Paramedic school is an intense year capped off by an approximately 500-hour field internship. Before you embark on the journey, take some advice from a recently retired Paramedic Instructor with over 15 years of teaching experience, Joyce Lockwood, BS, NRP. Here at EMTprep.com, we completely understand the nerves students have about applying what they learn in the classroom to real, live patients. We’re here to help ease some of the pressure that students put on themselves during these milestones as they transform from a student to a professional EMS care provider. 

     During the interview, Instructor Lockwood stated, “If I could give one piece of advice to a paramedic student it would be to trust in what you know and believe in yourself. When your instructor tells you, ‘you are ready,’ you are!” Every single person in EMS has a beginning; each person has started somewhere. The instructor you are learning from, or even the experienced paramedic you look up to, was in the same exact seat you were in at one point. Lockwood continued with “It’s okay to realize that paramedic education is not easy. To be successful in this education, you have to put in the work to really understand and be able to apply the information. Once you’ve done the work, trust in what you know. Have faith in yourself, and know you can do this.” Confidence is key when paramedic students are progressing through their internship. The internship is the opportunity to build your knowledge base in real-life scenarios while applying the information you’ve been studying. 

     Paramedic students need to be an advocate for their education. If you don’t understand why your preceptor did something one way, ask! “Don’t be a wallflower. You have to be prepared, aggressive, and proactive. Students will only get what they put out from the internship,” Joyce states. “Seem interested and engaged! The preceptor wants you to succeed, but they will not go out of their way to make sure you are learning. They are busy, too.” The internship is in place so paramedic students practice what they have learned during class and gain real-life experiences. It’s the opportunity to start IV’s, interpret 12-lead EKG’s, administer medications, begin intubation, etc. These are real patients, with real needs, and it’s an exciting time for students to put their skills into play. Paramedic students can only practice so long before they get subbed into the game.

     During the internship, paramedic students will make mistakes. Students are there to learn, and with learning, mistakes do happen. However, don’t beat yourself up over it. In her years of experience, Lockwood said “whenever a student made a mistake, I never thought to discipline the student. I always made sure to talk about the scenario with the student to see what they could have done instead. As educators, our goal should always be to help the students fix their mistakes during the internship.”

     Throughout the paramedic internship, students need to be aware of their environment to ensure personal safety. “Never let your guard down,” Lockwood states. Even though students are there to learn, students need to practice their personal safety knowledge every day, with every scenario. If you are there to help, and get hurt, you can no longer do your job. 

     If a student truly puts in the effort, time, and dedication, they will be successful at the end of the 12 months. “One of my favorite aspects of being a paramedic instructor was seeing how surprised the students were that they made it through the program. Every year students are in shock of how much work they will put in for 12 months. Once they realize, ‘I can do this’ and have that mentality, it’s very exciting to see students excel.” The internship is a huge growing experience for every single paramedic student. It’s the time to realize if they are cut out for this career or not.