Just Plain Ruff

13 hours ago, jkahanov770 said:

hi all, just graduated, and awaiting my ny state card.  very excited!  so just looking for tips on good places to start my career, i am a total newbie but want a good start with best company to grow with benefits.  thanks.

Lot's of good info in this site from good people.  Listen to the advice given it may save you a lot of heartache in the long run.  

We know that you probably only want 911 or emergency transport experience but that's very competetive (at least in Missouri it is, I would assume New York is as well) so look into getting experience in a non-emergency service as well.  

Listen, watch, ask questions, drive safely(you have not only your life in your hands but your partners, your patients an oftentimes at least one other family members in your hands as well).  

Learn  your job and do it well before trying to learn the medics job.  (many of my emt's never learned that aspect of their role). 

Know where everything is on your truck, down to the alcohol swabs.  You never know when you are going to need to go get some for your partner.  

i know you asked about places to work, but this is good solid advice for a newbie.  

On 5/24/2009 at 10:40 AM, tskstorm said:

 

Don't be a hater just because they fired you ... I'm sure everyone on here will agree what you did was not professional and there is no room for that in this profession.

 

FYI have you seen the new midwood flier? Your co-conspirator and your old partner (and mine for that matter) is on it.

ooooh  what did he do?? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Well they can say they are THEEE BEST all they want but what's their pass rate for students on the national registry?  that's the proof if they are the best. 

If their students can't pass the registry then they haven't done their job. 

Again, if they make you do push ups and other physical punishment because of someone else's issue, that's douchbaggery 101, it sounds like they are modelling it after boot camp.  YOu aren't paying money to the school to help them discipline someone else.  

But you are in it now so play along with the pseudo-drill sergeants and if the troublemakers keep making trouble, it might be time to have a come to jesus meeting with them.  

Hi Lindsay,  you mean that if one of you mess up you have to do push ups or their uniforms not pressed or tucked in.  What a bunch of powerhungry douche bags.  I'm sorry that they put you through that sort of crap.  That type of stuff does absolutely nothing but make the rest of you resent the one who is having problems.  I already dislike this program already.  

Please don't take an accelerated paramedic course.  And I honestly do hope you do pass.  

But one piece of advice if you do pass and get your EMT license.  Immediately enroll in a state recognized EMT refresher course, because you are going to need it based on the accelerated pace of this course and trying to learn 4-5 chapters a day, pretty tough to learn 4-5 chapters out of a history book, let alone a medical book, even if it is a basic EMT book.  A good physician friend of mine once told me  "Michael, you really don't know what you really don't know, when you really don't know" and this is a prime example of that quote.  

Persevere and keep on keeping on.  

Good luck, but your program truly is run by a bunch of douchebags.  push ups, that's rich.  and yes, you can show your instructors this reply, well maybe not, they might make you do push-ups till you drop.  

First off do NOT let your job site trick you into thinking that "First Aid Coordinator" is more than what it is, "first aid"  you aren't going to be that guy who will save the day and perform all those cool procedures that you learned in class.  Unless like MedicGirl said, unless your company wants to employ a medical director, write a bunch of protocols and all that jazz, all you are going to be able to do is what's in that first aid kit and CPR.  

If you go doing all that fun stuff you learned and put yourself out as an emt and doing things that an EMT can do but without someone backing you, you put liability on you and on your company.  Bad mojo ya know.  

Stick with basic first aid and CPR until EMS gets there.  It's great that you want to help but for your company to put you at risk legally is pretty poor form.  If they do make you First Aid Coordinator, get your SOP's in writing and make sure what you can and cannot do is just basic first aid.  If they are expecting that you act in the manner of an EMT then they need to be paying you those types of wages as well as following the State you live in guidelines.  You might want to contact the state to discuss what you can and cannot do on the job site.  

just my 2 cents, not really worth 2 cents but based on the current exchange rate of the dollar to dinar.  

So is this a EMT course?  First off, let me wish you luck.  Now let me say some things about these courses

Do you feel like you have learned what you paid to learn?  Do you have other outside commitments that have kept you from your studies?  Kids?  husband? work?  

This is the problem in my opinion about these courses

1.  You have 5 weeks to learn what others are given at least an entire college semester to learn.  Unless a student is super motivated and really has ABSOLUTELY NO other commmitments in their life, this type of course is definatley NOT for them

2.  The accelerated nature of this type of course does not give much wiggle room to return to a subject that you might not understand to get more knowledge on.  At least in a longer course structure period you could revisit something and get more info on it, this type of course doesn't seem to allow it unless you spend your minimal extra time reviewing.  It seems like your shortcomings in this class is the Scene size up and Patient assessment skills which is a big part of what an EMT does.  

Honestly,  I am not a big fan of these courses.  But I truly wish you luck on your endeavor.  I think you have been using some of the better resources to prepare but this may not have been the correct format for you to learn though.  Not a negative comment directed at you though, this 5 week course may not fit your learning style.  

Most services I've worked for have required that I obtain and keep CPR, ACLS and PALS from the American Heart.  

Not saying that there is anything wrong with American Red Cross but they just dont' have the level of respect of EMS systems for certifications as the AHA does.  

That's a big category/question. Lots of opportunity but kind of  hard to get  your foot in the door on a group like that.  

I've I have not really seen anything advertised so you would really have to know someone to get in to that type of group or know someone from this site who knows a guy like something like that.  Does that make sense?  

Not saying the jobs aren't out there but you just aren't going to find them advertised on the internet or a local paper.  It's a niche job and I think I'm not out of my depth here but this type of job would not be a permanent or a job with lots of job security as I would suspect the jobs would be like my consulting jobs, seasonal or short term in nature. 

i know, I know, I've told you nothing, but tenacity and perseverance wins the race most of the time and most of the footwork must be done by you.  

Brother/Sister, I have done that. It's liberating but was terrifying at the time I did it.  I left EMS for IT consulting and I was scared whitless.  I remained at my EMS job part time but in the end, I mostly retired and have not been happier.  

Have you thought about finding work with a smaller rural service that is less busy yet provides patient care/transport/benefits of a small service?

Sometimes a break is all you need.  6 months to do something different.  Do you have the means just to travel the country?  

Trust me, EMS will not die without you working in it for a year or so!!!  

Teaching point

What is lividity?

Answer that question and you I think answer your question to this group.

But no I would not have worked this patient either.  Lividity to me, equals death.  Lividity added to unwitnessed no estimated down time definately equals death.

the dead person is no longer your patient.  The family is.  Walk them through what is going to go on from here on out.  Prep them for when the coroner gets there and their loved one is prepped to be removed from the home.  Ask if you can help them make phone calls if they need someone to be called like a family member or their pastor or Imam or whoever they want you to call for them. 

If the police are there, you more than likely can clear the scene and leave.  there is no sense for you to remain on scene if you do not have to.  

go with the flow on what feels comfortable and right.  there ARE NO right or wrong answers here after the family member has been called.  Ped's opens a whole new dynamic and that dynamic sucks big donkey balls simply because it's a pediatric patient.  Your emotion and the emotional quotient ramps up a thousand fold especially if you have a kid about the same age as the one who passed.  

It's well known that the movie "Saving Private Ryan" has been said to be the most realistic portrayal of that day according to many vet's who were there, on those boats based on many interviews with said vets.  

When I went to see Saving Private Ryan, I could hear the quiet weeping and even open weeping from men and women in the theater from that scene.  I saw several Older men leave the theater only to come back after that scene was over.  

I wonder what the life expectancy on Omaha Beach was?  10 seconds? 60 seconds?  Long enough to make it to the sand?  

that picture makes me realize real heroes.  I am not really sure I would have had the guts to get out of that boat and swim towards that beach when all around me my friends and fellow soldiers were dying.  I just don't know. 

let us know what the answers you got were.  That way others will benefit from your efforts.  

Yes, JenJo12,  these type of questions when it's your career liveliehood on the line, are best left to those who will give you the most accurate and correct answers.  Those people are the office of EMS in your state or the NREMT if it's a NREMT question.  

We can give you advice but for any question of this magnitude is best left to the experts, not us internet jockeys, hell most of us on this site are pretty darn smart but not when it comes to this stuff.  

Both Mike and I will always refer you to the state offices or the NREMT on this type of question.  Your career depends on valid and correct advice, not Wikipedia level advice from people on this site who mean well but honestly and NO OFFENSE intended, don't know the right answer in this situation.  Again, NO OFFENSE intended Y'all.  

So give this number a call  https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/ems/    307-777-7955 or 888-228-8996   these are the right people to call..  

well most of what I'm learning is change management in an IT shop.  I already know a lot about Change management but putting it into Theory and pulling it from a book into a test form that will cost me 269.00 to take the test, that's the stressful part for me.  

Way to go brother,  I haven't set foot in a classroom in 20 years but I'm damn proud of ya!

I would go in with an open mind, let the wind take you where it will and soak up the knowledge.  You got the smarts I'm sure of it.  Just learn and never stop learning.  

I'm in a new stage as well, gonna get my ITIL certification for my IT job.  I'm thinking I'll be overwhelmed in about a week.  

But good luck to you.  We may both need it.  

the EKG book by Dale Dubin.  Don't let the history of Dale get you down on his book. 

Any book by Bob Page

Any book by Doc Bledsoe

Your teacher should know and understand that it often takes days if not weeks for this type of feeling to manifest itself.  Sounds like your Teacher is a proactive kind of guy.  He sounds like he wants to tackle these types of things head on and you NEED to call him.  He will understand.  If he's worth his teaching credentials, I'll bet he already has services lined up for these types of situations and they are just waiting to be used.  

You need to take advantage of that.  

To be blunt, we see the worst of the worst and you need to have a support system that you can count on and that you can trust.  This is a first step to develop that system.  Get the help you need.  I know to many EMS Providers and law enforcement providers who have "Eaten the wrong end of the gun" so to speak because they said they were fine.  Not saying you are there but it grows and grows until you are overwhelmed.  the sooner you get help and talk to someone the better and quicker they can provide you with coping mechanisms that will serve you throughout your career in EMS and beyond.  

Trust me.  I know.  

What a SHIT call to be on as a student, but unfortunately those calls are sometimes the ones that we get put on.  

I echo everything that was said but you need to get to your instructor and explain what call you were on.  I'm sure it's on the news and I'm sure that your instructor knows you were on that call.  they should already be reaching out to you to help you deal with this.  If they don't know you were on the call you need to tell them.  

They have resources for you to get with to help you through this as you in your post are listing out a lot of depressive descriptions and if you don't get some help it can spiral down. 

Are you cut out for this business?  I can't answer that but if you weren't feeling the way you are feeling and you asked me that question I would scream out "GET THE HELL AWAY from patients" as your lack of feelings disturbs me but you don't have that vibe so I'm going to go with yes you are cut out for this business simply because you are expressing sorrow, sadness and being human.  Some of the best humans I know are the best medics I know.  

But your first job is your mental health and brother/sister you need to talk to someone.  If your EMS program won't provide it, then it SUCKS big donkey balls and then it's up to you to find it else where.  the next step would be to return to the EMS agency you rode with that night and talk to them and tell them exactly what you wrote in this forum.  Let them know how affected you were on this call.  

OPENNESS Is key here.  

My first day in EMS as a EMT was a horrible day, had an adult code/trauma code and a pedi code in one 24 hour shift.  I nearly left the station at end of shift and never came back.  But I did and no shift was ever as bad as that and I did not ask for nor receive any help and now I'm as f'd up as any 20 year veteran, but not because of that day.  But seriously, we have Code Green, we have other programs out there for just such a situation as yours.  

they are all available for you but they only open up to you if you ask for them to be given to you.  You took the first step here, but you must take the first step in your world.  

I wish you good luck.  We are always here but nothing takes the place of face to face.  

I just did.  

14 hours ago, Spock said:

I'm sure CCMEDIC didn't know Dust passed away some time ago but you do have to admire his passion and I hope he does return to the city at some point.  He may be to embarrassed at this point but I hope he reconsiders since it might spark the kind of debates that Dust really loved.

May the Tube be with you

Spock

I agree   I hope he returns.  I do not hold his post against him.  I'd love to see what he has to contribute to this forum.  It's been sorely lacking a Dust for a long long time.  

or Don't rock the boat

By the way, I hate being told no.  Being told that "it's the way it's always been done"