Paramedic School Advice from Paramedics || Paramedic Education

Just from the feed on social media alone, it seems all colleges are officially in session. With a brand new group of paramedic 🚑 students, comes the same fear of the unknown and nervousness of their predecessors. Doubts and questions run through the heads of the students like…..

Will I be able to do this? 

What if I am not? 

What if I cannot do this, work, be a good husband/wife and/or mother/father? 

Am I doing this for the right reasons? 

What if I get through everything and end up hating the career? 

If I quit or fail, everyone will know.

Some of those questions can only be answered by you. BUT I asked seasoned paramedics what they would advise a brand new paramedic student that is nervous and doubtful. Here are just a few of their answers. 

• Medic school is like trying to drink from an open fire hydrant. The amount of information you are being fed will, at times, feel too much and it will be easy to get discouraged & overwhelmed. You are not alone, everyone feels this way. One day it starts to click and you begin to understand the why and the how. Be patient for that day.
• Medic school is fun! Make friends and connections. Learning is better and easier when it is a team effort. 
• Embrace the difference of opinions. EMS is not black and white, it’s gray. There is typically more than one approach at tackling a medical problem. Learn from others.
• You can do this. People have done this for decades before you and will continue after. With that being said, don’t act like the hardships of school are exclusive to you. Embrace the difficult times. 
• These are the times where you can mistakes and kill a patient (patient=manikin). Take advantage of them! 
• It is uncomfortable to do scenarios or activities in front of your classmates, get comfortable with it. If you avoid the scenario time, you will miss out on so much. Plus, wait till the day where all eyes on are on you….for real. 
• Pay attention to ALL your instructors and lab adjunct instructors. They will all contribute something unique to your education. 
• You are in charge of how much you learn. Always seek out more education. 

First of all, thank you to the kind souls that gave these nuggets of advice. I am sorry I could not use all of them. 

I once had a friend/preceptor tell me he wished he could go back and experience medic school again. He told me this while I was in the thick of it, so I thought he was an absolute lunatic. I get it now though. Have fun and learn stuff, y’all!