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mediccjh

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Everything posted by mediccjh

  1. I use "Bus". A bus takes you from one place and drops you off elsewhere, therefore it applies in my world. And after all, it is a short bus, where most of our patients belong or rode at one point in time.
  2. I think we did about 130,000 across the river from you in Brick City.
  3. Very true. Right now I think I'm a stone heart, but I am thinking about seeing someone about the demons I'm experiencing. I'd rather not get into it right now on an open forum, but I'm taking the advice from an experienced medic who has been in da Brick for 20 years, and I look at her as a mentor.
  4. I was on the schoolyard massacre in Newark this past summer w/ the 3 kids killed execution-style and 1 survived. I've been in the newspaper about 10 times and TV a couple of times.
  5. Riddle me this, Batman.... If Paramedics save lives because EMTs save Paramedics, why is it the EMTs are the ones screaming on the radios for Paramedics when they can't handle something? (This is not intended towards the good BLS providers on the board.)
  6. That's funny. By the time I was 10, I was cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and knew the difference between right and wrong. I'm the oldest of 5, and I never thought of beating my siblings when they cried. And I was watching them when I was 12.
  7. You either can handle it, or quit shortly thereafter. My record for one night is 18 ALS jobs in 12 hours. Included were some cancellations, and 9 or 10 ALS treats. Others have done more; some BLS have done 25 a shift..
  8. Situational awareness. Never have your exit blocked. When you enter a residence, instruct the people to leave the doors unlocked; they usually do (and it's easier for help to walk through than try to break down the door if you need them). Like Asys said, respect. Treat them with respect, and most of the times they will treat you back. Even with that, you still need to watch your back. Go in, get your patient, bring them to the back of the bus, then lock the doors and start your treatment. If it gets hot, transport, park a few blocks away, then start going to work.
  9. In Newark, the term is Code 5. If we are being held hostage, we are to say our name over the air, and that's it. We do have the Orange buttons, and they do work for us. However, NPD is overworked and understaffed, so it can take some time before they get there.
  10. The search button is your friend. Last year, we beat 5,268 dead horses on this topic.
  11. Are we talking Explorers, or are you a volunteer unit that allows any idiot to join?
  12. Newark, NJ. 130.000 jobs a year with 13 ambulances at the most. Busiest per-capita system in the nation, and 20th most dangerous.
  13. One thing you must remember about Urban systems is that though you may be physically less than 5 minutes from the hospital, one must take into account extrication time. When you have to carry your equipment up multiple flights, take care of the patient, extricate patient and equipment, it takes time. Even in the high-rises in elevators, there is still the elevator wait. Therefore, you can still be with your patients for the longer times that one would see in some rural areas.
  14. That makes two of us, since sometimes Brick City can be as bad as Baghdad at times (I had a pt shot w/ an AK-47 multiple times this past Saturday night). You beat me to it about the cavitation. If you think about it, the organs would have to hit the spine at a high velocity to cause damage. The only thing that would damage the spine itself would be the bullet itself. And if the spine is hit, 99% of the time, you will get neuro defect, or your patient may even be in neurogenic shock.
  15. Honestly, if I had the MAST, I'd use them, however, not inflate them. The pants deflated still work well to immobilize.
  16. Did you talk to anyone at REMCS, since they are the ones in charge of NJSP Helicopter Dispatching?
  17. Everyone gets the IV funks in their careers. Part of the problem can be the catheter brand itself. The ones we have in Newark suck---the needles are dull, and the catheter itself tends to kink. The ones I use in PA, the needles are sharper, and the catheters are made of Teflon, so they don't kink.
  18. Well said. I hate the office politicks.
  19. Strippel, Sounds like you have RPS...Rookie Paramedic Syndrome. You will question yourself over and over again. You will not be comfortable for the first 2 years as a Paramedic. You will get into your own rhythm; it takes time to develop. Once you develop that, your scene times will go down. All in due time. Be confident in your treatment, and don't be afraid to pick the brains of the elders. You will learn valuable information from them.
  20. If you have a PDA, go to www.epocrates.com , and download it. It is a valuable resource.
  21. +100 for showing your true age. So what was it like working EMS in the 1400s?
  22. After reading through all 8 pages, and wanting to bang my head against the wall numerous times, I think I'm gonna chime in. I started at 14, started going on EMS jobs at 16. My first cardiac arrest was at 16, and it was my friend's father. Did that fuck me up in the head? Yes, for about a week. I was also lucky enough to have good providers to take me under their wing and form me into the medic I am now. They also knew when to talk to me and shield me. I found something I enjoyed, and turned it into my career. Because of this, I did miss out on some of the things a normal 16 y/o would do. Would I go back and change it? No. Things happen for a reason. The proverbial "Which came first?" question applies here. We all want competent, educated providers with experience, but how are above providers supposed to get educated and experienced? This argument has been going on since the beginning of time, and will continue forever. Am I f--ked up in the head? Yes, I am. I have seen the things that some 16 y/o shouldn't have to deal with, including aforementioned arrest. However, it is a choice I made that my parents agreed with. It probably was because I was always mature for my age, all the way back to elementary school. I still love my job and wouldn't do anything else in the world. I'm one of them. 10 years so far, though I know I have a LOT more years I need to work to catch up to you two.
  23. Use to MAST to splint the extremities, not to inflate them.
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