Logic doesn’t give a shit about your feelings… Mark Manson
It is my opinion that the most dangerous place a paramedic will ever operate is the front of an EMT or Paramedic classroom as an instructor. It is wrought with pitfalls and hurdles that make it very easy to ruin the mindset and framework for thinking about this job for an entire class… or generation of future medics. One way this happens is through the use of or inattention to logical fallacies.
We can also fall victim to “emotional teaching,” which is a completely made up term I used to describe a propensity to only teach with evidence that we like and supports our position rather than critically evaluating the topic in it entirety and presenting the entire “body of evidence.”
Here are three or four logical fallacies that I have witnessed (and fallen victim to using).
Fallacy #1: Ad Hominem
Invalidating someone’s opinion based on an esoteric detail about their life, career, etc.
” Don’t pay any attention to Jack, he is wrong because he works for XYZ department.”
Reframe/Antidote: Check your ego. If you’re right, you’re right. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong. Highlighting some perceived flaw in another individual does not automatically make you right, nor does it get you off the hook for knowing what you are talking about. The worst thing an instructor or educator can do is make an attempt to invalidate someone’s statements with a personal attack in an attempt to make themselves look correct. It does not help the student and it is quite unflattering.
There is a chance you can get away with this… once, but eventually the students will see it for what it is: insecurity.
Fallacy #2: Hasty Generalizations (AKA the comments section)
Making generalized statements about something after only evaluating it at the surface level, with limited examples, and not relying on more extensive research to inform your opinion.
” I’ve missed the last two intubations where I used a bougie, so don’t use them, they are useless.”
Reframe/Antidote: How well practiced are you with the tool you are talking about. What is your depth of knowledge on the topic? Did you read one paper (or instagram post) and now you think you have enough information to form an “expert opinion?” Depth is everything when it comes to teaching this job to people. What you will find is that the greater your depth of knowledge, the more balanced you become in your opinions, and you have and can provide access to MORE knowledge paths to lead people to the most correct answer.
What is your experience with the information? What is your depth of experience with the knowledge? How have you been using it? What works and what have you had difficulty implementing? These are great ways to reframe the conversation away from merely providing your thoughts, and instead starting a conversation or intelligent debate where people can share their perspectives with the knowledge… and EVERYBODY learns something. That is what the students are there for.
They aren’t there to listen to you discredit other people’s work with silly generalizations. They want to know how what they are learning in the classroom looks like on the streets. They want an educated and experienced perspective. You need depth to be able to correctly convey this.
Fallacy #3: Appeal to Authority
The instructor uses another person’s expertise to support their statement or claim despite it being irrelevant or grossly overstated.
” If you want to get better at intubation, you need to use a video laryngoscope. That’s what I read on the Ordinary Ops Medic page, so it must be legit.”
Reframe/Antidote: There is a chance that you don’t know what you are talking about. Period. There is no reframe or antidote for this except that you should read more (real evidence) and talk less. Find out for yourself what the evidence is, develop an expertise of the entire body of knowledge, and then convey it in a manner that balances the controversies and opinions so that the students get a well-rounded presentation of the information. Not your opinion of an opinion that you read on a FOAM page.
Fallacy #4: Successful Completion = Learning
A flawed logic where there is an assumption that successful completion of a task or a course is equivalent to expertise.
“I passed my paramedic exams. I can teach this stuff.”
Reframe/Antidote: Just because you’ve been doing it longer than the students does not mean you are prepared to teach them anything about it. You can do it wrong for 20 years and guess what? You’ve been wrong for 20 years. Nobody cares how long you’ve been doing it or where you have been on the job if you are passing bad information. Expertise does not come through mindless participation for X amount of time. It comes through deliberate practice; training with and around other experts who offer you true expert feedback; and being humble enough to know that your paramedic or EMT card is useless if you have not developed any depth to master your craft.
Beyond that, you cannot just be a good paramedic (or other prehospital clinician). You have to develop depth as an instructor. There are so many great folks out there who despite their tenure and experience, flop as an instructor. They focus on that tenure and experience and sacrifice instead of developing good techniques for teaching adults. They tell what they know… Which does not always equate to someone learning something from them.
I have done everything that was listed here. Over time I saw that I was not reaching people the way that I had hoped. It was a very difficult thing to confront. Over time and a day at a time we can overcome our shortcomings as instructors and deliberately develop the depth and acumen we need to ensure the success of our students. Perhaps one day, inspire one to stand next to you at the front of the classroom.
See you at FAST25 in Lexington, KY!
