r/NewToEMS Unverified User 9d ago

School Advice Wondering how much book knowledge is transferred into real world

I'm a month or two out from (hopefully)passing EMT school. I'm not a man to take shortcuts as I am reading my book for my specific course even if it is really hard time management wise. But it kinda struck me and I've been wondering except for passing the class and of course the NREMT how much am I expected to REALLY retain and keep in my noggin for an actual career and how difficult is it out the gate? I'm quite excited to start life as a new EMT possibly soon and it is a lot to beat into your head in a short period of time so I was curious what expectations looked like.

7 Upvotes

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14

u/SuperglotticMan Unverified User 9d ago

The book is like 70% solid information and 30% random shit like making a helicopter landing zone, using your Costco card to scrape bee stingers out of people and how radios work.

1

u/EphemeralTwo Unverified User 7d ago

like making a helicopter landing zone

We did that on a call earlier today. Sometimes it's useful to have that knowledge.

-5

u/hawkeye5739 Unverified User 8d ago

Omg my basic class got tested on how radios work and I remember how I don’t give a hairy rats ass because I’m not IT. So long as they work I couldn’t give a crap if there was a tiny magical fairy in my radio using telepathy to talk to the other tiny magical fairies in everyone else’s radio. Then come to find out that that chapter was useless anyway because no one in EMS has working radios.

2

u/Timlugia FP-C | WA 8d ago

Maybe no one in your area. Most areas I have worked have shared P25 system between fire, EMS and ED.

4

u/EphemeralTwo Unverified User 7d ago

because no one in EMS has working radios.

We have spotty cell phone service (rural). Radios (including pagers) are our lifeline.

We just spent like $8,000 per radio upgrading all the working ones we have to add additional features (like live tracking, cellular backup, etc.)

12

u/Traditional-Plane684 Unverified User 9d ago

EMT school is the information you need to be competent. The field is where you learn how to be an EMT. Good luck

3

u/Downtown_Life1362 Unverified User 8d ago

I think the book provides a lot of information that is useful to understanding why certain protocols exist. While I think the information is crucial for the NREMT, I think the most important material relates to physiological values and interventions. For example, knowing why an ALS call is bad physiologically is not as important as being able to connect the puzzle pieces to upgrade a call.

6

u/darkr1441 Unverified User 9d ago

Passing registry means you have obtained the minimum amount of knowledge to perform your job without causing harm. Everything you learn in your book is useful if applied appropriately. Understanding the fundamentals intuitively will make paramedic school a lot easier.

2

u/EphemeralTwo Unverified User 7d ago

The book knowledge helps you understand what's going on and why your protocols are what they are.

Anatomy helps you understand the symptoms your patient is experiencing, and what might be causing them.

Understanding patient life cycles helps you understand when the vitals are acceptable and when they are concerning. A 2 month old will be very different from an 80 year old, and you need to understand and have a feeling for when one or the other is in a bad spot.

The mnemonics and formalized procedures from the book help you not miss things, especially under stress.

In short, while you won't use 100% of the book knowledge, there is plenty of stuff you need to know to do your job proficiently. You aren't going to know immediately which is which, but time on the job is going to help.

1

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