EMT Paramedic Training

Welcome Future EMS

OK so youve come to this page looking to become an EMT or a Paramedic.   Your looking for training to become a part of the ever so  respectable and elite group of men and women that go out every day and put themselves on the line for their community.    Good for you!   This is a great career, it really is.  I cant think of any kind of job that can build more character then becoming an EMT or a Paramedic.   Just the EmT training or Paramedic training alone will give you an ulcer.  Not to mention the intense adrenaline you’ll experience almost daily (sometimes weekly, sadly) once you finally get in the field.

Starting with EMT Training

So the process is anything but easy.    The first thing your going to have to do is get EMT training.    Becoming an EMt is a bit of a shock to a lot of people.  I know it was for me.   There is a lot of new material that needs to be learnt and retained in a very short period of time.   The training encompasses basic anatomy and physiology, laws and regulations that affect EMS personnel, Basic assessment techniques, basic skills required of the EMT, use of materials and equipment on the ambulance, and of course CPR.

EMT school is not remarkably hard, but it is challenging.   When in training as an Emergency Medical Technician your grade can never drop below an 80% on any written examination.   Also, You can fail the skill section, quite easily actually.  You are allowed one chance to retake a fail skill.   If you fail a second time you get kicked out of the training.   There is a lot expected out of an EMT during the training, and for good reason.  To be honest there is a lot expected out of all EMS personnel.  So you might as well get used to it now.

Working in the field as an EMT

Now coming out of EMT school your still going to be green as all hell.   Your not going to know what the hell to do when you first start in the field.  And hopefully you will have a good medic that can help you along and train you correctly to complement him.   But this is not always the case.   Just remember that we have all been there before, and in good time the job will be no sweat.

As an EMT your most important skill that you need to learn  is getting good at taking vitals.  A lot of time medics are going to be assessing the patient and deciding

treatments.  Its actually really hard to do all of that if they have to do vitals at the same time.   Your job is to take about 3-4 minutes off of his time on scene by getting those vitals  quickly and accurately.     Try to learn what steps you Medic wants and needs and stay a step ahead of him.  He will love you for it.

Paramedic Training, aint it a *#@$!

So You want to be a medic?   Have fun with Paramedic school!    I have known a lot of guys that have gone through medic school, including myself.    Almost every single one has said… That is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.     It honestly is really that difficult.   In my class we had about 40% of the class wash out.    I think thats about the norm.    You get crushed with a vast amount of medical knowledge that you are somehow supposed to piece together with a rather limited experience in healthcare.   The exams are very difficult, all of which must be passed with an 80% or better.   The skills can be quite intense.    Your going to learn pharmacology, your going to learn physiology, pathophysiology,  trauma, diseases, physics, operations, advanced airway management techniques, advanced cardiac management techniques, including EKG analysis and of course advanced assessment techniques.

As a medic you are expected to have the knowledge base to make a snap decision and save a persons life.    That is a TON of responsibility.    I honestly don’t think many people are prepared for that kind of responsibility, I know I wasn’t.      But whether your ready or not as a Paramedic that responsibility will be yours and you need to be ready.  So do your best to prepare yourself as well as you can during your schooling.  This is not the kind of training you want to slack off during, this is NOT YOUR  sociology class…

After the didactic you have your clinicals, which is a blast.  You pretty much get to run all over an ER putting IV’s in unsuspecting people, doing assessments, hooking up EKG’s and seeing AWESOME traumas come in.    Its really relaxed, not a great deal is expected of you and you learn a lot.   Nurses are a lot of help, they do a great job of cementing what you have learnt in Paramedic Training.

Paramedic Internship

Lastly you have your Internship.   This is probably the hardest part of medic school.   If you got through the first part of the training you’ve proven you have the brains to do the job.  This is where you prove you have the confidence and balls to actually run a scene and be a medic.   You get a preceptor, hopefully a patient preceptor, and you get started.

My preceptor was a washed up medic, who had been doing his job for 20+ years.  His name was Larry, and wow was this guy a *#@!*.    This guy would literally work 100+ hour work weeks, like 4-5 24 hour shifts a week.   He was the angriest, bitterest medic I could of ever asked for.   But I kept my head down, did my hours, learned what I could and I passed.   The Preceptor has the ability to pretty much fail you at any time and send you packing.  So no matter what, you play nice and finish those hours.   Your going to be doing a lot of intense medic work at this point of your training.  Its a LOT of fun.

This career can really provide a great life for anyone who is interested.   Its lead me to some great adventures and stories.  And hopefully it will for you as well.