EMT student here. My Lecturer has given me the impression that the KED and activated charcoal aren't really used much in the field anymore, but they still come up in NREMT prep. For the current EMTs in here, do you still use these in practice, or are they mostly things we learn really for testing purposes?

okay so i got my first 911 job, and i finished day 1 of the academy and safe to say i am a little intimidated. they have it where after the first week they take you out for field training and they sign you off if your competent enough and i guess im having imposter syndrome.

(note*) ive worked in EMS prior as a event EMT and ive handled medical emergencies many times completely solo so i know i can handle it, im just really intimidated by how much i have to grasp going into this job.

my question is, do any of you have a similar experience and what helped you work through it, i’m just stressing it lol

I work for a 911 municipal service. I had a competency check yesterday. I aced most of my skills (even the LMA one, which most basics at our service fail absurdly on the first try for some reason since they can't figure out the capno), but next shift my FTO wants me to do NC, OPAs, NPAs, and machine based CPAP. Below is the feedback

OPAs:
- ROTATE.
- Size not from corner of mouth to earlobe but from teeth to angle of jaw.

NPAs:
- Timing, also ROTATE. (I hesitated a little since my FTO said "I did not say go yet.")

CPAP:
- Mostly just do the skill slightly faster and make sure the tubing actually locks. Other than that perfect.

NC:
- Prongs down. Other than that, good.

Easy enough to integrate all of this for next shift. However, EMT school literally taught me that I can catch the tongue and do not need to rotate.

I actually aced the indications, contraindications, signs, and symptoms, which is a good sign since I want to be an ER doctor (I'm premed).

Who is right here? Rotate or can you just catch the back of the tongue?

I want to pass it first try. Any advice on how to study, what to focus on, etc.

I failed my NREMT AEMT today and honestly I’m not surprised. My test was definitely not what I was expecting. I have been studying with pocket prep and medic tests and have been getting good scores on all of my tests. I took a NREMT simulator on Medic Test and got a 1488 out of 1500. So I went in thinking I would do well and pass.

Well, a lot of my questions were multiple choice and a lot of them had a little scenario and a list of prescribed medications with no medical history and just signs and symptoms the patient is experiencing. A lot of the meds I’ve never heard of but of course we won’t all know every single medication a patient is prescribed. the questions we’re asking me to select what the patients medical history was based on the info given.

I also got a lot of weird questions like my partner and I go to a lift assist and are unable to life the pt on our own who should we call a fire engine a second ambulance family members and idk remember the other option.

Another question I got was your doing CPR on an adolescent and the mother asks to stay what do you do. And the options were let her stay, leave the scene, ask pd to remove her, tell her to wait outside with the rest of the family.

I’ve had about 4 other classmates take there’s and they said most of their questions were the scenario based questions (en route, scene, post scene). They got capnography waveform questions. Questions that actually pertain to the AEMT.

I don’t get a single capnography waveform or question about capnography for that matter. I only had about 4 scenario questions. The rest were just very random. A lot of questions about positioning the truck when arriving to different scenes.

I got questions about narcotic meds that As can’t even administer.

Idk I guess I’m just at a loss about what to study at this point. I honestly thought I was taking the wrong test based on the questions I was getting.

Any and all suggestions appreciated!

I'm a fairly new nurse at a SNF and this morning I had to jump into a code. Not too long after starting compressions, as I was trying my best to keep a good seal over the patient's nose and mouth with the bag, this black or very dark brown started gurgling up out of his mouth and completely saturated the bed.

By the time it was my turn to switch over to doing compressions, I was dry heaving every five compressions with how foul it smelled. I can handle poop and other nasty things after a while, but this stuff would not let up with how much it ruded me out. I'm grateful that I hadn't eaten anything last night, otherwise it all would have come up and made a bad situation worse.

I've worked like 6 codes in the past when I was going through EMT school before switching over to nursing, but I never encountered this before.

Any idea what it was? They we're not my patient so I didn't have all the details of their previous medical history. This is what I do know though. 91-year-old male. Upon first assessment cool, diaphoretic, with a very faint but palpable radial pulse. He was breathing a little bit, but very shallow. Could not get a reading on the pulse ox. Upon cessation of breathing, we initiated CPR until the paramedics arrived & took over.

Some of the grossest stuff I've ever seen and smelled in my life. Right up there with C.diff and severe UTI.

Hello,

I’m around 1/3 through EMT school (liking it so far). I eventually want to become a medic in Washington, probably fire.

There are 2 choices ahead of me:

1. Graduate, get an EMT job then go through them for paramedic school

2. Graduate then immediately start paramedic school

I have the resources for option 2. Would the lack of experience lead to difficulty getting a medic job? My teachers all suggest different things. The usual emt -> fire school -> paramedic, doesn’t work because a fire license is state level and would need to be redone.

Any advice/your experience would be awesome.

Also any insight on flight paramedic as an alternative would be great.

Hi ! I usually don’t post on here but I am new to EMS and have no connections in the field so I am trying this thread for some advice. I unfortunately failed my Back and Lift test that Premier ambulance requires for their onboarding. Honestly, I did not do my homework and didn’t prepare correctly. I do work out 3-4x a week but that didn’t seems to matter. I have about 6mo before I can re-apply/ retest for premier. If any of you guys have some advice on what workouts I should go to get stronger so i can lift patients and not hurt myself I really appreciate it. Also, being a aspiring EMT is maneuvering through more obstacles than I thought lol. I eventually want to end up in a hospital setting but am looking for experience prior to that. Do you guys recommend I try applying to other IFT/PCT/911 in the 6mo interim? Do all ambulance companies require a back and lift? Where should I apply to gain the most experience as an BLS EMT in OC/LA? Is working for a fire department worth it? As you can read I am lost. There are so many directions to go in and I don’t know which way to go! Thanks for reading my thesis lol PLZ help…

Hey everybody. Recently got my first EMT job and I’m scheduled for night shifts. I’m someone who’s pretty used to going to bed early and waking up early so this will be a big adjustment for me. Anyone who’s worked over night shifts, whats some good advice?

Any tips? I get so bored of the handbook, whats the most important information I need to know? And how can I make it fun when theres so little information out there about it?😭

I just started a remote, self paced EMT program and although its nice to balance that with my full time job, i’m a big time visual learner and i’m going to struggle more bc most of the lectures are audio only. I do have a book that tells me everything i need to know, however i’m moreso looking for tips on retention. what helps you guys? flash cards, a specific study guide, a certain routine? I want to be as qualified as possible but just reading the encyclopedia for hours makes my brain melt into goo.

I needed a way to organize patient assessment scenarios in a nice and consistent manner. I took Limmer's Emergency Care, Emergency Care of the sick and injured, and the NREMT Patient Assessment sheets for EMT and created this flowchart and image. Its just the first iteration for my patient scenario practice both in class and on Medceptor.

How would you guys improve upon it? What can I tell the AI to change?

Should I get my own stethoscope for emt class? I’ve been seeing a lot of people get their own and a lot of people recommend getting your own.

Hi everyone,

I am a 20 year old girl who just got her first EMT job after getting my NREMT when I was 17. I am absolutely scared outta my pants for this job since I haven’t done anything other than be a volunteer nurse for summer camp where all I did was give kids band aids. This job is in a big city with a decent amount of homelessness and crime which is way different from what I’m used to as I when I’m not in college I live in a really rural area.

I don’t know I guess the short version is that I’m getting my first EMT job and now I’m terrified I’m going to mess up or that I don’t remember how to do anything.

Any advice?

Hi everyone! I (27M) am taking steps to making a career change into the EMS field. For a bit of context, I spent the past 10 years in the automotive field in different specialties and I just don’t have any love for it anymore. I want to help my community in a more direct way than building LEO squad cars. That being said, I have recently applied to the Georgia Institute of EMS. I paid the app fee, put in my application, and have submitted the application for the SKJ memorial scholarship to assist in covering my tuition. I have not received any correspondence from them, and I’m just wondering if I’ve maybe wasted my money and time attempting to get my foot in the door? I realize this would have been better to ask before applying, but here we are. I’ve attempted to call and haven’t been able to get anybody on the phone, so I don’t know if maybe there’s something extra I need to do? I still need to figure out where to send my proof of graduation from HS and what immunizations I need to get prior to beginning this next step in my life.

Thanks in advance!!

Hey good morning I just got my emt license in Richmond Va I’m a little confused where to apply and what would be a better place to work so I can attend paramedic classes next year after I gain some experience as an emt

I’m in my final capstone days of paramedic class and I’m still struggling to understand axis deviation. I haven’t had any other issues in cardiology, it’s interesting and I understand it, but I struggle to understand and recognize this despite studying it over and over. Has anyone taking the medic registry in the past year had any axis questions?

hi!

i’m a uc berkeley pre-med student who also happens to come from a low income background. i’m originally from the inland empire (socal) and my journey has been.. a lot… balancing work, classes, relationships, volunteering, while also visiting and maintaining connection to my family back home. i have been thinking about becoming an emt for clinical experience, and given my situation, hybrid courses seem like a match.

do any of you have any recommendations for hybrid EMT programs that are cheap that i can either do in the bay area or in IE? im okay with dropping ~1k or so, as long as its a program that fits me. saw this emt program (socal emt) that seems perfect, but i have my skepticisms mainly because i hope its not a scam.

i am genuinely hoping to get something that i can learn the theory and such online, and do all the required skill training and required clinical experiences in person that is not super expensive :(

any advice/info is appreciated 🫶🏼. remember that i am broke and cant afford a lot lol!

CA EMT here, this is the first time I am renewing my state license. I am not currently working as an EMT and will be doing my verification at a EMT school.

What should I study? Will it be like my practical skills test in EMT school with a trauma and medical senario I have to perform? Will it be a verbal exam?

So to preface: I'm a student going for my EMT-b. I never intended to advance to medic or work 911 service. I ended up here because I was doing clinical volunteering at a hospital trying to figure out what schooling to invest in, fell in love with the emergency department, and had several people advise me to get my basic and tech while I pursued further education.

I selected the most reputable program available to me. It's at a city college. The instructors all work for our fire dept, you need instructor or coordinator approval to advance to paramedic (it is a competitive program), and our fire department pretty much exclusively hires medics from our school. So maybe this will color some of what I've noticed.

While waiting for fall semester to start, I joined a bunch of EMT groups on Facebook to see what I was getting into. I didn't join general EMS or medic groups because, again, that wasn't my goal. And tbh, even after what I've experienced so far, the behavior of a good portion of those groups is seriously fucking embarrassing.

People would repeatedly make fun of people for being "tacticool." One offense that could get a person labeled tacticool was owning actual EMT pants instead of Dickies.

Another thing was "dressing like an EMT for class. Just dress normal." Often this was paired with saying the people who were "cosplaying" were always the worst at practicals.

Now, my school came with a huge-ass handbook with some very specific stipulations. We could not just wear work pants, we had to wear EMT pants -- the school bookstore even sold cheap EMT pants with the "unnecessary, cringe" extra loops and pockets. We had to wear a uniform polo, tucked in. Boots that met certain criteria. Only approved outerwear was a heavy pullover with the school logo on the front and EMS STUDENT on the back.

Because of what I saw online, I was convinced I understood something in our handbook wrong. The book says we have to wear it every class. I thought maybe they meant for every ridealong, but I wore it to the first class just to be safe. I thought everyone would make fun of me. To my surprise, the coordinator yelled at everyone not in uniform and said not wearing it would constitute a write-up starting next class. Huh. Ok.

Everyone online also said it was cringe to use a Littmann because we're "not doctors." I sprung for a Littmann anyway, because I plan to continue advancing in the medical field. The first time we had to pull out our stethoscopes, about half the class had a Littmann Classic. Since then, another quarter-ish have purchased a Littmann. Some students actually had stethoscopes from the bookstore that didn't have angled earpieces. Online, apparently you're a hero if you auscultate blood pressure with something like that, and it means you can read a blood pressure with anything. In class, one kid had trouble auscultating during lab and the instructor asked to see his equipment. He recommended the student get a better stethoscope and suggested just getting the entry level Littmann. Wtf?

I suppose it is possible that my instructors and coordinators are "tacticool and cringe," but they all work for a high volume 911 service in one of the largest cities in the US, which is kind of what I think a lot of people who stay at the basic level in rural areas wish they were doing.

I also noticed the students who could not keep their appearance together tended to fuck up practicals, not people appropriately uniformed.

My instructors also frequently tell us that EMT is not a career, so if we are not going to advance to medic, we should already know our next move or figure it out while class is still in session.

All of this to say, it now kind of seems to me that many EMTs, and therefore some good portion of national EMS, kind of have the same attitude of people who think you are pretentious for getting a $20 shirt from Target instead of a $18.50 shirt from Walmart. I don't really get it. I legitimately thought stuff like actual work pants and Littmanns would be luxury goods that only the well-off could afford. A Littmann is fucking $110 shipped.

I now cringe when I think of those people who are so burnt out and hateful that they made me doubt my program's requirements were real, just because they hold us to professional standards and expect us to dress like we would for work. That's crazy. Why do some people in this field care so much if someone has loops on their pants? Do you really think that's the biggest problem in EMS?

Crazy. Glad I was educated in my region and not wherever those attitudes are coming from.

Hi homies, aspiring EMT here to ask questions you’ve probably answered 100 times, I’m currently a hotshot for the forest service looking to make the jump to the structure side of fire and currently in the process of getting my EMT, any good study methods outside of notes, flash cards and reading? I feel like I’m retaining a good chunk of it but whenever I do practice test I feel as if it’s my first day on earth, also how hard is the national compared to the FISDAP exam? I’ve got to take both and slightly worried cause I was never good in school, thanks in advance.

Hello all.

Starting out with background, I’m a paramedic, been in for about 4 years, half of those fire and the other IFT. I recently returned to EMS after a year break due to building stress and wanting to seek help about it. I was able to get the help, learn to breathe and wanted to get back at it.

During working ems in fire/medic role. I notice after adding fire for some reason grew the stress cause of performance anxiety due to long durations of no calls. So what I mean is I would sit there no calls and when I got a call I would be to nervous, tunnel vision stuff and miss steps I normally wouldn’t. And then would sit on mistakes and over think them cause I was new and wanted to perform well. To negate I did my station duties, attended CE and had the knowledge and protocols down but applying them when watched by seniors was hard especially when if I asked for things I always had issue with the why I want something when the parts of calls added up. I was trying to not think my schooling was inadequate.

Currently, I have been motivated, got my NREMT cert renewed, got back into systems and everything current and working again. I just was looking to the community any advice you got or methods I should try.

I know I’ll get the sarcasm stuff and hate mail. The fun’ is appreciated . But the serious replies thank you for all and any. If I gotta explain anything, I’ll do my best to reply.

My class is being sent to the ED of a local hospital for patient contacts soon, and the instructor said to wear something nice. A bit confused on what that means.

What did you guys wear for your patient contacts?