PHTLS

[PCB]

Hi all.

I needed more hours, so I signed up for a PHTLS class. It's a 2 day affair, and looks interesting. Has anyone had any experience with these classes?

Thanks,

PC

[firemedic54]

Most of our medics here have it, myself included. Very good class, lots of hands on experience. I highly recommend you taking the class.

[Dustdevil]

I too highly recommend it. Although, quality can vary greatly from location to location, just like any other class. Even the best class just skims the surface of the wealth of information available in the text, so don't toss it in the bottom of your closet and forget about it afterwards. It's an excellent book with far more info than the class can even begin to cover.

I don't know about where you practise, but it seems that a LOT of areas and schools in the US apparently don't cover even the basics of trauma care well. This is exhibited here at this forum every day as people debate such things as spinal immobilisation and trauma intercepts as if they haven't the slightest clue that there are established standards to operate from. PHTLS should significantly increase your confidence in trauma assessments and decision making.

[JakeEMTP]

ITLS ( or PHTLS) was an excellent 2 days and I highly recommend it. The class was well presented and the hands on was great. I especially found the ETT intubation with the patient's head up against the windshield challenging. Tubing upside down was a trip!

Frankly, I don't understand why it isn't a pre-requisite for certification :? . It is a requirement for my employer and that's ok with me.

[AnthonyM83]

I think every EMS employee should receive that training. Definitely take it.

Read your text before the class, so you have more context to understand everything they say in class and so you know what to do during the scenarios (not everything can be covered in class)

[PCB]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll be taking the class in Evansville Indiana. I'm presently pre-reading the text and it's very interesting, not something that will be tossed in a cabinet in my library.

Thanks all,

PC

[DwayneEMTP]

I agree with all above. It's one of the only "certs" that gets into the meat and patatos and then makes you funnel the knowledge from your brain into your hands.

Very much time well spent.

Dwayne

[Dustdevil]

Aside from regional inconsistencies, the only gripe I have with PHTLS is the PowerPoints. They are laid out in a way that encourages instructors to do nothing more than read the Powerpoints and call that "teaching". Consequently, that's how it works out much of the time. I know I, and I believe RidRyder too, argued against that style back in the genesis days of PHTLS, but to no avail. If you're lucky, you'll get a more dynamic instructor who knows the subject well and can make it flow more informatively for you than just reading the slides.

[mrmeaner]

That class was one of the reasons I was glad we switched to the Mosby text for medic class. I took the class as a basic and even though some of the material was over my head, it was presented in a way that made sence and made me want to learn more.

[AnthonyM83]

Well, I think PowerPoint slides are useful in the class, so the instructor doesn't jump all over the place and miss even a few very important points and allowing the students to write down the main bullet points (since they can't write everything the instructor says). The key is being able to use the PowerPoints well....which I think should be part of the PHTLS Trainer the Trainer class.