AnnaBanana

I'd say you are in a hole, but not necessarily digging any deeper at this point.

You are not saying or asking anything that a great many other people twice your age -- and even with years of experience -- think and say on a daily basis. All logical assumptions that you shouldn't be ashamed of or bashed for, but they just don't pan out in practice. The one about hands-on experience being the best teacher would be one of your most significant erroneous assumptions.

In order for experience to be a teacher, you first have to have a foundation to build upon. 110 hours of first aid class is not a foundation. It's just a brick laying on the ground. It is a piece of the building, but by itself, it is nothing you can build upon or progress with. As Rid states, the streets are a place to learn to apply your education. However, the streets are not a place to obtain your education. First things first. The so-called "experience" these kids are getting is more likely to be harmful to their professional development as a medic than to help it. Who are their mentors? Other sixteen year olds with the same 110 hour first aid course? The lone adult who might occasionally be there, with that same course, who is probably driving the ambulance instead of working with the kid? That's not exactly an educational environment. They are never even going to know when they are right or wrong, or when they have or have not learned a significant lesson, because there is nobody there to show them.

The old adage, "it takes one to know one" is very true here. If you have never obtained professional education, then you really can't be expected to understand what it is about, how it works, and what you are missing without it. But anybody who has sat through two to four years of college to learn a specific discipline can readily see the serious flaws in their previously held notions that "hands on" is the best way to learn, or that "there's the book way and there's the street way." Both are crap. Neither the book nor the streets are freestanding entities. One is a foundation, and the other is a mechanism for building on that foundation. It takes both to succeed. And quite predictably, it takes both IN THE CORRECT ORDER to maximise your educational and professional potential.

There are shortcuts to a patch, but there are no shortcuts to true education and professional excellence.

I totally agree. That is really well said- in a way I do not have the time or the brain power (nursing school is frying it) to do right now.

What about ride-alongs though? (on a restricted basis- no "traumatizing" calls, good supervision) I think getting a taste of EMS still would be good for teenagers interested in it...

Too funny! Good thing no one was hurt...

The idea of a 16 year old driving an ambulance is insane. No matter how "good" a driver they are. You'd think EMS people everywhere would have respect for the however many thousand pound weapons of destruction those trucks are. And what happens to the people inside during an accident. That's the main reason for the high fatality rate in EMS (ff not included).

I do think it's not such a bad idea to let them treat patients and gain knowledge/experience. As long as there is a medic with them! As someone else said, teenagers do not have the life experience and critical thinking skills even an 18 year old might. (although being 18 is no guarantee of that either but I do think there's a big difference developmentally between 16 and 18 )

So in my opinion the premise of the program is awesome, but they are waay too liberal with what these kids are allowed to do. And they should never be missing school to do it. It just instills the idea that doing their EMS thing is more important than their education. If they are pursuing medical careers (or even continuing in EMS) the last thing they need is any kind of disdain for school. What happens when they are knee deep in anatomy and pharmacology books and have to spend every minute in class or studying just to pass? They will not get to go on exciting calls in the middle of class or have the luxury of "making up" a biology quiz to run a call.

JMO

This makes me want to do a post about men vs women in EMS regarding physical capabilities. But I'm sure it's in here somewhere! What would I search under?

I have been out of active EMS for two years, but when I was in there it was mostly guys. Alot of young guys biding their time as EMT or medics while waiting to get into the local FD. In fact I can't remember any of the female coworkers I had because there were so few of them. That is changing though, I'm sure of it.

I think women are an incredible asset to EMS. They bring some good things to the table. But I also think they tend to get defensive and claim they can do everything the male EMS workers can do physically. Which is just not true, IMO.

I'll save the rest for when I find this topic somewhere.

Wow. Thanks so much for your informative and thoughtful responses. I am going to ask for a shadow experience in the ICU or CCU. (I already asked for one for NICU since I'm sort of interested in that- used to do interfacility NICU transfers as a driver)

Sorry it took me so long to read this. I'm in the full swing of school and I have a 1 1/2 year old son to take care! (Not to mention some relatives with two children of their own moving in with us for awhile, in two days!)

It sounds like there are alot of options to still be involved in some sort of EMS experience as an RN. I definitely appreciate the encouragement to continue on to get my BSN. I was considering a doctorate of nursing practice also (like a MSN but more skills focused instead of research and management focused). I would probably do that further down the road when I'm ready to do something like work as a nurse practitioner.

I love the idea of being a flight nurse. I wonder what the physical requirements are? I am small and barely passed the physical testing to become an EMT (mostly with the lifting). Sorry, just thinking out loud.

Thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences.

I created an account here b/c I used to belong a few years ago and really miss EMS. I am in nursing school now and I'm getting my RN in one more year.

So I'm sure you're all biased, but what do you think the pros are of being a medic versus being an RN? What options do you know of if I want to use my RN and still get out into the pre-hospital setting (part-time)?

I'm thinking of getting a job in the ED just to feel a little more like I'm still in EMS. It's in my blood I think! But I like the higher pay that I would get as an RN. So I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do.

Meanwhile it's cool to read your posts and see what's going on in your world. Thx.