mcmedic18

Hunting as a wildlife management tool is a scientifically proven neccesity. It is the most efficient tool that game managers have at their disposal. Just look at attempts to use other methods such as contraceptive use for deer. Every such attempt has failed miserably, but this is the very method PETA and other animal rights groups push for. Here in Ohio, deer populations continue to grow each year, despite near record hunter harvests every year. Imagine how many deer we would have without hunting. There is a basic concept in wildlife management called carrying capacity which states that any given area can only support the nutritional needs of a given number of animals. If the population exceeds that capacity then the animals will indeed start to suffer the effects of poor nutrition, ie: reduced body weight, poor survival rates of the young, poor reproductive success and yes, starvation, all of which would eventually lead to a crash of the population numbers. This is true both in small and large areas when population growth is left unchecked. And this is exactly what would happen if hunting were to be taken out of the equation. This isn't just my opinion but proven fact. It was also brought to light recently that PETA was euthanizing dogs and cats that they could not care for in their shelters. What a bunch of hypocrites!!!

27% and damn proud of it!

:? HA! HA! HA! Very funny. I resemble that remark! Really, it is a pretty good one.

Follow this link to read an interesting take on this subject. http://www.jems.com/news_and_articles/arti...d_Identity.html

Ryder, As I said earlier, I am a new member of NREMT, but am far from being a "newbie" having been in EMS for 28 years. Maybe I am way off base with my support of the org.. If that is the case, then maybe we, as a whole, need to start a new organization to accomplish our goal of gaining the status as a profession that we all want. The problem is that most of us do not have the time or background to do this. That being said, I still think that if enough like minded people joined NAEMT and worked together, we could change it. Maybe it's a pipedream, but change has to start somewhere.

Don't want to beat a dead horse here but, in Ohio, government entities are under no legal obligation to provide EMS service. I know this first hand because when I was a member of the Board of Trustees for the local non-profit EMS Corp. which was under contract with our county to provide those services, the county commisioners decided to stop any funding for us and end the contract. When the question of them being required to provide EMS service came up, we were advised that the Ohio Attorney General had made a ruling that they were not required by law to do so. As a result of this, the individual townships had to come up with a plan to provide the service if they wanted EMS coverage. Several of them formed a joint ambulance district and one, (the one that I am a member of) merged EMS with the Fire Dept. On another topic, Duke you say that you have no use for the NAEMT. While I respect your opinion on this, I have to ask if you have checked them out recently? The organization is currently in the process of changing their by-laws so that the Board of Directors is elected directly from and by the membership. I cannot dispute what you say about the organization because I am a relatively new member, but it seems to me that this step may change how things are done. I am willing to give it a chance. I believe that the only way for us to gain the status that we deserve is to band together and work towards that goal. The only way to do that is through a National Organization and I know of no other than NAEMT. If there are others out there, I would like to find them so please pass this info on to me. If enough of us join and become active, we can change the way things are done and work to improve our status.

I have been a volunteer for nearly 28 years on a rural department. I have also worked as a career medic for the last 19 years. As a volunteer, I have served as a Board Member for our non-profit EMS Corp.. When it was established in 1973 it was one of the premier systems in the U.S.. Unfortunately, like many such organizations, it became stagnant. Over the years, the leadership failed to keep up with the times and were happy with the "status quo". Fortunately for the unit that I am a member of, we did not follow that thinking. We were the first unit in our county to have a paramedic, a defibrillator. ALS capabilities, etc. While at times we were at great odds with our leadership, we persevered and were given permission by them and aggressive protocols by our Medical Director, and were able to lead the way for our system. We have always been forward thinking and progressive. As a result of this, we are the only unit in our system to have adequate staffing. We never seem to be hurting for volunteers and have new people coming onboard on a frequent basis. We are paid by the 'run hour' which means that we only get paid while we are on a run. As a full time paramedic, for a hospital based service, I do not believe that volunteer units have anything to do with low pay for full timers. I make very good money at my job. However, it is not on par with municipal public safety employees. This is not a local issue, it is a national one. EMS as a whole is the ugly step-child in public safety. Until we, as a whole, join together and demand equality, this will not change. That is why I joined the National Association of EMT's. This is one of the largest national organizations for EMS people. They work on the state and national levels to further our cause. Until we speak as one, nothing will change. We need to stop the in-fighting and the paid vs. volunteer crap and work together. You paid people who like to bash volunteers should get to know them better. There are many volunteer departments who are as professional as any paid department. You might even learn something from them. There are many such departments who do not have the luxury of calling someone else to help them when things go bad. The same can be said for the volunteer departments learning from the paid people. Do not be so quick to judge others based on what kind of system they function in. If you really want to improve EMS as a whole, join NAEMT or a state EMS organization and become proactive.

Howdy all. My name is Dave and I have been in EMS for 27 years. I have been a paramedic for 19 years. I have been a volunteer for my entire career for a squad in Northwest Ohio, and have worked full time as a medic for several private and hospital based services for most of my 19 years as a medic. In addition to this, I have been an Ohio certified EMS Instructor for 6 years. I look forward to communicating with all of you in EMT City. And if there are any questions that I may be able to answer for any of you, feel free to ask. I will do all that I can to help out. Thanks, Dave

Sounds like pseudo-seizure to me. I have seen this on several occasions during my 27 year career. Many times it is brought on as a result of a psychological problem. There are ways to test for faking, such as an ammonia inhalant under the nose or an attempt to insert a nasopharyngeal airway. Both of these noxious stimuli will wake a faker right up. The thing to remember is that you should never assume that someone is faking. To do so would be unprofessional at the least and possibly negligent, which could lead to a myriad of legal problems. As an EMS Instructor it appals me that a so called instructor would tell his or her students to start bilateral 14 ga. IV's on a stable medical patient for the practice. To quote a recent article in JEMS, "you practice on mannequins, you perform on patients."