MongoMedic

I can only speak for Texas, because that is all I know. As stated in previous answers you would have to submit for a background check, and that will probably show up (if you were tried as an adult) but I would not suggest omitting that from your application. Now considering that during class, you will not have to drive it should not be a problem. Now when it comes time to apply for you lisence/certification with the state, they will review the case, your background, and may even interview you prior to lisencing. I have known far to many people that have received a DUI and still were able to get and retain their certs. As Paramedic Mike said (ever so delicately I might add), most services insurance will not allow you to be insured because you are under the age of 21 (seems to be a magical age for you). There for you will have a very tough time getting hired before that age. Now considering most Paramedic programs (if that is the way you choose) are two years then that should not be the issue. The issue that you are going to face is having the DUI on your record. One again as Mike said, most fleet insurances will not insure you because of the DUI, depending on the length of time since your last one (normally within the last five years), the number of offenses, etc. One thing to remember also, the reason this was mentioned earlier, is that your criminal record becomes "sealed" for any offense that you commit as a minor (most states under the age of 18). However, if you were tried as an adult in this case (which I would guess that you were) then that offense that you were tried "as an adult" does not get sealed. You made a mistake, a very stupid one, but you can come out on top of this. It seems that you are already taking the right steps to make the better of yourself. Keep on the right track. I just have one thing to add to that though, you are lucky that you were arrested for DUI and did not kill someone by driving drunk. One thing about this job you will learn to hate are the people that drive drunk crash their car into an innocent family and kill them, and then they are carted off to jail without a scratch. All the while a family is mourning the loss the loss of their loved one(s) who just made the choice (unknowingly) to be on the road at the same time as that drunk driver. Enough said, good luck.

Hey Jess, Remember one thing about OSHA, they can find the slightest thing wrong and make it an "OSHA violation" if the inspector knows what they are doing. They can find things that would make your head spin. I believe that the minumum fine for an OSHA violation is $7,000.00USD for each violation, unless it has gone up within the last 3 years. Now mind you that is not each time they find a bunch of trash in a place that it should not be, a violation would be considered each piece trash would count as one violation. So they find a hamburger wrapper, a soda bottle, and the bag that they came in that is $21,000.00 USD (for those that work with different currency). One thing that folks need to remember, is that OSHA is there mainly to protect the "working man". Not necessarily the patient, such as this case. The concern here is that the back of your unit has been cantaminated with germs/coodies from patients and that can easily transfer to food drinks etc. Also I do not know about other states, but Texas does not allow for consumption of food or drink in the back of the unit. If you are caught by DSH (Department of State Health) inspector then you can be fined by them as well. A way that I would suggest to take care of this, cuz I have done as a Shift Supervisor is call the last crew in and first have them clean it up. Also next time that you take over a shift from that crew is simply refuse to take over the truck until it is left to you in an acceptable matter. A rule of thumb I used to tell crews, is if you would not put your family member in the back then it is not clean enough for you to put someone elses family member in the back. I hope that helped.

well put a shrimp on the barby for me mate...glad for ya..Have fun

Words never are ever softer spoken then when one of our brothers or sister pass away, especially in the line of duty. Though we did not know them they are part of our family. My deepest sympathy goes to the families of all that were taken from this tragic accident. Rest in Peace my brothers your shift has ended. May you enjoy the eternal light of our Lord.

No problem, I appreciate any insight even if it takes a bit. It is not like anybody has a life or anything . Thanks again.

First and foremost congratulations. Parenthood is one of the most exciting, funny, scarey, prideful, painful, frustrating, but most of all rewarding experiences that a person can go through. I have been blessed with two girls and they keep me busy when I am there to spend time with them. My biggest suggestion that I can come up with is love your child unconditionally, spend as much time with them as you possibly can, dote on your child (no matter the nay-sayers) as much as you can, pictures are a must. One thing that you may consider, is maybe start an e-mail account for them. When you have a moment with them, want to share with your child a thought that is fresh send them an e-mail. Then when you think that they are old enough to understand those thoughts and enjoy the memories give them that e-mail account and let them read them. I can not take any credit for that idea, I got it from a T.V. show that my oldest absolutely loves. See TV does influence us . Again congratulations, it is a special time in your life.

it is never easy to be the one who breaks any kind of bad news to anybody. Plus considering the akwardness of talking to someone you just give nods to every now and again, I am sure it compounded it. All considering you did that man a huge service. As others have said you may of triggered a good amount of fear into the guy that he may actually go to a doctor and be checked. I wish I was a wordsmith but to me I think that was a great service you did for that man. Kudos to you.

chbare, OK I am fairly new to this site. Could you assist me in finding older post by certain people. I tried to go to his profile and search the "post" tab but it only came up with about 5-6 post and it seems they were replies to post not nec. post that he had published.

I actually tried this with one of my patients...I asked them to hold still while I start this IV so I can give you some valium. Once they stopped I initiated the IV and transported. No valium but it was a funny story I had to share.

One thing that I can say is this is EMS, we are really a great bunch of folks. One thing about EMS you do need to know it is like being with a bunch of egos. Because of a great call that we had last week, or just the fact that we just moved up the ladder in our cert, or just because we can be cocky the egos will fly. It is no different than any other profression the the healthcare industry. So you had a bad day, stick around and see the good days and you will know why there are some of us that stick around this business for a long time. It gets better.

Actually I am sure that I will be fine...I actually might (unintentionally) piss somebody off before to long. All kidding aside I accept any type of critism that comes my way. If someone pisses me off, then ask Dwayne what might happen to them .

Well why we are on the subject, I have a question for ERDOC, what are your feelings on being aggresive with pain management, in the pre-hospital setting, for abdominal pain? The reason I ask is there are a lot of Docs that are against it, and there are some (luckily to be the case in just about all of the systems I have been in) that agree that it should be handled aggressively. What are your thoughts?

I didn't want to scare away folks before they got a chance to meet me MonogMedic

Have you been talking to Dwayne about me already??

Hey all, I am new to the City, although I have been on for almost a week now I have not done an intro. Hence, maybe I should of done this first. My name is Sterling. I am from Texas and currently work in Mongolia on a rotational basis. I am pretty outspoken, especially if something gets my goat. I am not the smartest guy in the world, but I will try to contribute to this site as best as I can. I believe that dignity, respect, and knowledge are intregal parts of our jobs. No matter what type of setting we practice in. Anyway, I look forward to learning from y'all and helping out in any way that I can. MongoMedic

Mike, Maybe truly is just me jumping into something that I don't know the history of, or just the way I am wired. Truth be told this debate can go on and on and on. Not really taking up everyone's time and energy. I do have one question though, if this guy is a nuisance on this site then why has he not been removed? I am really new to this site so no I don't know all the ins and the outs of it yet...like I do FB LOL so I am asking from a veteran

Mike, you got me. I do agree with you..but let me clarify one thing. That is the best way for me to learn. I read it (often more than once or six times) then I talk about it, then I do it. Or I get hands on instructions as I am doing it. Those are the best ways for ME to learn. Who knows what this guy's "best way" to learn is. I don't know this guy from Adam of Batavia maybe he is actually a Medic just trying to stir up S&*^* in here, or maybe this how he learns. I also look at it this way if he asks a question that is totally off the grid of what we do and it bothers you then don't read it and don't reply to it. Really it is that simple don't chastise the guy for asking a question. If you choose to answer it maybe it will remove that little bit of rust that we all get in this biz and maybe help us remember some of that information that we might of once knew but have now forgotten.

Holy Cow!!!! Are you serious? One thing that veteran Medics should be preachin to anybody interested in EMS or new to EMS, should be to ask as many questions that pop into their brains. They should be able to find out the answers from those that have been in the field and can relate what they have read, seen, and done. Not be bashed in the head when they ask a question. Now I will agree that the best way to learn the information is to maybe talk about what you have learned, and not just pop out random questions. Just my thoughts on that. Now in my carreer as a Medic, I have had about 10 suspected cases of appendicitis. Out of those 10 cases 7 of them were confirmed. Now with that being said, I agree with ER Doc. We do not have the diagnostic equipment in the field and not in any of the remote clinics that I have been in to confirm/rule out appendicitis. Truth be known a good history, thorough physical exam (plenty of resources to find different exams on suspected appendicitis), pain management (depending on how aggresive your service is and what your local protocols allow), antiemetics, and a thourough report to the receiving facility. This is about all you can do other than supportive care. When the patient is to an appropriate facility they will do blood test, ultra-sound, and possibly a CT to confirm/rule out appendicitis. As Medics we do not "diagnose" we give differential diagnoses on what we suspect it might be and treat according to protocols, our findings, and treat accordingly. Ask as many questions as you want. I may not have all the answers but I am pretty sure somebody here will be more than willing to give you an answer. And who knows, it might teach/refresh us old crochity dudes a thing or two in the process. MongoMedic

Simple within this profession people tend to get into a place with this job, that they become a little jaded and out of focus of what it is truly about. We can do all kinds of fancy things to our patients while they are in our care. However, if we get into a place within ourselves to where we don't see the personal side of this business we sometimes need just a little reminder of that to get us back on track. One of my former Directors of EMS always said "we can teach a monkey to intubate", but teaching us manners, respect, and courtesy require a foundation within that person, that we are teaching, from the begining. Even a foundation could use a little re-leveling every now and again. This is always one of the first things that I try to instill in any new medic, student, or rider that is on my truck. This truly is one of my "soap-box" topics. I truly believe from the time we get the call to the time that patient care is fully turned over, no matter who (or in some cases what) they are, our patients deserve all the respect and courtesy that we can give them. MongoMedic

KNDOUG, I totally agree with Dwayne on every aspect of his post. Although I will add this there is a difference in being confident and arrogant. When you are confident you show it by doing it in a manner that you know what you are doing, not by just talking about it. Being arrogant in this business can be quite dangerous. Because of the simple fact arrogance is being able to talk a good game, but having no clue of what you are doing. This can not only hurt your reputation as Medic but it can also kill someone. During your clinicals, this is the time to not only take what you have learned from the books and put them into practice. It is also the time to ask questions and simply say "I don't know" if you don't know the answer. Because if you don't ask the question you will not know the answer. If you make a mistake, don't worry about it, learn from it. That is what this time is for. Always remember this the training, education, clinicals do not stop once you get that Paramedic Patch. It is only the begining. There are countless ways to renew, improve, and learn new procedures, skills, and information that will help you in your carreer as a Medic. MongoMedic

Jessi a couple of thoughts on your question and about losing faith in your fellow man. First unfortunately there are some people in our world that just don't care or have a mean spirit about them. The good news to this, is these people are actually a minority on the grand scheme of things. I have been fortunate enough to literally experience the world in my job. So by being able to do that, I have seen more good in people than I have seen bad. It took me a minute to truly realize this but it is true. As far as losing faith in your fellow man. Although Dwaynes test is great you just have to one thing. Take a look around you and see your fellow brothers and sister caring for the sick and injured on a daily basis. This should be a testament that there are great people who share a gift that has been given to them, from whom ever they may believe in. That right there should be enough to help you keep faith in fellow man kind. Just my thoughts as one of many creatures on this mud ball we call earth. MongoMedic

Wow great feedback. Thank you all for it I am really glad to see that there are more healthcare professionals out there that believe, and even sometimes appreciate a reminder of things that we should be doing. I know that even I forget these little things, but like Dwayne has said I too have seen amazing results from following this philosophy. Truth be known I can not take full credit for these thoughts. These were things that were pounded into me and learned by a man who I consider to be pretty much my mentor..who actually fired me from a service that I worked for because I needed to grow up as a Medic. He eventually re-hired me and taught me the world. So to him I tip my hat to and give a lot of the credit to him. Thank you David Phillips.

Those are pretty much the points that I talked to the doctor about...sorry I probably did not make that clear at all. I was just pretty much trying to make the point that no matter how long we are in the healthcare field then we just may need to be reminded, from time to time, that there is a personal side to this business that we are in. Really nothing more than that.

I am new to this forum, however not new by any means to EMS. Recently I have gotten a new doctor (Mongolian doctor) into my clinic in Mongolia. This guy is new by all that is meant to the word. He is only 4 years out of a Mongolian medical school, maybe a year out of his residency, and brand new to the company that I work for. So needless to say, this guy is definitely green. A conversation took place last night, that I thought would be important to share with my fellow healthcare providers, because we all to often (myself included) loose sight of what the business of healthcare is all about. -Fist and foremost the business of healthcare is about making somebody's day better than when we first see them. We do this a few ways. One by talking to them, and letting them know not only what we are doing to them but also general conversation. This tells the patient, who truth be known are having a worse day than we are, that they are not just another run ticket. That during that time we are there for them not the other way around. Talk to them like you know them, obviously with some degree of respect. I am a big believer, that patients respond better to this than just about any treatment or procedure that we inflict on them. -Talk to them like a person with confidence, but there is no need to show them how smart you think you are. When we talk to patients or other healthcare providers, we tend to want to show them how smart we are. Well guess what the patient probably does not have any formal medical training other maybe first aid or CPR training. Hence, they do not know all the fancy .50 cent words that we do and do not understand what the hell we are saying half the time. When talking to other healthcare providers, in front of your patient, speak in laymans terms. I am pretty sure that person that you are talking to will understand what you are trying to say. This will help the patient not only understand more about what is going on,but also it builds more confidence in the care that you provided. I mean really if you are that desperate to boost your ego, then go look in a mirror and talk all the jargon that you want. -Another important aspect of our jobs is to do no harm. We are there to help patients not hurt them, they already are having a bad day. In other words, don't inflict pain on a patient just because you can or the protocols say you can. Here is an example, I knew a young Medic that on a simple trauma that really did not need an IV started a 14g in the hand of his patient, just because the protocol said he could. That truly was his defense. This is not only wrong on a moral level but a legal level as well. Also if you see another healthcare provider do something that is wrong and don't say anything, well then you are just as guilty as well. -Don't blame the patient. When patients call us out in there mind there is a need for help that is why they call us. We chose this profession for whatever reason, so it is our responsibility to accept that and whatever pitfalls that it comes with. Although it may be that patients fault for calling you out to their house at 0300 in the morning simply because they are lonely, however you are the one who chose this profession for yourself not them. -Stay in your lane. It all to often happens that, espicially the younger (in experience) healthcare providers start out or level up to a different cert. and feel that they know it all. Folks I am here to tell we don't. I do not care what level of healthcare provider you are, you do not know it all. If you are not proficient with a skill or are not really sure how to do it, then make sure you get enough training and throughly understand what you are doing to your patient before trying for real. I agree it is called medical practice for a reason and mistakes will be made even by the most seasoned veterans. Never be ashamed to ask for help rather than just doing it to make yourself look good. Remember my comment about egos. Just remember of what you are dealing with. I hope that this did not bore y'all to much, but with the New Year here I just felt that sometimes things like this need to be said. MongoMedic Khushuut, Mongolia