March 15, 2009
The training that you will receive when you go to EMT school can be very intensive. There is a lot of book learning to accomplish as well as hands on skills that must be mastered before you can be eligible to take the State or National examinations.
The book learning is not particularly difficult but there is a lot of it. You need to learn about the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System, communications, taking patient histories and everything else related to the non-medical side of being an EMT. Of course there will be a great deal of time dedicated towards the learning of human systems, anatomy and physiology and the different disease processes. There is also much to be learned in terms of how traumatic injury affects the body.
The practical skills that you will learn are critical to acceptable performance on the job and to good patient care. You will spend a lot of time practicing these skills in the classroom with your fellow students. You will also be given scenarios that combine several of the practical skills as well as patient interaction and communication.
Don’t be intimidated by how all of this sounds. Desire and drive go a long way in this field and if you just apply yourself during EMT school you will do just fine.
