Any EMR, EMT or EMT-P's here?

[SHOGUN]

Which school do you recommend for EMR training/school that prepares you the best for the ACP Exam? I heard SAIT just requires you to get a minimum 50% pass in the course which is crazy, and people have told me there course there does not prepare you good enough to pass the ACP Exam... as I was leaning towards going to SAIT. Thanks.

[worth]

My brother is taking his EMT through PMA and he is liking it a lot. He got accepted into both SAIT and PMA, but decided to go PMA because of the compressed schedule.

I can't say if it prepares you any better, i'm not sure. I could ask him his thoughts.

http://www.promedics.org/default.htm

[IceMan]

I just finished completing EMR at SAIT and it was great.

After you complete all the in-class material and finish writing your final exam, you have to do a Primary Survey in which you get 2 attempts at passing it. I had my teacher as well as another girl who worked for ACP testing me in the room.

At the end, she gives you feedback on what you need to work on as well as what you can expect while doing ACP.

So yes, imo SAIT is your best option in preparing you as all the instructors there are Paramedics who have gone through ACP and can give you tips and feedback on what you can expect when doing ACP.

Plus you learn a ton and it's a lot of fun.

[Hi-Psi]

IMHO SAIT is one of the worst schools you can go to when taking either your EMT or Paramedics. The only thing good about SAIT is that you will be doing your practicum in Calgary rather than in some small town.

SAIT tends to have a much higher fail rate due to the fact that their passing mark requirements are so much lower. The lower requirements makes most medics lazy and thus usually scrape by, leaving themselves in a world of hurt come ACP time.

I personally would go through PMA, I took my EMT refresher through them about 4 years ago when I let my ACP lapse one year. I originally took my EMT through a school(Flatline) that I would never recommend to anyone. PMA though was really good, great instructors, good equipment and they also have ACP prep days which were awesome for us.

I've heard nothing but great things about PMA since.

As for your EMR, take it anywhere, that course is a joke and I can't wait till they get rid of the EMR level all-together. If you can't pass this course then I would honestly reconsider your career path.

[J epworth]

I have EMR, I'm part of the Student Emergency Response Team at UWO. It is the perfect level of training for what we do, but I don't see how the course is applicable for much other fields, unless they eventually plan to have firefighters all upgrade to EMR from EFR.

We get all 911 calls on campus, it's a pretty good volunteer run program. Course took 80 hours to complete, had to get 90% on the exam to make the team.

http://www.sert.uwo.ca/home.php

[Azure]

I took my training through SAIT. Worked out pretty well, although I would say its way to easy to cheat, and not challenging enough considering the ACP is apparently much harder.

Rumor has it SAIT students have a higher fail rate at ACP than other places.

[SHOGUN]

As for applying for an EMT course, for SAIT, it requires you to have an Interview, EMR Experience and References... I'm confused about EMR experience as you already have the experience since you're required to take the EMR course??? Does this mean you need to volunteer extra time? Also, any advice/tips about the interview process/etc? Thanks guys!

[DrJ]

I have heard similar rumours with the SAIT program. Sorry, but other than the random story below, this is all I can offer.

So I went to Superstore yesterday and had to go to customer service. The employee had a massive rod of Asclepius tattooed to his forearm and I asked him about it. Initially, he thought I asked him about his "skeleton tattoo" so I had to repeat myself and then he told me that he was in the SAIT program but dropped out and just works now. Anyways, good luck with the journey!

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by Hi-Psi

IMHO SAIT is one of the worst schools you can go to when taking either your EMT or Paramedics. The only thing good about SAIT is that you will be doing your practicum in Calgary rather than in some small town.

Not true. My clinic practicum was in Stettler, my OR practicum was in Olds and my ambulance practicum was in Ponoka. Many others had theirs in Cold Lake, Wetaswikin, etc.

I went to SAIT and for the most part, what people are saying is true. I enjoyed the course and really enjoyed the instructors. The labs were great and the scenerios were fun and varied.

My biggest problem, however; was the actual testing was veeeeeery easy, and SAIT protocols weren't as up to date with ACP. For example; with a pelvic fracture, we were taught to only use a scoop stretcher, with a pillow on top for support where as the ACP standard involved putting the scoop onto a spineboard for extra support. Little things like that can be the difference between a pass and a fail at ACP.

Additionally; there was no after-school support. Practicing IV's was a pain (pun!) because we were stuck to class-time only.

Unfortunately due to SAITs program being infamous around Alberta, a lot of preceptors were discriminating against SAIT students which lead to lots of problems.

On the bright side, everyone in my class that made it to ACP passed. That was after they adjusted the written tests to be scaled based on difficulty of question so these tests were harder than previous years.

Edit: There was nothing about having EMR experience for me. It's a prerequisite, but they never asked about it beyond wanting to see my ACP card. The interview is pretty easy, your biggest hurdle will probably be your nerves. They'll ask you questions like "What does patient advocacy mean to you." and other moral-related questions. They just want to see if you really want the course, or just wanna have a "cool" job.

[jar_e]

Gonna go beat up some cripples? Fun gig.

[CMPunk]

*bump*

Does anyone have any recommendations for an emt refresher refresher course? My friend needs to take it, but seems to be having issues trying to find a place to do it.

[Hi-Psi]

I did an EMT Refresher course through PMA(Professional Medical Associates) in Calgary and loved it. That was quite a few years ago though so things may have changed.

[SHOGUN]

Wow, can't believe its been two years since I posted this thread. I decided go to nursing school instead of going to EMT/paramedic school if anyone cares lol.