ClutzyEMT

Ah crap...should have left some of those bazillion windows I had open at one time open then......... sorry!! Dangit anyhow..... How about this one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531595

At a former job I worked where we ran both 911 calls and non-emergent transports (as well as got the joy of driving one of the three wheelchair vans on our "call days") we were constantly hauling a crack head. Sometimes it was in the w.c van and sometimes it was in the ambulance when she overdosed or fell out....after about a year of this I ended up getting to know her (against my better judgement) and found out that she had served oversea's and when she came home she couldn't adjust to "normal" life. She filed for divorce, it got a little messy and drawn out with custody disputes, etc. On her 39th birthday she came home after work to find her fifteen year old daughter hanging from her staircase with a note saying she was sorry that they (her parents) were fighting because of her. She said she started drinking and when that didn't help she moved on to other things. She had been in treatment four times. Self admitted three out of the four times. A year before I left that service she called 911 and my unit was paged to an "open line"....we found her bled out, apparently she had read the book "Suicide, doing it right the first time"...... I'm not a big fan of crack addicts either Doc.... I'm not saying they ALL have a reason.....but some do.....it's not up to us to judge them.

I obviously misread the first part. I apologize for missing that part. My bad. I will agree it is a waste of time and resources if that is the case, but will stand by my desire to see all patients treated with compassion. After reading it more s.l.o.w.l.y. this time, apparently she doesn't have a say in how, when, or where she gets transported and it's the facility that is pulling the strings NOT the patient......so does the patient deserve less compassion because of it?

Well Sarge....we were fighting a house fire and this here train derailed right in front of us................

Maybe instead of reading the patient's MAR and "getting the inside scoop" before you started chuckling at her you could have had a conversation with her and gotten down to the real reason she was being such a "colossal waste of time and resources of a PARAMEDIC unit"........... Sometimes all our patients really need are a pair of understanding ears and someone who actually cares about them......... Now back to your regularly scheduled nap.......wouldn't want you to miss your 'compassion' sleep.............

Funny question that....It accepts whatever form of payment you deem fit......... **drops in a used set of trauma shears** Karaoke machine plays 'Brother Can You Spare A Dime' by Bing Crosby

Lots of things will factor in on how well you do in the course ranging from the Instructor's ability to teach, and your ability to learn....my classes are a ton of hands on and critical thinking, other courses are a ton of power point and Redbull to keep the students awake... Some things to check into are what the pass/fail ratio of the course is, talk with prior students if you can, talk to your prospective employer's..... Your employer will know which course you took when you fill out your job application..... Edited to add: Never forget that whatever course you take, when you get that certification, you have learned the "minimum requirements" to enter the field. Don't stop with what you learn in the classroom! Use trusted sources for furthering your knowledge~~

So sorry May she Rest In Peace~~

No.......it's HIPAA.........The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 HIPAA Sounds to me like someone is trying to hang someone......and I agree with Island....

**Sadly sweeps up the broken glass the movers left on the entryway floor.** "Awww dammit, I cut my pinky finger and bled all over the floor........." **Tosses the used sledge hammer into the rusty old garbage bin in the corner of the room.** "Holy crap, sorry didn't realize it would be such a loud bang!!" **Uses a small can of purple paint to cover the red scrapes on the door frame...** "oh, so that's what mauve looks like......" **Brings in a Karaoke machine** "Let's see what the old crab ass is gonna do now"

http://emcrit.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Anesth-Analg-2004-Mort-607-13.pdf

Out pops a used pair of dentures with one tooth missing in the front *puts in a quarter*

So far we've only dealt with people that have used them to smoke their weed in public "anonymously"....

**gasps in horror at the hole in the wall** **pockets her two bits and heads for the watering hole**

Hang on a second Dwayne, in North Dakota, per state protocol, I can legally transport a suicidal patient if I want. In the years that I have been doing this, I have only honestly transported less than a handful of suicidal patients against their wishes but a couple that put up a fight do stand out in my memory. And they were also restrained, but I have a policy that if I have to have a patient restrained by the police, then the police get to ride along with us as well. Although I'm not sure either if this is a "real" post or not, but assuming (yes, I know the dangers of assuming.. ass me, you, etc) that the OP has the same protocols as ND and he followed them correctly, then the lawyer and the patient really don't have much of a chance of getting anywhere with their lawsuit. The original post sounds to me like a situation that quickly became out of control and rather than de-escalating a situation, the OP was either too inexperienced, or possibly had a "my way or no way" complex, and did not have the skills to competently take control of the situation and bring it back to a manageable level.

I agree with ERDoc~~you will get a lot more medicinal knowledge if you take time to read the charts and research anything you don't understand afterwards. I worked for a service many moons ago that did both 911 and transport. They owned three ambulances and two wheelchair vans and we were always busy! We were scheduled for 24's on the rig and the next day we would be "back up" for the transports and wheelchair vans. Longest transports we took were eight hours away, shortest ones were right in town. I was there for six years before the long distance transports really got to me and I went on my merry way to a 911 only service but I cannot stress enough just how much more medical/medicine/conditions/ailments/treatments/surgical knowledge etc. I learned from that job than I probably would have working the same amount of years in a 911 only service. The pay was about the same as 911 only services but we killed it on overtime due to the transports......

Welcome! What Facebook page if I may ask? There are a lot of sites...and some that are best left "unliked" when it comes to EMS....

**cleans the frost out of her ears** Island.......your retiring? Congrats my fine friend...may you enjoy every damn day of it~~you deserve it!! You'll stick around to slap me upside the head when I need it won't ya??

Should I become an EMS student and eventually an EMT? You, grasshopper, are the only one capable of answering this question. It is not for total strangers to tell you yes or no. My question for you would be: Why do you want to get into EMS? Also, will my age hinder me greatly? Depends...what is your age? What are the challenges of studying to be an EMT that I should be aware of? Should you begin the course, remember always that what your are learning is the MINIMUM amount of information you need to enter the field of EMS. EMS is an ever changing field and you will never learn it and should always be open to learning from trusted sources....textbooks are still screaming "high flow oxygen" for everything despite the fact that this can be detrimental....don't take one person or one sources word on anything...research and become knowledgeable.... If you're concerned about the emotional and mental strain of the job, but know it is a challenge you want to try and overcome, should you think twice? ?? Not sure I understand this question completely. The job can be emotional, we see things people were never meant to see and we are sometimes thrown into the middle of complete chaos and expected to come out the other side with a smile on our faces but if you have a support system and a healthy view of life, you can and will get thru most anything this profession throws at you. It's best to always remember that "It's their emergency, not yours" and although some calls will stay with you a lifetime, they are not your life. You have to have a balance.... Advice: Not sure of your age but human to human relationships and a willingness to help people and understanding them will get you a long way in EMS. If you cannot relate to people face to face then you are going to have a tough time in EMS. We are with people in what they consider to be the worst moment of their lives and if we cannot interact with them on their level then we are already behind the eight ball. I've seen EMT's and Medics that can recite the Brady book backwards and forwards without missing a procedure. I've seen EMT's and Medics that can rattle off all the algorithms for every cardiac case or medical case thrown at them that can't look a person in the eye and connect with them on a human level that are out of the field in less than two years.....sometimes (well maybe even 85% of the time) EMS is not saving lives and being the hero...it's just plain being human and drawing on some knowledge and nifty toys and medicine to lower a blood pressure, calm a frantic asthma patient, or splint a broken leg and then just letting that patient know that you are there........

eh..the kids a wanker...he thinks he's above reproach because he "saved" a 4 yr old having a seizure and now he's tugging on the heartstrings of the public trying to get sympathy~~ He broke protocols for one thing as according to the captain Protocol is to go to the first call unless the other one is of a more critical nature,” the captain said. (I'd also be willing to bet they have a standard age of 21 for driving due to insurance coverage. Wanker boy probably wasn't even covered while he raced to be the hero.) My point of view on what the correct procedure should have been: First call in was the seizure~~rig with two EMT's goes to the seizure to assist the medic, transport, whatever is needed. Second call in was the man who fell and is bleeding from his arm~~wanker boy gets into his private vehicle that from his description of everything he does, probably already has the pretty light bar and wanker bag already in it, and drives over to help the old man, control bleeding, stabilize, etc until the rig is free to transfer. Who knows, maybe the old man had a heart attack before he hit the ground and busted his skin open and wanker boy could have been a hero here instead..but I highly doubt it...wanker boy thought he saw a chance to grab some glory and ran with it but when it came time to face the music of admitting he made a rash decision and own up to punishment or suspension, he whipped out his crayons and scribbled an "I quit" notice........ Doesn't sound like quite the "Youth Adviser" material they thought he was in the first place...sounds more like some dood who thinks he is going to go out and save the world and not let any pesky protocols or station procedures stand in his way. The sad part is that those of us in EMS understand why he was disciplined and can see the bigger picture whereas the public just sees somebody trying to play hero and getting slapped on the hand for it. Wonder what they would think had he blown that rig thru an intersection and killed a car full of old ladies or teenagers............I think they would be calling for more than a suspension......

**shrugs and tosses in a quarter** what can it hurt?

Sorry to hear you got ditched CAD~~hopefully things are going better now. Did you have a chance to check into an EMR class? I still think that would be a great way to get your foot in the door Thanks everyone for the nice comments in regards to my post...just trying to be honest~~if anything else, I've always been a huge supporter of getting people involved with EMS when they are young and to nurture them as best we can....us oldies can't run the ships forever and we need to mentor and guide those that are interested....... Keep up posted on your adventures Cad~~ we look forward to hearing from you~

Hi Caduceus, nice to meet you I'm going to be the one irresponsible adult in this bunch who walks over, shakes your hand, and hands you the code to access my ambulance shed door..... Then we are going to sit down together and have an in depth visit. In some of your previous posts you've alluded to having witnessed or possibly having been a part of some traumatic events, or maybe some medical events. I'm going to ask you further about them, what they were, what your part of them consisted of, how it affected you in the following days, weeks, etc. During our chat, I'm also going to give it to you straight. We see things in EMS that most people can't even begin to imagine. Things that we carry with us for the rest of our lives. I only have three decades in this business and I'm sure I haven't seen it all and there are probably more things I have yet to see, but honestly, I still have a few accident scenes and traumatically abused young patients come and visit me in my dreams.........but I also have some wonderful memories of being the first person to hold a newborn baby in my hands and can still feel the arms of a mother who's son we revived after he plunged into an ice cold lake hugging me and thanking me for not giving up on him. So we are going to talk about those things together. We are going to talk about the good, the bad, and the boring. We are going to talk about how a profession in EMS can either make or break a person. Then I'm going to ask you to go home and take 24 hours to really think about whether or not you want to come along with me in my ambulance. 24 hrs later...............you show up at my bay and say "I thought about it and I still want to do it." And then I'm going to give you a pager which you will carry with you at all times. He probably will be quiet for the first few days that you carry him and you'll probably push down on the little protruding button on the on/off knob a couple of times a day "just to be sure" it hasn't gone off and you've missed it...... And then finally, when we least expect it, (most likely at 0600 hours) Mr. Pager is going to scream/beep/tone at the top of his lungs to tell you that "Old Mr. Creeky Hips down the road has fallen and can't get up." and your going to jump out of your nice warm bed, throw on that set of clothing that you have had nicely laid out for just this occasion for three days now, wipe the sleep out of your eyes and try to calm your shaking hands while waiting for me to swing by and pick you up for the ride to the ambulance bay. I'm going to pick you up outside your house and on the way to the ambulance bay I'm going to coach you to slow down your breathing and shake out the tremors running thru your body and just relax. I'm going to calmly remind you that this is Mr. Creeky Hips emergency and not ours. And we're going to talk about what we might be heading into as we get to the bay and transfer into the ambulance with the rest of the crew. I'm also going to remind you that this is the time of day that heart attacks happen and that we can't always rely on what "Mr. Pager" tells us so we need to be mentally prepared for the "worst case" scenario as well as a simple fall. As we pull up to the front door of Mr. Creeky Hip's house I'm going to ask you again if you are ready and if you want to come in. If you don't, that's fine with me and I really won't mind if you decide to sit this one out in the front seat of the rig and just wait for my partner and I. I will not hold it against you either, so don't be afraid to tell me that you've changed your mind. I'd rather know now than have you come in against your better self judgement. But if you do decide to go in, then you need to know that I can't hold your hand. I can keep an eye on you and guide you if needed, but once we step foot into Mr. Creeky Hip's house, my focus and my attention need to be on him and what is happening with him. If we get in the house and it is a simple fall, great! We can do a rapid trauma assessment while we question Mr. Creeky Hip and try to find out what caused him to fall and get him all packaged up and ready to transport (if needed) or if he doesn't want to go in, do a thorough assessment both medical and trauma, call medical control then help him up off the floor and be on our merry way. Most likely the entire time I am going to be observing you and how you handle yourself, how you interact with Mr. Creeky Hips and his family, and how you interact with myself and my crew and hopefully you will be wonderful at it. But if we walk in the door and Mr. Creeky Hip is exhibiting agonal respirations and his family is hysterically screaming at us to "do something" then I may even forget for a few minutes that we brought you along because we will be in full "code" mode and you may have to fend for yourself for a few minutes until we get CPR started, the AED on, get IV's going, etc....so I hope you are okay with that and secretly I am probably hoping that you jump right in and ask if you can help with CPR. Whether I need you to help or not doesn't matter, but your offer to help will be immeasurable in the amount of faith I put into helping you continue along your chosen path should you choose it after this call. And when it is all said and done, and the call is over, we are going to talk about it. And we are going to talk about you. And should you decide you want to continue on this path I will urge you to first get your Emergency Medical Responder patch.... And I will probably give you my personal cell phone number and tell you that any time you want to talk about it to call me. Any time. I will be honest with you and tell you that I would much rather you get your EMR patch before your EMT patch because of your age. I'm not trying to downgrade you or say that you aren't ready for an EMT patch but rather just saying that "at your age" the logical step is to get an EMR patch which will allow you to ride on the rig but the ultimate responsibility for a patient's life will never lay in your hands. That's a huge responsibility to have at 15. As a side note, my son, who is 12, has his EMR patch and it might be a shock to some, but he is allowed to ride on the ambulance with me on certain calls. Granted he has grown up in EMS and has practically lived in an EMS classroom since he was about five years old, not to mention been witness to several car accidents that we have come upon while traveling and watched from afar as I've treated the patients. The last class that I taught he decided he wanted to take the State final and practicals..........and he passed......he passed all the skill stations and the written so "legally" he can practice as an EMR but legally and mentally are not always the same. I am fortunate that I work full time for a small service and I can pick and choose which calls I allow him to go on, but I always know in the back of my mind that at some point we could be called to something I know he shouldn't be involved in because it will be totally different on scene than what the call came out as. Thankfully my town is small enough that if he isn't able to stay in the rig, there will most likely be two or three extra people on scene that can take him home again and I can talk to him later about the call and why he wasn't allowed on scene. But in your case, it will be a totally different deal and I worry a little bit that you may get in over your head by mistake.....especially if you are running with a bunch of guys who maybe won't think twice about how something may or may not affect you....but on the other hand, I applaud you on the research that you have been doing and how you found this site. Your maturity level speaks to me of far older than 15 and I may be worrying for naught... Please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing....and never be afraid to talk to us about stuff..........good luck!!

I heard you only wore your birthday suit to those late night calls Kat........

First I'd probably spit out every h*ly sh*t word I had in my vocabulary, then I'd frantically search for my cell phone throwing old food wrappers and pop bottles all over the inside of the truck cab in the process...... Once I found my cell phone I'd jump out of the rig screaming "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, did YOU see what just happened?" at everyone....then with no thought to self or safety I would run as fast as my short little legs would carry me over to the wanna be skydiver off the moped, tap him on the shoulder and say...... "Dude, I missed filming that with my phone........could you do it again?" Then I'd plaster the video all over Facebook...............