Passing!!

I got an 88% on my final exam. This brought my overall grade up over the 80% passing mark. If you do not have a passing grade however, she will work with you. I am not sure what you have to do but if you are within a few percentage points she will work with you in order to help you pass the course.

The practical was straightforward. You arrived on a scene and needed to go through what you would do if it were an actual call. A couple of the bigger things they were looking for were that you made sure the scene was safe and that you used proper body substance isolation (basically that you wear gloves).

If you have any questions about the course feel free to leave comments!!

Finals and Tests

Today is the final for the entire EMT course. There are 150 questions covering everything from the book. We have had an in class review session and have had multiple opportunities to review old tests. There shouldn't be any surprises on the final, straight foward, simple questions.

The practical will be held Wednesday. This will cover all of the hands on things that EMT's are a part of.

We have also been signing up for State and National tests. The Weiss program helps you in the process of signing up for all the necessary tests that you need to take in order to be registered and certified in the state of Illinois. If you do not wish to be certified in the state of Illinois they also help you register for the national tests.

I'll provide more updates after the tests are done.

Typical Wednesday Class Day

Today was a typical day at Weiss Memorial Hospital EMT class. Here is what happened:
Arrive at 5:00pm
5:00-5:15 . . . Announcements. This is typically the time in which you will be given study guidelines for the test on the upcoming Monday. If you study what they tell you to review you should have no problem getting above an 80% (which is what you need to pass the course).
5:15-6:00 . . . Lecture.
6:00-6:30 . . . Break for Dinner. There is a cafeteria at the hospital where you can purchase a hot meal for a reasonable price. They also have vending machines with candy bars, sandwiches, drinks and other snacky foods.
6:30-7:45 . . . Lecture.
7:45-7:50 . . . Quick Break.
7:50-9:00 . . . Practical. This is the time in which you do hands on work that you would be doing as an EMT in the field. Today we did patient assessment/triage and bandaging.

Over 1/4 of the Way There

The entire course is broken up into "quarterly's". At the end of these "quarterly's" there is a test that is slightly longer than the weekly Monday tests. They are not more difficult, they only cover more material. Our class performed poorly on the first quarterly and she allowed for an optional retake (nearly everyone took the opportunity). Here are some highlights of what we have covered so far in this course.

• Airway's which includes (among other things) nonrebreathers, oxygen tank usage/setup, combi tubes, oral and nasal airway's and the like.
  
• Head to toe patient assessment
• How to take vitals (blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate, etc.)

This is by no means a comprehensive list of things we have covered but should give you a basic idea of what is being covered in the first part of this course.

Details, Details, Details - What to Expect

The first EMT class was today at Weiss Memorial Hospital. The class is held in an auditorium in the basement. There are about 30-40 people in the class which Trudy (the instructor) said was an ideal size. Here are some of the details we got from the first class:

• Gives take home tests
• Need a "C" average to pass the course which is an 80.
• Quiz every Monday
• There is parking on the street. She will give you money for parking in the garage on Sheridan.
• All of the practicals are on location. There are a few classes that will be at fire stations and what not. Practicals will be conducted with a partner.
• You are only allowed to miss 2 classes
• There is a break after the first part of class in which she allows you to eat dinner. (There is a cafeteria at the hospital which is available for use.)

Because she (Trudy) has done this for so long she is extremely well connected. She even went as far as to say that she could get you a job upon completion of the course.