Making Quads 3/4 of the way into the course?

Been busy:

Father-in-law holding stable. If this continues they’ll let him go home to rest and maybe start Chemo which may add months to his life.

Work: Curriculum revision. Nothing like having 12 people in the room trying to make a decision.

Ambulance Corp: Several shifts with no calls. “Call jumped” (went down to the station for a call when I wasn’t on the board) on Easter as I was worried few people would be around. 6 people showed up for the call LOL. They let me go for the experience. Guy calls in with difficulty breathing and chest pain after being released that day from the hospital having been in for treatment for AMI (heart attack). We wasted no time getting out to his trailer in the boonies and I got a bit motion sick riding in the back of the rig. Driving is a lot easier on my stomach. When we showed up rescue had done a good job prepping the guy and we loaded and went (we could only get out BLS). I got some great experience taking vitals in the back of a moving rig going lights and siren. Patient delivered alive and well. Hope he stays that way.

EMT Class

Test last night: Written and three practical stations. The stations were automated external deliberator (AED), spinal stabilization of a supine patient on a long board and spinal stabilization of a sitting patient using a Kendric Extrication Device (KED). I didn’t feel that good about the written test having missed two classes and being distracted, with a lot of questions seemingly coming out of left field (i.e., I certainly didn’t read the answers to them). Must have been an OLD and recycled test as several other people were complaining about this issue as well. After the exam we all got yelled at as most of the class failed the long-board and KED stations, causing lots of “quads”. Getting yelled at before you see your score sheets is a pain as it makes you think you did poorly. I hung around while things were being scored and did better than expected given all else that has been going on: I was high score on the written (93 out of 100) and passed all three stations without missing a single point on any of them. I understand that the performance on the written exams is a factor of many variables and may not predict how I’ll do in the field. That said, my classmates who are not doing well on the written exams are the same ones who forgot to use a rigid collar, or secure the head, or did secure the head but not the rest of the body. How can you make this kind of mistake and claim you want to be an EMT? The long-board and KED stations are not rocket science, they depend on PRACTICE and an understanding of a few basic ideas. If these people are not practicing now, what are the odds that they’ll keep up their skills once they are out in the field?