Wackie

This is a super secret black ninja program the government has begun to help with population control. Shhhh...don't tell anyone I told you.

EMT-B trainee here. I'm not even worried about the written test. I can pass the freaking test. I'm worried about when they hand me my card and send me on my way to save lives. We're required one 12 hour shift in an ED then three 12 hour shifts on the ambulance with a minimum of three transports combined. I have one 12 hour shift left and I've had two transports and a grand total of three medical calls (one of which was a woman who died in her sleep-not much to do there). This next station I go to for my last shift is slower than the ones I've been at. There's not a single way in hell that I'll be ready for "out there". :shock: I think basics need more clinical experience before being turned loose. I'm required to get just one more transport, and I tell ya I wouldn't want some newbie EMT with the amount of experience I've had to be dealing with my chest pain. :shock: God help my partner :roll:

baha! :laughing4:

You're also allowed to "pass gas".

Good, golly! I've driven through less populated cities!

I would say if they fessed up, yes. If they play stupid then it's hearsay and you can't really go by that.

You can go to the lab and get poked.

*standing up and applauding* I'm a woman and far from being pissed off. Women who piss and moan about equal rights then retract that when the going gets tough deserve a swift kick in the pants followed by a "Suck it up and get your a** moving or get back in the kitchen" lecture.

I must be crazy since I'm sitting here wishing I could ride with you guys. "Show me everything you know" :laughing4:

Mine was bad enough they taped the picture side down to the paper. So that the back was showing. That's just harsh. :shock:

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I've got it down now. What I think I did was trust that the others were doing their jobs and I focused on mine and was able to block out the rest of the scene, to the extent of being able to perform my job (as well as I could lol). I just happened to get one of the better patients who also did not require the care the others did. I need some experience under my belt to aid in making judgement calls like some of the 15 year vetrans could on scene as well as more training. Looking back, I could have done a better assessment, and there are a few other things I know I could have done better. My next run, I'll keep that in mind and make sure I use the experience to do better. As for now, I have something else to obsess about. I just got my new driver's licence in the mail. :shock: Why they let me out in public, I don't know.

I'm about half way through the course. That no feeling of urgency is what is bothering me. Command wasn't set up very well. They had five on the ground and took a little while to ask for help. We heard the call and knew we'd go. We went ahead and started that way. They radioed and sent us out without lights and sirens. We were half way there when we went full lights and sirens. When we got there, they had just started to triage. And as I think about it, when we stepped out onto the scene I was rushing. I was rushing to the patient and to assess and splint him. So, perhaps since our patient was stable and doing really well is why I didn't get that feeling anymore. Or because the medics I worked with seemed so calm? I dunno. It's what I'm trying to work out to learn from. It's getting harder for me to go back and remember everything. It kind of sucks that we're on spring break now so I won't see my instructor until next week. The no lights and sirens to the ER was a call made by the medics I rode with as well as the patient. The medic drove the speed limit and the patient kept asking us to slow down "We're in no hurry". One of the medics asked if a certain hospital was alright with him and he refused and asked to be transported to a different hospital which was about fifteen minutes away. That hospital is a trauma III btw. The nurse I spoke to said he needed to go to a trauma I because of the three that were flown. So, I'm kind of dealing with that too because I'm a little confused. We haven't gone over trauma yet. Just from reading ahead, I thought an open compound fracture was a critical patient. Especially one like that. You could see tendons, bones, and fatty tissue. His shoe was filled with blood. His blood pressure was a little low but a slow drip brought it up quickly. I hate that I didn't start coming up with all of this while I was at the station.

I did my first ride out yesterday. The very first call was for a lady who died in her sleep. She had signs of rigor so we gave our condolences and left. No big deal. My next call was freaking crazy. A mass casualty incident. Three patients flown, two transported who were also critical. We needed more hands on scene, we later discussed. Our medic crew got split up to help with an extrication. Our box got raped and we waited on scene with a really bad open compound ankle fracture for thirty minutes longer than we should have while waiting for our cot to come back. Anyway, I was given a pat on the back for not losing my head or anything. I chalk it up to ignorance because I don't think it hit me until today just how bad that scene was. I knew one of the patients flown arrested at the ER within an hour of his arrival. I saw him on scene when he was struggling to breathe. We transported our patient to a hospital I do some volunteer work for. Today, I asked the nurse how the patient's doing. He might not ever be able to walk on it again. She then told me all three which were flown died. So, that's three out of five total. As I did mindless volunteer work, I started thinking about it. Previously, I had hashed out in my head what I could have done better and things like that. But, I realized today that I hadn't had a clue as to how bad that scene was. I remember seeing the urgency in everyone's eyes but for some reason I didn't feel that as much. Perhaps it's just because I'm a student on my first call so my judgement isn't honed yet. Or perhaps I was simply focused on my patient. But then perhaps when I saw all of the patients on the ground when sizing up the scene, they were compensating at the time and at a glance they didn't look as bad as they were. So maybe it's a lesson in realizing how much patients can compensate. I never did see the two who had to be extracted from the vehicles. We brought our patient into the medic and went to work on him, so I wasn't out on the scene much. He was critical, but not to the point of running lights and sirens to the ER. It just bugs me that I didn't seem to know how bad that scene was. Any input is appreciated.

I can't believe how frustrated I am at one of my class mates. This person falls asleep in class, never tucks in their shirt (we have a uniform we're to wear), doesn't always follow uniform code, cheats off the person next to her who recently requested to move... And they want to be a nurse :shock: They can't do clinicals right now because their grade is too low. How f-ing hard is it to wear the uniform and act like a respectful human being?!?! For the record, I leave my phone in the car when I go to class.

No checks and balances really. Although, we are allowed to complain to our instructor. To me, it's like taddling and I don't want to be *that* big of a baby. Pissing off the charge nurse effected my scores for the clinical, I think. She's the one to score me. We get scored 1-5, five being the highest, on different aspects such as knowledge, attitude, etc. Everything I was quizzed on by a few nurses I knew the answer to. I fumbled around with the BP cuffs a few times just getting acclimated with the type that took all of the vitals except for RR. Otherwise, I felt I did fairly well for such a greenie. The charge nurse gave me fours. Since it wasn't the highest, I went to the recommendation part and found nothing written except for a signature. One of the nurses I worked more closely with looked over my shoulder and mumbled that she thought I deserved higher. I guess I should just let it roll off my back and look ahead. I found I don't like the machines which take all of the vitals for you. They might save time usually, but when one goes on the fritz, it's a pain. I needed to get a temp on a lady with severe abdominal pain. She wanted to breath through her mouth to help herself deal with the pain. I had to stop her twice with that because of one of these machines deciding to go crazy. :roll: Give me reliability over fuddy-duddies Overall, I learned a lot. Maybe not as much about medicine as I'd like, but about attitudes. And that I need to step it up a notch on my self teaching spanish program

I had my ER shift today for EMT-B where everyone there pretended as if I didn't exist. I had to ask about everything. Can I do the vitals? Can I help with that splint? etc. I had to catch nurses/the paramedic (who was given the task to train me who was more interested in disappearing or gossiping than training me)/doctors at the right moment in order to learn anything. Even then, all I could do is watch. They had code lingo on the board which told them if the patient needed to be assessed and what have you. I was pretty much ignored by two different nurses when I asked what the code/board meant since it was obvious I was on my own. The one nurse who didn't ignore me kept taking me back to show me how to do a UA. I pissed off the charge nurse when I basically told her I'm here to learn and that I need opportunities to do so. Thank gawd for the shift change who had staff willing to show me things, let me help, etc. From then on, I did patient assessments, vitals, helped with a dislocated elbow, a few lacerations, draining an abscess, restraining a child, moving patients from cots to beds... I'm still f-ing pissed off though and feeling a little jipped. I was there 12 hours for 4 hours of actual clinical. Time isn't an excuse since it was slower than heck with the rude shift and busy with the nice shift. I learn more from the volunteer work I do than the rude shift I was doing an actual clinical at. I hope my ambulance rides aren't the same. I saw one of my classmates. He was involved which lifts my spirits. Perhaps I'm belly aching over nothing.

I'm glad he cares enough about his patients to worry about mistakes.

I agree. And sometimes it helps me to gather enough information to make an outline, or a resemblance of some organization and then do a thesis. I tend to work backwards sometimes

Those three I've seen and I'm only a student :shock: My pet peeve is the know-it-all. We have a know-it-all in our basic class. He knows everything, has done everything, and has seen everything. At times, I want to punch him in the nose. I don't know how the medics maintain their composure when he starts puking his BS all over them. You can see "STFU" written all over their face and in the bulging veins in their temples. Every time they start to go over something, he has to interject with an "Oh yeah! That's how we did it when this one time...", Or, he'll nod his head as if he approves of what the instructors are teaching and they way they're teaching it. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he speaks like one who's gotten just enough experience to think he knows it all, but doesn't know much at all. And with being 18 and the first time he's taken an EMT class...hmmm...

Is the first sign of wankerism is denial? How about wearing your EMT-B class uniform to the grocery store? Now, I did not put it on and then go to the grocery store. I went to the store on the way home from class. So there. The looks I got as if I could break out into a dead run at any minute can be a little empowering. It sucks being a wannabe

Worth quoting again. Research the profession before you enter it and make sure you can, or are willing, to do the job. It's one thing to not know if you can handle some of the body fluids and find you can't. But to know you're against birth control pills and "not realize" you'll be asked to dispence them is...:roll: I understand we have a freedom of religion. People seem to forget most religions are based on sacrifices. Examples: -You don't curse even though you'd like to at times. -You don't eat a fat juicy steak ever, or certain times of the year -You don't work at a job which has requirments that are against your religion. That's why religion is viewed as noble by some because of the sacrifices you make. Everyone wants everything to bend to their way of thinking or believing to make it easy on themselves and it's rather annoying.

Does 50 degrees in a bathing suit count? I did it voluntarily too. *shiver* The person below me has eaten cat food and secretly liked it.

I edited my post above so have fun reading that :roll: How long would you work the 32hrs a week before they switched you to 24 hrs? What I'm getting at is, how long will you work or go to school 7 days a week before you can have at least one day to yourself?

How many hours of school are you taking, what days and times, and what days and times do they want you for the tech job? Being that I am a full time student maintaining a 3.77 while working 40-45 hrs a week and volunteering 4 hrs a week, I can offer some advice. With such a rigorous schedule, you must know thyself. You need to know the best method for you as far as study skills. Not just an alright method...the best. You have to be ready to study at the drop of a hat, to use any idle time, even if it's five minutes, to study. You need to be able to figure out what the professor wants of you and concentrate on that. Efficiency is key. This is where I hate the schedule I have to keep because I don't like having to narrow down what I need to learn. So, holidays and spring breaks I use to broaden what I've learned in class. I paid for those damned books so I sure as hell am going to get all I can from them. You need to be able to spot when you start drifting off into la-la land because you're so tired your eyes are crossing and know what to do about it. Me, I jump on a stationary bike. Or, if I am just flat tired, I go to bed. To your brain, there is no substitute for rest. You need to be in top physical condition. This means a balanced diet and some exercise with a multivitamin. You would not believe how much more information you can learn and retain with a good diet and exercise. Even if it's only a minimal change for you, you need any advantages you can get. Caffeine is a no no. With such a schedule, the most important thing is to be able to know what your body and mind need (IE: rest, food, movement, etc). Caffeine, my experience anyway, only keeps me from sleeping and it seems to also hinder my studying (probably from lack of a good night's rest) as well as my determining what I need. Social life? Ha ha! Get used to being called "anti-social". You have to have some intelligence to pull this off because you will need to learn and retain the same amount of information others need (and have) twice or three times the amount of time to do. I'm not going to blow sunshine up your butt and say you can do it, go for it. It sucks. If you don't have to do it, don't. Learn all you can while in school. Look around for a more part time tech job. Because really, this work load sucks.