Alcomedicism

yes Im smart and an ass thus making me a smartass :shock: The person below me works for a small EMS Company...

OK heres a nifty lil forum game, its called "the person below me". All you have to do is say "The person below me ____________________________. Basically youre guessing something about the next person that posts. OK so I'll start: The person below me hates onions

you dont know where the 911 Address is located but if you call out the family name you pinpoint the exact location. If your crew is a model for "Top 10 ways to die" by smoking a pack or two packs of cigarrettes a day, they are known to be grossly obese, one of them has just had yet another stint put in his heart, they also have interesting love relationships that could be Springer material. :shock: -Alco

Well they are calling for snow tonight and tomorrow morning, I went to drop the kid offat daycare this morning and everyone and thier puppy dog was at the grocery store buying milk and bread. But I have no idea why people do it this when you know good and well they have enough food in their pantry to last a month. And how would milk and bread help us in a snowstorm??? I have enough canned food in my pantry that would make the soup kitchen do cartwheels and thats just accumulation over the months. I buy some spaghettios and other soups, the kid runs out of spaghettios and so I go out and buy more. and the other soups get pushed to the back. The only reason Im picking up the kid early from day care today is to get back to the house before people start getting stupid and we know that stupid causes accidents. I also noticed the ambulance crews putting chains on their tires incase the roads turn to ice/snow. But tomorrow should be fun as everything will be shut down, so me and the kid will likely spend some time outside playing in the snow- if theres enough to play in. I'll be sure to take pics of the Arkansas snowfall for you guys. -Alco

You know your from Arkansas when...[/font:e0f648f891] "Vacation" means goin' through Harrison on the way to Branson. Down South, to you, means Louisiana. You have no problem spelling or pronouncin' Ouachita or Possum Grape. You know what Toad Suck and Booger Holler are. Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and comes with cole slaw on top. You say catty-wampus and tumped over. You know the difference between a deer dog, a duck dog and a coon dog by the way they bark. Pulaski County is considered a foreign or exotic place. You consider being a "Beef Queen" an honor. You faithfully drink Pepsi, Mt. Dew, or Dr. Pepper everyday of your life. You know what a "cow drop" is. You have your own secret bbq sauce. You know how to snipe hunt. You or your neighbors have more hunting dogs than you have family members. You visit the Arkansas State Fair mainly to see your neighbor's prize chicken. You've been invited to or had a bunkin' party. You abhor homosexuality, but love "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." You'd rather be No. 1 in football than No. 1 in education. You think that recycling means riding your bike down the same old path. You think orange barrels are really part of the interstate system. When the forecast calls for an inch of snow, you run out with all the other crazies to stand in line for three hours to buy a month's worth of groceries. You drink sweet iced tea out of a sports bottle. Your traditional Thanksgiving dinner is a deep-fried turkey. You call a shopping cart a buggy. You see "No Hunting" signs are riddled with bullet holes. You think "Animal House" is the training film for incoming athletes at the University of Arkansas The three food groups are Velveeta, pork rinds and a six-pack. Everyone you think of as a "liberal" is either Methodist or Catholic. You think that Bill Clinton is a lyin', cheatin' sumbitch, but you'd still vote for him again in a heartbeat because he's OUR lyin' cheatin' sumbitch. You've "offered" someone an "ass-whoopin'. " ( When you give directions they include "over yonder," "down the road a piece," and "right near." You're not commitment-phobic: you love God, guns and football. You'd rather have a Budweiser beer museum than a presidential library. You think pinto beans are nekkid without hamhocks, cornbread and buttermilk. Sweet milk and torn up biscuits in a glass is your favorite dessert. You think bagels are nothing but a cruel doughnut joke invented by some Yankee! You eat at Senor Tequila's for atmosphere and Lolita's Tex-Mex for salsa. You say, "I voted for Clinton to get him out of the state." You own three cars and one license plate. If your an Arkansas raise your hand!

I have a feeling now that this post will have a hard time dying although vitals signs dont look good.

So you go from using cutting edge technology to save people's lives to using the cutting edge of a sword to potentially harm a fellow knight????? Man theres no way I could do that for fun on a regular basis although it might be fun to play out Joan of Arc. :wink: What do I do for fun? spend time with the kid, drink, sleep, in that order. Oh wait I already do that everyday. :shock:

My ex-bf drove a Metro, 2 door with hatchback. That thing is small but gets good gas mileage. -Alco

Ditch Doc is probably in hiding- lurking and looking and then going back to TC.com and bashing us saying that we just arent professional enough. Too bad for him. The majority spoke. Im sure the test results would have been questionable, as well as the answers. Why the heck would an EMT-I think he could make a Paramedic test better than the NR if hes either A.) Never taken it or B.) Never could pass it And he messed in his own pile here by freely tearing into people he didnt like, and then turned around and said he was doing the EMS system good. :roll: Steve- you just got weeded out! :wink:

Now, lets not go opening old wounds Ditch Doc left, now hes crown king of TC.com He's found a new playground, yay for him. Im actually kinda glad he didnt follow through with it, no doubt it would have made the majority who took the test (even Paramedics) feel stupid. Now Admin, lets lock this thread and there will be no further mention of Ditch Doc (aka USAFMEDIC45, Steve). -Alco

Im all for it if they truly are informitive and can actually enlighten us in some way, and at the same time doesnt make us feel stupid. Anyone else understand what Im trying to say? -Alco

What is your name? CT When is your birthday? 11/27 Eye color? blue Hair color? red What nationality(s) are you? 100% irish Any piercings? no Any tatoos? no You have three wishes, what are they? Paramedic job, nice house, nice truck What sound can you not stand? Static on the radio Special talents? none What is the first thing you do when you wake up? get dressed What is the last song you sang? Just Like A Pill - Pink Do you play any instruments? no Do you know any random facts? Im a library of useless facts BE HONEST- Do you listen to show tunes? no Do you want to go to college? been there done that Whats the first thing you do when you get home from work? play with the kid Is there anyone you are desperate to meet? Chris Akin and his dog Boomer of the SRS crew Do you dance around your house when nobodys home? yes Favorite quote? Walt Disney world is just a people trap operated by a mouse. Main source of exercise? Traning my dog for spring hunt tests. Yay or Nay Diet Pepsi? nay Kids? yay Bread? white Hair cuts? dunno Hiking? nay Black and white photography? yay Coffee? yay What C.D.s are in your sterio right now? Pink - Misunderstood, Paul Oakenfold - Bunkka, Aphrodite - various Guilty pleasures? smoke and drink If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? meat and potatoes Speak other languages? Spanish Favorite song (as of right now)? Delirium -DJ Teisto/Sarah Machalan mix Favorite flower? hate flowers Contacts, glasses, or neither? neither but do need glasses Hometown? Danville Favorite Drink? Either coffee or Tequila take your pick Have you ever been in love? (depending on what your concept of love is) yes Have you ever been skinny dipping? yes Assertive or passive? passive Sing in the shower? yes Any regrets? yeah, still learnin to keep muh mouf shut Do you swear? hell yeah, WTF you talkin about b1tch?! LOL Do you have any pet peeves? tons of em Favourite Ice cream flavor? triple chocolate Member of the red light club? what the hell is this? if youre asking if I ran a red light, yes.

Around here in rural America, the old folks call the EMS Ambulance drivers because up until the early 90s thats all we had. The local company used to be housed with the funeral home for years until they got a new director and started receiving grants. They built their present station in 1994 I believe. They went from being a BLS to an ALS service within 3-4 years. Now they are the pride of the county. It is a small yet wildy successful service. When the Medics and EMTs get called ambulance driver or ambulance worker, they take it with pride because they know the old timers respect them and what they do for the county. Believe me, me and my instructor had a discussion about this in class one time. When people call you and ambulance driver, I honestly dont think they say it in a demeaning way, I think it is because they dont know there is an official title that goes along with it. I giggle every time my grandpa asks me if I found a job being an ambulance driver yet, I just let it go. -Alco

OK although I dont have experience this discussion has formed an opinion. I believe it is OK to be confident in what you do, but lets not let that confidence turn into arrogance, where we have the paragods shoving EMTs around and vice versa. It doesnt just happen in EMS, it happens everywhere you have "seniority". EX: In the poultry industry you have: Production workers Line Foremans Line Supervisors Department Supervisors Shift Supervisors and so forth. The shift supervisors shove the department supervisors, the department supervisors shove the line supervisors, the line supervisors shove the line foremans, the line foremans shove the production workers, all based on seniority and pay scale. And it goes back the other way when the lower seniority workers say "I work harder than you for my money." It ok when you do something yourself that was somehow extraordinary and you deserve recognition for it. But lets not forget that there seems to be a "team" element in this as well. IF you work better as a team your going to get better results. -Alco

yes there is a such thing as a paragod, theyre everywhere. Best way to deal with them, dont give them the satisfaction of shoving people around, but dont argue with them. Granted they know alot, but you also have people who know so much they actually believe they know it all (IE- Steve) and will take pleasure in making everyone else look and feel stupid. Alot of the Paragod are Medics who have just graduated from Medic school and believe they have every right to trample on everyone else. And they have little to no street experience. I honestly believe that the state needs to have a mandatory 1 year experience as a basic before enrolling in ALS courses, you get to know how it really works for a basic and how much a Medic really needs his basic to help out on scene. Arkansas used to have a 5year waiting period back in the early 80s to mid 90s. Perhaps this little "waiting period" might actually help curb the paragod syndrome and also "wash out" those who may not be able to make it in EMS. -Alco

:roll: This is getting stupid. Please agree to disagree and move on, Im asking Admin to close this thread as it has gone WAY of topic, if you guys want to continue this argument, hash it out via email or PMs. Thank you.

I have a gun dog that is the begining stages. When I get frustrated I get the dog out and have a short training session. He seems to read my stress so he eagerly complies which makes me feel like I have "control" somewhat. If Im unable to do that then I open a beer, light a cigarette, and plop down in front of the television and specifically tell people to leave me alone. By the next morning Im fine. -Alco

the local service uses both. For the portable AEDs they use pads, for the Lifepack on the rig they use paddles. the ER here still uses the paddles and that it still needs to be charged every 12 hours. Thats what I know

that was funny

I might also add that here in the State of Arkansas it is unlawful to bypass an MVA if EMS personnel are not already on-scene. By law you have to stop and assist and call for help. So what is the difference between that and mandatory CPR?? I still think CPR should required of those who are mentally and physically able to do it. Require it at the ageof 16 when a student applies for their DL. they must re-certify in CPR in order to renew the DL. -Alco

Then perhaps CPR should be a HS graduation requirement. Students with a severe learning or physical disabilities are not required to take the standard curriculum as per waivers and special considerations. IE- students with cerebral palsy are given a special curriculum to follow usually it is basic composition skills, basic algebra, and some arts. MY HS had a special waiver for one student who was SEVERELY handicapped. He lacked coordination physically and mentally. They kept him in the Special Ed room for Math and English courses. For other courses such as Science and Social Studies he was mainstreamed. For PE he was able to sit in the gymnasium to get the PE attendance in. He did graduate with a HS Diploma, but again several waivers and considerations were made in order for him to graduate. He will likely end up in a group home when he turns 25 and his mother gets tired of taking care of him. As for other HS students, CPR should be a HS graduation requirement. Re-cert every 2 yrs. IF the graduate should become physically or mentally handicapped after graduation, he must show proof of his disability to allow his CPR certs to lapse. -Alco

You cant completely ban latex from every single service in this country. Latex has been the industry standard for years now. To abruptly ban latex at once would be like to ban computers from offices. IT aint gonna go voer well and its for sure not going to happen overnight. But I do however see the concerns for using latex. People have developed a latex allergy due to prolonged exposure to it, cancer patients tend to have this as do healthcare providers. If this poses a serious enough reaction to be a health hazard then by all means do it, but keep in mind it would have to be gradual change. IE - as of this day all services in this area may not purchase latex gloves, and after this date they may not use latex gloves. Then move from state to state in the process and over a 2-5 year period latex would eventually be phased out. Just my crumbly opinion......... -Alco

Welcome and good luck with your new job.

With that thought 10-42, what about a mandatory waiting period or experience time before becomeing eligible to enroll in ALS courses???? My state used to have a 5 year mandatory waiting period for a Basic wanting to enroll into Paramedic school. I believe this gave time for the basic to function at that level and get that set of skills down pat as well as road experience. The state was churning out very experienced Medics at that point, then came along the supposed shortage of pre-hospital care providers, then the state dropped the 5 year wait. Now any idiot can pass EMT-B then go jump right into ALS courses with no experience as a provider.................... scary. :shock: -Alco

Stryker, quality, durability, user friendliness, and oh yeah, they look cool and they have lot of accessories for them available. -alco