relating theory to practice

[elm]

Hello Forum!

Three weeks ago I started my university degree for paramedical science here in Perth, Western Australia. I am thoroughly enjoying it, the people are awesome and the subjects are interesting.

But I am having some trouble relating some of the stuff we are being taught in Human Structure to the real world (which would help me learn it even more if I could get that link): Why do we need to know the "biologically important macromolecules", and where their synthesis takes places? Glutaraldehyde can be used for fixations of specimens under a light microscope. Protein Synthesis I have yet to understand....

I have tried to think ahead, and have established two theories on WHY a paramedic should know this:

a) This is the basic stuff, and everything builds upon it (Anatomy, Pathophysiology etc). We need to know this for the higher stuff.

b) Later - in the field - I will be able to know more about medications that I should /should not give, due to the fact that I actually understand what they do in the body. I therefore may know why they could be indicated/contraindicated.


Any tips at all how you deal with this and how it helped you would be great!
Cheers,
Flo

[Jamie Davis, the Podmedic]

Flo,

That's a great question. I really struggled for the first half of my paramedic training to try to make the pieces fit together. It seems like you just learn various bit of information that have nothing to do with each other or don't seem to match up to what you expect to need on the street when you are all finished.

All I can say is that you need to stick in there. One day, I kind of woke up and realized that things were starting to fit. I can't say that it was a "Eureka" moment. It was more of a discovery that I had started answering some of my own questions with prior knowledge. The other side of the picture is that while you may never need to know the minute bits of information about intracellular processes, you may someday have a critical care patient and need to draw on some of that knowledge of A & P to understand more about what your interventions may do to a patient balanced on the edge of homeostasis.

Remember that knowledge is power. You may not realize now when you will need it, but you might be building on a moment of need ten years from now. Take care and good luck in your studies!

--
Jamie Davis, NREMT-P "the Podmedic"
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[elm]

Hey Jamie,

Cheers for the Reply. I had a bit of a Eureka moment the other night, when I was reading my RESPONSE magazine, which is the magazine from the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals.

We are currently doing Krebs Cycle, energy sources in the body, Carbs, Lipids, ATP, Peptide bonds...that sorta thing

I found an ad for the Zoll AutoPulse (page 11 for you that have a copy). Here's a paragraph that hit me:

"The result of inadequate CPP is a lowering of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) levels in the cells of major organs. ATP is responsible for energy utilisation at a cellular level and is rapidly consumed when blood flow and specifically oxygenation is reduced.

When ATP is metabolised in the absence of oxygen, lactic acidosis occurs. Myocardial lactic acidosis results in defibrillation and resuscitation being made more difficult"

Slowly, the real world is settling in.
Like you said Jamie, I'll just stick in there, and in the meantime keep reading relevant stuff and listening to your podcast :)

[Medic 1]

Hi Buddy
I think you will find that the ECU course is not quite designed for Paramedic structure and is, unfortunately, a course put together by St John Ambulance. You will find that despite completing a degree course you will be unable to practice many of your ALS skills on the road, let's face it we can't even take a temp or assess the SaO2 of a child!!
Sorry to pop the bubble, lets hope we get taken over by the Govt/ FESA soon so we can provide a proper EMS service to the people of WA.
Jerry