West Coast EMT is an exceptional institution that challenges students academically. I participated in the 10 week, Evening course during Winter of 2020 for Emergency Medical Technician training, for reference.
If you are nervous about the naysayers with low-rating reviews of this institution, please ignore them. The individuals writing those reviews are most likely bummed because they underestimated how rigorous this course is. Or, more likely, did not completely read the Student Contract and Terms of Service Agreements prior to attending class.
Rigorous is the correct word to describe this course. You do not need a background and or completion of an Anatomy and Physiology course to pass this class. You do not need any science background at all. If you have taken A&P before, learning will be quicker for you. If you have not taken A&P before, please do not fret. The actual depth of A&P needed to comprehend and pass this course is not what some people make it out to be. As long as you read the book - actually read AND study the book, you will be just fine.
I took a high school level Anatomy and Physiology class six years ago now, and the last four years of university have mostly been a mix of studying math, chemistry, and mostly business. I have not taken a university level science course since 2017. If I can pick this up, you can too. All of the necessary information that you need to pass the class is inside of your textbook.
Finally, some tips to pass the course for future students:
1. READ THE BOOK before your course starts!!
This was the biggest help in terms of grasping conceptual information during the course. I read 2/3 of the book (1000 pages out of 1500 pages) before the first class. 1500 pages is a lot. However, if you are serious about passing this course, this can be done in approximately 3 months depending on how fast you read. I read 1000 pages in 3 months - however, my reading style is slower, but effective. Once I read a chapter, I have all the information I need and only skim to review that information.
I know you may want to just jump into the course right away, but be aware that this is in fact an ACCELERATED COURSE for ALL course options (5 week, 10 week, and 12 week). EMT courses usually run with 16 week semesters at Community Colleges; sometimes longer. You will want to prepare accordingly for something shorter like this.
2. READ THE STUDENT AGREEMENT and TERMS OF SERVICE before your course starts and right after you sign up!
As noted by some negative reviews, West Coast EMT's academic standards policies, EMT course refund policies, and other policies are different from a Community or Junior College. Please read and understand these policies before you start your course. Too many of these negative reviews come from individuals who 1) Did not understand what the course entailed in terms of time, money, and dedication, 2) Failed to read the Academic standards policies and what happens if you fail to meet them, and 3) placed blame on a Private business for standing by their own [the private business] enacted policies.
Please understand folks, this is a Private institution. If you do not like their terms of service, please search elsewhere for your education. Do yourself a favor and read the contract IN FULL before starting your class!
3. Be ready to dedicate a lot of TIME to this course!
Like I mentioned earlier, this course is rigorous. I refrain to use the term hard due to the fact that subject difficulty is ... subjective. If you graduated from high school, you can pass this course. The difference between those who do pass and those who don't is consistency and time dedicated to the program.
I spent more time with reading, class time, and studying during this program than the entirety of my 190 unit B.S. I recently received. During college, I was on 10 week quarters with 11th week finals for 4 years straight. Never have I had a time and energy sink during a singular quarter in college like I had with West Coast's EMT program.
4. Use the Student Handbook to your ADVANTAGE!
You should receive a copy of the Student Handbook either immediately after registering for the course, or a week or so before the course starts (don't quote me on this; I'm just using my personal experience). The Student Handbook not only contains the Student Contract and Terms of Service Agreement(s), but documents you will need during your course. For example, the Student Handbook has all of the NREMT skills sheets for your NREMT Psychomotor skills exam at the end of the course (also known as NREMT Skills Exam). You can read and study those sheets to pair with your reading to gain an understanding of what you need to do earlier than you might otherwise. The same goes for the Signs and Symptoms Notebook. Additionally, the Student Handbook also has instructions on how to go about getting licensed as an EMT in California state. read more