Renewing CPR and EMT-B Certification as an incoming MS2?

[studocplsignore]

Hey everyone, in August 2012, I became an EMT-B and CPR-certified. It is now 2014, and the deadlines for renewing are closing in. Is there a point to renewing my EMT-B license? I have not ridden on an ambulance (mostly because I went straight from college to med school) so I haven't gotten any CE (clinical experience). Is there any use to having an EMT-B license as a med student/resident? Would appreciate any input, thanks!

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[HopefulReapp]

Don't you get BLS and ACLS training before starting rotations?

 

[Arkangeloid]

Yeah, I thought everyone was BLS certified, it's mandatory at our school.

Granted, I still don't know what BLS stands for and what we're actually supposed to do, I just read the book and passed the exam lol.

 

[HopefulReapp]

Yeah, I thought everyone was BLS certified, it's mandatory at our school.

Granted, I still don't know what BLS stands for and what we're actually supposed to do, I just read the book and passed the exam lol.

Basic life support and advanced cardiac life support, basically how to do CPR and maintain an airway

 

[studocplsignore]

Yeah, I thought everyone was BLS certified, it's mandatory at our school.

Granted, I still don't know what BLS stands for and what we're actually supposed to do, I just read the book and passed the exam lol.

I'm not sure why that would be a requirement. It would be nice certainly, but as a medical student, especially during MS1 and MS2, you're not likely to run into incidents that require those skills, at least any more than the general public. I suppose if there was quite a bit of work being done in clinics and such.

 

[Arkangeloid]

Basic life support and advanced cardiac life support, basically how to do CPR and maintain an airway

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

 

[DocVapor]

If your CPR is actually an American Heart Association BLS, keep it up to date. Certainly won't hurt anything, especially if your school requires you to have BLS.

Drop the EMT-B like it's hot.

 

[DocVapor]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

No offense meant, but you seem to have a strange sense of what is important in medicine.

Things like CPR, radiology, and where the damn kidneys are can be kind of important. They aren't just for memorizing and dumping.

Maybe it would be a good idea to check what some of your friends think is important, and that can guide you.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

BLS and ACLS are the protocols for managing cardiac emergencies.

Ever watch TV where they "call a code" and the doctors do chest compressions (BLS) and order drugs (ACLS)?

...what is it you think physicians do during an arrest?

 

[studocplsignore]

Gotcha, I have a BLS CPR Certification for Healthcare Providers from the AHA and will be renewing that. The EMT-B I will probably have to drop, since the NREMT recertification requires me to be working in an EMS or patient care facility, which I am not.

 

[deleted500612]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

Why would they want physicians to know how to do basic life support procedures and maintain an airway? Gee, I have no idea.

 

[Ismet]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

Are you serious?

 

[HLxDrummer]

As a medical student, when I have a code in the hospital I just call the EMTs. Probably will do this as a physician, as well. The patients always seem to code right around lunch time.. you think I'm going to miss burrito day so I can do compressions?

 

[Priapism4tooLong]

Are you serious?

Don't make fun of him, Ark suffered from SIDS as an child.

 

[Priapism4tooLong]

Heh, that does sound interesting, but isn't that EMT-grade work? Why would they want physicians to know how to do it?

Ark are you kidding me? You literally just asked this question "Why would a doctor need to know how to save someone's life in an acute situation?"

 

[Anastomoses]

Ark are you kidding me? You literally just asked this question "Why would a doctor need to know how to save someone's life in an acute situation?"

Everyone has already harassed him enough in this thread but this is intrinsically what annoys me about some people who want to do the minimum to "be called doctor".

@Arkangeloid Why can't you try to do more - know more than what is required to pass and get bishes? Why don't you want to be the kind of doctor that a patient is lucky to get instead of unlucky to get?

 

[Priapism4tooLong]

Everyone has already harassed him enough in this thread but this is intrinsically what annoys me about some people who want to do the minimum to "be called doctor".

@Arkangeloid Why can't you try to do more - know more than what is required to pass and get bishes? Why don't you want to be the kind of doctor that a patient is lucky to get instead of unlucky to get?

@Arkangeloid you listen to your mother

 

[Arkangeloid]

Everyone has already harassed him enough in this thread but this is intrinsically what annoys me about some people who want to do the minimum to "be called doctor".

@Arkangeloid Why can't you try to do more - know more than what is required to pass and get bishes? Why don't you want to be the kind of doctor that a patient is lucky to get instead of unlucky to get?

I mean, I did that back in Biochemistry, because I tried to be interested in the material, to learn pathways, to go "above and beyond," except it didn't work and I just made myself miserable.

Then I meet my tutor, who tells me that I'm doing things totally wrong, and that the correct way to learn medicine is as a set of word-associations, and to condense lectures down to discrete "high yield" points. And I start doing better with that. Not great, but better.

To answer your question:

I mean, I still remember the day, hell, the moment I got my acceptance. I was playing Weezy on my phone, and was going for a walk (I like going on walks), and then I got a call from the Dean saying I had been admitted. Suddenly, I had a spring in my step, I smiled wider than ever, and my head turned skyward as I thanked the Lord. I told myself that I would be the kind of doctor you talked about, the doctor patients would want to have, a leader in my field, blah blah blah. And until med school began, I kept thinking that.

All those dreams started to die a week into Anatomy. I knew medical school would be difficult, but I hadn't imagined this. This was abhorrent, and hell, IMO med school made a mockery of what learning is. It forces you to ignore the forest for a few specific trees. And that's why I know things like that Digoxin binds to the extracellular (in particular; this was a Firecracker question actually) side of the Na/K ATPase, but still don't know where exactly the kidneys are.

Some crappy test grades and miserable weeks later, I had abandoned all those thoughts. I gave up, and it was liberating. Because I'm the still kind of guy who does relatively poorly on every test, still the guy who disdains learning about medicine, and that's probably not going to change. But at least I could be happy in the knowledge that I'm getting by.

 

[Arkangeloid]

Are you serious?

Lol dude, when am I not serious here?

 

[Ismet]

All those dreams started to die a week into Anatomy. I knew medical school would be difficult, but I hadn't imagined this. This was abhorrent, and hell, IMO med school made a mockery of what learning is. It forces you to ignore the forest for a few specific trees. And that's why I know things like that Digoxin binds to the extracellular (in particular; this was a Firecracker question actually) side of the Na/K ATPase, but still don't know where exactly the kidneys are.

Some crappy test grades and miserable weeks later, I had abandoned all those thoughts. I gave up, and it was liberating. Because I'm the still kind of guy who does relatively poorly on every test, still the guy who disdains learning about medicine, and that's probably not going to change. But at least I could be happy in the knowledge that I'm getting by.

Have you considered talking to someone, an academic advisor or psychologist or something, to discuss this? I completely disagree with your claim that med school forces you to ignore the forest for a few specific trees. Maybe that's the problem. If you don't understand the big picture, you're never going to understand the specifics. If you don't solve this now, studying for boards is not going to go well.

 

[Anastomoses]

I mean, I did that back in Biochemistry, because I tried to be interested in the material, to learn pathways, to go "above and beyond," except it didn't work and I just made myself miserable.

Then I meet my tutor, who tells me that I'm doing things totally wrong, and that the correct way to learn medicine is as a set of word-associations, and to condense lectures down to discrete "high yield" points. And I start doing better with that. Not great, but better.

To answer your question:

I mean, I still remember the day, hell, the moment I got my acceptance. I told myself that I would be the kind of doctor you talked about, the doctor patients would want to have, a leader in my field, blah blah blah. And until med school began, I kept thinking that.

Some crappy test grades and miserable weeks later, I had abandoned all those thoughts. I gave up, and it was liberating. Because I'm the still kind of guy who does relatively poorly on every test, still the guy who disdains learning about medicine, and that's probably not going to change. But at least I could be happy in the knowledge that I'm getting by.

I'm not your therapist but I'm going to try to give you what I believe to be powerful insights or observations.

Med school is weird because you're not really sure what's absolutely necessary to know. And there's a lot. So there's that. Chunking is not only a wonderful technique when you study but it's also a brilliant technique when you're dealing with...well, the layers and complications of life. Actually, I feel kind of silly even advising you and it may not be communicable. Have you thought about copying some of these posts from SDN and submitting them to your therapist for review?

I don't like that you "gave up". I think that's a character flaw that you should fix. First create your value system - did you wanna be the kind of doctor who kicks ass on tests and gets admiration or did you wanna be the kind of doctor that knows and understands complications so well that he catches things when others miss them for maybe even only two or three patients whose lives he gets to save? The latter never has to give up or lose, even if the biochem score doesn't pan out. Learn even when there isn't a scoreboard. See below.

All those dreams started to die a week into Anatomy. I knew medical school would be difficult, but I hadn't imagined this. This was abhorrent, and hell, IMO med school made a mockery of what learning is. It forces you to ignore the forest for a few specific trees. And that's why I know things like that Digoxin binds to the extracellular (in particular; this was a Firecracker question actually) side of the Na/K ATPase, but still don't know where exactly the kidneys are.

As doctors, we're not supposed to be nurses. Yes, you are supposed to know where iodide is trapped, what rxns or problems can occur in the follicles, and which way thyroxine moves out of the cell. You are supposed to know which things bind to g-linked proteins on the membrane or the pumps. And kidneys, you could know in 10 minutes if you just go read/look. I'm genuinely annoyed with this kidney bit. If you didn't want to know where medications bind, you should probably still give some thought to nursing.

You're supposed to learn the trees, the trails, and the niches and then eventually the whole forest comes into focus. It's been just as frustrating for me and for most students to achieve that. And it's gonna be awhile.

Please discuss the cognition distortions with your doctor.

 

[Arkangeloid]

I'm not your therapist but I'm going to try to give you what I believe to be powerful insights or observations.

Med school is weird because you're not really sure what's absolutely necessary to know. And there's a lot. So there's that. Chunking is not only a wonderful technique when you study but it's also a brilliant technique when you're dealing with...well, the layers and complications of life. Actually, I feel kind of silly even advising you and it may not be communicable. Have you thought about copying some of these posts from SDN and submitting them to your therapist for review?

I don't like that you "gave up". I think that's a character flaw that you should fix. First create your value system - did you wanna be the kind of doctor who kicks ass on tests and gets admiration or did you wanna be the kind of doctor that knows and understands complications so well that he catches things when others miss them for maybe even only two or three patients whose lives he gets to save? The latter never has to give up or lose, even if the biochem score doesn't pan out. Learn even when there isn't a scoreboard. See below.

I see your point. You're saying to study for it's own sake rather than to rape exams and ish. Makes sense enough.

I'll discuss this the next time I see the psychiatrist.

I'm genuinely annoyed with this kidney bit. If you didn't want to know where medications bind, you should probably still give some thought to nursing.

You're supposed to learn the trees, the trails, and the niches and then eventually the whole forest comes into focus. It's been just as frustrating for me and for most students to achieve that. And it's gonna be awhile.

Please discuss the cognition distortions with your doctor.

Nah, no nursing for this SDNer.

And while I've quit a lot of things, I sure as hell ain't quitting this. As Cersei would put it, in the game of uh, dermatomes, you win or you die. So I'm leaving with an MD or I'm leaving as a corpse. No middle ground, namsayin?

I actually wanted to be a pharmacist originally, hell, I think knowing where medications bind and how they work is fascinating, and Pharmacology is the only class where I made it to the 2nd quartile. But it really discourages me to post a spreadsheet where I have the mode of action on all the relevant antibiotics, and then residents and attendings tell me it's useless (in clinical practice) and nobody cares about that stuff. I mean, if it's useless, then why do they make us learn it?

(My parents were outraged at me when I told them that I was interested in Pharmacy. They said that the job market was bad, and they forbade me from discussing it any further).

 

[DermViser]

No offense meant, but you seem to have a strange sense of what is important in medicine.

Things like CPR, radiology, and where the damn kidneys are can be kind of important. They aren't just for memorizing and dumping.

Maybe it would be a good idea to check what some of your friends think is important, and that can guide you.

He's an MS-1. Right now the Krebs Cycle is more important than BLS.

 

[DermViser]

BLS and ACLS are the protocols for managing cardiac emergencies.

Ever watch TV where they "call a code" and the doctors do chest compressions (BLS) and order drugs (ACLS)?

...what is it you think physicians do during an arrest?

I thought they just bill and order everyone else around.

 

[DermViser]

I mean, I did that back in Biochemistry, because I tried to be interested in the material, to learn pathways, to go "above and beyond," except it didn't work and I just made myself miserable.

Then I meet my tutor, who tells me that I'm doing things totally wrong, and that the correct way to learn medicine is as a set of word-associations, and to condense lectures down to discrete "high yield" points. And I start doing better with that. Not great, but better.

That's the way to study for course exams at your school only.

 

[DermViser]

I actually wanted to be a pharmacist originally, hell, I think knowing where medications bind and how they work is fascinating, and Pharmacology is the only class where I made it to the 2nd quartile. But it really discourages me to post a spreadsheet where I have the mode of action on all the relevant antibiotics, and then residents and attendings tell me it's useless and nobody cares about that stuff. I mean, if it's useless, then why do they make us learn it? (My parents were outraged at me when I told them that I was interested in Pharmacy. They said that the job market was bad, and they forbade me from discussing it any further).

Your spreadsheet was useless for a beginning intern (you left that part out). Also, your parents, who aren't in the medical field, seem to be wrong about a lot of things about medicine and other stuff. Might help you to actually get the right answers?

 

[Arkangeloid]

Your spreadsheet was useless for a beginning intern (you left that part out). Also, your parents, who aren't in the medical field, seem to be wrong about a lot of things about medicine and other stuff. Might help you to actually get the right answers?

Touche. But is it useful for a MS-1?

And is the job market in Pharm really that bad?

 

[DermViser]

Touche. But is it useful for a MS-1?

And is the job market in Pharm really that bad?

Yes, for the purposes of USMLE Step 1 preparation. And no job market in medicine is inherently "bad" they have Pharm residencies as well. Even medicine is not immune from the forces of the market.

 

[gregoryhouse]

I always hate this forest for the trees analogy that gets tossed around. Too many students focus on memorizing material which is why school is often such a hardship for them. I originally used anki because I too thought that memorization was key, and while I was acing my exams, I was realizing that it was an incredibly inefficient way to learn.

Now I focus on understanding the key concepts and those "trees" can be logically deduced from these.

For example, I never put into memory that digoxin binds to the extracellular side of the pump (or at least didn't pay much attention to it), but I know that hypokalemia increases digoxin toxity because potassium and and digoxin compete for the same site, so it makes sense that the active site is extracellular.

There are certainly subjects I think are incredibly low yield for medicine (e.g., bacterial genetics) but they are not useless.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person in medicine who actually likes learning about medicine.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

He's an MS-1. Right now the Krebs Cycle is more important than BLS.

I'm flattered to be mistaken for anything else, but I'm an MS1 as well. I'd still take BLS over biochem. anyday.

It's a little sad he chose biochem. as the subject to pour his heart into: I might be wrong, but I suspect it's one of the lower yield topics. Way rather spend time on physio, path, or pharm.

 

[Successful BM]

Don't make fun of him, Ark suffered from SIDS as an child.

Fortunately, they got him to a doctor, who performed cpr and saved his life.

 

[DermViser]

I'm flattered to be mistaken for anything else, but I'm an MS1 as well. I'd still take BLS over biochem. anyday.

It's a little sad he chose biochem. as the subject to pour his heart into: I might be wrong, but I suspect it's one of the lower yield topics. Way rather spend time on physio, path, or pharm.

Yup, they're called the three "Big Ps" for a reason.

 

[gregoryhouse]

I'm flattered to be mistaken for anything else, but I'm an MS1 as well. I'd still take BLS over biochem. anyday.

It's a little sad he chose biochem. as the subject to pour his heart into: I might be wrong, but I suspect it's one of the lower yield topics. Way rather spend time on physio, path, or pharm.

I'm not a big fan of most of biochem but I thought the biochemical diseases were pretty cool. OI, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, MCAD deficiency.

I love learning about rare diseases though. I'm reading a book right now about a woman who suffered from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis that took almost a month for anyone to diagnose. Even if I only ever saw one person with a super rare disease, I'd love to be able to diagnose it.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

I'm not a big fan of most of biochem but I thought the biochemical diseases were pretty cool. OI, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, MCAD deficiency.

I love learning about rare diseases though. I'm reading a book right now about a woman who suffered from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis that took almost a month for anyone to diagnose. Even if I only ever saw one person with a super rare disease, I'd love to be able to diagnose it.

To each his own Your username seems relevant.

 

[DermViser]

I'm not your therapist but I'm going to try to give you what I believe to be powerful insights or observations.

Med school is weird because you're not really sure what's absolutely necessary to know. And there's a lot. So there's that. Chunking is not only a wonderful technique when you study but it's also a brilliant technique when you're dealing with...well, the layers and complications of life. Actually, I feel kind of silly even advising you and it may not be communicable. Have you thought about copying some of these posts from SDN and submitting them to your therapist for review?

I don't like that you "gave up". I think that's a character flaw that you should fix. First create your value system - did you wanna be the kind of doctor who kicks ass on tests and gets admiration or did you wanna be the kind of doctor that knows and understands complications so well that he catches things when others miss them for maybe even only two or three patients whose lives he gets to save? The latter never has to give up or lose, even if the biochem score doesn't pan out. Learn even when there isn't a scoreboard. See below.

As doctors, we're not supposed to be nurses. Yes, you are supposed to know where iodide is trapped, what rxns or problems can occur in the follicles, and which way thyroxine moves out of the cell. You are supposed to know which things bind to g-linked proteins on the membrane or the pumps. And kidneys, you could know in 10 minutes if you just go read/look. I'm genuinely annoyed with this kidney bit. If you didn't want to know where medications bind, you should probably still give some thought to nursing.

You're supposed to learn the trees, the trails, and the niches and then eventually the whole forest comes into focus. It's been just as frustrating for me and for most students to achieve that. And it's gonna be awhile.

Please discuss the cognition distortions with your doctor.

As many times as you piss me off, there are times that you make me smile and make me think that you'll make a great doctor. This is one of those times.

 

[Anastomoses]

I'm not a big fan of most of biochem but I thought the biochemical diseases were pretty cool. OI, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, MCAD deficiency.

I love learning about rare diseases though. I'm reading a book right now about a woman who suffered from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis that took almost a month for anyone to diagnose. Even if I only ever saw one person with a super rare disease, I'd love to be able to diagnose it.

I absolutely love love love biochem diseases and sometimes it feels like I'm the only one. Lesch-Nyhan, a little baby with OI is one of my favorite screensaver pics, and porphyrias are so interesting. Biochem gets to the very heart of things and the diseases are fascinating - I only wish many were not so incompatible with life. In undergrad genetics fascinated me most so I suppose biochem is almost a sister topic.

 

[Arkangeloid]

As many times as you piss me off, there are times that you make me smile and make me think that you'll make a great doctor. This is one of those times.

Yeah, I think @anastamoses is kinda weird, and we disagree on some things, but she's a good person, I think.

 

[Anastomoses]

It's absurd to divide people into good or bad, as Oscar Wilde pointed out - they are either charming or tedious.

 

[alpinism]

Well at least you like Oscar Wilde

 

[Psai]

It's absurd to divide people into good or bad, as Oscar Wilde pointed out - they are either charming or tedious.

It's called splitting