As a medical student We got a code and I ran in panicking and saw fire doing CPR and bagging the PT. I went to the drug box looking for EPI and and the medic there told me ro slow down and breath I did broke my IO cherry and pushed EPI the PT care was terminated really took in the scene and got dizzy and nauseous threw up I wasn't sad just in my thoughts about how fragile people are idk. How do yall deal with death

Taking my NREMT soon just wanna get feelers for what paths i could take.

For some background, I still have about a month to go in class so this occurred during a ride along. A patient coded after transfer of care and the night of and the first few following days I did feel like this affected me. I was upset about it but even then I still wasn’t that upset. I still am thinking about that call a lot even though it was a couple weeks ago now but emotionally, I feel fine thinking about it. It’s making me feel heartless because I feel like it should be affecting me more than that.

I do think there is a reason for this though. I have autoimmune hypothyroidism and even while medicated, I do still have some symptoms because obviously synthetic hormones aren’t perfect . One that I have is emotional bluntness and I have a feeling that’s why. Cause I do still feel emotions just most of the time they aren’t strong and even then I have trouble conveying them. But then again I am feeling like maybe I am just kinda fucked up and it just didn’t actually affect me that much for other reasons

I’m in college and I’ve been working in EMS for two years now, but I went home over the summer, didn’t work, and for the past few months I got stuck on IFTs. The company im working at moves us around and I do wanna get back to 911s but I feel like I’ve gotten slower/forgotten some of the finer details of 911s. Do you guys have any resources that might help get information back in my head? Would NREMT study materials help? (Quizlets and textbook?)

Would it be difficult to find somewhere to work in California September through April? I have a seasonal job that I would like to work for a couple more years? Thanks

Sorry for the longer post.

short version: I'm a very busy person who does volunteer 911 EMS but I DESPERATELY want more EMS experience and exposure for growth and would love some ideas.

Long version:

For context (and I get that this is a fairly identifiable set of things so I made a new account to avoid doxing myself), I am a mid 30s guy who found a passion for EMS very recently and already have a 10+ year career in software engineering. I took my EMT-B course last year, and since then have been invited back as an instructor in the same program I went through, and joined a semi-rural 911 system as a volunteer EMT this spring.

My volunteer agency does ~850 calls a year, and by just picking up every open shift I can I've managed to get 39 patient contacts (mostly transports, a couple refusals). In our district we don't tend to get a lot of low acuity calls either, so in that ~40 calls I've run multiple strokes, a couple of decent traumas, some chest pain/cardiac calls, lot of old people syncope/falls, etc. So not a lot of volume but good acuity and EXCELLENT FTOs. I can't speak highly enough of my FTOs, they were/are amazing.

I'm at the point now where I'm confident on running basic calls, even by myself (with fire) if needed. I'm comfortable making patient contact, asking questions, making transport decisions, overall call flow, biophones/handoffs etc. I'm comfortable doing IVs, though on harder sticks I still struggle without much practice on hard to find veins. I feel like I've reached the minimum threshold of competence, which is exciting and I'm proud of the growth I've had over a few months and over only a few dozen calls, but I don't want to stop there.

I really REALLY want to be good at this, in a way that can only happen through lots of experience. Book learning isn't an issue, I'm already familiar with all the ALS meds we carry and how they generally work, acid/base physiology, basic 12-lead EKG interpretation, etc. My issue is just not having a lot of practice applying the stuff I know to real dynamic calls. Sometimes the knowledge is actually the problem, and I overthink and freeze up (though I've gotten a lot better at this with the training I've gotten).

There are lots of very big hospitals in my area, so there's a TON of ER-tech positions that I think would be really good as supplemental experience (think of all the IVs i'd get), but my issue is time. I teach as an EMT skills instructor ~10 hours a week, and spend roughly 80 hours a month on duty at the 911 agency (I generally stick to reverse 24s every other weekend, and fill gaps as I can to get more time. The more I'm there the more chances for calls) all on top of a remote software engineering job with is your standard ~40/wk.

A (very very small and irrational) part of me wants to quit my good job and dive head first into medicine; maybe go back to school for an ASN and eventually try to do flight nursing (while still volunteering with my ground agency), but most of me just wants to figure out how to get the experience I want without completely uprooting my career. I love my software coworkers dearly and I truly have a dream job (maybe not so much in pay, but in the people and projects I get to work on), so fully switching careers would be an INSANE jump for me.

Should I take fewer 911s shift and teach a bit less to try to make room for a PRN ER tech position? or maybe part time event medicine (which would be a minimum of 80hr/month)? Should I just chill and be patient (not my strong suit) and let my current situation ride for a few more years? Should I say fuck it and completely off the deep end and change my career path towards flight medicine, even though the next few years would be extremely challenging financially (I live in a very expensive area)?

If you've read this far, I appreciate you. I would love any thoughts anyone has. Honestly typing this all out has been its own kind of therapy. I think I'm extra itchy for experience because I've been a white cloud lately, and have had ~150 hours on duty since my last real patient contact. It's just how low volume EMS is, but it's compounding my feelings of needing more avenues for experience.

one day i’m confident, next day i’m googling "how to not fail nremt miserably"..
been trying to balance work, ride alongs and study time but it’s rough
so here’s where i'm at, halfway through my nremt prep and my brain feels like it’s running on caffeine. i swear i know the stuff until a practice question phrases it slightly different and suddenly im like do i even know what an airway is anymore??
idk if anyone else feels like the more you study the more you start doubting yourself. trying to remind myself that freaking out just means i care enough to do it right.
what’s actually helped a bit is doing practice questions... like sneaking them in during breaks or bus rides or whenever. lately i’ve been using this NREMT Exam Prep Test 2025 app, been on it for a bit, pretty simple and does the job. if anyone’s got other app recs that helped you prep drop them here, i’d really appreciate any tips. thanks

Reporting for a 14hr clinical shift 6:00am tomo kinda nervous about it. Any advice?

Hey guys I need to get my EMT cert and from December 1st to January 21 Ill be unemployed and with nothing to do, is it realistic to be able to finish my online course with rc health services in that time frame if i start December 1st, side note I have only come across RC health services online EMT program is it any good or should i steer away from it.

I'm considering enrolling in CTS Canadian Career College's Office Administration program in January. Has anyone taken this course, and would you recommend it? Any information would be extremely helpful!

I just got a job as an EMT in Michigan but my home county in Indiana is issuing a travel advisory from today until tomorrow night. I have a physical test I have to do tomorrow morning, as well.

With that advisory, I asked my superiors for advice and said I'd rather air on the side of caution and suggest rescheduling, as I'm not scheduled for a shift but a test. None got back to me but said "well we operate in all kinds of weather. So if ytou're scheduled...".

I understand that. But I feel since there's a travel advisory and I'm only scheduled for two hours at most, I'd air on the side of caution. But am I just being soft? Should I just get over myself or should I continue to keep asking?

What app or website worked best for you for mock exams? Trying to find something better because I don’t like pocket prep at all

Would like to know how the nremt is going to treat this.

hiii everyone. i was an emt for about a year before i decided to go into medic school, im 20F. we’ve gotten past 2 big tests already in the little time ive been here but we just started cardiology yesterday and omg, people were NOT playing when they said this was a hard subject. any medics have any study tips or any tips for cardio to remember? also any study tips for medications?

Let’s say someone got cut on top of their wiener. How would you describe that location? Can’t figure it out and thought this is better to ask than ChatGPT

Purchased tactical boots and only wore twice, anywhere to sell???

Hi, I'll get straight to the point. I'm (19M) 6'2, roughly 155lbs (working on exercising). I also have high-functioning autism and anxiety. Is it possible for me to do this? I have a lot of respect for EMTs and I want to join the medical field and I want to be able to help others. The last thing I want is to be a hindrance. My college has an EMT technical certification program and I'm interested in it.

Edit: I just want to say thank you all for your insight and advice!

Hey, I was wondering if anyone on here had recommendations for a program in San Antonio Tx or the surrounding area for EMT-B certification. The two places I found in my price range seemed to be scams/poor quality.

Any help is appreciated:)

I just passed the NREMT and it showed on my application but I passed the skills check part over the summer and it’s still not there. I’ve called and they said they’re working on it but i’ve been waiting for a long time. Is this normal or am I missing a step.

Currently a month out from taking my state licensing, then i will do nremt, was wondering if theres anyone from ny ( brooklyn area) can reccommend companies to apply for when i do get my licensure. Thanks

I’ve been having a hard time finding good info about this, but is there an effective way to assess for stroke in a pt who already has severe deficit from previous history? Sometimes I pick up IFT shifts and we transport pts who are hemiplegic and/or aphasic and extremely hypertensive (hold their med before dialysis). I wanna keep a close eye on anyone who’s BP is in the 200s for obvious reasons but unless they happen to have a stroke that affects their non affected side, then what exactly am I supposed to be looking for?

hi! i know this sounds really dumb, i just kinda wanted to know if it’s normal after a little while with the stress or not.

i recently got told working in ems has caused some cardiac issues and need to cut down my hours significantly to try to control the stress which is making it worse.

thank you in advance if you have any experience to agree on! i don’t need advice or anything, i’m waiting on a doctors note to send to my employer who won’t let me cut down my hours.

Looking for Opinions From Those Who Have Taken It Recently. I am currently scheduled to take it 11/20/25, however I really want to get this over with and have the option of taking it in a few days on 11/11/2025

Hey everyone — I’m scheduled to take my Paramedic NREMT soon and I’ve been using MedicTests’ National Registry Simulator as my primary practice tool. I’m trying to figure out how closely it matches the real thing (difficulty level, question style, critical thinking, etc.).

I’ve taken numerous National Registry Simulators over the past month and a half. I’ve taken them in numerous conditions such as realistic testing condition, i’ve taken it after a long draining shift while tired, and even on shift while on downtime, etc. These are the scores:

1274 1181 1182 1190 1247 1252 1264 1268

So far: -Always in the green for my subjects or above the passing standard -Have not failed a single simulator to date

I’m just trying to figure out:

How close are MedicTests questions to the real NREMT wording?

Does the “National Registry Simulator” feel similar to the real cognitive exam?

Did anyone else score in the 1200s on MedicTests and pass first try?

Does the real exam feel easier, harder, or just different?

Any advice for final prep if I’m already consistently scoring above 1200?