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My agency certifies us with ASHI. The instructors get blank cards that they handwrite our name and re-cert date on. Kind of sketchy, but yea....

NJ uses www.njems.us for initial certification and renewal

www.njoemscert is used for continuing education courses

NY State minimum age for EMT-B is 18. I know of one became an EMT prior to her 18th birthday, but when the investigation ended, she was already past the 18th birthday, and they left her alone. She retired from EMS activities as a Paramedic Lieutenant, some 20 or so years later.

Someone correct me if I am incorrect, but I seem to recall a program in the state of New Jersey, where teenagers as young as 16 were in EMT programs, and riding on some of the community Volunteer Ambulance Corps, but a key word on that was, they NEVER rode without a fully qualified NJ State EMT in the back with them. Teaneck, NJ had several features on the "Emergency Service Ride Along" shows, popular late Saturday night/Sunday mornings in the late 1980s.

As for me, when I started in Peninsula Volunteer Ambulance Corps (Rockaway Beach, NY) in 1973, I wanted to drive. The new organization told me, "No", stating "Insurance policies, ya gotta be 21 to drive". I was 19, then.

In NJ, 16 year olds can become EMTs as long as they are 16 prior to the start of the class. According to state law, any EMT under 18 must be accompanied by an EMT older than 18 when in the back of a rig.

There's only so much you can do to convince him to go. If you had PD there, they may have been able to help - i.e. he goes with you or gets arrested for the pot. If he was A&O x3, and continued to refuse, there's nothing else for you to do. I would have made sure there was someone to stay with him for a few hours in case anything changed, though. If you're still worried, and you have a good relationship with the PD, have them do a welfare check a few hours later.

This is just insanity, if Joe Public can assist somebody with their glucagon then how in the fuck can somebody who has actual medical training (and I use the terms actual and medical loosely) not be allowed to administer it?

I think its time for my dinner valiums

I agree. It's ridiculous that EMTs do not have such simple treatments under out scope of practice.

Some have zero training, some have CPR only, some have first aid & CPR. The unofficial policy is to find me if something happens and to call 911. Ambulance response is generally about 10-15 minutes. I just thought it may be a good idea for them to know some basics while they send someone to get me.

Arctickat - Definitely something to stress!

Best thing may be to just tell them that if they suspect any injury that warrants more than a band-aid, to not move the kid and find me ASAP. That way, no more harm will be done and I don't have to worry about training legalities.

My volunteer squad in a suburban area with about 4,000 calls per year only supplies us with a cotton polo shirt and 1/4 zip job shirt. If you're lucky, they'll give you a crappy winter coat. We have to buy our own pants and boots.

In NJ, all ALS units are required to be affiliated with a hospital. Therefore, they generally are not primary 911 transport units except for in a few of the major cities (Newark, Jersey City, Camden, etc.). BLS units on calls that require medics are generally met on scene or are intercepted by non-transporting ALS units operating out of SUVs. Some medic units are capable of transport but generally still just ride in the BLS unit. The only time I've seen them transport a patient was at a MVC where mutual aid would have otherwise been needed.

I'm on a volunteer BLS squad. We have two main bags - trauma and O2. On many calls, I'd like to just be able to bring in the trauma bag, but our BP cuffs are stored in the O2 bag. So we generally bring both bags on all calls.

thanks guys

If I were to find a patient like this already passed out, and I checked the ankles, wrists. and neck for a medical alert and find one for diabetes, would the glucagon treatment still be indicated?

With your training as a First Responder (or even as an EMT) glucagon is not within your scope of practice. So, for a random patient who happens to have glucagon with them, I wouldn't administer even though it would probably help. I would wait for medics rather than put my certification on the line and risk a lawsuit.

I'm working at a camp for 3-6 year olds this summer and am the only staff member with any training above basic Red Cross first aid and/or CPR. Some staff don't have any training. Essentially, if any type of medical emergency / trauma arises, I'm the go-to person. I'm going to brief the staff on some very basic first-aid. What do you think are some of the most important pieces of information to tell them? Keep in mind that I can generally be on the scene of any incident within about 2 minutes or less.

Some topics I plan to touch on are:

• major bleeding (applying pressure)
  
• BSI
  
• basic c-spine precautions / not moving an injured camper
  

I know there are a few other big ones I'm missing. Any thoughts?

NJ has a Medical Reserve Corps that medical professionals can sign up for. Not sure if CO has anything similar.

Thanks! I guess the only concern I have is that if I get any other job that requires CPR certification they may not accept the ASHI cert, but I'll cross that bridge if and when I get there.

My CPR certification expires in a few months and I'm planning to get re-certified at the squad I volunteer since they provide free training. I've always be AHA certified and just discovered that the certification my squad offers is ASHI.

Anyone know anything about the differences between AHA & ASHI?