paramedicmike

Find another outlet for your barely concealed sarcasm?

You guys do realize this is a five year old thread, right?

Calling the dispatcher with a notification can be done before the ambulance starts moving. It doesn't need to happen while the vehicle is in motion.

What AK said. You also need to provide your source (as specific as you can) along with posting the statistics to support the numbers you've just thrown out. Without a reliable source that others can check to verify the accuracy of your numbers, they're just numbers and they mean nothing. -be safe

I don't know that I really want to know the answer to this. But was she using a blade or electric?

There's an interesting story in today's New York Times about emergency vehicles and distracted driving. From the EMS perspective it talks about MDTs and GPS units and their use while driving. What I find interesting is what some of the people they talk about are doing while driving. I wonder if they do the same thing (e.g. play with their GPS while driving) in their POV. If nothing else, it's a good reminder to not be stupid behind the wheel. Drive safely and get where you're going in one piece. -be safe

No. The last thing this community needs is another dead EMS provider. If questioning and discussion will help save the life of an EMS-er, even if that discussion is stimulated by an incomplete or partially inaccurate news report, then good can come out of what is otherwise a tragic situation. We learn from our mistakes. We learn from the mistakes of others. It would be a major injustice to not learn from the unfortunate mistakes of the medic in question.

Here's the link to the story. Be safe out there, gang.

With the fire service demanding paramedic certifications as a prerequisite for hire/employment, they've created a glut of paramedics. Depending on the market this could be hundreds or thousands who all sit around and wait for a department to hire a few people. From the department's perspective, they don't have to pay much because they know there are 500 other people lined up to take the job of the one person who just left. They've created a quantity over quality situation. As such, they don't have to pay people what they're worth. We won't get into the fact that most EMS providers are so disgustingly undereducated that many don't deserve what they're getting paid now. There are plenty of other threads/discussions in these forums touching on this topic. It is a far cry from thinking about doing something to actually doing it. There are so many EMS providers who are thinking about going to nursing/PA/medical school. The vast majority can't get past the thinking part. And if you think, if even for a second, that you're going to work your way as a FF/paramedic through PA school you should go back to thinking about doing something else as it's pretty obvious you have no idea what is actually involved in the educational process.

So it's worth it to take a 30K pay cut but paramedics should be financially rewarded better? Do you see the conflict in your position? And do you see how the fire service is directly affecting that conflict?

My condolences for the loss of your mom. Document everything. Go to the department head and plead your case. If you don't get any satisfaction there, document everything and go to the dean. Take it as high as you need to go. Get the support of the students you mentioned who had received accommodations for their situations in any way you can (written statements, showing up in person etc...). Good luck.

We do hear it quite frequently from people who have no idea what they're talking about. We hear it from people who watch too much television and think what they see is real. Your initial deception and lack of honesty in an effort to obtain advice calls your credibility into question from this point on. It also did a huge disservice to you by delaying any advice that may have been truly applicable to your situation. Ask the questions you want answers to and not the ones you think we want to hear. Include as much information as is relevant. Stating that you really wanted to be a firefighter was relevant to your line of questioning. By being less than honest from the very beginning you're not helping anyone. Because they're two different jobs. Yes, there are many fire departments that run EMS within the US. However, the job of a firefighter is vastly different from that of a paramedic. But that doesn't mean that you should use one (EMS) to gain access to the other (FF). If you are interested in providing patient care in an EMS setting then go be a paramedic. If you decide you want to conduct drills, training, fire inspections, and maybe, if you're lucky, fight an occasional (and in most jurisdictions increasingly rare) fire then go be a firefighter. I still think that you need to stay where you are and grow up a lot before considering making any move. Of, if you want to grow up more quickly, follow Dust's advice and join the military. I hear they have skydiving, too.

So you really have no interest in EMS other than what you think it'll get you in regards to getting hired by a FD? If you want to be a firefighter then pursue that. If you want to be in EMS then pursue that. You will do yourself, your patients and this profession a HUGE disservice to go through the motions only because you think it'll get you somewhere else. What's more, you would have done better to be honest from the very beginning by saying your goal was to get a FF job. Your deception and lack of honesty from the get-go not only does you a disservice with regards to the advice you could have received but it also demonstrates that you're untrustworthy and not fit for either a FD or EMS job. Perhaps you need to stay with Frito Lay for a little while longer while you grow up.

I was thinking the same thing. However, if you want to keep your job, even if for only a little longer, be careful how you do this. Add to that the idea that you don't want to burn bridges as you leave rather makes discretion the word of the day. My question is how long do you plan on staying? You answer to that may influence the answers you get here. Good luck. -be safe

Dust pretty much nailed it. If you're looking for excitement take up skydiving, not EMS. Good luck to you. -be safe

Really? That's funny. It was plain as day at the top of page two of this thread. Still can't find it? I quoted it for you. edit for misplaced apostrophe

If it says it requires a medical director signature then that's what needs to go on the line. If you don't know who your medical director is, you need to ask your boss.

He was fired so easily because he's a moron and demonstrated exceptionally poor judgement. Say, just for a moment, that one was to believe that line he fed about it being completely innocent. Then he would have to be fired for being so ridiculously stupid as to do the things he freely admitted to doing (basing the scenario on a real life event and naming the doctor after a local physician and then posting it on his FB page). I didn't post this to have it turn into a "this is why unions are great" post. I posted this as a reminder that if you truly want to keep your private and professional life separate then don't do what this nimrod did. If you want to turn this into a IAFF/union debate then take it to one of the other threads where it has been clearly demonstrated that the IAFF really isn't all that great despite what some misguided members may think. -be safe

You'll enjoy this story then. Or you can just read it below: Colleton County rescue worker loses job over Facebook post Posted: Feb 25, 2010 7:46 PM Updated: Feb 26, 2010 12:50 AM Video Gallery By Hatzel Vela Colleton County paramedic, firefighter loses job over Facebook post 1:59 COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - A Colleton County paramedic and firefighter was fired over a video he posted on Facebook. On February 11, Jason Brown was called into the director's office and questioned about the video he posted the previous night. The Facebook post takes you to a YouTube-like site, where a video almost three minutes in length shows an exchange between two cartoon characters at a hospital. One is a doctor, the other a paramedic. In a letter of dismissal Brown provided, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Director Barry McRoy said, "You [brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center." "There was no malicious attack to anybody involved personally or countywide or any certain department ever," said Brown, who spent two hours making what he described as a text-to-movie video. On the web site xtranormal.com, you can create characters and even make them look like you. Users can type in a script and the cartoon-like character will say what you write. "I'm not trying to make any doctor or any nurse look stupid," Brown said. He said he wasn't even talking about Colleton Medical. He only used the name of a doctor who works at that hospital because he had recently seen him at a party. It was supposed to be a funny, exaggerated and an almost unbelievable story of real life on-the-job experiences, Brown said. "It's just general things that go on in the day-to-day business of us running calls within any fire department, any EMS," he added. The dismissal letter also said, "This video has created an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on you and Colleton County." Brown appealed the decision, but his appeal was denied. Brown never meant any harm, he said. "If I knew it was going to give me this much headache, I never would have made it in the first place," he added. Brown said he was told his video was racist because the cartoon character playing the doctor role was African-American and during one of the exchanges the character said, "I don't want to lose my job and go back to being a janitor." "That was never, ever in my actions or even thoughts when I made the video," Brown said. When making the video, a black doctor was the only option offered, he added. Getting fired was a little overboard, he said. McRoy wouldn't give details about the Brown's firing because he said he couldn't discuss personnel matters. But he said the Facebook incident wasn't the only reason Brown was fired. Brown said he has never been seriously reprimanded and points to the dismissal letter as proof the Facebook post was the only reason he was fired. If asked to take down the post, he would have done it and that would have been the end, he said. Brown said after he was fired, he was escorted to the station where he returned all his gear, while two officers supervised him. "I felt like a criminal," he said. Prior to working at Colleton County Fire-Rescue for three and a half years, he worked at Berkeley County EMS and Goose Creek City Fire. He said he left those two places because Colleton County paid more. ©2010 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Ok. Along with A&P perhaps a few english classes are in order. Since it sounds like you've talked yourself out of a job you'll have plenty of time to get a solid education before you attempt paramedic school. Do not underestimate the benefit of a solid educational foundation before attempting this. School IS important. It is NOT a frivolous pursuit. A&P is important. Chemistry is important. English is important. Math is important. Microbiology is important. In fact, they are all important *before* you attempt paramedic school. So, with any luck, you'll have a lot of time on your hands to tackle a real education before moving on to paramedic school. You asked us what we thought you should look at before starting. It seems the general consensus so far is you look at delaying your paramedic school start and get a real, solid, college level educational foundation before moving down that road. So don't get snippy when you don't get answers you want to hear. -be safe

You've been offered a solid list of classes to help create a foundation for continuing your medical education. I will offer, as an alternative, the suggestion of going to nursing school first. Then, upon successful completion of the nursing licensing exam (NCLEX), you can go back to obtain your paramedic education and training. The two professions are not mutually exclusive and are much more intertwined than they may appear from the outside. Tuition costs vary by school. Your local community college can generally offer lower tuition rates than larger schools. This would be a good place to start. Making an appointment with an admissions counselor at the schools you are considering will help answer a lot of the questions you have regarding cost, schedule and possibly even offer contacts for other students who balance work and school. Working full time and going to school full time is not easy. It can be done, however. Just be prepared to work your butt off. Don't forget, when balancing your work, class and clinical schedule that you need to include play time as well. It may sound silly. But everyone needs some down time to decompress and relax. There is more to life than medicine and EMS. Don't forget to explore what is really a big world out there. By looking to create a solid educational foundation you are setting yourself up for success. Obtaining a nursing degree/license and following that with a paramedic certification can help your marketability down the road as you build experience. By obtaining the proper education you will also set a solid foundation for your role as an emergency medical practitioner. There is no one size fits all approach to education. There are, however, wrong ways to approach it. Generally, the wrong ways include "as fast as possible with as little work as possible" programs. Please make every effort to avoid these. It seems, however, that by asking the questions you have brought to us you're looking at doing it right. For this you are to be commended! Good luck! Let us know how it goes. -be safe

What I took from his tone of voice, body language and choice of words was that EMS belongs to the FD. Any alternative organization (e.g. stand alone municipal EMS) is unacceptable to the vision of NAEMT. I ask simply because I don't know you well. Have you much experience with the IAFF representing the EMS side of the FD? Admittedly, my personal experience is limited. However, friends, colleagues and coworkers have more experience than I and not a single one of them has anything positive to say about the IAFF representing EMS providers within a FD well. This is second hand information so take from it what you please. There have been discussions, however, in this forum that support the idea that the IAFF is not interested in advocating for EMS unless it means they can justify budget funding for the suppression side of things. Good question. My guess, and what I took away from this conversation, was that people who ask questions, rock the boat, and advocate for positive change aren't welcome especially within NAEMT. And never let it be said that I don't rock the boat from time to time. I'm with JP on this one. I think we could do far better for the industry with a real and legitimate professional association than we could a union. I can't argue completely against unions. But they are often a victim of their own practices making them part of the larger problem rather than a part of the solution. -be safe edited for idea clarification

In my pre-EMS life I worked for two professional trade associations, which is exactly what NAEMT is. So I know a little about how these organizations work and the politics behind them. I also know that NAEMT is doing several things wrong. First and foremost, if you want to be a professional trade association advocating for your special interest group there is really only one place to be: Washington, DC. There's a reason that the vast majority of professional associations are based in the DC metro area. It allows easy access to government agencies and congress to lobby for the issues important to your membership base. Being based in Clinton, MS just doesn't offer the access a successful association needs in order to provide the benefits their members expect. NAEMT also doesn't have the staffing to support the operations they need to succeed. With a membership base of more than 30000 they should have a staff that can rapidly respond to the needs and demands of those members. Speaking of members, there are associations out there that would kill for a member base in excess of 30000. This is an untapped resource that NAEMT continues to ignore. A couple years ago I met Ken Bouvier who was at the time the president of the board for NAEMT. We had a very interesting, yet brief, conversation regarding his organization. Despite how many of you think I may have approached the topic, I went out of my way to be polite, professional and well informed. The response I got from Mr Bouvier was two fold: EMS is nothing without fire and if I wasn't a FF I was not worth listening to (even as a member) and since my state didn't have a state affiliate organization we were, essentially, worthless. When I asked why a national association was abdicating it's responsibilities to state associations he told me in no uncertain terms that I and people like me were going to be the downfall of EMS in the US. I really would like to see NAEMT succeed. They need to make some major changes in order to do so. But the potential is there if only someone with some brains would clean house. Until those changes are made, however, a position statement from them isn't worth the paper it's printed on. -be safe

Those guys are so glum because they know now what kind of mistake they made. Their advice to go straight to nursing school is based on first hand experience. As was previously mentioned, you are free to make your own decision based on the information you gather from those you question. But if you're consistently getting the same answer, specifically go to nursing school first, then there's a reason for it and you ignore the advice at your own peril. Why are you so worried about how long it's going to take? Are you interested in doing it quickly? Or are you interested in doing it right? Learning to do it right will take time. And it sounds like you're pretty young. There will be time for all the perceived excitement you think you're going to be missing. This statement is reason enough for you to heed the advice of the well reasoned and much more experienced respondents to this thread. You don't yet know what you don't know. Many of us here know all too well what you don't yet know. Again, it's your choice. But one choice will be much more appropriate and beneficial to you in the long run than the other. And that choice is to go to nursing school first. -be safe

Says who? I've never encountered a situation where NREMT requires state certification before allowing a candidate to test. If you want to help this guy call NREMT directly and ask them. Then you'll get the official line on what this guys needs to do. Then post a follow up here and let us know what they say. Good luck. -be safe