EMS relies on tradition and habit. We’ve done things for a long time and we were often reluctant to change. Here is our compilation of things students should be taught and current EMTs should know.
Student Topics, Tips and Tricks
You’re required to learn and remember massive amounts of clinical information. Our Tips and Tricks are a series of articles and great tools to reinforce that material and help you remember it when it counts. From clinical insights to test preparation tips, you’ll learn more here.
5 Thoughts that Will Fail Students on the NREMT
One of the biggest pieces of advice given for the NREMT (or any exam for that matter) is “Don’t read into the questions.” It is solid advice—yet many students don’t totally understand its meaning.
5 Tips For Passing The Practical Exam
While preparing for the NREMT cognitive (computer) exam seems to cause the most stress, the practical examination isn’t that far behind in its ability to tip the anxiety scale. Both are required to obtain your NREMT card. We looked back on our articles and realized it was time to provide some tips on passing your […]
5 Worst Study Tips for NREMT Preparation Found on Social Media
The 5 absolute worst pieces of advice on taking the NREMT exam found on social media. These are real!
A Tale of Four Oxygen Patients
The 2010 and 2015 AHA guidelines changed our approach to oxygenation, but some students are still taught to administer oxygen by NRB to chest pain patients with adequate sats. In this post, we examine four different candidates for oxygen therapy.
Back To Basics: Perfusion
By Chris Ebright The previous edition of Back to the Basics discussed the differences between ventilation and respiration. As long as those physiological processes are functional, pulmonary capillaries can suck up the available alveolar oxygen and inject carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. Now, that is all well and good, but what if blood never circulated […]
Back To The Basics : CHF Vs. Chronic Bronchitis: Shortness Of Breath
By Chris Ebright This initial installment of the Back to the Basics series is going to compare and contrast a common chief complaint: shortness of breath. Many etiologies provoke this, but many EMT students have a hard time differentiating a dyspneic congestive heart failure patient from one with chronic bronchitis. Both conditions present with physical […]
Back To The Basics: Ventilation V. Respiration
By Chris Ebright You were taught from day one of taking vital signs to count respirations. However, I am here to say that your stellar EMT instructor let you down because she/he was wrong. The same incorrect terminology is also written in numerous textbooks, on run reports, and spoken everyday between medical professionals. So now you’re […]
Case Study: Postpartum Emergencies
By Chris Ebright Ah childbirth—the miracle of life. Some EMS professionals may make several calls in which they place “storks” on their preverbal career belts, while others will never get the chance. In actuality, most emergencies and maternal deaths occur after childbirth, during the postpartum period, according to the World Health Organization. Rapid change […]
Compartment Syndrome: A Case Study
By Christopher Ebright Case You are called to a scene where a skier has fallen. The male patient is in moderate distress and complaining of lower left leg pain. Assessing the limb, you see there is a closed tibia/fibula fracture with obvious deformity. Noticeable swelling, when compared to the right leg, is observed. Additionally, a […]