What do you do to keep skills current?

[Callthemedic]

All,

This weekend at drill my Guard unit is performing skills testing. Normaly we train all the time, but not "by the book", it's normally more like "hey, you want to stick IV's?" or we challenge eachother with a question. Most of the training is done at home with whatever the soldier can get ahold of.

My resources:

emtcert CE website

LearningCenter CE website

Brady's Prehospital Emergency Care

Brady's self test books

EMT-Basic Review Manual (Rahm)

A few CD-Roms came with the texts but they just have some test questions. I have looked for something to challenge me on CD-Rom with scenarios but haven't found anything.

I bought a tutorial for EKG from Mad Scientist Software but I haven't been into it because I don't need to know it yet

Oh yea, I started reading The 60 Second EMT. I'm going to get my index cards out after finals and absorb that material. I read it before going to sleep, but it's more entertainment right now.

I guess I might as well admit it right now, I have a paramedic videogame called 911 Paramedic by Legacy. It's not that hokey. Some of the stuff is pretty funny.

Anyhoo,

What does everybody do to stay current?

[AnthonyM83]

Well, I've done CPR on my pillow a number of times. I keep my skills review packet in my car so I can re-read it if I ever find myself having to wait in the car for soemthing. Honestly, I'm still finishing reading the textbook because not all chapters were assigned in class.

[hfdff422]

Anything and everything. Take classes as often as possible. Find new books, read JEMS, affiliate with a hospital. There are so many ways to keep up on your skills that you could do it 40 hours a week if you looked hard enough. I would be careful about internet resources though, unless it is backed by a reputable agency.

[Callthemedic]

Good point about internet stuff.

I looked for an EMT refresher course around here ( Fort Worth), but couldn't find one. The thing about keeping up skills is that you can't get hands-on from a book. I need to be working with the equipment again at some point. As a medic one just uses what one can carry in the field.

[jmac]

we used to run battlefield triage and treatment on the move exercises for the reserve when i was in, plus sweeping for battlefield debris and setting up clearing stations, beats shoving in IV's and asking questions...why not put the questions with the cas and try to figure it out and triage a number of cas's off the battlefield...just an idea to try and practice priorities,

keep safe.

[Dustdevil]

I looked for an EMT refresher course around here ( Fort Worth), but couldn't find one.

Yep, refresher courses are getting increasingly harder to find since the advent of CE recertification. I know that TCC doesn't have one anymore. There is so much CE to be had in the DFW area that refreshers just aren't as in demand as before. Methodist Hospital and Brookhaven College still do refreshers.

I'm not a real fan of refreshers anyhow. They are very topical and superficial and do not do much to increase your knowledge as CE does. You would do a lot better through CE's and self study. Although, it takes a lot of self-discipline to do so.

I say get the newest, must up to date textbooks, as well as a college level Anatomy & Physiology textbook (not just an anatomy book like Gray's) and a Merck Manual. Then sit down and read the textbook in a systematic and thorough fashion. Each time you see an anatomical or physiological point, stop and go look it up in the A&P text and get a deeper, more complete understanding of it. Everytime you see a medical condition, stop and look it up in the Merck Manual and get a deeper, more complete understanding of it. Take notes. For that matter, if you haven't already taken college level A&P courses, you need to. And it does count for CE.

If you are disciplined and devoted, you can give yourself a much greater education that way than you ever would through CE or refresher. And you will still need CE time for recert, as well as to keep informed of new developments in the field. But I have found this board to be the best source of info on new developments and emerging trends out there.

[1aCe3]

Read forums like these... sometimes clips/journals are posted... some discussions can be educating...

EMS / Medical Journals...

Skim/read over old Brady Textbooks when something sparks a question in my head...

Friend of mine just finished the EMT course/exam, I helped him study and in the process went through some stuff myself...

About to accept a 2nd job in a busy ER, hope to learn a lot more from that experience.

You just really have to stay curious.. if it's a field that you truly enjoy, than you'll keep learning along the way if you're curious enough to follow through.

[Callthemedic]

I took honors in A&P and agree %100 with the "follow the physiology" way of tracking a subject. Any disease process can be traced from the organismal level down to the cellular, with all the drug mechanisms between. I have a Taber's, Netters Atlas of Anatomy, a few of the Springhouse series on syptoms and diseases, Guyton's Physiology and a Bates Physical exam if for nothing else than the pictures.

I need a good drug reference and I think I'll check a Merk Manual out. The Merk summarizes diseases doesn't it?

[Ridryder 911]

I work an average > 100 hrs a week. In this I have at least 10 to 20 test either in ER or EMS. I am also in graduate school with clinical rotations. Then there are the classes I teach, CPR, ACLS, PHTLS, PALS, PHTLS, TNCC, etc..... so teaching at least once to twice a month, I have to review material and practice my skills.

So I feel I keep pretty current & competent.. but always aware I can learn something new everyday!

R/R 911

[cdemt5710]

:tweety: A couple of good web sites are out there, including www.trauma.org. The best, I thought, was www.nyerrn.com, but it doesn't appear to be up and running for some reason. There are a few ER nursing sites which have links to lung sound sites, etc. I like them for the exposure to things I never see or rarely deal with in our low volume department.

In our neck of the woods, far from any big centres, going to an EMS conference is a great way to learn and network. Getting together with neighboring departments for training and skills days is another way to stay current. Being self motivated is critical. No one makes us keep learning, but I found that getting with friends who are committed to keeping their skills up challenges all of us to work at being better providers.

Plus, its a great excuse to ditch household chores.......did I say that outloud????