TJZ

Congratulations!!!

Now I am on to paramedic I am out of money though, so I am going to apply with a local transport service hopefully they can help me out with my three goals. Money, education and experience. YAY!!

LOl Dust. Good point. Top that with one person's good is another's bad. My good was taught by a practicing EMS flight nurse that gave us more than we needed to pass the test because it is better if you know why you are doing something. He quizzed daily and accepted no excuses. Many called him a hard ass but I loved him. I am not just saying that because he is gone now (see med flight crash, 3 exceptional people killed) I say that because I truly feel I will be able to provide good pre-hospital care.

Shit, that is what I am scared of lol. I was in an incredibly good course. I am afraid that I may have over thought the whole thing. Well, if that is what I did then I will just have to take it again and try to keep it as simple as possible. I really hope that is not the case.

I did my NREMT Basic CBT this morning at 8. I am not a morning person but did not want to wait 3 more weeks for a better time slot. I did not pay attention to how many questions I had but it was under 70. I keep thinking over the questions and wondering if I did in fact choose the right answer that was "more right". I get so anxious during the test and then am a wreck while I wait for the results. 2 business days is going to kill me. All that I keep thinking is "is it possible that I could have failed, what if they were going for... instead" I may have just given myself away as a nut case lol I did feel like this after my course final and came out of that with a 97, why am I not confident? I just wish there was one right answer or the entire scenario was laid out because I DO know my stuff. Well, if all else fails (if I fail) I will be right back as soon as they let me.

interesting fact - many gay men do not like or have anal sex

I love Louis!

Many of the hospitals have paramedic jobs in WI ERs. I have been eyeing them

I am noticing this as well and I am just a basic. It looks to me as if my best option is working for a transport service. At least they will get me experience and reimburse for paramedic so not all bad

I have to go on record as thinking this is a bad idea as well. In Madison all 3 of our hospitals are very busy most all the time. It is not uncommon to be at UW for 8 hours with a non life threat. Of course they are the trauma magnet so.... I have seen it from the patient perspective and spent many years "behind the scenes" as a custodian. There is not wasted time chattering, in fact I saw very few completed personal conversations. When I did my clinicals we did not rest the entire time. We did fluff pillows some but mostly we were working for the patients real, emerget needs. I even did a stint entering the patient report cards into the computer and it was true, the wait is the biggest bitch. Some people just can't understand why the stroke patient went in before they did when their arm is broken and it hurts.

Thank you everyone for the condolences. Asys I would agree with you but I do not have a connection to working in EMS and losing people. I was started on the acceptance of loss a very long time before EMS and actually deal with it shockingly well. Some say I am a bit warped, possibility because I started as a custodian at UW hospital in the OR at 16 and stayed until I was 24. At least I have been exposed to things and know how I handle them. The hysterical parents are the hardest for me, I would bet that is true of most people. The way of the world as arranged for my break either way though since I have to wait for my NREMT CBT appointment, then wait for my letter in the mail, then wait for my license, then find a job. Mark's death is a sad thing for me since I was really hoping to have him as my paramedic instructor but he has done more for me than I ever could have asked. Even before the class, when he just came in with the helicopter as I worked to get the room ready for the trauma patient he was bringing. It saddens me that he is gone but there are so many that they all touched, they have impacted more lives than many people could ever hope. He said flat out in class that he did not want to become a feeble old man and that he would go fast if given the choice. It is my opinion that he got much of what he wanted out of life

megemyb I will be taking my EMTB NREMT CBT at 8 AM on the 31st! Good luck to us both. I am nervous mostly because I had an appointment for the 14th of June but got someone's cancellation spot. Now it seems like it is tomorrow! The practical is a breeze and I am sure you will do just fine.

I have to admit that my goal is to be rural WI. Aiming for paramedic, might get so bold as to work on our reservation. Caring for family all the time might be taxing though...we will see. We do have the very best woods in WI

It has taken me some time to post this but I just want to share with as many as possible how much these 3 gave and what a loss to all of Wisconsin it is that they are gone. I have completed my EMT-B with Mark Coyne as my instructor and he was incredible. He died 2 days before our NREMT practical exam. We went on as planned and I - despite crying while splinting- rocked that test. He told us the last day that we saw him to have fun with it because if he had let us get to his point we knew it. He was right. All that I need do now is pass that computerized exam on Saturday. Thank you Mark for the start you gave me, I just wish I could have you as my paramedic instructor. I guess I could also be glad that I got my first CISD out of the way. Below is the newspaper article. UW Med Flight crew dies in crash Tamira Madsen and Steve Elbow Three people died late Saturday night as a UW Med Flight helicopter crashed near La Crosse, UW Hospital officials confirmed, prompting a temporary shutdown of the Med Flight program. Dr. Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer were killed in the crash. Bean, who joined UW Hospitals as a Med Flight surgeon in 2002, was the Madison Fire Department's medical director. "It's just terrible. It's such a loss for us," said Madison Fire Chief Debra Amesqua, who learned of the helicopter's disappearance at about 4 a.m. "He was just such an emotional and energetic powerhouse, and it was just so infectious." The helicopter departed at about 10:30 p.m. for Madison after dropping off a patient to be admitted to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse. Med Flight officials were not successful in attempts to contact the pilot through radio communications, and the initial search began 30 minutes later. In a statement, UW Hospital officials said, "the aircraft may have flown into a hill and/or struck some trees." Mark Hanson, the director of UW's Med Flight program, said the area was wooded. This is the first crash for the program in its 22 years of operation. In the statement, hospital officials said, "Following standard protocol, the second Med Flight helicopter has been taken out of service." They wouldn't comment on the cause of the crash, although they said no radio communication was received after the helipcoter took off. A large-scale search effort was initiated 11 p.m. Saturday, but the search was hampered because of weather conditions, precluding an air search. The search was conducted by foot and road vehicle. The crash site was discovered by firefighters on foot at about 8:40 a.m. four miles east of the La Crosse Airport, near Keil Coulee Road in the town of Medary. The FAA is investigating the crash. Hanson said the Med Flight program would be grounded pending FAA clearance. UW's medical helicopters were operated by CJ Systems Aviation Group of Pittsburgh, Penn., until October of last year, when it was bought out by Air Methods Corp. of Denver, the world's largest air ambulance operator, according to the company's web site. No one at the company was available for comment today. In 2005 UW Med Flight program celebrated its 20th year in service, and currently has 22 doctors and 10 nurses assigned to its staff. The downed helicopter is one of two the program uses. Last year it adopted a new Eurocopter EC 135 air rescue aircraft, leased from Air Methods, to replace two Italian models that had been used for a decade. At the time of its 20th anniversary, the program had transported more than 20,000 patients, according to published new accounts from the time. Bean, the Madison Fire Department's medical director since January of 2007, leaves a big hole at the Fire Department, spokeswoman Lori Wirth said. "He was so full of life, it's really, really difficult to wrap your head around the fact that he's gone," she said. "He did so much. It was unbelievable," she said. "He taught, he was an ER doctor, he worked for us, and he was a Med Flight surgeon." She described him as a "very involved father" to his two young children, a boy and a girl. Coyne had been a nurse for over 20 years, while Lipperer, an employee of Air Methods, had 10 years of experience working as a pilot. Gov. Jim Doyle today issued a statement saying: "Dr. Darren Bean, Mark Coyne and Steve Lipperer dedicated themselves to rescuing people who faced the longest odds, and we owe them tremendous gratitude for their extraordinary service and dedication. I pray for them, their families and all the others who love them." Meanwhile, Hospital Chief Executive Officer Donna Katen-Bahensky said officials will bring in social workers to help the survivors' families and members of the hospital staff deal with the tragedy. "I think it goes without saying that UW Health is very much like a family," Katen-Bahensky said. "The staff are very much connected to each other and this is a tremendous loss to our staff, but also to the families and friends of those who died. "We're going to take good care of each other."

I can tell you what helped me (I am a 34 yr old mother of three but not single...) Even if you are not using the books you can go to http://www.emtb.com/9e/ It is the website for the text we used and is helpful even if you are using different text. Go through all of it and you will get good practice. How much and where are you studying? I may be completely odd but I was originally isolating myself to study and it was not doing it for me. I started sitting in the living room and letting the chaos of the house surround me as I studied and telling my kids and husband about what I was learning as I went. Sounds crazy but I just got my final grade last night and I passed with a 96. I am not saying that this will work for you but I am saying experiment and find what works for you. You will have to dedicate a lot of time to this and I am sure that being a single mother is going to make this very hard. I wish you a ton of luck. One more thing.... as a single mother just trying to better her family's life what made you choose EMS? I only say because it is a bit dangerous and not very well paid as far as lines of work go. Maybe something like a CDL would better suit your situation. Short hands on classes. Good pay after you are licensed. You could drive a school bus and make 16 per hour and take the kids with you to work... Just a thought

wow 4cmk6 that's hardcore A good friend would go that far in the end I agree. I hope it does not come to that.

Sounds like depression. I would advise counseling but also just be there for the friend and try to make many of the visits over a meal. Depression can take away the will to do things for yourself (like prepare food). I hope that your friend gets help, depression is real and can be treated. I would remind them that problems are best dealt with when you are in the best condition you can be. Being malnourished is only going to exacerbate things.

It is common place here that EMTs are viewed as "almost law" in the sense that they will not get let in to places even when it is a life and death situation. It is known that an EMT will have to report crimes. This already hinders the medical care that could be given. I do not see much of how this will really change anything but the wording and publicity level. This is based on the fact that I do not think that EMTs will start searching houses that they get into. It is true that as Americans we have let go our freedoms by the handful in the interest of the "war" on terror. I would hope that we would not let it go that far, that is very close to random searches IMHO. Of course my faith in that is shaky seeing how much we have let go without a fight. Sad part of that is that I can't get over how much it feels like the terrorists winning when we run around destroying what makes us a great country (the constitution) in a fit of terror.

I have a lot more questions Do I know the area? How is the 4 miles being determined? Is there any police help? Did I take the call or was it dispatch? I ask these because if it were an area I know I could make good guesses as to where they were drinking before he fell etc.

I also love third shift. I am going into this hoping for third shift myself. My husband worked 3rd for many years and we had a lot of time together. I worked it before then. Just think of it as reversing the sleep and work time. Make sure you stick to it all the time. 3rd is hard if you re trying to be 1st on the weekend. We found that it is nice to have from 8 in the morning until 2pm. Maybe visit her during her lunch if her work schedule is conflicting.

I could come up with a new one every single day I love movies lol Today's picks will be "You'll have to kill me before I die" from Yellowbeard and from X-Men Rogue - "I saved your life" Wolverine - "no you didn't"

I will be following the same protocol as I have been my entire life until fully certified, even after pretty much. I will do what I can before the EMTs get there and step back offering any knowledge I have come on of the situation and help that they request. Sometimes just a reach this, grab that can make a big difference, just as not being in the way can.

It really does seem a lot to learn in a short time. I hope I can do it as well as I aim to. I am glad that I have found this site and purchased my text early. I bet you will kick butt this next time!

For me as well the actual making of the cards would be a very big help. With only >$3 I would go with a note book instead

Hi, I guess a bit of an intro is in order although I do not care much for trying to sum myself up in a sentence I have not yet started class for my EMT-B, that is Jan. I am about half way through the text for the first time on my own and am collecting as much info as I can. (I like to go over things on my own then again for the class) I have been a stay at home mom for about 10 years, married and have 3 kids. Now moving on to my next goal and challenge.