Dustdevil

I would also think that scope of practice in US and california would be more advanced than other countries, i guess i'm wrong.

Yeah, that is definitely a mistaken assumption in most of the civilised world. California EMS is still living in 1972, even in the best system. And the scope of practice is still way over the head of their scope of education. You'd be lost in many other states, much less other countries. Even those with limited scopes have four times (or more) the educational requirements of California. Seriously. You'll see that just browsing here. Even more so if you travel around.

While I am the first to maintain that communications is absolutely the most important "skill" in our scope of practice, it doesn't compensate for a lack of medically specific education. That said, as an educator and an employer, your educational background would put you at the top of my list of candidates. Big kudos for that accomplishment. I sincerely hope that you are able to someday put it to more productive use than dragging hose.

They're all horribly unprofessional looking, and I would never allow them.

Why not just wear thermal underwear or a jacket if you're cold?

If you're wearing body armour, as you probably should be, you usually won't have any problem staying warm.

Unfortunately, the Middle East and the Philippines are the only places I have seen doing the kind of thing you are describing. And neither is a good place to take a family. Although, they're safer than Mexico these days.

Most overseas opportunities are for remote duty, hazardous duty, and industrial duty, not EMS as you know it. If you're interested in that kind of thing, let me know and I'll give you some direction.

It is certainly possible to find employment in third world countries like Australia, NZ, Canadia, South Africa, etc... But not without beginning your educational process all over again. All of those countries have educational standards light years ahead of anything found in California. They wouldn't even look at you without a couple years of local education.

It's a lot easier for nurses, who generally meet a higher standard than overseas counterparts instead of lower.

We have a couple municipalities around here that are "Public Safety", which means they are police, fire and EMS. Not sure how all of it works, but they've been doing it for years.

That has been my involvement in police EMS. It usually boils down to a force of cops doing fire and EMS as an afterthought, with very little emphasis on it, much like most fire-based EMS. The only real positive to it is that cops are generally much more mentally and intellectually suited to medicine than the typical hosemonkey. While this results in a better quality of practitioner, it is still held back by police work being their primary interest and career path.

I have no experience with the civilian staffed police EMS, but Fort Worth, Texas actually tried it briefly in the late 1960s. Seems like a lot of stuff that fails miserably down here becomes suddenly popular up north about 20 years later, lol.

I worked one semi-rural county-wide EMS where the crews were mixed. Each medic was officially employed by the hospital, but the salaries and costs were paid by the county. There was one medic per truck, and he was a deputy sheriff, but did not work patrol, unless it was a special detail or overtime shift. We did not wear SO uniforms on the ambulance. We kind of wore whatever we wanted actually. Usually scrubs or a flight suit. But we were almost always carrying a concealed firearm. And we made nearly twice as much as the patrol deputies.

The second crewmember would be which ever ICU nurse could get to the ambulance first when the call came in. Some of them were EMTs also, but usually not. None of us medics (I was not a nurse yet) ever missed not having an EMT with us. The nurses were much better to have along in most every case.

That was my favourite EMS job ever.

There needs to be a protocol that says yes ambulance, no ambulance.

Every agency that tries that eventually gets pwnt for millions in civil court.

WTF do you care? I for one didn't take the job to NOT transport patients.

I don't doubt that he's dead. But I seriously doubt that he died when and where we are being told.

Tis just Obama wagging the dog.

Snipers and actual combat versus what could easily have been a snatch and grab are two different things.

You can't say "snatch" here.

I've heard the same mistake numerous times today by various newscasters, it's amusing.

Of course, the best of all time was this one:

EDIT: Found more, lol.

And who else dares to speak for you "same scene, same pay" as the LEO and FF do ?

Lame.

Any union worth joining would be arguing, "twice the education, twice the pay!"

They may accomplish something in third world countries, but I have yet to see them do anything but LOSE jobs in the US.

Funny thing is this, I just got a email from my project manager who said "if you are worried about flying you don't have to come on site this week"

It's not the flying you have to worry about. It's standing with the other 500 people in the TSA grope line that is dangerous. That's where the next terrorist strikes will be.

hmmmmm do I not fly and let my fears win or not fly because I'm trying to keep myself safe?

quote "Obama is dead, doesn't matter how" and he caught himself and corrected and said "Osama is dead".

ROFL! I pray to Allah that's on YouTube!

EDIT: He did it more than once, lol!

Much more satisfying, but unfortunately my poor conflicted bleeding liberal heart still feels the need to moralize like Captain Picard. Damn this upbringing on Star Trek followed by four years of philosophy (2.5 if measured by effort).

I much prefer the Captain Archer approach!

Go!

I agree.

"Celebrating" the killing of any member of our species -- for example, by chanting "USA! USA!" and singing "The Star Spangled Banner" outside the White House or jubilantly demonstrating in the streets -- is a violation of human dignity. Regardless of the perceived degree of "good" or "evil" in any of us, we are all, each of us, human. To celebrate the killing of a life, any life, is a failure to honor life's inherent sanctity.

Logical FAIL!

He was not of my species, or that of any of my friends or family, or even pets.

Huffington can whine about it to all her democrat friends, who organised the "spontaneous" eruption of Astroturf outside the White House last night. When was the last time anyone saw that many white people on the streets of DC after dark? Puhleeze! It doesn't happen.

...not one person agreed with this 'test' proving ANYTHING other than what a PIG the person who's intention is to 'conquer their racist tendencies' by sleeping with someone of a different race really is.

ROFL! That plays right into my contention that his entire racism argument is completely overshadowed by his sexism.

I don't mind admitting that I'm racist. Too bad he's not man enough to do the same.

Where it makes the difference is in the job hunt. Medic schools are cranking out a lot more medics than there are actual EMS jobs for. So if you end up in a big pile of applicants, any respectable agency will give hiring preference to the candidate with more education. And after all, if you don't get the job, then the salary is irrelevant, right? So you're definitely on the right track with your degree plan. Anyone who tells you that it won't make you a much better medic is saying that because they don't have it.

Point of order:

You can say prick here, but you can't say dick.

It's in the rules.

I have no involvement in this shindig, but it's a great opportunity for anyone looking for some hands-on CE. If you come to town for it, let me know so we can meet up for lunch or something.

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Seems like this works both ways, Crotch.

Aren't you saying that all those black women who weren't attracted to me are racist?

But if I slept with one, and didn't like it, and never did it again, I wouldn't be racist?

Someone here obviously never took Logic 101. And this thread is a perfect example of why it should be required of all medic students.

Let me run a little test here. Is this racist?

What about this one?

Hosted by MySpaceAntics.com

Why and/or why not?

What if I refuse to have sex with say a good looking black gay atheist male with pschiatric issue? I guess that would make me a racist with anti-gay tendencies coupled with being a religious zealot and a discriminator of someone due to their mental handicap.

ROFL! Excellent point! But Crotch has already discredited his own argument with his avowed homophobia.

Could someone explain to me where the "skinheads" and the KKK got the concept that religion is a "race"? I admit being tired of the obvious bigots insulting the "Jewish Race". We're a religion, and there's several so called "branches" of the human race with members who are Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and others I cannot remember at the hour I posted this (If not mentioned, please don't be offended.)

I hate to say it, but it seems we may have been our own worst enemy in this case, fighting so hard for a "homeland" and separatism throughout history. I completely agree with you, but I get that notion from other MOTs more than I do Skinheads.

I've been watching...and I've not seen anyone let the betadine dry yet. And, up until now, that included me.

That's why choices are nice! If you have the time, and/or can visualise your site without a lot of searching, then get the iodine layed down and drying while you get everything set up for your stick. If you're in overdrive mode, scrub it good with alcohol and get after it. But if you have chlorhexadine, you don't have to make that decision.

In a cardiac arrest, you could probably make a decent case for breaking his leg if you think it might stimulate cardiac activity. Operating under that popular-but-dubious theory, it certainly wouldn't hurt to give an epi pen. However, there are many more negatives than positives.

Number one problem is that you don't know for sure what the rhythm is without a monitor. Consequently, you may actually be doing something to worsen the situation rather than improve it. Of course, as time passes, you can be more assured of what the underlying rhythm is, but by then, it's too late.

Next, we have the problems of drug uptake. If your patient isn't perfusing peripherally, then the chances of much of any of that already inadequate dosage making it to the myocardium from the sub-Q tissue is slim to none. That's a problem often seen even in anaphylaxis. We dump several doses of epi into the SQ, and it just sits there from lack of perfusion. Then, when the patient begins to compensate, and regains some peripheral perfusion, all that epi suddenly gets dumped into hid system, causing secondary problems as bad as the original problem.

Of course, this same phenomenon is also thought to be responsible for some "DOS" patients later being found with a pulse too, so it can theoretically go either way.

I can't really say what I would do without being there and having all the necessary info. But sometimes a shot into the dark can mysteriously pay off, I guess.

I can understand that but Im not about to let crotchity say something that is just flat out wrong and go unchecked. Homosexuality is NOT a mental illness and i do not care if ive sounded like a hypocrite on this post because thats just wrong. Just because something is not for everyone doesnt mean its bad or wrong.

According to you. But arguing moral relativism is like running in the Special Olympics.

For further clarification, the core of this forum is committed to integrity. Hypocrisy is something that always gets a negative response. And if you go hating on someone for hating, then there is no more blatant hypocrisy. It's something many people have trouble seeing in the mirror, so just be aware of it.

Well, to be fair, there are millions of bloodsucking lawyers out there who will happily and hungrily debate what is and is not HIPAA mandated. And whether they win or lose, they still win. So, even though HIPAA says Crotch is wrong, you would still be smart to operate as if he were right.

Oh yeah, and kill all the lawyers. Now.