sassy_emt

what about the possibility of a sever diabetic coma??? remember the initial blood sugar level was 20......way too low. If this started out as a diabetic come wouldn't the heart have struggled to maintain an even blood flow to increase the body's own insulin out put??? If all the right factors are there could it not cause the heart to stutter and when the crew showed up ......the sugar that was re-introduced into the system then caused an overload thus the heart went into first bradycardic then asystole rhythm????? How long had he been without his meds???? At least 24 hours correct???? I am a type two diabetic and I know that if I miss more than one of my doses I begin to feel a tightness in my chest and a noticeable change in my heart rate.......the other signs I have include extreme exhaustion........ just a thought but maybe because of his history of hypertension and then (for lack of a better set of words) the shock of having even that small amount of insulin introduced into his system that maybe what caused the CVA???

I have checked out the Center.....it is the best that is for sure. The cost is $ 6500 for a 9 mont intensive course and you do get to do clinical ride time with STAT MEDEVAC Helicopter Service. Like I said it is very intense and very worth it . Bare in mind also you have a pre- admidtance interview and essay as to why you want to study to become a Paramedic. Good luck in your research. I am enrolled in an excellent program through Community College of Allegheny County....I start my classes on the 12th of this month. Good luck...

welcome form the western Pa area!!!! This is a field full of sooooo many variables that it is amazing. I too have a sales back ground but went into this field because of my love of helping people. I am on my way to medics school. Take your time and really research the field. If you can go to a local Ambulance company and ask if you can do a ride-a-long and see what a " typical" day is like. Be a pain in the butt ans aske a ton of question and then decide if this is really what you want to do. Just a hint though....I noticed you said you wanted to make alot of money while working.....this field isn't always the best paying......and the hours are really screwy at times. As I have learned the only sure thing in this field is your start time. You may not get to punch out exactly when you are scheduled to........it is just the narture of the field. I seriously wouldn't trade my career for anything in the world. good luck and I hope you find all the answers you are looking for... sassy

[/font:9fabfa9699] Congrats !!!! Good luck on the next part of your test!!! I start my Medics class next month. Can't waite because it is a dream that has taken too many years to begin.....any words of advise???

I am in western Pa and agree...the wages here are some of the lowest I have ever heard of from anyone..... I work for a small company just north of Pittsburgh and I am only making $8.49 an hour, considered part time and have no benefits. The irony of sorts is that we contract for transports from a major hospital chain in pittsburgh. I am going back to medics school in a coupe of months so my pay will increase but that is not why I am going back...I want the ability to provide my patients the best prehospital care I can..... It may be insanity to say this but let's face it....no matter where you are at geopraphically or certification wise....We are a truly under paid and under appriciated field......we lift and carry as much as heavy construction workers....run the risk of being called to testify in a court of law .........place our lives and our mental health in danger every time a tone drops for us to go.....and yet we still do it with a smile on our faces ( in front of the patient if no where else) and if asked if we would do it again tomarrow say ....YES!!!!!! I agree that as a whole those in the EMS fiel should be paid better than we are......but unfortunately in some places (like here in western Pa ) you need a union in your company to get that pay.....

Ever since I was a little girl and saw my first episode of "Emergency" I was fascinated and wanted to know more about the field. Spent my high school years as a nurses aide and after 10 years in retail customer service I wanted a change. I decided to follow the one dream I always had ......to be come a paramedic. I took the first step in my training two years ago and got my EMT-B and next fall will start my medic training. Ultimately I plan on attaining the status of flight medic. But for now I enjoy what I do and enjoy it when my youngest son calls me his " rescue hero".

EMSgeek, the best advise I could re-state is Call your medical command if the inhaler doseage isn't working......they have the power to authorize the epi-pen administration. never be afraid to call them....that was always stressed to me in my emt training....if ALS is deayed and you are the first there and you are delayed in transport (due to weather or unexpected road delays) or your patient's conditions during transport call medical command and meet up as as soon as you can with ALS.

sdowler....... A word of advise....it's hard enough to be a basic in this field......don't make those of us who love what we do for a living and are tryng to prove our worth to the medics look like a bunch of idiotic fools. Protocols are there to be folowed. They are not something we use to belittle or try to over ride a medic with. Follow your scope of practice...... Put your patients first!!! Stop trying to be in a pissing match with a Paramedic. Spend your energy learning everthing you can to help your patient and to better be able to know when you need a Medic by your side......believe me some day you will need one .......

no he has it right..... marines are first ones the scene to size it up and secure it.......then Army comes in .........support.......

cosgrojo, With a short esssay...is that one or two pages? Don't forget to watch out for all the plagerizing and just plain copying of other peoples work. Do those pages include footnotes and biblyography? How about the referenc page??? :shock: :pale: What about spacing??? Double spacing or single??? Front and back of the paper or just front? :shock: Man this could take a long time to complete.......

oooooh! ooooh! me! me! (waving hand in air ) I know the answer to this one!!!! it's letter A!!!...........right?......

thanks Dustdevil!

dustdevil, I know I have a lot to learn about this field but I look forward to the challange. I just want my small contribution to be the best it can be and to make my mark as one of the best there is out there for my knowledge as well as my compassion tword my patients and their families. High goal??? Maybe. But this basic likes to keep her goals high, her mind open to all she can learn and all those questions out there that are yet to be asked.

Can it be a multiple choice quizz????

spenac.... careful that there isn't a test on what you read........ :shock: .

dustdevil...... Just wondering .......... were you ever a basic or did you just train as a field medic with the military and then challange the civilian Medics boards???? I respect your stand on many of the topics you have posted on that is why I wondered. If that is the road you took it would explain why you feel that only medics would be on the trucks......

Dustdevil..... I am working on obtaining those pre reqs you mentioned.....as well as taking on line con -ed classes to advance my knowledge in this field.....to be very honest your post hasn't angered or offended me in the least it has just made me more determined than every to comple my medic training and be one of the best in the field with my own unique blend of knowledge and compassion. I have confidence that when I have accomplished my goals I will be able to confidently and honestly treat my patients in the most comprehensive , caring and professional manner possible.

first .....because there are more basics out here like me than people may realize second... for those of us who love this field and want to advance how are we going to get the field experience and exposure befor going on to Medic training...... would you rather have a basic like me in the truck with you learining the everyday deails , having a good base to work from and then going onto get my medics knowing you were having a hand in training some of the best Medics in the field?

JakeEMT, I am not at all upset by what you said I think I didn't quite state things super clear though.....I want to be able to use those skills to calm the patient so that your assesment can go quickly and transport will not be delayed......not to hinder it.......I'm sorry I didn't clarify what I ment......

Dustdevil...... That is why I am going back to get my medics........I do believe that being empathetic in your communications makes one a very valuable Basic as well and a Medic.......

As an Emtb i disagree that we should only be used in a nonemergency transport field..... I have been the first ems personel on the scene when an austic child was injured and unable to comunicate with even the care giver there......this child was so emotionally overloaded that a totally emotional "shut down " was apparent.....I was the only one who could reach this child and had to be there with ALS so they could transport the child.......the medic on duty had experience working with children but not with an autistic child......I have worked with autistic children( and their numbers are gowing), I have three boys who all have Aspbergers Syndrom which is a for of autism, two autistic nephews and a close friend with and autistic son. As a basic provider I feel that if I have this kind of knowledge and experience not only have I shared it with my employer but also my fellow ems providers then I want and need to be allowed on the truck to be there for these cases and any other cases I may be able to assist with. I have posted earlier some of the experiences I have had over an 18year time span befor becomming a Basic....I have been a Basic for two years.......I have still relied on my experince from those past years when working with my patients. I am one who will fight for Basics to have a chance to back up a Medic and be there to be that person who has just the right comforing tone in my voice for a rape victim or a victim of domestic violance....I want to be there to have that special silly smile for the youngster who is so scared all they want to do is curl up and hide even when it shurts so bad all they can do is cry......I want to be that one special voice of compassion who is able to reach that elderly patient who just is too tired to care weather they fight or not........I want to be the voice of sincere honest understaning for the suicidal patient who can't find a reason to go on....and the sound steady voice of hope for the family membr of a patient in anaphlaxic shock who isn't sure if they did the right steps proir to us gettting there..... These are just a few of the reasons I went through the training for my basics and now am looking into training for my Medics........I am proud of the fact I am a Basic...I will nver forget my training and one day hope that I am lucky enough to have a basic partner who is as passionate about this field as I feel.....

JPINFV wrote:The "routine transport calls" such as dialysis, doctors office, wound care, discharges, etc don't require an ambulance. Those generally require nothing more than an oxygen tank, a gurney, and a van (like wheel chair vans). My comment to this dear is that these "routine tansport calls" in wheel cair vans happen to also in clude dementia patients, dialysis patients with histories of MIA, diabetic complications, and various unknown mental health issues. I know I worked on a wheel chair van for a while......loved my patients but I never knew when a dementia patient I was transporting would flip out or if one of my dialysis patints woul have a diabetic episode or if chest pains would begin in the middle of transport....as an EMTB all I had on my van was a basic jump kit and an average ALS response time of about 15min at best.......I know my training so to be honest I knew I could stablize until someone came or be able to get to a medical facility quickly if the clearance was given and my transport time was less than the response time of an ALS crew.

the only people on the crew of an EMS ambulance should be highly educated medical professionals. EMTs simply do not even come close to meeting that definition. But, if it makes you feel any better, neither do most paramedics in the U.S. Yet. And that is what we are trying to change. That change will never happen if you can still be one of us with a 3 week first aid course. Dustdevil, I want to become one of those medical professionals you spoke of.....I am fininding that most of the medics I talk to say that I should be in the field at least one to two years befor going on to paramedics training. Suggestions on that????.... As for the three week training course ........I went through a slightly longer course time including the ride along tme I put in....I also have to maintain at least 24 credit hours of continous education certification over a three year peroid to keep my emt certification up dated. I feel confident that when I transport my patients on a BLS call I a giving them the best care I can at my level......again I want to go on and get my paramedics and then on to become a flightmedic.

Being an EMTB and reding the various posts in regards to defending the position has been most eductional. I must say that when I took my course to become an emt it was because for almost 18years prior I was responding to falls,chest pain cases, suicide situations and other prehospital calls and loving the feel of satisfaction in being there for my patiens. I just felt that I needed more training to help these folks out. Now I have that training..... I have experience as a first responder dealing with some of the same calls as I now do as an EMT_B but I have access to better means of assistance an stablization methods. I love what I do! I would love to one day have my paramedics certification and beome a flight medic but until that time I just want a chance to do what I was trained and have experience doing. I have read in these posts( and if I am reading them wrong please let me know) that is some places folks don't want emtbs in their companies......Why? We are usually the ones first on the scene who have calmed the patient down.....checked out the scene and surveyed what caused symptoms......we are the ones who can turn to a medic and give you a complete report on what is gong on....what was seen when first on scene.....stablizing the patient for you so we can transport..... In my very humble Emt-b opinion Paramedics need us in the field.....not just for straight bls calls but aso for those times when you can't get there fast enough or when you need an extra hand calming a patient or a family member.........teach us how you feel comfortalbe handling things on a call but don't shut s out of the field......there are those of us who bring so much life experience to this field and all we want is a chance to prove how much of an asset we can be.

prpgfirerescuetech....you said about the wages around Allegheny General in pitsburgh being higher.....I am from just north of you and if you are lucky an EMTB will start out at 7.75/hr.....not very good benefits and have to fight sometimes to stay on the trucks constanlty because you are at the bottom of the pole an run paratrnsit most of your time.....i know of EMTs in your area working with two companies just to make ends meet......... i have been fortunate to find company that pays a little higher but as long as I am on the truck and working with my patients I am a happy girl..... I do agree though that around here the pay does need to be higher...... cheryl