Paramedic Student

Last night I became a paramedic student. From now until October 2009, I'll be in class three nights a week and the occasional Saturday. There are just over 30 students in our class, with a 60-40 split of EMT-Intermediates and EMT-Basics. Three students from my EMT-Basic class returned to study paramedicine, and I'm looking forward to studying with them again.

We have homework right out the gate, which isn't suprising giving the pace of the course. I'll be posting the thousand word paper on EMS history, the future of EMS, and where I fit into it all on this blog. We also have to do cards on 129 drugs available to paramedics in the great state of North Carolina. Each card will have the generic name, trade name, mechanism of action, dosages (all dosage possibilities, adult and pediatric), indications, contraindications, and side effects. Interestingly enough, most services only carry a fraction of these for emergent care, and often only carry specialized subsets for acute care. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the pharmacology review.

So, look forward to seeing more postings on my time as a paramedic student, and maybe postings on my clinicals during the new year. I refrain from posting about people I treat at work only due to the "small town" feel at work. When out in the world, I'll probably be able to write in generality.