mediccjh

Oh, where do I start.... In New Jersey, ALS MUST be hospital-based. By law. That is why you cannot operate an ALS 911 service in New Jersey. Personally, I don't mind it. Also, by law, there must be 2 medics on the MICU. I like that too. BANISH THE FIRST GRADE COUNCIL. They are useless. They do nothing. Because of them, volunteer units don't even need to be licensed by the state. GIVE NJOEMS MORE POWER. More power to inspect the vollies and hold them accountable. HOLD THE VOLLIES ACCOUNTABLE. I don't even need to explain this. REGIONALIZE, REGIONALIZE, REGIONALIZE. It's working in Gloucester. Regionalize the 911 centers to be county-wide. Make the BLS county-wide, with ALS fly cars. Hudson, Warren, and Hunterdon do this. It works. Keep certain ones stand-alone, like REMCS for Newark. To me, the problem is not that there aren't enough medics in NJ; it's that they are abused. There are lots of places where the PD will request ALS on an obvious BLS patient just to baby-sit until the BLS shows up. It sucks. DISCLAIMER: These are my opinions, and do not represent the organizations in NJ I work for.

You are my hero.

I think I've done it 10 times or so. Seeing one done for the first time sealed the thought that I wanted to be a Paramedic when I grow up. It may seem barbaric if they are conscious, but it's either that or they die. If they need it, just do it.

Sounds like our problem across the river too. All management cares about is response times, and that any ambulance gets there, not the proper resources. It's not even like you can blame the crew for giving the wrong atom, since everything is based on Automatic Vehicle Locators now, right?

When you said Triple Decker, all I could think of are the 3-story projects in Newark, hence the reference. I want to learn the bagpipes.

If there's one team I hate more than the Red Sux, it's the Dodgers. The way Walter O'Malley broke the hearts of the people of Brooklyn is disgusting. May he and Robert Moses rot in hell. The Dodgers had the most loyal fan base in all of baseball at the time. If they were still in Brooklyn, I'd be a Dodgers fan. Nice try. When I grow up, I don't want to live in the projects.

I may have to beat you with my Yankee hat while wearing my kilt for calling me Chuck. I hate basketball, so I could care less. Sam Adams SUCKS! There I said it. The Lager is too grainy. I'll stick with my Yuengling, thank you. Dropkick Murphys...one of the few things good to come out of Boston. The others are Aerosmith, Boston, New England Clam Chowder, and Fenway Park, since it is a beautiful park. CB, I may be Irish and Italian, but I would have to live in the Irish part of town.

Since my original post got deleted FOR THE SAME REASONS WHY THIS PART HAS BEEN DELETED - ADMIN. I'm just going to sit on the sidelines and beat my head against the wall, while displaying my shirt!

If it weren't for the fact that I would be in the heart of Red Sux Nation, I would consider Boston EMS for employment. Then again, when I'm up that way in the summer, I'm going to 'Nuf Sed McGreevey's Pub on Boylston St.

The problem is that we are not considered a profession, but merely a techincal service, full of technicians that "drive the ambulance." We do need more education, yes. We need to be under our own flag. Not fire's, not police's, but our own. We need to set up the system so that to be a Paramedic you have to be in school for 2 years. I consider myself a good Paramedic and have yet to hear otherwise from my colleagues, but I kick myself in the ass everyday for not getting a degree. I'm trying to change that though. We need to stop the infighting, and unite as one, with the goal of making EMS a profession, and advance EMS to a highly respected service, because like it or not, we do provide a service. That's all I can think of for now, for I am having trouble converting thought to prose.

We become cynical. We realize there is another world behind the one that is shown for all. We learn not to trust strangers. We become humble, yet we get pissed when we're forgotten about. Most of us are not afraid to take charge when the world is exploding.

NYC EMS Rescue Medics have specific protocols to deal with crush injuries. If you visit www.nycremsco.org , the protocols are there.

"I'll pay you as soon as you get her down to the hospital." And the following is priceless............

Could be a pontine bleed due to the cocaine use. Then again, nothing surprises me down there. I've had a couple of pontine bleeds, and they are 1 of the 4 causes of pinpoint pupils.

Congrats!!

We have it on the trucks in Newark. I haven't used it yet. We have to be careful here with it due to the cokeheads we pick up. Something about runaway tachycardia doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Back on track..... gaelic, an ALS unit should be dual-medic in the big-city. Not doing so leads to burnout, whether it be the EMT stuck doing all of the BS jobs, or the medic stuck doing all of the ALS jobs. I personally prefer dual-dispatch, with BLS trucks being dual EMTs and ALS trucks being dual-medic. I prefer working dual-medic.

Congrats Dwayne!!!

Doc, that was a well written and thought-out post. Maybe you should send it to Dr. Henry Wang in Pittsburgh.

God forbid we would actually expect to educate our providers, instead of taking things away. That's it!! Scrap the system and start over. I hate it when idiot providers make it harder for us who actually know what they're doing.

Go to New York. Go to Philly. Go to LA County and LA City. There you will see why Fire should NOT be a part of EMS. Work together, but have separate identities. This comes from a medic who worked in NYC. Most of my friends do fire, and they support my opinion.

It's amazing how 2 Paramedics and 2 EMTs can run a cardiac arrest better than most doctors and nurses.

I believe it's true. Guns don't kill people. The person who makes a conscious decision to pull the trigger kills people.

As someone who is contemplating getting a vest (and has been shot at before), I personally am looking for something that would protect me if someone were to attempt to stab me or kick/punch/hit with a blunt object. I'm not worried about getting shot at as much as I am about getting kicked/punched/beat/stabbed. Suggestions?