medicmole

if you don't like the current wages wherever you work then GET OUT, plan and simple.

Why didn't we think of that? Maybe if all 3500 BCAS Paramedics quit that would put some pressure on the employer.

Or we could work to make things better instead of running away.

Would you be interested in a patch from BC or are you just looking for patches from American services? If you do want one from BC let me know where to send it.

I cannot comment on the rest of Canada but that certainly is not the criteria to start CPR in British Columbia.

As a PCP, we use Entonox for pain relief. As Mike mentioned it is disappointing how few PCPs use Entonox for pain control; I use it and find it very effective.

There is talk of giving PCPs in BC a morphine protocol for long distance transfers because trying to administer Entonox for 4+ hours is unrealistic.

Kat

Have you received any details regarding at what level you will be able to practice? If they only let you do “1st aid”, I think that would be a ridiculous waste of a valuable resource.

ps.

I do recall some mention about buying the 1st beer. :wink:

In BC, fees for patients not covered by MSP and for employers when an employee is injured at work are $530 per trip for ground transport, $2,746 per hour for helicopter transport, and $7 per statute mile for fixed-wing transport.

The fact that you do this for FREE shows people that there are those out there willing to do it cheaper than what I would cost them. There is NO difference than taking your full-time job and out sourcing it to a third world country in the name of saving money.

Excellent analogy :cheers:

I carry a stair chair, oxygen tank and qrb (quick response bag) and aed into every call. A peds back also if its a kid.

You actually take all this equipment into every call? :?

BC is not your best choice. If you want to be a PCP you would only get part time work in smaller communities. If you take your ACP you would be limited to the places you could work, outside of the Greater Vancouver area only 5 cities have ACP units. Hey but we are a world leader in EMS :oops:

Have you seen the report done by Dr McNamara titled “EMS in Ontario”? It was written in 1999 and is about 70 pages long; I could scan it and email it to you if you are interested. It is mostly comparing fire-based EMS with other options, but it may have some information you could use.

I work for BC Ambulance and have been part time in a small community, full time in Vancouver and now back in a smaller community therefore I have a good perspective of the service and would be willing to discuss it with you.

Or just check the radial pule and forget about cap refill.

Start - Triage

In BC we are not allowed to work in excess of 16 hours without an 8 hour break. I have seen patients that needed to be transported 8 or 9 hours by road; what we do is meet a crew from the receiving community half way and exchange the patient at a local hospital. This works well for us being a provincial service but may be a bit more difficult with different services involved.

Google? You mean you didn't know the answer off the top of your head? :wink:

The definition I was given was "saturation of peripheral oxygen". I believe there are others that refer to SPO2 as "spot oxygen saturation".

I definately don't like white shirts as an option just because they get dirty easy

I have been wearing a white shirt for just over 20 years and have not had a problem with it looking dirty. If it gets dirty I wash it. I would rather have a clean shirt than hide the dirt with a dark coloured shirt.

BCAS wears green jackets similar to the colour worn by british police. They definitely make us stand out in a crowd.

Actually, their uniforms are about the only thing I like about BCAS, lol!

Dustdevil

Now you have gone and hurt my feelings.

Poormedic

I hope things work out for you.

I am wondering how many services provide counseling services for their employees. In BC we have access to counseling on a confidential basis, I believe this is something that all emergency services should provide for their employees.

I would not say I would never stop or that I would always stop; it would depend on the situation. In this case it is not clear just how stable or unstable their 9-month-old patient was and it was not clear how serious the MVA was. Those that say they would never stop with a patient on board, here is scenario to consider. You are transporting an elderly patient from a care home, they had a fall from standing and their only complaint is hip pain, vitals are normal and the only injury seen is shortening and rotation of one leg. Enroute to hospital you witness a 10-year-old pedestrian who is thrown 20 feet, lands on his back and is not moving. Do you stop to assess, or continue on and radio for another unit?

Congratulations. A well deserved award. =D>

paramedics=army...basics=........MARINES

I am not that familiar with your military but I am pretty sure you got that backwards. :wink:

Once again, vs-eh, you disappoint me. I have seen you bring legitimate points to a conversation, and I have seen you provide quality input to discussions, but those tend to be few and far between.

You purposely comment in an argumentative manner. As I don't live in Ontario, I looked up the Ontario PCP guidelines. A quote directly from the Ontario Paramedic Association website ( http://www.ontarioparamedic.ca/faqs.html) indicates: "The Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) is a graduate of a Ministry of Health approved college Paramedic Program, has obtained A-EMCA certification, and is employed in an emergency medical service. The function of a PCP is to provide emergency patient care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), patient immobilization, oxygen therapy, basic trauma life support, blood glucose testing, and non-emergency patient care and transportation. "

That appears to sound very similar to EMT-B... but, I will research further.......

Yes this is off subject but here is some information for emtannie.

This link shows the comparisons between EMR (which I believe is close to your EMT-, PCP, and ACP. Hope it helps.

Competencies

Here is a speeding joke I have always liked

While she was "flying" down the road yesterday, a woman passed over a bridge, only to find a traffic cop with a radar gun on the other side lying in wait.

The cop pulled her over, walked up to the car, with that classic patronizing smirk we all know and love, and asked, "What's your hurry?"

To which she replied, "I'm late for work."

"Oh yeah," said the cop, "what do you do?" "I'm a rectum stretcher," she responded.

The cop stammered, "A what? A rectum stretcher? And just what does a rectum stretcher do?"

"Well," she said, "I start by inserting one finger, then work my way up to two fingers, then three, then four, then with my whole hand in. I work from side to side until I can get both hands in, and then I slowly but surely stretch it, until it's about 6 feet wide."

"And just what the hell do you do with a 6 foot a**hole?" the cop asked

"You give him a radar gun and park him behind a bridge!!!...................."

Ed

I am in the Kootenays, let me know if you need any information.

The idea of transporting a child or infant in parents arms has been mentioned. How do most of you transport children? have you seen or do you use a Pedimate or similar piece of equipment?

Pedimate

And no I am not a sales rep, this just happens to be the site I found.

Unfortunately I now own property in that state. How comforting!!

You can honestly tell me you do not think this statement is meant to include the entire state?