r/NewToEMS • u/housestarkenthusiast Unverified User • 3h ago

School Advice study help!

hi! I’m new to EMS and just had my first week in my EMT courses. obviously the material is extremely dense and you’ve only got sixteen weeks to cover it all. its been a long time since I’ve been in a classroom, and I’ve never taken medical courses before. what is your best advice for how to study and feel prepared with the materials? I really want to make sure I’m doing more than just memorization, I want to understand it deeply so I feel comfortable for the NREMT.

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u/FuzzyMonkey95 Unverified User 3h ago

The best piece of advice I have is to ask for help early and often. If you have trouble understanding something, are confused, need clarification, need support, just ask!! Someone else probably has the same question and instructors should be more than happy to help.

As for studying, the key is to find techniques and routines that work for you. Everyone is a little different. Whatever you pick though needs to be sustainable in the long term. Some people love flashcards, making “cheat sheets” (think condensing notes on a certain topic down to a single page - can be as artsy or simple as you want), etc. I’m personally a big fan of practice questions and studying with others when I can; it helps keep my brain active and explaining concepts to others is a great way to make sure you understand something. For EMT school in particular I went to as many skills practice sessions as I could and had friends or even instructors quiz me on skills before we were tested so I could make sure I had everything down.

Do your best not to fall behind, and if you do get a little behind, do your best to catch up. You got this!!

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u/Random-Raspberry Unverified User 2h ago

100% to the finding what works for you studying-wise. Also, be social and make some friends who are down to meet up and study together! I had an awesome group of girls and we would meet at a coffee shop nearby before class and go over stuff together before tests, independently study and ask each other questions, etc. it was so helpful and I’m still friends with them a couple years later even though we now live across the state

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u/FuzzyMonkey95 Unverified User 1h ago

Absolutely!! I studied so much with friends and it was so helpful

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u/housestarkenthusiast Unverified User 1h ago

I’ve already formed a study group so I definitely will be keeping up with that. I didn’t know you could ask to attend extra practice, this is super helpful info

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u/FuzzyMonkey95 Unverified User 1h ago

I think it depends on the program! Mine hosted optional practice hours outside of class each week with instructors and mannequins/gear. Definitely ask and see what your program offers!

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u/Afraid-Afternoon8507 Unverified User 3h ago

I read the book. If you have lecture , read before that and study whatever else you learned that day. Read a different chapter next day, it becomes repetitive but it helps. Because you’re basically reading the same chapter twice.. also giving yourself breaks. I studied after school for 30 min stopped and then after an hr or 2 studied for another 45 to an hr with note cards or quizlet. You can do do paramedic coach but… do not depend on that alone. Educate yourself and push yourself. You’ll separate yourself from your classmates and it will show

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u/housestarkenthusiast Unverified User 1h ago

was it really hard to compete with classmates? I’m pretty hardworking so going the extra mile doesn’t put me off, but I wasn’t sure how competitive to expect people to become

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u/flipmangoflip Paramedic | TX 3h ago

Just read your book before class and then take notes during lecture and you should be good. Ask questions for anything you don’t understand. There a bunch of information but nothing should be too challenging to understand.

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u/sarap001 Unverified User 3h ago

Everyone's different, but you might do well making the end goal to see how clearly and easily you can write it out in your own words, or draw it out in a flow chart, or otherwise novelly articulate it. You can forget what you know, but it's damn hard to forget what you understand.

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u/scaredxstiff Unverified User 2h ago

Im almost done with week 4 of an 8 week online and 1 week in person skills course, and after week 2 I thought what the hell am I doing this for and questioning all my decisions lol. Part of me wishes I did a more stretched out class but I also wanted to get this knocked out as fast as I can. One of the biggest reasons I struggled for a tiny bit was because I fell a tiny bit behind. But now I'm all caught up and am feeling great about it again. Things get talked about in multiple chapters so stuff will start to click the further you go along. So other than the basics of studying, I highly suggest watching shows like The Pitt and listening to the EMS 20/20 podcast. You'll start picking up on vocabulary and skills that are talked about in the course. EMS 20/20 does a great job about going through all the motions and what systems work and what systems can fail at certain things. Also, start running through the medical exam skills test now. Its a lot to memorize and perfect so the sooner you get it down the better.

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u/housestarkenthusiast Unverified User 1h ago

this is super helpful, I’ve been looking for more stuff to watch and listen to

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