paramedicmike

Dude, if, after reading this entire thread, with everything that's been presented to you, you still don't have an answer then there really is no hope that you ever will. CCMedoc has it right. Time to let this thread die because it's just not going to go anywhere from here. -be safe

Seems like you may need to take the adult approach and talk to your boss directly to find out what, specifically, is the problem. -be safe

Wow. So instead of addressing the problem of an ambulance shortage by putting more ambulances on the street they make the situation worse by sending providers in non-transporting units. The problem is not a shortage of ALS providers. The problem is misappropriation of funds and equipment. If you need more ambulances, put more ambulances on the street. Fire trucks aren't going to be able to meet that need. -be safe

Forty percent? Really? Some of these guys had a 40% success rate? How is that possible? That just blows my mind! This is just something I can't figure out. There has been discussion of poor paramedic intubation rates but I never could quite get behind it. Perhaps the strong emphasis in the places where I work on airway management affect local success rates. But I find it amazing that anyone out there only gets four out of every ten intubations attempted. And how can you not identify a misplaced tube? This just really makes me wonder... Thanks, Spock, for the follow up. -be safe

You can enjoy your time with Mary Ann so long as you enjoy tokin' it up a bit. Just be careful and don't get caught. She's still on probation. -be safe

No call, no show? Sounds to me like you quit. Don't bother coming back or you'll be cited for trespass (barring extraordinary circumstances with supporting documentation). And don't bother asking for your job back at a later time. You'll only feel more dejected as I laugh you out of the building. -be safe

I was going to simply say, I don't know. Have you looked? To be fair, I've not heard the term "parachute strap" before outside of the context of a strap used in a parachute. -be safe

I hope you have a witness for the subsequent lawsuit!!! If the law doesn't get him maybe you can! -be safe

Spock: You mentioned that the five who adhered to your study's protocol improved their success rates by 100%. What were their success rates pre and post study? And was that improvement based on non-lab, real-life intubations? How would it work if you offered an incentive for those who agree to participate yet fail to follow the guidelines? I suppose buying participation could be questionable. But if colleges/universities can compensate for study participation why couldn't you? (Or you could just threaten to remove their ability to intubate in the field for failing to live up to their end of the bargain;) ). Sounds interesting. -be safe

+1000

No. Give you? *Give* you? You're not going to be *given* anything. It's called go back to school (i.e. a reputable and degree awarding program) and earn it just like the rest of us had to. And that's all I have to say about that. -be safe

](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) What a moron. What's amazing is that this seems almost too dumb. I mean, how stupid can he be? To not know it was wrong to steal it? I wonder how many other stolen items from his squad can be found in his possession... -be safe

There are an awful lot of "?" missing. Were those all meant to be questions? Or were they, in fact, statements? Otherwise, seems to be some good basis for discussion. If people can discuss politics politely, that is. I've got to agree that none of the main candidates are very appealing. McCain, while an overall respectable man given all that he's endured and accomplished, is a little too gung ho. He makes me nervous with regards to continued, or *new* military action in the middle east. I must admit, though, that of the three he would be most qualified to be Commander in Chief. I like McCain, to a certain extent, because he's the most moderate republican to make it this far in a long time. I think we've had too much extremism, right and left wing, in the recent past. Obama makes me nervous because, despite his state and national level offices he's still relatively unknown. He wants to step into a mess left by Bush. What's he going to do? No one knows. That could be good or bad. Unfortunately, if it's bad, it's too late once he's elected. Clinton...well...I'm all for a woman president. One reason I don't want her is because we've had too much of a political dynasty so far. Bush Sr. then Clinton. Now Bush Jr then what? Another Clinton? Also, she's far too polarizing a figure to hold that office. Those who love her love her to death. Those who hate her hate her worse than they hated her husband. We don't need that right now. This country is facing enough as it is. We don't need further division. I say Stephen Colbert for President. Oh! Wait! He can't run unless he gives up his TV show. What do you think? Colbert/Stewart? Or Stewart/Colbert? That could be fun. -be safe

All this makes me wonder if the OP posted from a work computer. I hope she didn't. She could, in theory, be fired just for that -be safe

Look at it this way. You said you ran 350 calls in 20 days. That's better than 17 calls a shift. How many of those were BS calls? Probably the vast majority of them. Into what kind of mindset do you think that lulls a provider? Probably one that gets people to the ambulance before they start any type of treatment. I'm not saying it's right to let yourself become complacent like that. But you saw what the city was like. Could you imagine keeping up with that kind of volume for years on end? Knowing Philly, it's probably also a way to figure out who's faking and who's for real. Also, all those extra units Philly added? Yeah...they're BLS units used to punish FFs. PFD doesn't give a rats arse about EMS. Nor do they care about adequately planning for the city in which they provide services. Combine that with the call volume that you witnessed, does it surprise you they do it that way? But I digress... You've got some good insight already. I don't think I'll have more to add. At least not right now. Good luck in your new gig. Delco? Upper Darby? Or down at Crozier? You're certainly not up in Montco or Bucks. -be safe

This is the same as asking what you're going to do about speeders on the road. Just because you can't pull someone over doesn't mean that speeding is suddenly an unenforceable offense. Lights and sirens on a licensed emergency vehicle do demand the right of way. No, we cannot guarantee that others on the road will yield to us. Yes, the most we can do is call it in to the cops. However, just like if a cop catches you speeding, if a cop catches you it is a ticket-able offense to fail to yield to an emergency vehicle. Now, if you want to talk L&S on a POV like so many whackers out there have then your argument that it's a request may be valid. But we're not going to go down that road...again. -be safe

I know. That's why I asked. I want to know where he is so I know who and where to avoid.

I don't think anyone was implying that it is. Where do you work that you have to call for something as simple as an IV? Are you and your coworkers so incapable as providers that you have to call for everything? That might explain your seeming inability to think independently and have to rely on a medical command consult for something a real provider can autonomously determine to be necessary.

Agree with AZCEP. I gotta say, too, that while you may not think you can afford to quit due to family obligations, your family can't afford to be without a parent. Your family needing you to come home alive and in one piece at the end of any shift you work far outweighs your need to maintain your employment at this place. Good luck! -be safe

I remember that. Where the hell is Nate, anyway? He was cleared of everything, wasn't he? I remember him talking about his court date but I don't remember seeing anything after that. Could be I just missed it. Could be he went to jail? (I hope not.) -be safe

:laughing3: :headbang:

I don't know that it would be hard for an EMT who didn't want to witness injections or cannulation to avoid the exposure. But you'd think that if a needle stick to someone else gave him problems then there's much worse to be seen that could cause problems, too. The article did say he was still on probation. Seems like he might not have much of a case based on that alone. That'll depend on Florida law. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out. -be safe

+100000 I'm glad AK said it because he said it a little more eloquently than I was thinking. I am fully aware of the care available in my area. I'm also fully aware of the providers and who are worth listening to. There are very few worth listening to. I gotta tell you, if you feel you're being ignored that's on you and has nothing to do with behaviour exhibited by the flight crew. As AK said, this is not happy hour. This is patient oriented time. That patient is the center of attention from the second I step into your ambulance to the second I drop him/her off at the trauma center. I do the things I do because I do remember where I came from. I do the things I do because it's about the patient. I couldn't care less, at the time of care transfer, that you think I'm being rude. My advice will be to get over it. People deserve better than the bare minimum. Let's get out of the mentality that it's all about "me" and that it's about the patient. -be safe

The argument was made earlier about others who may provide their services for free. Some software is, indeed, available for free. However, don't think for a second that people aren't, in some way, making a profit off of other products and services they offer. At some point, you will pay for those software services in some way, shape or form. Doctors and lawyers may provide pro bono work. However, the services they offer under these conditions do not constitute primary access to medical/legal advice. Nor do they make up the primary introduction to their respective areas of expertise. Doctors who volunteer their time generally do so in situations and conditions where people have *no* other option. Doctors Without Borders, for example, act as medical care in areas where people barely have food much less access to regular medical screening. Lawyers who take pro bono cases don't take them at the expense of their entire caseload. They are still paid, quite well at that, for the work they do. And don't think that pro bono work won't be used to the cash benefit of the lawyer. I seem to remember something about "There's no such thing as bad PR...". As such, you can't compare an organization that provides full time, 24/7 services at no charge with anyone else who might provide low cost or even free care to individual cases while, at the same time, charging full price to their other customers. If volly BLS squads continue to offer the services for free, then municipalities will continue to short change their constituents by allowing substandard services. Municipalities *can* afford full time paramedic level care to their communities. They just won't so long as they're getting something much less for free. In the meantime, residents don't receive any benefit from what coverage is available...if it's available at all. This is another reason why volunteer BLS squads are not beneficial. -be safe

Actually, Arlington has been in the news at least twice in the past couple years due to medics pronouncing someone on scene only to have that person wake up later as anything but dead. I think, however, after the second time that happened in a span of only a few months there were some major changes in continuing training within their department. I do agree, though, that it's nothing like the mess that is DCFD. -be safe