So… My buddy EE over at Backboards and Band-Aids thinks that you should be an EMT for 2 years before you go to Medic School(mind you, she is slow and her post isn’t up yet…). This is a rather common belief in EMS. Lots of people hate rookie medics and even more so hate rookie medics with no field experience.
Enter me. I have no field experience(field internship excluded), was never a EMT-B in the field, and went about 4 months between Basic class and the start of my Medic class. During that four months, I worked in a crappy warehouse job. Yup. Not EMS.
But my experience in school exposed me to a variety of Prospective Medics. We had about 5 students with some field experience. Emt-B, Emt-I/85, etc. Some had a couple years, some had 6 months of field experience. All but 2 of them ranked below me in the class. 2 of them were dead last in the class. Does that mean anything? Not necessarily. While I think a good foundation of info is important in EMS, you learn a lot of things–and are tested on a lot of things–that you will never, ever need to know. So my ability to regurgitate pointless pieces of information on a test doesn’t mean I’m a good medic. Being first in class or being last in class doesn’t discern your abilities either…
However, I think the one thing that was different from me and my “seasoned” classmates was their attitudes. I came into class knowing I knew jack shit. A few of them came into class knowing they knew everything. They knew they were perfect at skills. They knew their assessment was top-notch. Sure, my assessment was weak. I think my lack of field experience was the only reason it was weak. But… I think my clean slate allowed me to pick up solid skills, while discerning good practices from bad practices.
My first solo assessment in the field I flopped around like a fish out of water… Finding a groove and flow is tricky, and that set me back from my “seasoned” classmates. What didn’t set me back from them was a false impression that I didn’t have anything to learn. I haven’t met a medic student who was a practicing EMT who didn’t have this problem. All of my classmates who were practicing EMTs walked into class with their heads high and their chests puffed out. They had the typical “future paragod” look on their faces. To this day I still know that I know nothing…
So I think the real positive side to me not having been a practicing EMT was that I knew I had to try harder. I had to compensate for what I perceived as a weakness, and in reality may have proven a strength. I didn’t come into medic school with false impressions, bad habits, or a shit-tastic attitude. I walked in the way I walked out. Knowing that Medic school is only designed to create “Entry Level Competent Paramedics”. Not Paragods.
I think one of the Most important factors in deciding to go to Medic School is AGE. I was in the middle of the age bracket in my class. Not to say all 18-19 year olds aren’t ready to be Medics–But I KNOW without a doubt that I wasn’t ready at 18, 20, or 22. Obviously my friend EE is much wiser than her years on this planet. I look to her as a Role Model–despite her disgruntled, un-compassionate ways…
EE Knows her shit. She is also doing what she can to better herself, and her family. She isn’t like most of my younger classmates. So maybe it isn’t “AGE” so much as it is “life experience”. When you are truly and adult–not just legally–then I think you are ready to enter Medic School, regardless of experience… But if you can’t figure out a Basic Skill, and appreciate their uses(not everyone needs an IV, Tube, or obnoxious over use of medical terminology…) then you need to get your head out of your ass. I am willing to bet the people who have lead many to think unexperienced medics are bane on the existence of EMS have dealt with people who just shouldn’t be in EMS. I don’t think it was their lack of experience in the field that was the problem–it was their lack of experience at all that was the problem.
11 responses so far ↓
EE // June 28, 2008 at 23:37 |
Remember, there are exceptions to everything. Not all insta-medics suck…
I still have my reply in the works, I’ve been busy.
ParaCynic // June 29, 2008 at 01:13 |
Agreed, not all Instamedics suck. It depends upon the individual, the program, the experiences, the amount of work put in, etc.
I’ve seen a COUPLE good instamedics. I’ve also seen a few folks that spent 12 years as EMTs and are HORRIBLE medics, or medic candidates.
It’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
asthepumpturns // June 29, 2008 at 02:25 |
I think it varies, I have known nurses who had no medical experience before becoming a nurse and they are wonderful. And then some who had buttloads before nursing school and suck at being a nurse.
I think this applies to all fields of work, but I have a feeling you’re a good one!!
Cheating Death // June 29, 2008 at 05:09 |
Like I said at the end… I think it has little to do with anything other than life experience. Seriously–I think it applies to any career. This career is an accident at best. I went to college for Political Science, International Studies, and Jack Daniels.
I worked on 2 campaigns–one I worked with a Congressman on a daily Basis. Until then–I had not grown up. Honestly, with a new job, new house, and new baby on the way… I’m not so sure I have grown up. But I am ready for this career–and our lives ahead…
A job like this requires a lot of skills no school can teach you. They taught me how to do assessments, what to do in arrests, medical emergencies, blah blah blah. I never had someone tell me how to deal with people. You can NOT teach someone how to be a good medic–you can only give them the skills they need to do their job, hoping they have the ability to use those skills in combination with their common sense and people skills…
Anonymous // June 29, 2008 at 16:58 |
Very well put CD, I agree with most of what your saying like basically you get out what you put into it.. However, if I am in your group of “future paragod’s” coming into class, we’re gonna have issues. I worked my ass off to get to where I was at BEFORE school ever started. I was reading books on cardiology, pharmacology, A&P, and the paramedic book a year before I started school. I had my ALS protocols memorized ver batum and the experience to know when to deviate from them.. All this was done on my time and was done FOR ME, so I would know everything I could before I went to school to learn the rest of the stuff I didn’t know. But anyway thats my little soap box for today, I just don’t want someone to cheapen all the work I did (and am still doing)to be the best paramedic I can be.
-Hesse
EE // June 29, 2008 at 18:17 |
BLS before ALS, never forget that.
Do no harm. Do know harm.
RevMedic // June 30, 2008 at 04:55 |
I’m a paramedic, and have been one for about 12 years. I have been involved in EMS for over 20, which means I was not a paramedic for awhile. In fact, I started out as a First Responder, then moved up to EMT-1, EMT-2 (Intermediate) and EMT-3 (almost a medic). In Alaska, where I went to EMT school, you had to be at one level for a specified period of time before you could advance.
I was a volunteer until just 8 years ago, when I got hired for my first EMS job.
I am a believer that you should be an EMT for at least a year (depending on your call volume) before you become a medic. I can say that the experiences I gained as an EMT have made me a much better paramedic than otherwise. In Oregon, you can go to school for 2 years to get your medic. The first year you get your basic & pre-reqs for medic school, then you do medic school for the second year. In my days as an FTO, we’d get Paramedics (college graduates) who’d never done CPR on a real person, never seen a dead body, never even driven an ambulance Code-3.
It’s my belief that by first operating in the field as an EMT , you pick up skills, you learn how to think critically, you learn the fine details of caring for people, transporting them, and taking care of the paperwork. These are all important aspects of what we do.
Everybody brings their own strengths (and weaknesses) to this profession. As the owner of this blog rightly mentions, it’s more life skills than medical skills. It’s not volunteer vs paid, either. I’d like to think I was a professional as a volunteer, and I’m professional as a paid responder.
That’s my 2 cents worth. This is a great discussion, and I’m curious on where it will lead to.
RevMedic // June 30, 2008 at 04:59 |
Oh, and one more thing. Spending years doing EMS does not a Jedi Master make.
I know paramedics with 15 years of experience, but basically have their first year repeated 15 times.
I know brand new medics that ‘have their stuff together’, too. What’s their secret? A desire to be the best medic they can be, for starters.
Anonymous // June 30, 2008 at 05:28 |
Ok, I agree 100% with revmedic.. It is my opinion that some ems experience is a very good thing before starting medic school. Alot of the basic’s as rev stated (general interaction with people in a provider capacity) are only learned through working, as I think we all are in agreement with. But, to bring ee into this, as she stated “BLS before ALS”, I think this has more meaning if you come from working as an EMT before being a medic. In my personal situation, I worked as a FR with a FD and moved up to EMT with the same service.. I was then hired with a full-time ALS service as an intermediate, where I worked for 2 years before starting medic school. We ran some trucks BLS (EMT-I/EMT-I) and some trucks CC/ALS (EMT-I/ Specially Trained Paramedic) Normally I worked on an ALS truck, but being on a BLS truck sometimes really kept me in check on the BLS before ALS- because I couldn’t use ALS. I think this combination allowed me to hone my EMT skills as well as getting a ton of exposure to ALS and critical care pts, equipment, ect. I learned a ton of stuff working for a couple years first which I feel prepared me very well to function in the capacity of a paramedic. I felt far more prepared to care for my patients at my trained level coming out of paramedic school, with all the experience I gained, then I did coming out of EMT class. This is just my story, and my personal opinion. I have seen many people, as rev said, that come in with many many years of ems behind them and they are terrible. I have also seen the people without a day on the streets and are great! I believe this is the case for CD, I think he has the right ratio of “confidence” to “knowing he does not know it all yet”. I think CD will be an outstanding medic. Average student in class (worked very hard at it) but he knows its not about the grade you have on paper. Some of the people in our class had super high grades but don’t know the first thing about dealing with people, which I feel is the most important part of our profession. You can have the smarted medic in the world, but they don’t know how to deal with people. They are not well liked by their pts and co-workers and will ultimatly not make it. On the flip side, you can have a medeocre medic who knows people, and are the best people on earth to their pts and staff. Anyway I ramble, to sum it up, I think the secret to being a good medic is personality and attitude in an individual. Any person has the capability to be a super medic if they have the right personality traits and attitude about the job and general life.
-Hesse
Cheating Death // June 30, 2008 at 14:32 |
1) I’m extatic that Hesse has taken the time to not only read my blog but comment on it.
2) I can tell you that he, along with the buddy of our that helped us move yesterday do not fall into the group in our class that had more detriments from previous experience…
3) As I told Hesse–The people who had the issues I discussed were likely TOO YOUNG.
4) I couldn’t agree more that some of both group will be great medics, and that is why I think my statement about life experience and Hesse’s statement about attitude and personality ring true.
5) I don’t think that prior experience can make you better at something unless you take that prior experience seriously and actually learn from it. If you have been raised to think you’re the best, you’ll never know failure. Failure is what keeps me going. Without failure I would have no motivation to try harder.
6) Moving Sucks.
Anonymous // October 14, 2008 at 23:41 |
The only bit I would add is that sometimes medic-candidates forget that being a good medic means not only knowing your medicine, but also understanding and controlling a scene. You need to have been there before, to understand how things are done and to realize when something is starting to go wrong, or dangerous. These kinds of things you really need to learn by experience in order to be proficient. Other providers depend on you (not to mention the patient!) as a paramedic. They deserve the benefit of a little bit of experience.
That said, it can be done in other ways. This is a guideline, not a rule. You can do this, and do it well, but it will be harder for you. Understand that.