climbermedic Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Hi Folks! I'm in my 2nd semester of Medic school up here on the beautiful Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. This is actually my 2nd semester of core Paramedicine, I have been knocking out GER's for a couple of semesters on a part-time status. We are currently in the middle of studying Medical Emergencies and I recently got my butt kicked by Cardiology. There are a couple of unique challenges facing the P-med student in rural AK: 1) The local hospital does their best to help with clinical time, but doesn't have super high volume so we travel 3 hours to Anchorage 2-3 times per month for clinicals 2) To complete an internship, we travel to the "lower 48" and spend around 6 weeks riding full time with a service that agrees to precept us in exchange for free labor 3) It's gorgeous here, and I have to try extra hard to buckle down and study instead of going hiking, climbing, fishing, hunting, mtn biking, snowboarding, etc. I am definitely enjoying P-med school and Alaska. While there are always things a student might change about their program, instructors, classmates, etc., I feel that this has been an overall positive experience so far and I have actually come to enjoy the challenges and uniqueness of this program. If there are any folks out there that have opinions, or advice regarding making it through school I always welcome them. I am especially interested in hearing from other medics in rural areas that have had to travel for their internships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treaux Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Heya. I'm in week 10 of a 32 week program. It's super-fast paced and difficult to keep up, but that's how I like it. What I love is that all my teachers work in the field. 2 of my main instructors work for CalStar (along with about 6 other calstar people who help out), one is the local fire-medic QI guy and PA at the local hospital, and the rest work in various places and have a lot of experience. It's great for getting a real world view of how it all comes together. The hard part is how much information I have to process. We have 24 hours of class time each week and it's just non-stop critical information. It takes me an extra week to process it all and finally put it to use. So far I've kept up through A&P and all the other little things, and I'm only half way to my clinicals. After week 25 I start my 160 hour clinical rotations (can't start it until I have ACLS, PEPP, and PALS done). Once I'm done with those I'm off to Austin, TX to do my field internship. I'm excited about doing that out of state where everything is different than what I know. Anyways, I love my school and I love being in school. If any of you want to buddy up and talk about stuff, feel free to AIM me when I'm on: SecrtAgentNate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 I have been knocking out GER's for a couple of semesters on a part-time status. Sorry to hear about your gastro-esophageal reflux problem there. The stress can do weird things to your body. But it usually improves drastically after graduation. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexeden Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Hey everyone! I started in January of this year as some of you have also. We are doing our A&P prereq. first, and our final test is this Monday! I'm glad A&P is finally over with. It's just going to get everything we learned to "click". We will start with our Medicolegal stuff after that. I am taking my Paramedic course at SOTC in Ardmore, OK. We have a good instructor, and a good class. It's a 3 semester program. (working through summer) We should be finished around July or August of 2007. It's almost scary, but exciting at the same time that we can make such drastic changes in peoples' lives! Well i'm glad i found a place to get support from fellow medics! (NOT ambulance drivers!) haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrylynnEMT Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I started school in Sept and should have be done by June, but i think it may be July now. I'm in a full time 8:30 to 3:30 class. We are in the middle of cardiology right now. We've done 180 hours in EMS, 16 in labs, 16 in OR, and are in the middle of 32 hours in ICU. We still have ER, more EMS, Pedi, Burn unit, OBGYN, Dialisys, and a few others i can't remember off the top of my head. So far I love the class. We have been through A&P, pt assessment, pharm, and patho. I'm taking my class at a vo-tech in Oklahoma. Prolly going to get my degree at OSU when im done. :twisted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hook Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Just to make all of you a little jealous I am finished! I got an 85% on my cumulative final exam for school (15 months) and an 82% on my National Registry! It was a pretty proud day I can tell you. Keep truckin' forward! Know that the rewards of the level of Paramedic go beyond the money and respect. Knowing you can more effectively help people is a wonderful experience. A little cheesy yes... I'll take it all day long! Kevin J Hook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeEMTP Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Hey fellow students!!!!!!!! I found this site by accident ( I know, no life ) and found it interesting and should prove to be helpful as I progress with class. Thought I'd share with you peps. http://www.ssgfx.com/CP2020/medtech/procedures/protocols.htm Keep studying folks! It'll be worth it in the end. :coffee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckEMT Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 a little update on my progress so far. We haave completed first semester didactic and I passed with a 3.7 GPA. I am now on my first ambulance practicum which lasts for 386 hours. I hope to keep the GPA for second semester as it entails about twice the work as first semester with a load of pharmo.........yipeeeeeeee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezq304 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Hey guys....I'm in the fray with you all. Just finished up my first year of a two year program. We take our capstone on Sunday which will tell us if we'll be signed off to test NR EMT-I/99. When ( I say that with a grain of salt) I pass this Sunday, I'll probably test Registry I in June. Then, we go back for another year and then test Medic. Remember guys, just keep chuggin' along. It'll all be worth it in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frostii Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 well im applying now for the fall class, i got rejected once and i hope they burn in hell. and thats all i've got to say about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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