About our teaching methods and philosophy:

The Didactic and the Dynamic: more than an education, a transformation.
 
When you enroll in the Hudson EMT Training Program, you will be part of one of the most intensive educational experiences of your lifetime – a program designed to do more than just educate your mind with information, but also a program designed to make you go through a real and complete transformation.  You will not only understand the what, but also the why and the how and when to apply it confidently and competently – in an emergency -- to save a person’s life or, at the very least, preserve their quality of life.
 
We achieve this transformation via a combination of two very distinct teaching methods, the didactic and the dynamic.

The Didactic process is built around a comprehensive Nationally Recognized program

This program is used as the foundation of all EMS teaching nationwide. It covers in great detail things that you need to know in emergency medicine, from anatomy to cardiology.  It is the standard compilation of knowledge, the basis of our profession. With this program as a guide, combined with the insights of our instructors, you will learn completely how the human body functions and how to assess a patient’s condition. And, of course, you will learn what to do as the initial first responder to keep the patient alive and in a stable condition for transport to a hospital.  
 
Each candidate is required to complete study assignments that cover this program on line at home and attend classroom sessions each week for a total of 16 weeks.  The material covered in the home assignments is thoroughly reviewed and discussed in depth during these class sessions.  With each on-line assignment, candidates will complete an on-line test that measures how well they have learned the specific material covered.
 
Then, during the classroom reviews, our instructors routinely challenge candidates with questions and quizzes to measure what has been learned.  If they feel there is a lack of knowledge or comprehension, they will require remedial work on the part of the candidate.
 
The Didactic sequence makes extensive use of repetition as a learning tool.  Each candidate will be asked to review and repeat the material again and again until the knowledge goal reaches not just memory, but a full comprehension or mastery of the subject.
 
The Dynamic Process involves procedural how-to demonstrations and hands-on training using actual medical equipment on human mannequin models that mimic the real thing.  We feel this kind of training is critical.  It is one thing to read about how to take a blood pressure and assess vital signs, but it is quite another to actually perform those tasks and understand the information given to you and make decisions to improve the patient’s condition. (See our equipment section about MetiMan!)

The Dynamic Process also involves something else:  real-life, real-time patient experience.
 
As the classroom instruction is completed, candidates, after qualification by our teaching staff, will be given numerous opportunities to begin putting what they have learned into actual patient practice by going out on calls with Hudson EMS crews.  By accompanying our crews, candidates will be able to gain real hands-on patient experience, as well as learn how to asses patient conditions, make care judgments and follow correct protocols in communication with emergency room physicians at area hospitals.
 
Hudson EMS School takes pride in being one of the few teaching venues in Northeast Ohio where candidates can go out with emergency medical crews on actual calls. We believe that the first time you see a real patient should not be on your first call after you pass the exam for certification, but many times before you reach that stage by accompanying real-time emergency calls under strict supervision of certified staff.
 
With that in mind, we should point out our whole program is designed to bring the beginner gently into the fold.  We don’t overwhelm candidates presenting too much material too early in the learning process.  Students get the perspective and practical insights from broad range of EMS backgrounds not just from our instructors, but also from many Hudson EMS staff members.