Dustdevil

I believe he was referring to actually articulating the head section of an adjustable stretcher into a semi-sitting position, not tilting the entire stretcher. If so, he is absolutely right. If not, then I would have to agree that it is minutiae.

lulz... a decade after 9/11, their undeserved halo is finally being tarnished by the firemonkeys themselves. It was only a matter of time before their true stripes became apparent to the public. Citizens are sick and tired of being fleeced by crooks within the government, and even the slightest scent of blood in the water is going to bring this sort of feeding frenzy. Props to the local media for actually picking up on the real story here, instead of just accepting what the firemen have to say at face value, as they did in the bullshyte ambulance shortage story.

This is grade school math. Know why there are no ambulances available? The city sets the standards, not the ambulance service. If they want more ambulances, all they have to do is pay for them. But instead, they spend millions of dollars sending hosemonkeys to the scene, without ambulances, to stand around and complain there is no ambulance. Do you see the problem there? If so, you're too smart to be a fireman. The ONLY intervention that is consistently proven to make any difference in mortality or morbidity is transportation. Period. So how retarded must one be to spend EMS money on bystanders who cannot provide transport, and then actually not understand why you don't have enough ambulances? Retarded enough to be a city manager... or fire chief. Of course, if you're a fire chief, you argue that we need to spend more money sending more firemen to stand around and complain about the ambulance shortage, instead of just paying for more ambulances.

I completely agree. In fact, that is one of the big factors that causes me to discourage people from this profession. They think that EMT card is their first class ticket to a great job. They don't understand that employers hire the person, not the card. If you are not up to the task, there are a dozen other graduates from just your class who are. And, of course, that applies to psychological fitness too. That said, it is not necessary that someone be interested in being an ambulance driver to be an EMT. So, unless the school is training people with the sole intention of hiring the graduates, I believe it would be wrong, if not illegal, to discriminate.

Now you know where the phrase, "close enough for government work" comes from.

Send him back to Africa!

Ah! But you have to analyse that deeper to understand the cause and effect basis of your observation. The reason you see more happy people than unhappy people in EMS is very deceptive. It's because the vast majority of those in EMS have less than five years in the profession. The rest got out before then because of their unhappiness, having pretty much wasted that time that would have been better spent getting an education or real job. And, as already noted in the other thread, one in a million ever make it past that point with any satisfaction.

Sure. It can be "a blast," as he already knows. Nobody needs to tell him that. It's the reason he's here. But few of those good aspects are significant or long lasting enough to compensate for the negatives in the long run. A job is like a woman. Love at first sight is a myth, as is "til death do us part." For every beautiful woman, there is at least one man who is sick of her, because looks aren't everything. In fact, they aren't even "enough." The gloss wears off pretty quickly. Then you are left with nothing but the daily grind, low pay, horrible hours, and no job security. At least there is a lot less competition for the woman than there is for a single EMS job. How many guys do any of us know personally who ever retired from non-FD based EMS job? Medical retirement doesn't count. Even after nearly four decades in EMS, I still haven't run out of fingers on my first hand counting them. Hell, I probably wouldn't run out of fingers and toes just counting those who have spent ten years with the same employer. In other words, your long term prospects for any kind of career satisfaction and/or longevity are minimal in EMS. And to have even those minimal prospects, you need to either have the very best educational preparation, and/or incredible luck. Preferably both. That's not bitterness. That's reality. And even on Prozac, that's about as well as I can sugar-coat it.

In my experience, even if a non-fire agency runs EMS, the fire chief still uses his pull to assure that they are still the owners of the scene, and you still get shat upon. They convince the city managers and councilmen that it's necessary to assure the city maintains control over us common pirates, who, after all, are only in it for the money (unlike the firemen, who demand twice as much pay).

I missed the part about you being 18. Sorry bout that. You have plenty of time to make big mistakes in life, so may as well. But one day, you will seriously wish you hadn't. I do. If you have the physical and mental fitness to beat everyone else on the civil service exams, you might get lucky and get a hosemonkey job, but that's about your only shot at a stable and rewarding career in this game. Otherwise, I wouldn't count on more than five years before you want the Hell out. And many employers like myself wouldn't even hire a "medic" that took the fast and easy, non-degree route to certification either. Those that do will have yet another edge over you. When you are this young and inexperienced, you need all the edge you can get. I honestly am not terribly familiar with either of those two states' situations these days. But Oregon has traditionally been stronger on education than most. Last I heard, they were looking at making the degree a requirement, like Kansas has. Better check into that before you get off on the wrong foot. In most of urban and suburban Washington, if you're not a fireman, you're nothing more than a cab driver for the unfortunate souls that the FD deems unworthy of putting down the cable remote for. A real exciting and rewarding career, isnt' it? Just do the research, Bro, and listen to all input. The sirens and the flashing lights are sexxy seductors, but they rarely deliver what you wanted or expected. Again, good luck!

Physical or mental? I'm a lot more concerned about the latter than the former. I've never had anyone in a wheelchair apply to any school I was at, so that really doesn't seem to be a real problem. That's for employers to worry about, not educators. Let them worry about the EEOC.

The reason I (as will others) mention it is, EMS is incompatible with most other goals in life. It sucks the life out of you, preventing you from ever being able to advance your education or other personal goals, like a family life, etc... If you are seeking a career in either fire or EMS, think about this; why should your local government actually hire you when there are hundreds of young people just like you who are happy to do the "job" for free, just for the chance to hang out at the station and polish their nozzles while their peers ooh and aah with adoration? Doesn't it seem that your immediate plans are counterproductive to your long-term plans? Lots of us spent too many years in this rat race before we figured it out. I hope you are quicker on the uptake than we were.

Politics, pay, and job outlook is much, much worse in EMS than anything you may possibly now be doing. This from someone who spent 20 years with DOD, and almost twice that long in EMS. I honestly think you are making a horribly ill conceived move here. Situations vary greatly from state to state, and town to town. Consequently, we can't even begin to address any specifics for you without a lot more info. But seriously, if you are still interested after reading this, then I for one don't have a lot of faith in your judgement, lol. Good Luck!

I think that is her problem. She seems to be putting the cart before the horse. Why would a "rescue squad" be in a hurry to invest thousands into training one more person with no qualifications, who will most likely just disappear soon like the rest? Look at the turnover rate of most volly squads and you'll understand what I mean. Think about it; If you were selecting applicants, wouldn't you rather select someone who had already demonstrated the minimal initiative and commitment necessary to finish EMT school without being led by the hand? It is not necessary to join any silly club in order to obtain an education. In fact, in most cases, it is better that you don't. Then, when you do join, you won't be just another person in the way, like the rest. You'll be glad you did. What is your ultimate goal? Do you have any kind of plan? Are you looking for a profession, a job, or just a hobby?

Boo hoo. They start a war, then whine like little bitches if anyone resists. http://www.ems1.com/fire-ems/articles/1045354-Privatization-push-Can-fire-departments-survive

Are you talking about becoming an EMT, or becoming an EMT student? Your question (and "occupation") is confusing.

Exactly. Since you are already doing exactly what I advised, I would expect you to be encouraged, not offended.

Agreed. I'm not making outside notifications of either one, and have no fear of legal repercussion. As for the police view of such matters, I recently spoke to a crimes against children detective, and mother of two, about this very topic. When she is confronted with a teen girl having a consensual relationship with an adult male, she first says secretly to herself, "You go, girl!" Then she advises the parents of what a horribly detrimental effect that pressing prosecution will have on all involved, and especially on the parent-daughter relationship, which is most likely already on the skids. The parents are encouraged to use this opportunity to improve on that relationship instead of ruining it forever. I think that is excellent advice. There is one cop who hasn't watched too much Oprah. I'm curious to know if those who feel so strongly about reporting this would still feel the same if both parties had been female? Male?

Exactly. The only "steps" between EMT and Paramedic should be the college level classes that go along with it. You shouldn't even take EMT-B without doing those first, for that matter. Those classes are the only real way to "get ahead." All this other stuff you keep posting about is pointless, and often counterproductive. You seem to be under the common mistaken belief that medicine is just a book full of first aid skills that can be self taught online, It is not. If you really want to do this the "best" way, as you claim, then do this: 1. Do not enrol in EMT school yet. 2. Purchase and complete a Medical Terminology self-study textbook. 3. Enrol in college and spend the summer completing: Anatomy & Physiology I & II Psychology I Sociology I 4. Enrol in and complete EMT school. 5. Get an EMS job, if you can. But good luck because the EMT schools get rich producing many times more EMTs than the market will bear. 6. Complete these college courses: College Algebra I, or next level up if you already have it. Microbiology English Composition I Speech Communications 7. Enrol in and complete a college degreed paramedic programme, as well as any other prerequisites they require for graduation. 8. Welcome to minimum wage. If you don't really want the "best" way, then save the rest of your questions. Nobody here is anxious to encourage more half-arse, low motivation slugs into our profession. Good luck!

^ This. I was practising then, although not in NY. MAST were still common frontline intervention at the time, however the debate had already begun over they were really a good idea or not. Consequently, many systems had already removed them from penetrating trauma protocols. New York tends to lag far behind the current literature, so what their specific protocol was at the time would have to be researched through the NY dept of health, and good luck with that. The warnings about field removal were written before we realised that MAST were killing people, so that would not apply at a time when they were contraindicated. Think about it. Any time you can undo something that was wrong in the first place, that is a good thing, right. And if the EMT demanded their immediate removal, regardless of what the protocols of the day said, we now know that he was correct, medically speaking. That said, with today's knowledge, and regardless of what the protocols of the day said, we now also know that the first responders were medically wrong to inflate those trousers. However, in NY, unlike many states, responders do not have the liberty of contradicting their protocols. They have to cook strictly by the book, even if the book is out of date. So, procedurally, they were probably in the right. Again, you won't know until you have copies of the official protocols from that day in your hands. You may indeed come to show that one or more responders violated their protocols on that day. And you may indeed come to show that one or more of them did something that was medically incorrect by present or past standards. However, I can assure you that you will not find either possibility to have played a role in this man's death. The only factor that EMT's may have lent to his demise would be if they delayed his transportation significantly. But again, the protocols of the day would define the time parameters. Fifteen minutes on scene before transportation was the generally accepted standard of the time. Any longer would have to be justified by complications, such as a mechanical failure or difficulty removing the victim from the scene. Of course, if it is anywhere documented that the victim lost his pulse or breathing, or that CPR was initiated before his arrival at the hospital, then forget about all of this. That would mean he was already dead. And the inability to resurrect the dead does not by any convoluted stretch of the imagination equal a contribution to the death. If you have not yet been successful articulating the self-defence justification, then there is zero chance that the medical angle will help you out. You simply will not find a competent medical expert today to testify that MAST pants are or were a good intervention for penetrating chest trauma. I never understand why some here get all paranoid about questions like these. I could not care less why our new friend wants to know. Accurate information and discussion is good for us all. Who cares if it is someone involved in litigation? Nothing from an open forum like this is going to be taken as qualified expert testimony in any court. There is no harm in an academic discussion to help him decide if this is something worth even pursuing an expert for. And I believe we are all in agreement that it is not.

Uhhh... no. They go into nursing instead. I guess they're just smarter than you. You can be fired for anything anywhere. Tis the American way. If you think the IAFF gives a shyte about gays, you've never been a member.

LOL! Welcome to 1985.

Exactly. So then why do you attack others for pointing out such irrelevant and non-judgemental facts? It just seems that, for you to ASSume that someone is racist, it is a clear indication of your own racism. Don't saddle the rest of us with your un-enlightened and intolerant hang-ups.

LOL! You've obviously been dating different females than I have! After all the drama I have endured, I'm surprised I haven't switched teams yet.

Edited for comedic effect.