paramedicmike

Ok. So at this point who are you going to trust more? Yourself? Especially after having verified that your concern about her BP was founded in reality... specifically that the patient's BP was, in fact, high? Or the medic who seemed to brush you off?

What other differentials did you come up with regarding this patient? Any follow up available?

Normal ranges for blood pressure are pretty easily searchable. Pressure ranges and stages of high blood pressure are also pretty easily searchable. What has your research shown? You thought this was a high pressure and reported it as such. Surely you had something that made you think so. What was it?

Have you asked the medic in question why she said what she said?

Knock it off. The initial misunderstanding has been cleared. There's no need to drag this down any lower than it's already gone.

Moving on.

Ok. He's releasing a new video a day for eight days starting yesterday with the link in the OP.

Here's today's offering. I rather like it. I think you can see why.

I have Weird Al in 3D on vinyl. I still have it. It is just as awesome now as it was then. Then you throw in the stuff he's done in the 30 years since and it is American history, indeed! And it's fantastic!

I think if anyone who frequents this site had an answer for you you would've gotten it. That's an opinion.

Part of the problem is that you're asking if people have taken a specific course from an entity not licensed to teach the specific course you mentioned. Your description only further muddies the water as it sounds like the course for which you're looking for information is an exam prep course instead of the UMBC CCEMTP. These are facts.

Ultimately, your question is still unanswered. However, I hope you have a better understanding that what you're actually asking and what you think you're asking are two completely separate things.

All the best in your quest.

... has a new album coming out. Are you excited? You should be. It's exciting news.

Here's the video as a preview. Please try to contain yourself.

Welcome.

Welcome.

The OP is a VentMedic troll. This is one of her pseudonyms. AK called her out previously for trolling the forums.

Please don't feed the trolls.

Welcome.

Waffle House is one of those 3AM breakfast places. Always an adventure.

Man I really can't tell if you're being serious, or just trolling to try and stir people up. I'm leaning towards the latter.

So for now I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show.

Everyone gets the benefit of the doubt once.

But that's about it. After that response I'm inclined to agree with you.

Welcome.

Welcome to the City.

Hey guys,

I've often been under the impression that in America, calling 911 for an ambulance always cost you money, so people never called for any BS such as homeless drunks or cut fingers and stubbed toes and stuff like that. However I was browsing YouTube and I see a lot of LAFD Paramedic callouts to homeless drunks and people going crazy / being high. And I'm basically here to ask, what gives?

The costs associated with 911 calls are covered in a variety of ways depending on the structure of the system in question.

Some departments are tax base supported. These can be fire based or municipal third service. Any 911 call, transport or not, rich pillar of business or local homeless drunk, would be covered regardless of ability of the patient to pay.

Some departments are volunteer supported by donations.

Some departments are moving to a mixed system where taxpayer support is provided by local government and then patient is billed to help cover costs of services. In some cases people can, and do, pay. In some cases people can't, and don't, pay. Ability to pay does not in any way, shape or form affect the provision of services in a 911 environment.

So what gives? Whoever told you that EMS in the US was only for people with insurance and crews were never called out to "BS such as homeless drunks..." was woefully misinformed. We answer and respond to a wide variety of calls from an exceedingly diverse patient population.

I thought you could only call an ambulance if you had health insurance which I assume a majority of bums and wasters etc don't.

Bums and wasters, eh? I'll admit your chosen adjectives are a little concerning. Perhaps it's time for you to take a holiday and get away from the ambulance for a bit.

Don't assume anything.

You thought wrong.

Part of the reason I hate working in the UK as a Paramedic is that ALL healthcare in the UK is free, no insurance required. No nothing. So we get called to some absolute crap every day, like cut toes or homeless people being drunk etc. America sounded like some kind of paradise to me where people were scared to call 911 for an ambulance because they knew they'd be charged out of the ass end of their wallet for calling Paramedics. Am I wrong?

Yes. Your impression of EMS in the US is very, very, very wrong.

To be fair, I, and I imagine most of the others here, have encountered patients who didn't want to call 911 because they didn't want to pay the bill they thought (rightly or wrongly) they might receive. This is not the rule. Provision of EMS services dispatched by 911 in the US in given regardless of the individual's ability to pay.

I was basically only browsing YouTube to find a ride along with LAFD (and you know what I mean, a REAL ride along that shows the BS. Not a heavily edited "look at us man we save lives!!!" ride along), because I wanted to see what it's like for you guys and whether you get treated like crap the same way we do over here.

YouTube, like Wikipedia, is neither an accurate nor infallible resource for anything and everything you ever wanted to know.

I imagine treatment of EMS providers by the public at large is similar the world over with some people exceedingly grateful for the services received and some people who will never be happy with anything.

Any responses from Paramedics working for a Fire Department would be greatly appreciated.

Paramedics don't have to work for a fire department to be able to accurately and reasonably answer your inquiries. I've worked for fire based, municipal third service based, hospital based/air medical based EMS in a number of areas in the US. There is a much wider base of experience with a much wider and more varied employment history when you look at the many people who post here.

Fire based EMS is not the be all, end all of EMS especially here in the States. (In fact, many will argue that EMS should not be based in a fire department system anyway as the two are completely different jobs. That's another discussion altogether.)

Their first, and probably most relevant question, would be, "Why do you want to do this?". You would be severely underemployed. They would be concerned that you'd up and leave once through with training for a better or better paying (or both) opportunity. With everything it would take to become a physician a FF salary wouldn't even come close to putting a dent in your student loans.

Besides, why go through the hassle of medical school to limit yourself as a paramedic?

Not in the US. At least not in any US system I know of. There are places in Europe that use physicians on ambulances. It is a straight medicine job. To my knowledge it isn't mixed with the fire service like it is here in the States.

If you decide to pursue a career as a physician you have the option to apply to for emergency medicine residencies. Increasingly there are EMS fellowships available out there once your residency is complete. It would allow you the opportunity to be involved in EMS from a physician stand point. It might not allow you to run as a provider on the ambulance. But you'd be the boss as the medical director. There are always going to be trade offs.

Welcome.

Well wishes for successful treatment and a quick recovery.

I know you're excited and nervous regarding the results of your exam. However, in this day and age of computer communications and instant gratification you're just going to have to be patient. You will get your results in due time.

Welcome to the City.

If you had to write a paper on it back in medic school, about what did you write? Seems like your prior research would be a good place to start.

Thanks for the update, Aussieaid. I remember her. Sad news, indeed.

Condolences to her friends and family.

Agreed. Based on the information available in the article I can't find fault with what they did, either. Moving the patient would've led to poorly performed CPR.

I also agree with the idea that negative outcomes in children are a lose-lose situation.

My guess, based on the writing and interview subjects, is that they are referencing EMTs.

There is just so much going on here.

I have had to deal with too many patients who are both physically and verbally abusive; if they are physically violent, then they get tied down to my cot in restraints.

In my entire career I can count on one hand the number of patients I've had to physically restrain because they were being violent. My questions for you are what are you doing differently that leaves you with so many violent patients? Is it the area in which you're working? Is it your approach to patients? Is it your lack of ability to talk to them, talk them down and keep them calm?

Or, are you engaging them? Talking back at them? Antagonizing them? Getting them ramped up with stuff like, "...keep it up and we'll tie you to that stretcher..."?

But even then, most combative patients continue to be loudly verbally abusive even when strapped down, yelling and cursing at me, saying things like they're going to kill me, they're going to lay my wife, etc. etc.

Have you ever been tied down to a stretcher? Ever been restrained against your will? How would you feel? How did you feel? What would you say to the people who tied you down?

I had one colleague tell me to just gag them with duct tape, but i know that was obviously a joke.

Are you sure? Sounds like your partner is another one who needs a break from EMS for a while.

Yes. We in EMS tend to have a warped sense of humour. However, comments like the duct tape comment can be a symptom of a much larger problem.

Another recommendation was to sedate them, but I doubt Medical Con would allow me to sedate a person for just being verbally abusive.

There would also be an awful lot of questions if you started to request sedating what sounds to be a good number of your patients.

How do you handle these situations? Is there anything you can do or say to the patient to calm things down?

First, I don't let their words bother me. I don't know them. They don't know me. It's not personal.

Second, I remain calm. I try to talk them down. I don't let my voice show excitement or anger or exasperation. I keep an easy, even, calm tone and I talk to them like human beings. It takes practice. But it's one of the best skills I've learned over the years.

Island Emt, maybe you missed the part when I said that PHYSICALLY VIOLENT patients get restrained, not "without reason," as you say. And yes, my state protocols DO allow restraint of violent patients. Maybe you should read posts more thoroughly before you make disparaging remarks.

Hmm. Based on this I'm starting to wonder more if you are the problem and not the patients.

I've asked you this before and you've yet to answer. Your occupation is listed as "student". Are you a student? What are you studying? Are you in EMT school? Paramedic school? You make it sound like you're working in EMS but as you haven't addressed your listed occupation I can't tell if you're really working as an employee or if these are clinical ride alongs for school.

If you're an employee working as an EMT you have a lot to learn before you should consider moving up. If you're a student and these are school mandated ride alongs you may do well to consider another line of work if you're so easily bothered by what patients are saying to you.