My First Post: Interview Preparation

[JakeEMTP]

You did fine on the scenario. The fractured nose, which is extremely vascular and does have the ability to produce copious amounts of blood, was a distraction or curve ball if you will.

As stated above by our esteemed colleagues, hemorrhage control doesn't mean squat when the pt. is a code.

Good luck!

[G2 PILOT]

Hello! Just an update on my situation:

I was accepted into the program! I will be attending the OHSU-OIT Paramedic Program starting this September! I have much to do, namely gaining Oregon Reciprocity along with passing the National Certification for EMT-B.

To all those that responded with well wishes, I thank you immensely. I am excited and nervous to set upon this new adventure, especially since it will be the first time I've ever left my home state for longer than 3 weeks. It is a year long program with an internship in the final term. It will be intense and probably overwhelming. I do not deceive myself that this will be easy or a breeze. It will require hard work, dedication, and an openness to continually learn.

I've already contacted the Oregon EMS office for a reciprocity packet and am waiting for it in the mail...but in the meanwhile, would anyone care to enlighten me as to what they will expect? Also, I spoke with my EMT shift supervisor (who recently became an EMT-III) and his nugget of advice was to read up on the heart and cardiovascular system and how drugs will affect it. A solid foundation like this will slightly ease the sudden flood of information.

So my query to any that read this...do you have any more nuggets such as this? I have 2 months to pre-prepare, to study and get myself into mental shape. What should I focus on?

Thank you!

When a pt is in cardiac and respiratory arrest it is nice to notice the bleeding but it does not prevent you from starting effective CPR. Sounds like you did a very good job by telling the husband to call 911 and get an AED, this is the step most EMS providers forget when they are not on the job because they are used to being the ones responding. They eventually remember it when they go to hook the AED/cardiac monitor up and they are asked where they got it from.

When we interview prospective employees (in your case students) we have a written, skills and a face-to-face interview. This gives us the prospective employer a good understanding of their weaknesses and strengths. You don't have to score perfectly to get hired (or picked), we look for certain thins in a prospective employee to ensure they will be a good fit. Since we stopped hiring the "smart" ones we have had much less (< 10%) turnover, our one turnover in 5 years was due to a non-work injury. Before if you scored perfectly on both the written and skills you were hired, regardless of your personality. Now we hire people that will fit in with us and if they need a little help improving on their skills or knowledge then we help them out.

Sorry I got off of subject there. Just saying that you shouldn't of had to get a perfect, little mistakes are understandable, after all you want to learn more and become a paramedic. If your heart is in it and they could see that it is then you will most likely get selected.

I would like to see more Paramedic Programs require an interview before being selected for the program. In the Paramedic Program that I help with there are a lot of students taking it because "It's different" and they really have no desire to be in EMS. It seems like this should be a good program if they require an interview for it. Is there a lot of competition to get into this program?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi! Saw this question here: It is a competitive program. When I interviewed, I was in a room of 3 other applicants. If they had 4 candidates per session and 4 sessions per interview day, there were at least 48 candidates. But it was more likely that they interviewed 100 people (interviews ended up running over and notifications were mailed extremely late). There are only 22-24 spots available in the class. Thanks for your encouragement!

[xselerate]

worked for 3 months as a part-time Veterinarian assistant

Considering how a large percentage of our patient population acts this should have provided you valuable experience!

I'm sorry I couldn't help it, it was too easy! As for the rest of you, shame for not jumping on such a chance yourselves hahaha

[Just Plain Ruff]

Considering how a large percentage of our patient population acts this should have provided you valuable experience!

I'm sorry I couldn't help it, it was too easy! As for the rest of you, shame for not jumping on such a chance yourselves hahaha

Funny thing about the above is it's truly true.

But when our patient population bites us, they truly mean to bite us. Animals bite for a two reasons, protection or a response to fear or a noxious stimulus.

I've been bitten once and it was not fun for the other person, they ended up with a couple of teeth missing when I used my mag lite to get them off me by pressing it against their upper lip. I heard a couple snaps and when they let go, two of their teeth came out onto the floor.

very very bad situation all around.

[G2 PILOT]

Funny thing about the above is it's truly true.

But when our patient population bites us, they truly mean to bite us. Animals bite for a two reasons, protection or a response to fear or a noxious stimulus.

I've been bitten once and it was not fun for the other person, they ended up with a couple of teeth missing when I used my mag lite to get them off me by pressing it against their upper lip. I heard a couple snaps and when they let go, two of their teeth came out onto the floor.

very very bad situation all around.

Working with our community service patrol, I've seen this first hand. They're drunk, belligerent, and all-around nasty. They don't like us and we don't like them. Yet it's our job. Me, being fresh meat, still have my empathy for this demographic. Another EMT commented that I haven't lost my humanity, but it would eventually come around. The job can definitely wear on you.

I recently heard a story of an EMT being bitten by a drunk man. It was on the medial aspect of the forearm and hard enough to bruise, but not draw blood due to the meat of his limb. Needless to say, he reacted in a defensive manner and elbowed him hard in the back of the head. What's really funny about this story is the EMT is one of the most laid back, sleepy looking fellows I work with. You gotta do what you gotta do...