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FireMedicChick164

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Posts posted by FireMedicChick164

  1. oh yes, I am all well too aware of that fact and I was the one who pushed for my docs to find something to control my asthma. I always carry my inhaler and epi pen with me because I am not taking ANY chances! :)

  2. I was hospitalized a few times last year with my asthma and once for a bee sting (allergic). Haven't been tubed yet but it's come close to it. I finally got on meds that reduced my symptoms by quite a bit so we are aiming for no hospital visits this year for me (except for taking my patients in, of course). :)

  3. I have been in EMS for 12 years now and have finally landed a job that I love. I work in onsite construction site medicine and it's great. For years I worked private EMS on a bus and ended up hating it for a number of reasons so I quit. I have always wondered about people in other parts of the country/world who have jobs in the EMS field. What do you guys like and dislike about you job?

  4. I'm an asthmatic. In all honestly when my asthma gets so bad I start getting tired out I welcome any assistance. On the other hand if you came at me with a tube and didn't knock my ass out first I'd start swinging! Just my two cents.... :)

  5. Welcome to the wonderful world of EMS in New York State! I'm a Firefighter/EMT-CC and I work on Long Island. What part of the state are you in? This place is great to get info and post questions. Let me know what your number starts with when you get it....I've been a tech for 12 years already....time flies when you are having fun!! :) Remember...you can never ask too many questions....especially if you are new!

  6. So what are you frustrated about? The fact that you have to give yourself a neb treatment every so often? Or that you're stuck in a trailer out of touch with the field? It's hard to tell from your post.

    Actually I'm frustrated cause I am sick all the time...sick of being sick, ya know? Sick of feeling like crap, sick of being in pain, sick of not being able to breathe, sick of being embarrassed that I have to stop and take all these meds all the time, sick of not being able to live up to my potential because I'm sick all the time, sick of people feeling sorry for me.

    I love my new job and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I still run 911 with my vollie FD when I am off of work. So I still see my fair share of great calls.

    I just want to get better!

  7. Hey guys. I've been having some issues lately and figured where else to turn to for some good advice but a bunch of medics.

    A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with asthma. Despite all the meds and everything my doc has been trying it gets better but then comes back with a vengeance and a few times has landed me in the ER.

    So I have to tote my freaking nebulizer with me where ever I go and always make sure I have my meds on hand as it seems these days just about anything will set off an attack.

    It's embarrassing to have to nebulize myself 2 or 3 times during a shift (for awhile there I was hitting it up every 2 hours as per docs orders) and I feel bad for my co workers having to put up with it.

    I got a new job in May as an Occupational Health Technician and work over nights on a construction site basically sitting in the clinic trailer waiting for patients (so I'm not in the field much any more).

    Now here is where I need the advice....why do I feel so damned frustrated about the whole thing? Is it logical for me to be frustrated? Do any of you deal with a chronic illness while still doing your best to be the best medic you can be? What else (if anything) should I be doing to fight this?

    Thanks guys...I don't know what else to do...I'm ready to scream!

    :bonk:

    FireMedicChick164

  8. Hey EMTCOWGIRL welcome to the city! Hopefully we will see you around a lot. I have a piece of info for you and a piece of advice.

    First let me say that I have been an EMT for the last 12 years....9 as a Basic and the last almost 3 as a Critical Care. As much experience I have had I STILL get nervous on some calls....especially if it's something I haven't seen in awhile and/or I am the only tech on the bus (happens sometime in my vollie FD). I am not 100% confident in my ALS skills and since I know this I strive to just do the best I can and work with it.

    My advice to you is to ask questions! Even if you think it is the stupidest question in the world or think you should already know it, ASK. I tell that to all the kids at the fire house when they start out. Granted I have gotten some rather bizarre questions in the past. Some have made me go "huh?" and some have made me laugh, but they have always either taught me something or taught a rookie something. You should always be willing to learn. I have learned new things from EMT students and they have learned new things from me.

    I wish you good luck and go kick that bitchy medic in the ass when you get a chance....sounds like she needs to be knocked down a few pegs! :whistle:

    • Like 1
  9. That`s called power sleeping. The point is, to train your body to fall into deep sleep instantly after closing your eyes and dozing off, instead of "wasting" time with lighter sleep.

    I wish I could do that! I sometimes will lay in bed for an hour or more before I fall asleep!

  10. Welcome from a former volley and Suffolk resident. Out of curiosity, what are the first 3 digits of you EMT number (feel free not to answer if you are not comfortable)? I was just wondering what number the state was up to these days. Also, if you don't mind me asking, which part of LI are you from?

    we had some kids get their cards recently in my FD and their cards started with 38.....as in 380000.....mine starts with a 26 and ive been a tech for 12 years....what's your start with Doc?

  11. People die. If you want to be in EMS and really make money.. Join a profession that is a complete conflict of interest. Become a funeral director. Cash in on the inevitable....

    I have a medic friend of mine who owns a funeral home.....

    The way I see it and the way I have always explained it to people is that I feel that my brain is compartmentalized. There is a little section of my brain where I store all of the difficult stuff during a call so I can still do my job effectively and then deal with it later. Seems to be the way that my brain just set itself up 12 years ago....and it works ok....as long as I deal with the stuff afterward and don't keep it buried. Had a problem only once...after a friend's suicide.

    You won't truly know how you are going to react until it happens. Just remember to be respectful to the deceased and the family. That's all.

  12. sounds to me like the incident was a bit of a cluster....just my opinion.....

    usually if we come in with an arrest we will assist in the ER at least until they get more hands in the room. We deliver pt's to a fairly small hospital and sometimes it takes a few minutes to get extra people.

  13. Well then...I am trying to decide where to begin here. I agree with the other guys...if you wanna be a tech, be a tech and stick with it. If you are just becoming a tech to use that as a means to be a firefighter...that doesn't sit right with me. I will share the following with you only because you are being honest with us by revealing your true intentions as far as your job aspirations.

    I have been in this business for 12 years. Started as a vollie EMT/Firefighter and now I work as a paid AEMT (I still vollie on my days off). I have seen a lot of death in 12 years. Some of it not so pretty. Everyone is going to die sometime and you just have to accept that. Hell, you are going to die eventually...hopefully later in life than sooner.

    I can tell you that I grew up in the fire department, my Dad was a single parent and joined when I was 4 years old so I spent a lot of time around the guys and the lifestyle. It was just natural for me to follow in his footsteps.

    The first time I saw a dead body was at age 18 when my great grandmother passed away in my presence. Emotionally it hurt because she was a relative. Yeah, it sucked.

    I joined the FD the next year and not too long after that I did CPR on my first cardiac arrest ever. They called it in the ER and I went into the washroom and cried for 10 minutes. We sat around the firehouse talking about it afterward and I haven't reacted that way since.

    You just take it as it comes...if they die, they die. You did all you could to help them but we can't save them all.

    Haunted by a patient? Bothered by an outcome? Not really...the pedi calls get to you more than the calls for adults but you learn to deal with that too.

    As much as I know the next call could involve death/dying, I still go to work every day. The live patients that I work with are more my concern and I feel truly rewarded when I can help someone at the worst moment of their life.

    I'd recommend you vollie if you can...you will get experience and let you know if you are cut out for the job.

    Some aren't and they find out too late.

    Good luck to you and hope to see you around the forum.

    • Like 1
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