medicgirl05

It's also hard to use an hourly rate as most EMS schedules allow plenty of OT. I work a 48 hour on/72 hour off schedule, so one pay check I am guaranteed 12 hours of OT that usually turns into more depending on the call volume. I know many EMS services around in the area that also guarantee OT.

Sweatpants? Really? I would like to know what is going thru a persons mind when they walk out the door headed to an EMS call wearing sweatpants? It's people like that who give us a bad name...

I'm wondering what online CE source is recomended? Any opinions welcome...

I work in south TX. My full-time job is at a rural 911 county-based service. Pay is better than surounding areas. Paramedics start at 12.50. With cost of living raises every year around 3 percent and really great benefits. We have county provided health insurance, cancer insurance, ICU insurance, and life insurance. Also a great retirement plan. Plus uniform shirts and all CE payed for. Its a great service. The surrounding services may pay similar but the benefits don't come close. I also work part-time for a private service making 15 an hour. I have friends in other states that don't make near as much as I do. I guess it's important to say that cost of living is very low where I live compared to other places. Hope this helps.

Well I've had some experience with torn meniscus so I'll add my 2 cents. First, knee pain sucks. For me there wasn't much that helped with pain control except heat. Second, for me personally, the hardest thing was that I lost alot of muscle in my knee from waiting too long for surgery. Ask your dr or find a therapist for leg exercises. There are a few you can do that keep your leg in shape without further pain or injury to the knee. I had meniscus removed twice from my knee. The first time I played softball 1 week after surgery. Knee felt absolutely fine. The second time recovery was longer as my muscles had deteriorated prior to surgery. Hope you find this helpful....

We interpret our own STEMI's. When we call in report we advise STEMI or Non-STEMI. We don't change our treatment regardless. Maybe in the future it will be more helpful. More often than not the transmission does not go thru the first attempt. It usually takes multiple attempts for the transmission to be succesful, which sometimes takes away from other things I need to be doing. I think the ability to transmit is a great tool. Hopefully it will be more helpful for me in the future.

Good post... Ive never heard of this. I just learned something new. The idea of rotating tourniguets sounds good in theory, though not something I'd put in my bag of tools... Thanks for sharing!

We now have the ability to transmit our 12 leads to area hospitals. I haven't decided if it is actually beneficial or just a waste of time......

My service provides our uniform. A navy blue 5.11 Polo shirt. We wore button up shirts when I started but they were more expensive to replace and had to be replaced more often. Also they required ironing which many of the people I work with are apparently incapable of. The Polo shirts are more comfortable and are lest likely to snag on something. I would get a button caught on a fence I was climbing under, over, or through. The other important thing is that when you work a 24 hour shift the Polo's tend to look better for the whole shift. No touch up ironing required. I think how you wear the uniform is more important than what the uniform is...JMO

Maybe for some people going straight through is a great option, however I dont think that is the best option for everyone.

The basic class I attended only had 80 hours of clinicals with only 40 of them being on the ambulance. I did double those hours as I did not feel 40 was adequate. I guess it depends on the person, but in my case I'm glad I learned to deal with certain scenarios before becoming a medic. However, I work in a rural environment without much option for a back-up unit. I guess my opinion would be different if I was A) closer to a hospital, or B)had the option of a back-up truck. To say that you need the experience as a basic to tell someone their loved one has died or what not is poppycock thinking. That is just one example, and I learn better after seeing something done in the field.

I think he was saying that ultimately EMT-B to EMT-P is worlds apart. In my opinion it would be a good thing to get your feet wet as a basic before beginning paramedic class. There are things they just can't prepare you for in school or on a transfer truck. It will just be easier on you. One example: it is hard to tell family members that someone has died, however if you've had the opportunity to watch another medic do that then you will be better prepared to do it yourself. I'm not saying it's not possible, just not easy. Though nothing about EMS is easy. If you have a guarantee of a dual medic truck thats a completely different story.....

I remember my first cardiac arrest. I remember feeling shocked as they told the family that the man was dead. That night I went outside and though for hours about my actions. Were my chest compressions deep enough? Did I bag slow enough? Did I show the right amount of compassion to the family? I Thought about it alot.... I think with the more arrests you work you learn that you cant do that too yourself. I can work a cardiac arrest and I'll think about if things went correctly on the way back to the station. Then I put it away and don't worry about it again. It's not because you desensitize, its just that you develop a way of dealing with it. Don't worry too much, I'm sure you did fine. Most cardiac arrests aren't going to be saves. The fact that you care is a great thing. I think that motivates us all to get better within our proffession.

My partner washes the outside as deemed necessary and we both clean the inside while doing morning check out. The crew that we reilieve always manages to have blood drops on the floor (we think from starting IVs). Gross! If it is raining we pull the truck out of the bay to let nature wash it! Nah. We kkep our trucks clean, just no rule about who has to do the washing.

What part of Texas are you in? Im from south Texas. Welcome to the wonderful world of EMS.

Wow. That sounds very unfortunate. Make me think I've got things pretty good. We have complete support from the deputies. If we feel unsafe they do everything in their power to change the situation.

Just for my curiosity...why fight tasing him? I've seen a few combative patients tased and it seems like a real attitude changer to me. Though I've only seen a few I understand that tasing rarely results in any detriment to the patient???

Our protocols don't allow for sedation of combative patients. If it is a head injury we can restrain them and once I called medical control for sedation options and was approved to give Valium. My question is why are you sedating a 200lb drunk? Where I work if the drunk is able to put up a good fight then they are stable enought to go to the ER in a patrol car. Ive also had OD's that have been extremely combative but in that case the Sheriff deputy accompanies us to the ER and the restraining is done with handcuffs. Maybe its just a difference of where we work but I dont plan on fighting a drunk to sedate him. Im not saying its wrong just asking why endanger yourself or your partner?

Our service is in the procces of putting fridges on the trucks for this purpose. Those of you who do use it, what are your thoughts? Do you find it beneficial?

When I was preparing I bought the lectures from John Puryear. He has a really high pass rate for people who attend his lectures. I listened to them in the car for about a month prior to testing. I found that extremely helpful. I still sometimes recite something from one of his lectures. The reason I found him so helpful is that he explains things and relates them to something not EMS related. Sometimes a little redundant but hey....I passed.

I actually had this opportunity during medic school. The way it worked was the first half of school covered intermeidate material and skills. I chose not to test as an intermediate, which Ive found is both good and bad. If I had tested at the intermediate level I would have had 6 months with more opportunities for IV's and intubations. It also would have been beneficial as to the NR test. I could have sat for the computer test so maybe I would have been more comfortable with the paramedic test. Plus if I had failed the paramedic test I would have gained the intermediate certificate in the process. I benefited in that I did not have to do intemediate clinicals at the same time as my paramedic clinicals and some of the other people suffered in paramedic school because of all the time they lost. I felt jipped when I got turned loose as a medic because I had not had much desicion making prior to then. If I had been an intermediate maybe I would have been more comfortable with maintaining IV's at the very least. Just my experience.

I had a very similar experience in basic class. It was the first night and they were trying to weed out people. I can say it worked because we started with 30 people and only 23 showed up the second night. Im not going to judge if this was good or bad but it hapened. I was very disturbed by the pictures. It gave me nightmares for a week. It also made me think that all calls were gore and guts. Ive now been in EMS five years and recieved my medic and I can tell you from experience that pictures disgust me. TV shows with operations make me ill. Some OR clinicals have made me gag. The good news is I have done and seen some absolutely gruesome stuff and have never been sick on a call. It doesnt even cross my mind that I have my hand in a mans brain trying to roll him over on the street where he leanded after ejection from his 1050. I can manipulate a childs obviously broken arm without reacting. I can deal with extreme violence and not be sick. However when I get back to the station I may have to sit and take a breather, My advice is dont let a slideshow deter you from the field. If youve seen some gore in the ER and it hasnt bothered you dont give up. JMO.

In my service we don't transport cardiac arrests unless there are special circumstances(pedi, hypothermia, etc) Im happy with that. With termination in the field it is much more personal than in the hospital where family doesnt get as much of a relaxed grieving process. When you terminate at home you have the benefit of familiar surroundings. After we tell the family and are waiting for the JP or funeral home, I am able to do whatever the family needs of me. Ive made phone calls to other family members, changed bedsheets, made coffee, unsaddled horses...Plus theirs the safety issue of not tranporting going code 3 with distressed family following. There are risks of terminating in the field but in the 5 years that Ive worked in EMS I've never any any consequences. Knock on wood! I dont see a reason to transport ALL code blues but sometimes if the family is angry about the death or if there is any blame associated with the death then we transport. Its my desicion as the lead medic and it is a desicion that I do not take lightly. Im looking forward to seeing posts from other services.