paramedicmike

Can I get an "AMEN" in support of Brother Rid, here? Come on! I know you got it in you! Let me hear! Say it loud! Be proud of your beliefs! AMEN Brother Rid! AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!! Seriously, folks. If people spent half the energy into furthering their education and getting themselves out from the bottom of the dog-pile as they do complaining there'd be a helluva lot more people satisfied in their position. I'm also puzzled by all these advanced level providers, specifically paramedics, who say they would like to arrive and have all sorts of advanced procedures done on the patient. If you want all this stuff done by the time you get there, then why should you be called? Starting a line and pushing drugs is your job. Advanced airway maintenance is your job. Pharmacological intervention is your job. If you want it done prior to your arrival then you're not needed and you should go find another job. If I'm called, it's my job to do all these procedures (they're not skills...there's a difference). But I suppose that's another thread in itself. -be safe.

Quite right! All that was posted was a link with no additional info. A far cry from the now edited first post in this thread. Whacker, thanks for the clarification. However, your edited post should have been what you posted from the start. And just a friendly word of advice: if you thought I was being mean or negative you might want to toughen your skin a bit. Thin skin will not contribute to longevity on any forum-based site (or in the EMS profession for that matter). -be safe.

Aside from the overly busy background making it difficult to read the whole screen, and the fact that you can't get past the home page without creating an account, what the hell is it? And your post does nothing to help. What are you posting and why?

I'll agree with Seattle Washington's Medic One program. I've heard good things, too, about Boston EMS and Richmond (Virginia) Ambulance Authority. Hope this helps. -be safe.

Why not? It can't hurt. If you're resigning from someplace, your letter of resignation should read like a thank you note anyway. "Thank you for the many opportunities afforded by being a team member...". If they're pissed that you're leaving it might help offset that feeling. If they're happy to see you go, at least you've come out as the better person by maintaining some level of civility. If you're getting fired, a polite, well written thank you note can't hurt your standing any further. It probably won't change the outcome of the situation. But it may change the perception of you that the others involved may have. And like Dust said, those bosses won't be there forever. You never know when you might wind up back someplace. And a good final note in your file can make a difference. -be safe.

I agree with Rid. If you do anything, which you most certainly have done, before the medic's arrival it needs to be charted. Otherwise, there will be a hole in terms of care provided and you wind up hanging yourself, your partner and possibly the medic. Didn't write it down? It never happened. Regardless if it's BLS, ALS or other it needs to be there. Good luck. -be safe.

I was thinking tracheal rupture, too.

Has your friend Google been of any benefit to you? Try there. It's amazing the stuff Google knows. Good luck. Why not enough time to go to paramedic? Unfortunately, in most EMT-I programs going on to P is only a few months more. So why not spend the extra few months? Or is this simply to get the job now? -be safe.

Even in the humour section it pays to see if your topic is already here. Like here! http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3140

Can I get a collective, "AMEN!"? Thank you.

After having been to a particular residence to pick up/treat/transport an elderly gentleman many times we finally arrive to find that the wife, not the husband (our regular), was our patient. As my partner and I were packaging her for transport I asked, "Ma'am, will your husband be ok here by himself?" He had his share of problems and I wanted to make sure he'd be ok. She looked at me and didn't say anything. I asked again since I knew the wife to be hard of hearing. She looked at me and blurted out as she started to cry, "He's DEAD! Ok?! He's dead! He's not going to be ok by himself because he's not here because he's DEAD!" I felt about this --><-- big when she said it. The cop on scene gave me an evil grin as he said, "Oh! Nice job there slick." My partner, to this day, will not let me live it down. -be safe.

There is a medical director for a local squad who had his POV outfitted with L&S. He has been known to respond to scenes using L&S. However, I don't agree with L&S on POVs regardless of who you are whether you be Ricky Rescue or a medical director. Sorry Asys...can't help you with the details for which you're looking. I'm fairly positive this isn't the guy you heard about.

Well, we're left out of the public safety network because we're not public safety. Dust is right. We are a medical service. We provide medical care. We provide that care while transporting to a medical care facility. Our job as EMS providers is different from public safety organizations (e.g. fire, police) in that we don't have any kind of prevention function. Fire departments do inspections as a part of code enforcement which leads to a greater public safety in the prevention of fire. Police are engaged in active patrolling and educational programs in order to keep and maintain a safe and crime free community. EMS is a reactionary force. We don't have any role in the prevention of injury or illness. We don't have any role in the prevention of crime. We don't do anything but react to a specific individual (or group of individuals) needs. We don't affect any change on the safety of the public at all. Therein lies our problem. Since we're not public safety those who control the purse strings aren't quite sure what to make of us. I will agree that we need to present ourselves better in terms of requesting/demanding funding. However, that gets into another discussion. Now, if you want to argue that since you work for a fire department as both a FF and PM then you're different you can take that route. But you're going to have to provide more evidence than your last post to support your position. -be safe.

You're not winning any converts as it seems your poor attempt at sarcasm is only matched by your poor spelling skills.

Doesn't matter. You've got the FF who's willing to admit that he noticed it four days previously. Nail him for failing to report it, nail everyone in between, and then management has to decide on our original poster. I disagree with the notion that our poster should be suspended over this. It was reported the same day he noticed. It's not like he let it go for four days worth of shifts. And if it did not pose a threat to the operations of the monitor, as our friend claims, then I think that lessens (but not completely removes) the response management should show. Should he have notified as soon as possible after noticing? Probably. Have we all had something for management only to have it slip our minds until later? Probably. Should you, as you asked, have kept your mouth shut? Hell no! That could only make things worse for you. If the story he presents is verifiable by management, then at most a verbal "counseling session" for our friend here with suspensions or letters of reprimands for everyone else. Otherwise, I think he's learned a lesson in prompt communication. And I'd be thinking payback for some of my coworkers. Good luck! -be safe.

Fairfax, Prince William or Loudoun?

Nice story. But maybe you missed the big banner at the top of the page that says "EMT" city? Maybe you missed the url? EMTcity.com? Take the feel good hooey to the fire sites. They're well into hero complexes, ego stroking and feeling self important.

That's because the volunteers are a threat to the paid staff. If the county administrators got wind of how extensive the volunteer network is do you think they'd let the paid staff stay on? Hell no! They'd terminate the department and let all you self sufficient volly squads take over. But what would that get you? A group of people with the same basic training minus the extensive real life experience as the paid staff. It seems the community would lose out in the long run. Do you really want to be responsible for putting all those guys out of a job while you volunteer guys keep your real jobs and get to play on the ambulance/engine as a hobby? I understand the point you're making. But let the paid guys earn their money. You have your job, they have theirs. -be safe.

Dude! Stop yelling! Any particular reason you're typing in all caps? That's basic forum etiquette. CAPS = yelling. You weren't saying anything of much depth so there's no need for it. No caps next time, please.

I don't know what you did there, Richard, but the font came up too small to read. Can you edit this and change the font size? Thanks. -be safe.

And to further the discussion, your community may be full of older folks, but there is still money to provide other services. Your roads are paved. Police protection is provided. You have indoor plumbing, electricity etc... There's money to provide all these services but no money to pay for proper EMS care? If you want to provide the best service to your community, doesn't it make sense to provide the highest level of care possible? And wouldn't that lie in paramedic level care? And before you label me anti-volly, too, keep in mind that I started as a volly. I worked to become a paid provider simply because, as a volly, I realized that providing this service for free did nothing to further either the industry as a whole or my local community. Thinking of moving up from EMT to another level? Go to paramedic. I agree with those above. Anything less would be a waste of your time and money. -be safe.

Indeed. "I don't recall" is the best thing you can say. If you say "I don't know" it implies you might never have known. "I don't recall" implies that you knew at one time but due to reasonable circumstances (e.g. time between the call and the court date) you've forgotten. Don't say "I forget" as it just makes you look dumb. Otherwise, follow Dust's advice. It's good stuff. Good luck. -be safe.

What did they tell you about it when you asked? You did ask, didn't you? Start physical training now! -be safe.

That's alright, AZCEP. I was thinking the same thing you were. We can take anything and turn it into a specialty center. I like Nate's idea that we work on expanding the capabilities of existing facilities. However, while expense might not be a limiting factor, the problem I see lies with in hospital providers who might not otherwise do these procedures. Would there be enough exposure for them to remain proficient in these skills? I debate this issue with some of my coworkers regularly. They seem to think that any hospital with an ER is capable of handling any type of (specifically cardiac) patient(s). My position is if we know them to be having an active STEMI, they'd be better off if we drove the extra couple miles to a facility with an active cath lab. While I don't think they're necessarily wrong (sure, the local ER can hang NTG, push thrombolytics and ship them out to a tertiary care center which, coincidentally, is the same facility that we would have driven to had we bypassed the local ER), I don't think that's the best thing for the patient as it results in a delayed arrival to cath time. But who knows. Interesting concept, though. -be safe.

Fair enough. But then that would've been good info to include in the original post now, wouldn't it? Otherwise, it's just a seemingly over eager, over emphasized, under informed request. There's not even enough there with which to disagree. Even more, the web sites he's requesting are a pretty easy find with a simple google search. What's with people today looking for others to do the work for them? -be safe.