I'd been volunteering for 3 months or so. Try slowing things down and as other folks here have said take things one at a time and check off each box on the list just like the textbook says. If you need to make yourself a checklist in a little notebook and pull it out and refer to it on the calls. Don't worry about looking like a new guy, you are a new guy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I may just do the notebook thing, hopefully that will help me out a little.
 
Practice and experience.

Like everyone else said, slow down, chill out and don't over-think it and you'll be good to go.
 
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