what high school classes can i take to help prepare me to be an EMT/paramedic?

Question

i was just curious as to what i can do to prepare now.. and if anyone has any suggestions as to more what the job is like i would appreciate it. :)

Answer 1

Pay close attention in your biology and health classes. In EMT training you will have human anatomy training. Get to know the major bones, muscles and organs of the body.

Get your CPR training now, and basic first aid. Check out the age limit for "First Responders" classes. Lastly, check with your local fire department and ask if they have a program for teens to ride along and observe. That is a great way to find out if this is for you.

Good Luck

Answer 2

The best thing to do is do well in biology and math. Also take an anatomy and physiology course if one is offered. Also, if available take classes that relate to public speaking or communications, as a major part of an EMT's or paramedic's job is interacting with the public in a time of crisis. Any class where you have to evaluate information given to you and then put it into writing helps because there is a lot of paperwork and doccumentation involved in EMS.

You should consider taking an EMT-Basic class over the summer. You need to be 18 to get certified as an EMT, but if you will be turning 18 shortly after a class ends, you can still take it, and wait until you are 18 to take the test. If your 18th birthday is a while from now you can consider taking a First Responder course. It is a level below EMT-B, but I am unsure of the age requirement in regards to national standards testing or work.

You are required to be an EMT-B in order to go to paramedic school. Some school actually require some working experience as an EMT (normaly 1 or more years) before enrolling. I would reccoment working as an EMT for a while to see if you actually like working in EMS. What people think it is and what it really is can be very different. Also paramedic school is VERY hard, and the experience you gain working as an EMT in real world situations will help you a lot in both the classroom and during your clinical and field shifts.

In paramedic school the math will come in handy for drug dose calculations, and the bio and A&P will be usefull in many of the classes you will take during paramedic school.

It isn't all that uncommon for someone to become an EMT or a medic and then find that they don't like the EMS lifestyle. TV shows and movies like Emergency!, ER, Third Watch....Bringing out the Dead...I'm sure there are others, show an action packed, adrenaline rush job where you're always moving and every patient is in cardiac arrest. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Call your local EMS department (sometimes the fire department) and ask if they let people do ride alongs. This way you get to spend a day with EMTs and paramedics and go on calls with them. Its a way to see what its really like.

To get an idea of what life in EMS is like I sugest you read "Paramedic: On the Front Lines of Medicine" and/or "Rescue 471: A Paramedic's Stories" both by Peter Canning. The first one talks about his first year as a paramedic and he talks a lot about paramedic school.

I have a feeling that most of what I have said has been said by the people who answered before me, but I hope I contributed something.

Answer 3

Pay very close attention to Biology and the Human Anatomy. Know the location of important bones.

Also keep up with your math. If you are planning on becoming an EMT-P. A lot of what they do with mediciations have to do with a persons age and weight to tell the dosage. Most of them need to memorize equations to give the proper dosage.

Another thing is see if there are any classes that work on your people skills if you are not a people person already. If you are one of those people nervous at public speaking, try to get over that. A patient when in a panicked state, does not want to find an EMT who is just as nervous. A patient wants an EMTthat looks and sounds like they know what they are doing.

Answer 4

In high school you'd want to focus on health related classes and classes that deal in social interaction.

As an EMT you'll usually be the first on the scene that can help the injured person. You'll have to be quick and accurate in decisions. It can be a very bloody and gory career so you'll need to have the stomach for blood and guts. You'll be responsible for cleaning the ambulance after transporting patients also.

There are different classifications of EMT's First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic. Each one has different responsibilities and education requirements.

Coming out of high school you can be a First Responder by taking courses at your local hospital. You'll have to be trained in the emergency skills needed to assess a patient's condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies.

Answer 5

When I was in high school, they didn't offer ANY courses that would be remotely useful to prepare to be an EMT. We did have a student that actually was an EMT. They said the training was not very hard.

Answer 6

Volunteer at the Red Cross. Take their First Aid classes, CPR training and everything else they offer.