scratrat

Well, Southstar tells you 15 minutes and 25 minutes later, they still can't figure out how many times to circle the scene before they land. That's assuming the moon is aligned and they're even flying. That's great that you're so close to a trauma center. What about those of us who worked where a trauma center was 45 minutes to an hour? and Southstar doesn't feel like flying since there's a cloud in Ohio? Thank God they finally opened up the certificate so Medevac and Pennstar can now take calls even if southstar refuses to fly! Now you can actually take care of a pt!!! WOW.

I have a question..... how do I become a FDNY EMT??

That was my point as well, the fact that the kids were in the car. I think the officer got a little carried away, however, if you run, you're done. He didn't know if it was a felon or something, so I can't fault him too much. But this FF was being an absolute idiot. It sounds like he only had his four ways on not any other lights. And it is that way everywhere else with regards to lights. Did you know that legally the only person allowed to run a red light is the post office if delivering mail, and the military? Cops, ambulance, firetrucks, none of them are allowed to go through a light. Especially not with just a whacker light (blue or red depending on the state). If a cop blows a light on the way to a call, it's his fault. Usually the person he hits happens to be some smuck who doesn't have insurance or something so they get into trouble rather than the cop. Go figure.

Oh absolutely. It's why I left. Why I still had some degree sanity. I said some...

PLEASE tell me you are joking? First of all you need to ride somewhere else other than New Jersey. That system is in the toilet and is only going to get worse. Second, when all of those medic units are tied up on calls what then? And how about when the EMTs can't figure out you are not required (which happens ALL the time) and then the caridac arrest goes out down the street with no medics available? Now the medics on your call are tied up for at least 10-15 minutes doing a SNR. Yes, hospital based ALS up there does have more quality assurance. But if you think for one minute it's less political that way, you are sadly mistaken. Politics up there, as well as my above point, is why I left. Virtua and Atlanticare are both political and most of the medics are miserable and burned out because of unnecessary "since you're here you can evaluate". And before you get all pissed of at me, I'm not saying all EMTs suck. Some EMTs I would trust my life with more than some medics. But then there's the ones who splint the non-fractured arm because they can't recognize deformity, inability to operate a BVM (yes, it's happened more than once), or the CHF'r on nasal @ 2 lpm whilst sucking on her last breath, the EMT would have noticed if the clipboard wasn't in hand. The other problem with NJ is the fact that the FAC even exists. They don't have any requirements. They don't even require that an EMT show up on the call. How can a volunteer organization think that it's kosier to send a non-certified person to an EMS call? Or have 8 volunteers show up in personal vehicles but not one of them is an EMT, or they are too busy fighting over incident command to assist on the scene. I'm sorry for venting, but NJ is a very screwed up system. Do it for a little while longer and you'll realize it. And to whoever it was that was hired in AC EMS, good job and good luck. They've got some good people there. Learn from them. Also, if the medics give you a hard time UNJUSTIFIED, stand up for yourself and your decision. That's how you earn respect. Don't let them step all over you for no reason. A lot of them are great with educating, and you'll learn a lot from them. You'll figure out who those right quick. Keep a good head and all I can say is make a decision and stick by it!! Good luck.

Just a twit?

January 19, 2007 By MELISSA DiPANE 6 News Anchor/Reporter SEVIER COUNTY (WATE) -- The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating whether a trooper went too far in forcing a firefighter answering a call to stop. Michael Huskey was in the family minivan with his wife and kids when he heard a call from dispatch needing an emergency driver to help a nearby ambulance. Huskey turned on his flashers and drove 85 in a 55 mile per hour zone when a state trooper tried to pull him over. Huskey radioed dispatch to call off the trooper but he says the trooper swooped in front of him, causing an accident. "Once he stopped my client, he found that out and yet he still handcuffed and arrested and investigated it further and took him to jail." says Jim Gass, Huskey's attorney. Huskey got a speeding ticket and was charged with failure to yield to lights and sirens. According to the report, the officer did not intend to crash into the minivan. Huskey will go before a Sevier County judge in a few weeks. Notice that it says "with kids and wife"? What was this guy thinking driving like that with his kids in the car? If he would have gotten into an accident and gotten killed they would have hailed him as a hero for answering the call in spite of family!!!!!! God this drives me insane! I cannot believe some one would do this. His department should no longer allow him to be a member for this! And what was the trooper thinking hitting a mini van with kids inside? Tell me your thoughts.

If you're lifting, you should not be working past the 1st trimester probably. It's a federal law for them to let you take family leave. It's called the Family Leave Act. It is required by law!!!! If they refuse, threaten lawsuit on a federal level. HOWEVER, they are within their rights to repost your position after (I think) 12 weeks. Which only means your job may or may not be available after your return from leave. And another note, if they are so hell bent on not allowing you time off, you should consider leaving for alternative work. That sounds to me like they don't care about their employees, so I would take this as my cue to leave.

THANK YOU!!

The fire service and the EMS service never play well together... Too many egos in one room Screw you guys...I'm going home...as the beloved philospher Cartmen once said.

I can't wear mine for more than 12 hours or my eyes become instantly blood shot. I look like a drug addict. I bring my glasses. I also can't stand wearing them to bed then waking up with that cloudy vision like you're been swimming in a pool with your eyes open. I never sleep with mine in.

Black guy : Mav, what are you doing? Maverick : I'm gonna bring him in closer.. Black Guy (can't remember his call sign) : You're gonna do WHAT?? Top Gun. Sorry, I'm stuck in the 80's. That's my favorite movie.

Oh, and thanks for that post, I enjoyed reading that article. I don't hear much news from NJ anymore.

You are correct. There are two helo's. One operated by UMD and one by Virtua Health System. Both are piloted and owned by NJSP. The hospitals provide anf fund the flight medic and flight nurse. Neither helo is worth a piss though because they never fly, unless it's for law enforcement purposes. And if they do fly, it takes them 20 minutes longer than any other bird, even ones further away. Go figure that one out.

All I can say is wow 2 nasals and an oral? Why not just intubate since obviously they no longer have an intact gag reflex? And we don't need RSI. Just something better than Versed which sucks big time. It's a horrible drug c/ far too many side effects (hypotension being my favorite) and I've seen it not do anything to many many people. Yes, we do need higher standard. I just had this conversation c/ my partner tonight. If we don't tube x amount of people in a 6 month period, we should be given an OR rotation to do x amount of tubes in the OR setting before being allowed to continue working. But as the other guy mentioned, doing OR time as a medic is not fun. They don't want you there, and every tube is a 'difficult' one to them, so they want to do the tube. So how are we supposed to get our tubes when they won't let us? Their just pissed off that we can do their job c/ less training. That might not always be a good thing, but it still needs to be done whether they like it or not.

:shock: OMG :shock:

Nosobrite, Even after I became a paramedic, I continued to run calls with my BLS squad for about a year. I couldn't take it any longer than that! You definately made the right choice. These are the type of people who can talk on the radio, play incident screwup (I mean command), and recognize all 50 different tones for all local agencies, but they can't tell you a thing about the pt after being on scene for 20 minutes. You're not missing anything. Run...quickly....don't turn around. And definately don't make eye contact....it angers them...

I use them but would rather not because of the bulk and because of the weight. I'd rather scoop them up and do it in the truck instead of routing around in those darn bags!! :x

And you're still allowing Tom Starr to be involved.......very brave.....

These are always fun Darwinism :shock:

This sounds more like he walked up to the guy and was too lazy to do anything else "because he was a bum". If he'd done his job correctly it would have been fine. And I agree with the above statement. If I ever did this, I'd be fired on the spot. Why is he even allowed to protect the citizens of that town when he's too lazy to perform his duties?

Just another note. You shouldn't be using either one if the pt cannot follow commands (which everyone already knows) but you should NEVER be administering tablets of that size to ANY pt. Do you realize the litigation you just opened yourself up to when the pt chokes on that tablet? :shock: Yes, I know the possibility of aspiration also comes with the gel, but I'd rather aspiration than choking to death!

I have to agree with what the original poster did. I would have called and got the order too. However I have to disagree c/ Connie slightly. Now, just for talking, (because maybe I can learn something too), I was told by a laywer who was also a medic, if you HAVE a valid DNR, you must honor it. The only exception is if the family member who wants CPR done is the MEDICAL POA. Otherwise, their vote doesn't count. Same thing for stopping CPR, if the family tells you he wanted nothing done, too bad. You HAVE to work it unless you have a signed copy of a DNR or medical control tells you otherwise. I don't want to sound like I'm being a prick, I wouldn't want to work someone who the family states didn't want anything done. But I'm going to start CPR and call my doctor and make damn sure he's okay with taking responsibility for not working the code. I know that doesn't clear me legally, but at least I'll know if he's going to back me up or not.

Your program sounds a lot like mine, actually it's one of the places I looked into before I moved down here. And that's all well and good. I work in FL too and our EMT's can do the same skills under our supervison, minus the LMA part. What I'm referring to, is states like where I came from (NJ) where all BLS and ALS are seperate entities altogether. If an EMT deems it necessary for a medic to be there, they would call us and we met them to take care of the pt. They have no medical direction. And for some odd reason, the State has little control over them unless they kill someone, literally. In that kind of system, BLS should not be allowed to perform those skills. They don't have the skill set or the direction. In your system, I think assisting c/ IV's and such is acceptable, but I'm ultimately responsible for that pt's outcome and I don't know if I could trust every single EMT here doing LMA's and more invasive, possibly harmful, skills. Some yes, some no. And kudos to you for taking your education further than necessary (at the time of being an EMT).