Preparing for EMT School

As a prospective EMT trainee, preparing well in advance for EMT training is highly recommended due to the many advantages that may be gained by doing so as well as the disadvantages that one may face by not doing so. Preparing in advance for EMT schools or paramedic schools can mean the difference between a prospective EMT trainee having relative ease or having difficulty with the various topics of training and study while going through emergency medical service training. This advantage or lack thereof, in turn, has the strong potential to either set a prospective EMT ahead of or behind his or her peers when the time comes to seek out employment as an EMT once he or she has completed his or her training.

Individuals who aspire to become an EMT are encouraged to first complete or renew their CPR certification, if they have not already done so. Training and certification programs in CPR - cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a procedure which is used to maintain oxygen and blood circulation when a patient’s breathing or heartbeat stops - is offered at a number of hospitals and other public institutions, medical establishments, and even schools. As a skill, CPR is the most basic emergency medical skill that prospective emergency medical service personnel are required to learn as part of their training, as well as one of the most important and commonly used emergency medical procedures. Not only is CPR commonly used on the job by emergency medical service personnel such as EMTs; it is a skill that many health organizations insist everyone should learn due to its effectiveness, its simplicity, and the fact that it saves many lives.

Learning about and/or reviewing important subjects that are to be covered as part of EMT schooling and paramedic schooling is also strongly encouraged of incoming EMT trainees. Topics such as the anatomy of the human body, the pulmonary system – the system of organs responsible for the transport of blood cells (and by extension, oxygen) between the lungs and the heart – and the circulatory system – the organ system responsible for the transport of various nutrients and other materials to various parts of the body - are especially important topics that will be frequently revisited throughout a candidates training to become an EMT. For individuals currently enrolled in secondary education (e.g., high school) who seek to become an EMT after completion of their studies, these medical subjects are often covered in significant depth in anatomy and/or biology courses that have been made available right at their schools. Consequently, such students are in an excellent position to begin preparing for their training to become an EMT well before they're even out of school or enrolled in a proper training program itself.

It is also not unusual for some schools to offer a “pre-EMT” program, or "pre-paramedic" program, or some other equivalent in the field of emergency medical services. This pre-EMT program gives participating students a jump-start on their emergency medical service training while they're in school. The pre-EMT program also usually fits in as part of participating students’ secondary school curriculums, rather than being treated as an extracurricular activity. As such, students who participate in the pre-EMT program may substitute courses of a particular subject (such as life sciences or elective courses) with a practical alternative course that is directly related to the field that interests them as a career – that particular profession being emergency medical services or paramedics - and study that field as a part of their secondary school education, and get a significant head-start before going into the field of emergency medical services after graduation. It is not unheard of for students to become certified as EMTs before graduating from high school, starting emergency medical service work immediately after graduation or even before their graduation.

A prospective EMT trainee one can expect for knowledge in these areas to be applied and re-applied on the job countless times throughout an EMT’s career. Consequently, one’s taking of fundamental information from subjects relevant to the field of emergency medical services to heart is highly recommended, especially prior to starting schooling.