Tina Lin

Review of Emergency Care Programs

I took the intensive course with Joseph Itzkowitz ...

I took the intensive course with Joseph Itzkowitz as my main instructor. When I first walked into the classroom, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps a living hell? Probably. In all honesty, this class CAN be like hell if you don't put forth any effort. Don't procrastinate and you will do just fine.

For first month, there is a lot of outside reading and interactive online homework assignments to complete. You may get assigned additional work if you are late. If you don't complete certain ones or a certain number, you don't get to take the final exam. A lot of exam material also comes directly from the textbook and is not mentioned at all in lecture, so skipping the reading does not benefit you. Some exam questions are also from NYS protocols, which are constantly updating and can be annoying to keep up with. This forces you to actually take the time to review your written materials and retain them. Overall, the workload is very rigorous, but it is relatively well-paced and keeps you occupied.

After the first month, the second is much more practical skills oriented and there is no formal homework, but you should still practice skills as much as you are able to outside the classroom. Various other instructors come in to demonstrate skills to us throughout the course, including EMTs training to become certified instructors. Now, the issue here is that every instructor has his/her own way, or may have been taught differently than another instructor. In the real world, things are not nearly as structured as a classroom, so differences in technique are reasonable. The main instructor will usually be circulating around, so there are plenty of chances to ask for clarification on something.

There are a lot of written tests and quizzes. Quizzes are relatively short, about 25 questions, and usually only cover a singular big topic. Tests are 100 questions and are cumulative, but with an emphasis on recently covered topics. You get plenty of time, but the questions tend to be long and make you actually think hard before committing to an answer, especially on later tests. This really helps in preparing for the final certification exam, as the test questions we were given were actually harder than the exam ones.

The instructors, while being relatively tame at first, will get progressively more and more stern as the course goes on. They will drill you and continuously make you start all over during a practical skill if you so much as mess up once until you get it right. This may sound cruel, but the constructive criticism helps, and you are more likely to remember what you did wrong the more often you are barked at to start again for a small mistake. In addition, when you are actually in the field, any time spent on trying to make up for an error can shave off precious time off of a patient's life. Think of it as tough love. The instructors don't hate you, they just want to see you succeed...uh, at least I think that's their intention. I hope it is.

Most of my practical skills instructors were very friendly, sharing stories and getting to know the students on lunch break. They vary in background and experience, so it's very interesting to see how one person's technique differs from another's. As for my main instructor, Joe, he kept the lectures very interactive, showing funny video clips or asking the audience members questions between slides. Joe also had a strange, dark sense of humor, which may be considered offensive, but it didn't faze me all that much. He is very approachable, but acts serious and professional when he needs to.

The way Emergency Care Programs is structured promotes retention of information for the long run, critical thinking, analysis, and the well informed application of practical skills. At the same time, ECP provides a welcoming atmosphere and top notch instructors. They go above and beyond to prepare you not just for the NYS EMT certification exam, but for a career or volunteer as an EMT. Even with all the minor nitpicks I had, it's not enough to really detract a star from the overall rating.