RescueOne

Certainly, they aren't allowed onboard an ambulance as primary care provider, correct?

Really Funny, Yer Highnesses. In case you're truly not familiar with EMT-ST, it was derived years & years ago from the Golden Hour principle. It is accepted within the medical community that R. Adams Cowley, MD, the "father" of Shock Trauma, & the Golden Hour principle, saw the need for specialized care at trauma incidents, & at hospitals receiving the trauma patients. Here's the link to University of Maryland, where it explains it all. http://www.umm.edu/shocktrauma/history.html Virginia developed EMT-ST primarily, I believe, for rural EMS providers, (who where not "able", for whatever reason, to obtain their Paramedic education, ) in order to effectively treat trauma patients, when your closest trauma center (or closest facility cable of stabilizing a patient) is 45 mins - an hour away. Regardless, ST is being phased out currently, and I believe it's almost totally gone.

OHHH, you meant stealing! Seriously, though....no. Excessive stocking, to me, is a waste of vital space on board a rig. As far as the personal kits go...unless the provider also works for the hospital, they're thieves. Just my thoughts on it.

The origin of this thread is almost understandable...but like everyone else said, it's not really necessary. State or Agency ID# will always do in a pinch. Usually. For EMS ...if you're in the field or station during your tour, you don't need a badge on your duty uniform. Keep it in your sock drawer, in it's little velvet case, until you need it for a funeral, wedding, awards ceremony, or the like. As far as "official" identification, am ID card with your picture on it should suffice in any instance. These days, even Law Enforcement can get by with a cloth patch emblazoned to look like their departments shield or star. Why alot of them choose not to, is way beyond me. Corrections do it, and for good reason, explained previously in this thread. Be safe, leave the shiny trinkets at home.

Elderly female, difficulty breathing. 17 years ago.

Linens & such...things that are washable and/or reusable, we just swap it out in the E.R. Perishables & non-reusables...such as drugs, O2 delivery masks, etc...we replenish them @ the appropriate department in the hospital. Then we log this with them, and they bill the patient. Usually. As far as PILFERAGE...maybe gloves that I used for that patient, as I'm walking out the ER...if I happen to pass by an open box. It's an accepted practice at our medcom hospital, though.

Nowhere that I know of allows volunteer fire/ems providers to operate sirens in their POVs. Lights, sure. Here in Virginia, you're allowed to operate no more than 2 seperate emergency lights, red in color. Whether you do run lights/sirens or not, career or volly, POV or Ambulance, it all comes down to being safe. Let's make sure we all go home each night.

http://www.bostonems.com I've looked the website over. Maybe not sexy, but definitely arousing! No, seriously. Their website doesn't really say much, except that they're an Urban EMS Agency

Agreed (2 and/or 4 year degree) My relevant education: BS - Public Safety Administration Certified Paramedic

EMT-B = 2 year program? Actually, I tried to post this 2 hours ago, however Comcast decided to go offline, so internet disappeared for a while. When you consider that if the senior-most provider in the back of the rig is an EMT-B, and is in immediate charge of the patient's well being...then yes. It comes to mind that you very well might want that EMT to have the utmost training and education they can possibly have. Here is a Wikipedia article that breaks down Canada's level of Paramedics, and the education/training requirements of each. On this page you may find links with similar info pertaining to other nation's medics as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedics_in_Canada Back to the matter at hand... Two & Four year degrees in PreHospital Emergency Medical Sciences My proposal is such (in a perfect world, anyway): A Paramedic w/ a 2-year degree would be equivocal to an RN w/ a 2-year degree. A Paramedic w/ a 4-year degree would be equivocal to an RN w/ a 4-year degree. Each level would receive pay commensurate with experience & education. The AS Paramedic is trained up to the NREMT-P level, and nothing more. The BS Paramedic is trained to include Critical Care, as well as the 2 years of General Studies. Ideally, might the BS Paramedic program include studies for allowing a Medic-RN bridge to be more seamless? What are your ideas on this? Incidentally, here's an example of an educational institute offering a Paramedic 18-month AS Degree http://www.jchs.edu/page.php/prmID/82 They seem to have a monopoly on Paramedic education in their area, as I haven't found any other program w/in 100 miles of them. There are no colleges anywhere near me offering the AS Paramedic Program, that I've found. The closest thing I've seen is the EMT-I course, at the local Comm. College. I received my Paramedic Cert. years ago, when a 9 month NREMT-P curriculum was all you could find. If I was starting out all over again today, I'd personally go for the most advanced program available.