Fox800

Yes. I won't ever go back to regular shears. I've been on scenes with a coworker fumbling to cut through clothing...hand em the big shears, and it goes through it like a hot knife through butter. People may raise some eyebrows or poke fun at you until they're asking to borrow them and are inevitably impressed...then they ask where to order them from. There are some things a professional paramedic shouldn't skimp on. Boots...a quality stethoscope...and I'll add these shears to that list.

This is the vest that I am issued at work. The vest itself is made by Point Blank. As you can see, it consists of a navy blue external carrier that goes on over your uniform. It has removable level II plates by Second Chance (not the best but better than nothing...I'd like level III if possible). We also have a blunt trauma pad that goes above the front plate.

Have you moved on from EMS to greener pastures? I want to hear your story. I'm still new to the game but I'm already looking into new things. I don't have a family to tie me down so I can really go anywhere and do anything. In particular I'm looking at becoming a military officer or pursuing a federal law enforcement position (FBI, Customs, State Department). I'm supposed to start my prerequisites for medical school this week (I have a B.B.A. and none of the sciences I need). Somehow the future for physicians isn't looking as shiny...with baby boomers retiring, lawsuits, malpractice insurance, reimbursements down, etc.

I just got mine in the mail...pretty kickass. I know some of you had complained that the Big Shears holster only allows you to wear them horizontally, in the small of your back. I found that this: http://www.bianchi-intl.com/product/Prod.php?TxtModelID=8011 fits Big Shears just great, and allows for vertical carry. Get the largest model, made for the Streamlight Stinger LED (the one made for a regular Streamlight Stinger won't fit...the LED model is a little bigger). $10.85 + S/H here: http://www.copquest.com/14-6500.htm Just thought I'd pass it on.

Also fail. By your logic, do you think we get a false sense of security by wearing gloves, reflective traffic vests, or extrication jumpsuits/bunker gear? If anything, donning my vest reminds me to be even more careful.

What the hell are you trying to say? That we would leave a scene until our superiors trained us better? Sense...your post makes none. Who were you directing your post at?

If I remember correctly...they take STEMI patients to hospitals without interventional cath labs. Kickass.

I must be working in areas that are the exception to the rule... Medic/EMT or Medic EMT-I (when I was around...may be different now): Plano Fire Rescue MedStar Montgomery County Hospital District EMS Northwest Rural EMS St. Joseph Regional EMS Robertson County EMS Fayette County EMS San Marcos/Hays County EMS Marble Falls Area EMS Scott & White EMS Huntsville-Walker County EMS Cypress Creek EMS Harris County ESD-1 Cy-Fair VFD/EMS Washington County EMS

If I am dispatched to a evaluate a patient, I expect to access them ASAP for evaluation, assessment, and treatment. If the patient refuses to allow me to do this, then they are refusing treatment and I will return to service. If the patient wants me to do my job, and the home health care nurses are interfering, they will be removed from the scene. I have a job to do, and I am expected to provide competent care in a prompt manner.

*Shrug* They look fine to me, as long as you take the time to iron them and get the wrinkles out. And they're a hell of a lot cooler with an underarmor tee underneath than wearing a traditional unifrom shirt.

Why should there be lower standards for volunteers? They should have the same high standards regarding their appearance and strive to look professional, even if they aren't getting paid. T-shirts aren't acceptable for normal ground operations. For rescues, when you're wearing bunker gear, extended scene operations, etc...they're ok.

Reiterate the fact that the caller felt that this was important enough to call 911, and that means that you are expected to perform your duties as a paramedic. This includes accessing and evaluating the patient as soon as possible. If the nurses refuse to let you interview the patient, get vital signs, HPI, SAMPLE, physical exam, etc...then they are interfering with your duties...your duty to act began when they dialed 911. Prompt supervisor involvement, probable involvement of the nurse's supervisor, and in a worse case scenario, law enforcement involvement. In my state, this falls under "interfering with public duties" and is an arrestable offense. However, I'm sure that the situation could be resolved LONG before the point of requiring LE involvement.

Do you have any argument to offer other that "Guns kill people. It's hard to get guns here in Australia, so therefore I'm safer. Even though I'm probably not. You Americans are idiots for considering this because that's not how we do things in Australia..."?

Get a supervisor involved. Did the nurses physically block you from accessing the patient? If so, a little talk with them and their supervisor is in order. I am guessing that your system doesn't use BLS units, that would be nice. If a patient is refusing to allow you to assess/treat/load/transport them "I'm not ready", perhaps you can go back in service on your own...while you wait. The patient is refusing to allow you to care for them. That way if an emergency call drops, you can respond. This is a good chance for public education/spoon feeding on proper use of 911.

In a well-concealed holster with a shirt tucked over it...very quickly. Maybe 1 second. I've never really timed how long it would take in full uniform with duty belt. And no, I'm not saying I would shoot an altered diabetic patient. You twisted my words around, blatantly so. I know you're better than that.

"Before a person can buy a firearm, they must obtain a Permit To Acquire. The first permit has a mandatory 28 day delay before it is first issued. In some states (e.g. Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales), this is waived for second and subsequent firearms of the same class. For each firearm a "Genuine Reason" must be given, relating to pest control, hunting, target shooting, or collecting. Self-defence is not accepted as a reason for issuing a licence. Each firearm in Australia must be registered to the owner by serial number. " You and I have very different definitions of "free".

That flashlight/stun gun combo is a pretty neat concept. I have a metal-bodied flashlight that make a decent contact weapon if needed but I'm gonna check out your idea.

I'm aware that my citation doesn't mention firearms, it mentions violent crime as a whole. You need to look at the bigger picture, not just guns. The purpose of carrying a firearm under a government-issued license isn't to scare someone off, win an argument, fire warning shots, or to "just shoot someone in the leg" as anti-gun activists so often advocate. It's an absolute last resort when you are threatened with death or serious bodily harm. Likewise, I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make. That because Australia or the UK have essentially banned civilian ownership of firearms, that paramedics are safer and at lower risk of death or serious injury from violence? I know for a fact that UK ambulance trusts are experiencing an epidemic of violence against their crews. So much so that they've had to enact PR campaigns to publicize it. So while firearms related violence may be down, violence as a whole has been on the rise in your country. What would cause more uproar here? "Paramedic brutally stabbed to death by patient" or "Paramedic shoots, kills man in attempted stabbing". At least in my area, it would be the first. I can argue that I'm in an equal amount of danger from a violent (but unarmed) psychiatric patient, a patient on PCP, a patient who weighs twice as much as me, someone trained in martial arts, than as someone who just happens to have a firearm on their person when I'm alone in the back of the ambulance with them. In reference to whackers waving guns around, that really isn't feasible, at least not in my state. That's referred to as brandishing a firearm, which is cause for arrest, confiscation of your firearm, and revocation of your handgun license. In Texas, you aren't allowed to draw your concealed firearm unless you are prepared to discharge it, thus committing deadly force to protect a life. It's that simple. The gun doesn't come out unless you're pulling the trigger. "Wont they just display the gun and rome around acting like try hard cops provoking the situation so they actually get to shot people?" Doing something like that forfeits any legal protection and will lead to you being prosecuted and losing all self-defense justifications/immunities. The fact is, the police cannot, and will not be everywhere they need to be 24/7, including with you on your scene. Some like to rely on government-sponsored dial-a-prayer (aka 911, 999, 111, whatever your emergency access number is). Then there are those of us who like to hedge our bets, and take some responsibility for our own safety and well-being. There will be patients that will go from calm and cooperative to violent brawls in .02 seconds, and law enforcement will be nowhere near. There will be calls that are dispatched as "falls" or "unconscious" and turn out to be fatal shootings/stabbings. Or "diabetic emergencies" that are violent psychiatric calls. On duty, I don't really have a choice to enhance my self-protection through the responsible and discreet use of firearms. Off duty, I do. If you are having a problem with being mistaken for law enforcement, maybe it's time to look at a different uniform. One without dark-colored uniform shirts, similar-looking patches, a leather belt with 5,000 pouches, etc. I really didn't want this to degenerate into a gun control argument with our friends with backwards-flushing toilets, but it is. Let's get back on topic: firearms in ambulances NOT in public view, for self-protection.

I've heard the "EMS shouldn't wear badges because we get mistaken for cops" line over and over. Can anyone actually present a case of a paramedic or EMT being assaulted because of this misidentification? A badge can be a professional looking component of your uniform if you work for a government agency. And re: whackers and blue knight syndrome, it's a good thing that the whackerdom seems to be headquarted in New Jersey/New England, where carry permits are ridiculously hard (or impossible) to get. Carrying a pistol in the open while working EMS is a whole 'nother can of worms. I was referring to personnel carrying concealed (very concealed!)

I see them around Austin all the time. Coming from the transfer mania of Houston, they're a step up. Houston was truly a nightmare. 200+ companies operated by Medicare scammers, using unlicensed personnel, refusing to stock their units properly. From a transfer standpoint, Acadian doesn't seem all that bad. Yes you will run your ass off doing the horizontal taxi thing. They have nice trucks, excellent equipment (I'm comparing this to my last transfer gig where we had a 3 lead monitor and a seperate hand-held pulse ox unit, no NIBP, no capnography, etc.), higher than average pay, and some semblance of benefits. Compare this to XYZ EMS running 10 year old trucks with 300,000 miles, paying medics $10-12/hour with no benefits. The only thing that piques my interest are the "Critical Care Transport" units I see Acadian running around Austin. I'd be surprised if they shelled out the $$ to employ CCEMT-P's and buy the toys they need to do that job. Correct me if I'm wrong.

No. This would never work. 100% fail.

Wait...you mean that...things outside the US are different? You just blew my mind! The U.S. tops Aus in firearms deaths, yes. You are comparing a nation of 20.4 million with restrictive firearms laws to one with 301.3 million people with relatively lax firearms laws (excluding areas like Chicago, NYC, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C....places that deny their citizens the means to defend themselves) Let's take a look at this: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/cfi/cfi115.html published by the Australian government that compares violent crime rates in Australia to the UK, Canada, and the US from 1962-2004. Which country has had the lowest per capita instances of violent crime since 1995?

Ah...the joys of the "what if?" Game. Do I direct my next-in ALS crew to the most critically injured but still entrapped pt., or send them to transport a slightly-less-critical, but extricated and immobilized pt.?

I'll never forget putting my truck back together at Memorial Hermann in downtown Houston one evening. I had just closed the rear doors when I see a transfer truck pull up. The driver was at least 250lbs...probably closer to 300. Glasses. Unshaven. Wearing the biggest white short sleeve uniform shirt I've ever seen, with stains on it. Untucked. With white tennis shoes on. I was embarrassed to be seen in the same vicinity as him. I think it's time to take the "emergency" off the sides of transfer trucks.

http://www.blauer.com/product-detail/8130-...e-Knit-Shirt/32 This is what most of the medics at work wear. Looks like a uniform shirt, made out of a knit material that's a hell of a lot cooler than a regular uniform shirt. And you can wash it and iron it...looks great. Saves $ on dry cleaning.