MeekoBB

There are many companies in Jersey. Are you talking private ambulance, municipal services, volunteer? And trend lightly, considering how disruntled some of the Garden Staters on this site can be this topic sounds like it could open the door to libel very quickly. :shock:

Devin

So true...

Also I've experienced the woes of 3 different companies up by me...I actually think this current one is the worst as far as attitude problems from managers to employees...yet it is also one of the highest paid BLS services at $13.50/hr for EMT.

The day I found this page...

I was saying, "Yes! Somewhere to plug my books!"

Speaking of which, the holidays are right around the corner. They make the perfect present for any EMS or Non-EMS friend or family. 8)

Devin

Devin...

Quit whoring yourself out!

**I'll purchase a few books from you dammit!**

As did I...

He's a jackass...

Simply...

Slightly off topic...This reminds me of debate I had with a former coworker who said that we CANNOT put O2 more than 2-3 LPM on a COPD pt after we we dispatched to a difficulty breathing call w/ hx of copd.

We got into so much that we brought it up to our supervisors...Everyone told us that you treat what is presenting, you do not treat the hx....pt c/o diff breathing, you provide O2, and if the copd was that extreme to just be ready to bag the pt. Treating the hx is what the doctor's job is.

That's ambulance chasers for ya.

Q: Doctor, before you signed the death certificate, did you check for a pulse?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for blood pressure?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for breathing?

A: No.

Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you signed the certificate?

A: No.

Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. But now that you mention it, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

You remember having to ring a doorbell or call the hospital telephone operator to have the Emergency Room opened for your patient.

Meh...That STILL is in effect today.

2 hospitals here I gotta pick up the bat phone before they open the doors.

All the rest of the hospitals with the exception of 3 you must press a code to get in. Usually the code is 0911 or 911...I recently went to a hospital that had decided to change its code since the last time I was there...It had to either repulsive or amusing watching me chase down a security guard who saw us and turned around while the pt is on the stretcher with my partner screaming in pain from a kidney stone.

12. Be scared of the child that isn't crying!

Had a baby approx 8 mos a few weeks ago that knocked the cooking spoon outta mom's hands and splattered hot oil on herself...The superficial layer of skin on the top of the foot was removed...We got on scene and the baby was screaming....We smiled happy that we heard the screams even before we saw the pt yet. We wrapped the foot best we can with the burn sheet as the baby was screaming and kicking. Enroute baby tires herself out from all the crying so i had to keep prodding her to stay awake and pinching her good foot to wake her and induce more screaming.

15. Equipment will fail only at the time you really need it!

Yup! 99.9% of the time its the stair chair...and usually when we have a heavy pt.

I was sitting at home for this one and almost had to call squad myself for injuries involving a shishkabob skewer as a result of ROFLing too close to our BBQ command...

Dispatch: (tones) ***** City **96 Please respond to the **** Block of Taffey Court to a female pt......... to a female pt c/o stray cat bite to the head.... (hissing and spitting heard in dispatch background) (more tones) ***** City **96...... (Uncontrollable laughter) Please (still laughing) respond to Taffey Ct.......... (hissing and giggles) to a pt......... to a pt c/o (again laughing uncontrollably throughout) a cat bite to the head. ***** County (can't stop laughing) 2043.

Someone else in the county: Meow!

So you know, Taffey Ct has a lot of our frequent flyers and it seems every so often they come up with a new way to try to get into our drug bag. This scenario didn't work.. Also, another dispatcher was behind the one giving the call doing the hissing and spitting while the rest of the office there was wailing. It is as of yet unknown who keyed up and meowed...

Lol, At my ambulance corps' yearly dinner, a neighboring city stole reindeer antlers headband from one of our members that was given to her as a Darwin award. Since then, one of our members tends to occassionally go on the radio, when the particular member is on shift from the neighboring town and says in a deep creepy voice "we want our antlers!" or simply "antlers"

Thanks for the opportunity for a shameless plug! You can get great stupid comments in my books.

We had an old lady crying that she wished her daughter would be there at the hospital for her. I said "No to worry, I'm sure she'll be there waiting for you when we get there." She nearly had a heartattack and said "My daughter died four years ago."

Usually helps if I actually pay attention to what people are saying to me.

Devin

Still my favorite story from the book is you driving the wrong way by the tunnel and a guy holding up a clipboard in front of your face saying that NOW he recognized you.

Still funny sht in them books there

Hmmm, I **know** I say stupid sht all the time. I make myself look like a fool with half the things I say because until it dawns on me what I said, I'll be dead serious...then I laugh at myself. I honestly cannot think of anything right now because my head hurts so much.

I used to know someone, who was a 'wacker's wacker'...He went and bout a pickup truck and had it redesigned for a first responder/rescue truck. He even went as far as to get it certified as one through his city...Mind you, this is his POV. He had everything but the heavy equipment & O2 on the truck...He bought a stair chair, backboards, etc...This was basically a non transport mini ambulance. :roll: Did come in handy as he had passed a major MVA and no EMS was on scene yet. But That really is extreme.

I carry a box of gloves. I would like to keep a first aid kit in my car, like a mini jump bag minus the O2. I do have a scope & BP cuff at home I don't use that sits collecting dust. I got it when I was more active on the ambulance but now...looks as if my volunteer corps will be closing its doors within the next year. So I am just planning on getting my recert soon, then working for awhile before I look for a new volunteer corps to ride for.

NREMT-Basic wrote: "We were taught way back at the beginning of EMT school how to interact with patients..."

Yes, what I was taught was any potentially violent patients, call the police....they'll transport them.

What were you taught regarding psych patients? Something different? If you guys are being made to transport violent psych patients, remind me to never go to work for your service.

Have you ever been physically attacked by a violent psych patient in the back of your truck? I had my glasses broken and a laceration stitched closed under my left eye a number of years ago by a supposedly "calm" lady that I was transporting. I take no chances anymore with psych patients, if they're gonna freak out with me, they're either going in the back of a police cruiser, or a police officer is coming in the back of the ambulance with me, and they're cuffing the patient to my stretcher.

We don't even have proper restraints in our ambulances here in Nova Scotia. If I want to restrain a patient who becomes violent on me, I have to use triangular bandages and/or duct tape to tie their hands to the stretcher, all while they're fighting me. Think it's easy doing that by yourself? You try it. I'd much rather let the police transport these folks.

I, as an ACP, am also allowed giving 5mg IM versed to violent patients, in an attempt to sedate them enough to calm down. Again, ever try drawing up your med with a syringe/needle while a patient is fighting you? Then you come towards them with the needle and syringe in order to give them the shot, and if they're not ballistic enough, you're gonna make them even worse, because the last thing they want is to be calmed down. Believe me when I say, it's not so easy!!!

I remember an incident a few years back that happened in Halifax, where an ambulance was transporting a psych patient between facilities. The patient had been "sedated", supposedly with enough medication to snow a goat....he was quietly "sleeping" on the stretcher at the hospital when the ambulance arrived. Enroute to the receiving facility, the patient suddenly "woke up" (I really don't think he was properly sedated to begin with, but that's just my opinion), and grabbed the attending medic by the throat, and began choking him. The medic who was driving screamed at the patient, promptly alerted dispatch as to what was going on, and managed to pull the ambulance over to the side of the road in order to try and help his partner. By this time, the medic in the back who was being choked, his lips were cyanotic. Then the police arrived....luckily, no lasting damage to the attending medic.

This could have had a much worse outcome, except for the fact that the police were right around the corner. But such isn't always the case.

I don't advocate EMS never treating psych patients, all I'm saying is, USE COMMON SENSE, for God's sake! Sure, I love my job, but I'm not going to risk my life in order to save somebody else's.....I won't be around too long if I start doing that on a regular basis.

Actually Connie, I wouldn't want to be in your area with a policy like that....I do not recall nor have I ever heard if EMS had a problem with a pt that PD transports during my training course. That is just opening a huge can of worms for a lawsuit. There is a reason why there are restraints on the rig...for violant pts!!! And you want to CYA? Have your PD transport WITH YOU. PD can restraint the pt and provide safety while you medically care for your pt...

In which case....a drug/od pt....Are you going to have PD transport because those can get violent as well, however, its also a medical based call....What are your protocols there? I've transported a pt, approx 30yo male, about 270 lbs, solid muscle, who had used, LCD, PCP, & Angeldust. That was an interesting call with 3 ems personnal and 4 cops restraining him to get his limbs tied/cuffed to the stretcher to provide transport. Having a violent pt like that in a single manned PD car would be EXTREMELY unsafe. PD transported in the rig with us... I do not recall if ALS was with them because I only took pt info from PD as the rig had too many people on it.

Shoulda been a gyno dr..... Now that's comedy right therrr I don't care what you say!

Psych or medical...a patient is still a patient and to be treated and transported by EMS. You feel you're in danger and want PD to transport? Have PD with you IN the rig DURING transport.

Wow :shock: I just read this thread today and now they are talking about this topic on the radio!

Generally I wear sneakers on most volunteer calls although I know the risks. Its usually because I end up riding shift at the last minute and cannot go home to get my boots in time since I barely make it to the building on time from work.

My boots are usually work boots you can get at walmart. My current pair I bought at a military surplus store. It was the last pair in my size and was actually the display pair. I don't recall the brand name at the moment (if I heard it I'd recognize it) but they are the most comfortable I've had to date.

In my city, when we have behavioral issued pts, 97% of the time PD follows in their unit. If the pt is a known combative or known to give EMS a hard time they ride in the ambulance and depending on the officer, will not hesitate or argue when EMS requests them to ride along.

On private bls transport here, in my experience, if a pt is combative, the hospital usually medicates the pt enough to get to the destination. Few facilities have standing orders for hard leather restraints. I used to do psych transfers from one hospital to a psychiatric hospital they sent many pts to...that particular destination is one that only accepts pts in restraints and its the MD himself that signs the acceptance.

One day I brought a big guy in there and the doc was on lunch taking forever and meds the sending hospital gave the pt was wearing off and he was getting restless shaking the stretcher. We started pressing on security to get the doc there faster because then you'd find us outside and the pt his problem.

lol @ cock rings

I hear they are quite fun...not that i know from experience...wouldn't object to trying new things...within limits of course :oops:

I remember brinking a pt into St Luke's and we had to park up the street a little from the ER...The next day I was watching on the news that there was a manhole explosion outside St Luke's ER....I looked at the tv and burst out laughing becuase it was exactly where we had parked our rig the day before.

I like Simple Plan...

It's true. The First Grade Council is fucked up.. Where "Human Trash Collector" really does make sense, as your untrained driver also mans the municipal trash truck.

That may be based on certain areas...I can only speak for my own. My corps does not allow non members other than PD to drive our trucks and the "drivers only" members, of which we have 4, they are all trained, in the very least of first aid and cpr. They all are also on the city's fire dept.

as i'm aware, titles vary by city/dept

in my city, the FD goes by chief, asst chief, etc... and ambulance is captain, 1st & 2nd lts.

In other cities, its either the same or they go by the FD ways of chief and etc.

PD in my city is chief, asst chief, captain, lts, sergents, etc etc etc

NJ is fucked up to say the least :roll:

I don't know....For me, whenever possible we put inline...I have not yet come across a situation that there is a deformity or other.

Hell, I'm a friggin white cloud here....4 years and only 2 full working codes. :roll: May be rude to say, but people need to drop dead more so I can get more experience... I do tend to get a lot of CHF pts.

Cspines though....I've only gotten the standard neck/back pain where we board and collar based on the MOI.

still very much used today...morely are ammonia inhalants...

twice i've had smelling salts used on me...both times when i donated blood because i kept passing out afterwards.

ammonia inhalants we use for the ETOHs a lot.