Emojis4Life Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 Has anyone completed the 40 hour St. John's Ambulance Advanced Medical First Responder course? What were your experiences with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorzo Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 I completed it a while back, the experience was particularly amazing or dreadful. Do you have any specific questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majinpatrick Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Yeah I also completed it back in FebruaryJust leave specific questions and I can do my best to answer them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted November 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thanks for responding, guys! Yes, I do have a few specific questions. I apologize in advance if they are overly basic as I have just started looking into this. 1) While doing research, I came across the SJA AMFR course and the EMR course offered by the Red Cross. I was wondering if you know the difference between the two, which is better and why you choose the one you did? 2) There's not a whole lot of information about the actual classes or curriculum on SJA's website. They kind of just give a basic outline of what they'll teach. What are the classes like? Is it mostly lecture-based or more hands-on? What are the tests like? Is it "hard" to pass (i.e. get 80%) or is much of it common sense? 3) The course is something like $650, which is pretty expensive. Having gone through the program, was the money worth it? Have you been able to use your certification since? If you have, what have you had the chance to be involved in? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts/advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorzo Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I chose SJA pretty much at random, I don't know much about the red cross course and I wouldn't be able to comment on it. The course was about 50/50 lecture and hands on (they would talk about something then we would practice it). Written tests were easy and only a few people failed, the practical test was hard enough to have around a 30-50% fail rate depending on the year (this was in a group of people who weren't directly paying for the course though, I assume they'd make accommodations if you were paying $650) This all depends on what you want to use the certification for, so you should definitely figure that out beforehand. I did it to volunteer with SJA (medical first response) and because of that the course was paid for. The experience was definitely valuable from that perspective as I spent hundreds of hours volunteering in some cool places and got to do some cool things too. Without doing that though I don't really see the value in getting the certification, especially if I would have had to pay that much for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majinpatrick Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 HeySorry for the late response. To just add what you can use the course for, I use it so I can volunteer for the campus response team. You will use the same techniques they teach for student events and get a lot of valuable experience. Of course, volunteering with SJA is also great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLily Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 DO IT. I recommend it, I did mine with SJA and they've got a really professional set up. I feel like I've learned a lot, and mine was free since I'm volunteering with them. Your experience will be dependent of the people leading whatever district (and then division) you end up in. My division is gung-ho about being prepared and professional, so we meet regularly to practise scenarios and techniques. I've heard of other districts/divisions where the leadership isn't as strong, and so obviously that wouldn't be such a great time. If you want some hands on experience with this sort of thing, do the course and start volunteering- you get to go to some interesting events, meet interesting people, and maybe get to see blood 'n guts (LOL kidding). Plus who doesn't want to know how to deal with a medical or trauma emergencies, amirite? EDIT Saw this: what have you had the chance to be involved in? Really depends on the city you're in, and how far you're willing to travel. You might cover hockey games (for example the games your city's team plays), soccer games (same thing, basically sport events are big), municipal or federal events, marathons, concerts (the AC/DC concert was covered by SJA in Ottawa back in September). Big variety, really, though also dependent on the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hi guys, Thanks for all the great insight. I really appreciate it. It clearly seems like it is a great learning experience and the events you can get involved with seem very interesting. I'm glad to know that this training is free if you start volunteering with SJA. I've started looking into that because those are the kinds of things I've been looking to take part in for a while now (and it doesn't hurt that volunteering would mean that I don't have to shell out $600+!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick5 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 When I looked into doing it, while I didn't have to pay the full $600, they only subsidized it down to $125ish if you were looking to volunteer; you still have to pass their practical test before you get any further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Did you ever end up doing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick5 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Did the course, but couldn't attend the final practical because a summer school exam conflicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majinpatrick Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Did the course, but couldn't attend the final practical because a summer school exam conflicted. Where I did my training, North York Toronto, people were able to move their final practical date. People were also able to move their final practical's location too if they wanted. Just ask them what they can do about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Damn, you paid and didn't get the certification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick5 Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Where I did my training, North York Toronto, people were able to move their final practical date. People were also able to move their final practical's location too if they wanted. Just ask them what they can do about it I did mine downtown a couple of summers ago, a bit too late now haha Damn, you paid and didn't get the certification? It sucks, but it works the same for any other first aid course (besides having an interview process before being selected for the course); you pay, take the classes, then do the exam. No exam = no certification. The stuff you learn in the course is interesting, like you get introduced to the paperwork process when dealing with patients, who gets to handle your patient, etc., but between having to go through the whole selection process again (paying the fee again, references, interview, and the course conflicting with my regular classes), the required 2 year commitment, and the other stuff I had going on, I ended up not reapplying. But if you're interested in doing AMFR, then definitely go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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