hatelilpeepees

I see no problem with a department having a volunteer chaplain, I would see it the same way I see pay-per-view channels on my TV -- I never use them, but they are not hurting anything by being there, and who knows, I might use it some day. But as others have stated, the EMS industry doesnt seem to attract religous people, just about everywhere I have worked, there has only been 1-2 devoutly religous folks. But if it's your calling, go for it.

Wow Dwayne, well said, I cant argue with anything you have said.

I imagine they were referencing the Incident Command classes on the FEMA site, its the NIMS classes here:

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/NIMSTrainingCourses.shtm

It all depends. You stated how much you spent the last two months, but what about the last 12 ? If you are spending more than 3k per month on any one ambulance consistently, it makes sense to replace it, but if you are only having a few bad months, it makes sense to drive the old ones until the wheels fall off. In this economy, I would advise to go for basic plain trucks, instead of adding thousands in frivolous bells and whistles, as you might be able to get 3 trucks instead of 2. Consider type 2's (vans) because they are cheaper and have better fuel economy. If you still have to sell the bosses on making the purchase you just need to do a cost benefit analysis and show that the monthly payments on your new ambulances will be less than what you are spending on maintenance now, if you can show that ?

Really ? Really ?

yeah, they also should get someone to the hospital in a timely manner. Not waste time

Again Jlo, trying to help you, but sorry I am not telling you what you wanted to hear. Again, medicine and treatment protocols have changed alot in 20 years, and it is obvious that you want to blame the EMTs for the death. Here are some questions for you :

1. How long did the emts spend on the scene, since you said they wasted time ?

2, What was the cause of death, what was punctured ?

3. How far away was the closest trauma center, if there was one there 18 years ago. If they spent only 1 minute on scene but delivered the patient to the local regular ER, the patient would have probably still died ? The only thing that could have possibly saved this patient was to be on the OR table with a thoracic surgeon standing there ready to do surgery immediately. You didn't say what time of day or night this happened, I assume it was night time on a weekend, which means the chances of a thoracic surgeon being physically present in a hospital is unlikely.

Is it possible that the EMTs could have done a better job, probably, but they didnt stab him. Blaming the EMTs for the death instead of the sorry piece of shit that actually stabbed him, is some really backwards thinking.

I think we should do what we did in WW2 to the Asians, round up every Muslim and put them in camps until we know which ones are good and which ones are bad.

I can promise you that my employer will not hire an out of the closet gay male, which is ironic since Atlanta has one of the largest gay populations. I don't like any action that is "in my face", but at the same time is it fair for us to ask them to hide who they are ?

He is a lawyer not a student. But if MAST were ripped off after being inflated, then it probably hastened death, but there is just as good a chance that the patient would have bled to death on the way to the hospital with or without MAST. MAST would not stop bleeding from a major artery or organ in the torso, in fact, putting them on could make you bleed out faster from a penetrating wound. Imagine poking a tiny hole in a balloon that is inflated, and then start squeezing it harder and harder. The reason it wasn't pursued is probably because the patient was killed by the assailant who stabbed him, the emts could not do surgery, which is what the patient needed. Its like the old saying, guns dont kill people, people kill people, the gun is just the instrument. There is only so much we medics can fix in the field, and this isnt one of those things.

I would disagree, since most the "hirers" are white men, I would think they are not as intimidated by lesbians, whereas a flaming gay male would freak them out.

Cant speak for the poster, but I think that lesbians have pretty much been accepted in Fire and EMS, whereas gay men are still ostrisized.

I totally disagree, our industry needs more people like you, assuming you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do some work verus just bitch about the problems. I would suggest you schedule a meeting with your immediated supervisor and discuss the issues that are easy to solve (with you doing the solving). Don't tackle everything, pick something easy, then fix it. That will give you the permission to tackle bigger problems later.

I do not agree with Kiwi's racist statements, but I do agree with him on the conspiracy issues. I honestly believe we killed him in Tora Bora and have hid his body in Area 51, until such time as it was needed. The Birther issue was just getting fired up, when suddenly Osama is dead, and the birther issue dies with it. Why was it that the details have changed so much regarding the raid (he was armed and shooting it out, he had no gun, he used wife as shield, wife attacked, he had a temple wound, he was shot in the chin) ? Why cant we see pictures, we have seen much worse ? Why bury him at sea ?

Before I am criticized for my views, let me state that I think education is good for everyone. The smarter you are the better you are, but as it relates to our specific job, I really do not see the value in higher education, unless you want to go into management. To me, we are no different than any other blue-collar "service" provider. We are no different than plumbers or electricians who also respond to people's emergencies. Does having a BS or Masters Degree make you a better plumber or electrician ?

I am sorry, I just do not believe this is a real disease. I do not mean to offend, but I say this because this was not a problem for our grandparents and great grandparents, so something has changed during our generation to make these symptoms occur. I vote it is overstimulation from gadgets, poor diet, and too much sugar. Am I alone in my thinking ? Do we really need a pill to make us behave ?

If you were going to start your own ambulance service, what would you name it ? And please, don't send any of the joke names like "you call, we haul". Give me some examples of what you consider GOOD, REAL, names. Thanks.

Yes, we can always spot the rookies in this field, they have more stuff on their belt that Batman, lol.

Be careful, it is these type questions that will get your 24s turned to 12's or 13's in a minute. I know we all think EMS stands for Earn Money Sleeping, but if you are working at a job where you can work a 24 and sleep, you will soon be privatized or have your hours cut. No one can afford to pay people to sleep in this economy.

I am not stating this about the poster, as I do not know her, but it is obvious to me why people in this room would have relationship problems. Since I could not post as a new member, I have spent the past week reading the discussions in this forum, and I have noticed a trend ----- Most every discussion turns negative, there is rarely any "positive" discussions, everyone is quick to jump down a poster's throat. There are too many old timers in here who think they are "paragods" and are too quick to eat their young.

Take this challenge for me, pick any topic in today's forums and then read the various responses. Once you do that, ask yourself if you think the poster/responder was smiling when they typed their question or response ?

I am not stating this about the poster, as I do not know her, but it is obvious to me why people in this room would have relationship problems. Since I could not post as a new member, I have spent the past week reading the discussions in this forum, and I have noticed a trend ----- Most every discussion turns negative, there is rarely any "positive" discussions, everyone is quick to jump down a poster's throat. There are too many old timers in here who think they are "paragods" and are too quick to eat their young.

Take this challenge for me, pick any topic in today's forums and then read the various responses. Once you do that, ask yourself if you think the poster/responder was smiling when they typed their question or response ?

Most likely a brain tumor, although there is a possibility of other neurological diseases/injuries. She needs a scan.

It will vary by company or government you work for. If you want to invest in a good stethoscope go ahead, but I would wait on the rest.

Unions kill jobs, just look at how well they have worked for the auto, steel, airline, and manufacturing industries.