Medical Student Perceptions of Emergency Medical Technician Training During the First Year of Medical School

Medical schools look for ways to provide clinical experiences and skill development in connection with knowledge. One method used is to provide emergency medical technician (EMT) training to medical students; however, limited data are available concerning EMT training in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review student feedback about the EMT curriculum through multiple iterations of the curriculum.

Students completed a voluntary school administered survey upon completion of their first year of medical school. Student responses to statements related to the EMT course and program were analyzed for classes matriculating in academic years 2012-2017. A one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) was performed across all years for each survey statement.

Mean response scores to statements related to the EMT course were higher when the EMT course was a standalone course and lower when integrated with biomedical science coursework. Students "strongly agreed" or "agreed" with most statements related to experiences and clinical skill development provided by the EMT program. Response rates ranged between 46-52 (88-100%) for 2012, 40-46 (74-85%) for 2013, 72-79 (88-96%) for 2014, 73-86 (71-83%) for 2015, 47-65 (46-63%) for 2016, 62-82 (59-78%) for 2017.

Our data show that first year medical students liked the course design best when the EMT course was a standalone course at the start of the M.D. program while students liked experiences and clinical skill development provided by the EMT program regardless of course design.