SSG G-man

Well, EMT-B's here don't do IVs. I am worried about missing tings and forgetting steps. I plan on pulling out my EMT text book and protocols and study for a while before I get back in the box. Sarge

I have not been able to run a call in about 3 months and it looks like another three months before I will be able to go back. I broke my arm in May and had to have some major surgery on it. I had thought I was going back soon, and was worried about getting back in the saddle. Now that my wait will be even longer, I am very worried about what will have happened to my skills by the time I get in the box again. Has anyone ever gone through this? If so how did you handle going back? A few friends have said they think its like riding a bike, it will all come back to me. I am hoping that having done the basics the same way all the time it will be like my military training and will come back when I need it. Thoughts? Thanks. Sarge.

In MD We are taught Middle Bottom Top. Which worked for the straps and the KED as a whole. We had to at least clip the top strap before going on, but could come back and tighten it later. SARGE

I am a volunteer, so we do not get "fitted" stuff. I have worn the jump suits, I like the fit and the pockets. They were very heavy and treated to for BSI purposes. We also have a two piece set that is pants and a jacket. They are are water and BBP resistent and very hot. Called "foul weather gear" by some at department. Both the uniforms have reflective striping on them. The foul weather stuff has more. I guess since we are volunteer and only go out for calls, I do not mind the flight suit. I do agree that badges need to be done away with. Do not understand why FD has badges in the first place. I do like the idea of hats. Some one said not ball cap style. Then what? The Bus Driver look? I have that with my Army Dress Blues and I do not think practical. BDU style hat in color to match uniform? May the cornered Marine style BDU cap? Just my $.02 Sarge

My question is why do you only want input from those working in EMS? I am in the Military full time, but going through a divorce. My soon to be ex gets over half my income, so I am looking for ways to increase my income. This fall I am starting to work on my Masters Degree in Emergency and Disaster Planning. I also plan to get the Volunteer Fire Department I run with to put me through some HAZMAT classes. In the building where I work I am on the committee (Emergency Preparedness Team) thats sets up and conducts training for the occupants, sets the emergency procedures, trains or has training brought in for an in house Medical response Team. I do all this in hopes of being able to increase my income greatly in the next few years when I leave the military. But I am also looking for ways to increase it in the interim, since I also nee money now!! Sarge I

What network is it on? I like to watch and critique!!!

Well, There is one point I want to make. IT is that just because someone is a volunteer does not mean they see less calls that a paid person. Our countys career staff (we have a crew in our volunteer station) each individual is scheduled 9 days a month. On average from talking to them they run about 15 calls per month. There are months, since I volunteer and can be there as much as I want, I run 30-45 calls. So who sees more calls? So paid vs Volunteer does not mean more experience. Also, do not forget a lot of volunteers are also paid to do it some where else!! I call for als intercept when some thing is beyond my scope of knowledge. If the call is dispatched and a medic unit is in route, I have put them in service if I realize I can handle. I feel I am both a little trained and alittle educated. And I guess since I managed a couple of college degrees and to advance to where I am in the military, I might have some critical thinking skills. I refresh my training as often as I can, and I broaden my knowledge by reading and talking to people with more experience and education than I have.

Funny story about the tape. My EMT instructor told us about doing that. We went to take the state practical test and there are all these people walking around with strips of tape on their legs. We go into a scenario and I start to write information down, but the grader says she will tells us anything we need later. So, go through the scenario and the I know I am forgetting something. Grader asks what the tape is for. I say to write down important information. Then it hits me I need to tell her something. So I do. Next scenario, same grader, only my partner is lead this time. Gets to end of scenario and she asks what is tape for. Same response as mine, to write things down on. Then he pulls out his answer. I gave him grief because I looked stupid for not remembering, but after she made a point about it, he did the same thing. I do not always use tape, but it does come in handy sometimes. I often write it directly on the Pt Report. Depending on what kind of call.

The system I was taught in is most for education of Volunteers. The only organization I remember being mentioned was NREMT. To my knowledge I am the only person from my class who got even took the NREMT exam. I did it because of being in the military I thought it would help if I was moved somewhere else. In my station I think the only other people with NR are the paramedics who have to take it. Most people do not plan on going anywhere so they stick with taking the state exam and refreshers. I wish there was more emphasis in my system on Professional Development, and continuing education. We are lucky enough to be a short distance from Baltimore where the EMSToday is held each year. IT is an opportunity almost no takes advantage of. Last year My EMS Chief, his wife also a paramedic and myself were the only people from our statio to attend. I could not attend this year because Uncle Sam had some other plans for me that week!

I am hoping to go paid part time with my county EMS in the near future. I am also going to work toward my paramedic to have EMS as my second career when I retire from the military.

Full time Soldier! Sarge

Thanks! I don't mean to come off like an idiot. I just want to learn as much as I can.

I am a relatively new EMT, but always willing to learn. Can someone tell me what Cushings Triad and Becks are? I think I have heard the terms before but do not know the sins/symptoms. Thanks! Sarge

I know what you are saying about the lights. Most of our fire apparatus has the rotating lights at approximately rear view mirror level. I have only been in this business about 2 years, so I had no clue it was an old idea. Should have known if my dumb self could come up with it someone else would have, too. I think that with advances in technology, it would not be too expensive these days. With onstar and sat radio now becoming standard features.... I figured it was worth throwing out there. Sarge

I recently completed an Emergency Vehicle Operators Course. It is mostly a class room setting with some actual driving portions. Many aspects of Emergency Vehicle Operations were discussed. One topic discussed lead me to an idea to fix a problem we discussed as another topic. We discussed the fact that some stations in our area have Opticon, which can change traffic lights to give the emergency vehicles a green light. This helps to avoid crossing a dangerous intersection, avoids pushing vehicles into intersections, etc. In another topic we talked about how it seems many vehicles do not seem to notice you until you are right behind them. We talked about reasons why. Vehicles are being built better today and eliminate a lot of outside noise, including sirens. There was also discussion of how a vehicle can actually move fast enough to make the siren basically ineffective very far infront of the vehicle. I am still trying to grasp the physics of this one. Well my idea is this and I want to know if anyone thinks this is plausible. What if all emergency vehicles could be outfitted with a transmitter similar to the opticon, but it would activate a receiver in all passenger vehicles. The receiver in the vehicles would have an alarm like a seatbelt alarm on one of the back up sensors, or even a voice. This would let the driver know that an emergency vehicle is approaching. I am in no way any kind of engineer, but it seems like this would be a workable idea. A vice similar to a GPS could announce "Emergency vehicle approaching." This would make the driver aware and they could them be more alert. I would think the system might even be able to detect the direction of approach. "Emergency Vehicle approach from rear." I would think with the engineering of todays vehicle this would not be an expensive addition. Please provide any thoughts or feedback you may have.

CHBARE- Hey. The Army is at it again!! 91W is now 68W!!!! The chenges never end!

Lotho Chubb of Deephallow Cool! Sarge

I do not have them for EMS, but I went through vista print for cards for my job. I got a second set for an additional duty I had as a member of our building emergency preparedness team. For the small shipping charge I thought they were great. Nice patriotic background. I have had many people ask me where I got them. Some times I think the cool card which lead to extra conversation has helped them remember me. I have several times gotten call backs from people I did not think I would hear from. Often they would mention the business card in the conversation. To me it was well worth the investment. I must also say every order has beaten the the delivery date given when I ordered. Both times was by several days. Just my 2 cents! Sarge

Well, I never went to a school that had a basement. This guy needs to get a grip. He would have been the first to bitch if they let the kids go and one got hurt or killed on the way home. This reminds me of what goes on here when there is a possibility of snow. If the schools close and we do not get the predicted amount, parents complain. Next storm the schools stay open and we get nailed, kids are hours late getting home, same parents complain!!

I feel like this idiot lives in a bubble. I am in my late thirties and we had the same drill for tornados when I was in elementary school. He makes it sound like this is something that has only happened in the last few years. Ok, we close the school, some kids leave some are waiting for rides. What happens when twister hits and the parents are lined up in the parking lot to get their kids. We need to prepare for emergencies. Damn, look how the government is being smacked for Katrina, which in my opinion is BS. The Fed government did pretty good in responding. Had the state and local governments acted better a lot of suffering could have been avoided. But, that is another discussion.

The scariest part of class was finding out there were students in their taken the class for the fourth, fifth, seventh time. At what point do you say, "Maybe this is not for me!" I was scared thinking if it takes them this many times to pass the class what are they going to be like on street? The class was all folks who would be running in my county, so I was a little worried. I was worried what would happen if I end up scene with them, knowing how shaky their background was!! I am all for an increase in education. I wish there had been more. Sarge

Most of the time the hardest part was staying awake in class. I read the book and paid attention. Very little was difficult. The hard part comes when you get done with class. I occasional force myself to pull the book and go over stuff I do not use often. In over a year, never had an OB call. Need to refresh on that one. No getting complacent and continuing to learn is the hardest part now. If I did not have to go off to a school to promoted later this year, I would be taking EMT-I right now. My EMS chief is also a medic with the MD State Patrol. They handle the vast majority of medevac in the state. I often sit down with him and we talk scenarios and what ifs and he imparts those bits of wisdom that you do not get in class. Sarge

Well, I guess a video with a bunch of pictures of fires is cooler than what an EMS video would be. Takeing a BP, Getting NRB set up, cleaning vomit off the floor of the box, etc. Only way to make it cool would be to show all MVA scenes with firemonkeys doing extrication for us to package the pt. Lots of medevac pictures too! (Everyone loves the helicopters!) Sarge

I always enjoy learning. I am Volunteer, and our EMS chief is a Flight Medic with the State Police (Marylands primary medevac). We were sitting around the other critiquing a call I was upset with myself about. It turned into about a hour and a half of his imparting much wisdom from his many years of experience. Many things that are not taught, but can only be learned through experience, and a few things he had read recently(I need to renew that JEMS subscription). So if there are good resources out there to make me a better basic until I can progress (have to take care of the paying career first) please post away! Sarge

Only $570. I thought it woulmd be higher. To hear my friends talk about me you would think I would have maxed it. As others said, thank goodness its only for the act, not each occurance!!!!! The college years were fun!! Sarge