? for Paramedics.

[medic511]

I agree with the others that your IV and EKG skills (while GREAT to have) are less important in terms of being well prepared for medic school. I think that some form of A&P would be a really big help, and would in effect get you off to a running start rather than bogged down early on.

Personally, I would get a "programmed learning" medical terminology book and really learn those latin and greek roots and suffixes. A couple weeks of hard work on that will make learning the A&P that you will need in medic school MUCH easier. (Note I said "medic" school not "medical" school!) A "programmed learning" book is one that has two or three paragraphs of new info, then a series of fill-in-the-blank sentences that repeat, refine, and build upon the initial few paragraphs. You take small bits and you use the new words yourself, learning the spelling (and hopefully pronouncing them to yourself as you go along). An on-line unabridged dictionary (or a CD-based medical dictionary) will really help because you can have the computer speak the words for you and that way you will SOUND like you know as much as you really do and most of us learn vocabulary more easily when we can "hear" the word as well as spell it and read it. The "speaking" dictionary that I used was the unabridged version of Merriam Websters on-line (it costs a few dollars a year) and it really helped me. Once you have the basic word roots down, you will have so much less trouble understanding rhinorrhea and diarrhea and all those -ostomy, -oscopy, -otomy, et cetera. Really!

Good luck you are going to be a great medic; I know because you are planning ahead.

[Dustdevil]

An on-line unabridged dictionary (or a CD-based medical dictionary) will really help because you can have the computer speak the words for you and that way you will SOUND like you know as much as you really do and most of us learn vocabulary more easily when we can "hear" the word as well as spell it and read it.

Ooooh! Good idea! I had not heard of those, but that would be very nice. If more students do that, we may soon have a lot fewer medics (and instructors too) saying "HYPERtrophy".

[EMS49393]

Taking any arrhythmia course before a comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the heart, lungs, vascular system, etc. is setting yourself up for confusion and failure. ECG's are incredibly easy when you understand what each of the "funny little complexes" actually represent.

Just my $0.03. Good luck with your education, and remember, the learning never stops.