Eydawn

Oh man, the standby one cracked me up! Especially that quip about the bomb squad... sounds like good advice to me!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

The use of the word "emergent" was sarcasm... sorry... I didn't mean he was in any way officially running "emergent" nor that he had right of way or anything of that sort.

Should have used quotation marks. I'll fix it.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

I can hear the banjo music now... lol!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Both should be charged with reckless endangerment. The FF for driving excessively fast with his damn family in the car, and the cop for hitting a damn minivan with an idiot running "emergent" behind the wheel.

Both should go to jail for some period of time, and or be forced to pay fines.

FF = MORON

COP = IMBECILE

And both are studying hard to aim for cretin one day. 'nuff said.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

EDIT: Added quotation marks around the word "emergent" to indicate that it is used sarcastically, and in no way implies that the FF had right of way or cause to be driving in such a fashion. W.A.W 1/24/07

Personally I understand why some people drink. It's their way of destressing. We all have different methods, and I don't necessarily think alcohol is one of the best, but it surely isn't the worst either.

I don't drink much, and I don't drink often. I understand the kind of alcohol consumption that involves sitting around the poker table (or dartboard or billiards table etc etc) with some of your best mates, drinking a couple of whatever you like to drink the most.

I don't understand the reckless abandon that goes with slamming down as many shots as you can in a 30 minute time stretch, so you end up vomiting for 4 hours while your sober friends nurse you with water and wheat thins; I don't understand getting so drunk that you can't control most of your actions and/or bodily functions.

I can't understand getting drunk on every night off. Or slowly increasing your tolerance to include more and more of the deadly stuff. I also can't understand smoking.. I understand nicotine, believe me from the little I've tried, it makes perfect sense... but the act of smoking and inhaling carcinogens outweighs that by a ton.

But then again, my destress methods involve dry ice bombs, hiking, way too sugary coffee drinks, choral singing, zombie tag, sledding on cafeteria tra... I mean red oblong sleds, and just curling up in the arms of my significant other. I will freely admit there have been many days where had alcohol been available to me, I would have gone at it to try to escape a little bit of the pain I was feeling at the time... but I now am highly grateful that those days never presented that opportunity. I think you learn a lot more about what's important if you face your troubles head on instead of hiding from them in a bottle... but not everyone is willing to go through the utter hell that facing those is.

Anyway... enough philosophy and sad memories for the evening.

Stay safe, everyone, and if you do drink be smart- preload the water and some food, drink water as you're drinking and if you need a vehicle to get home, get a DD or a taxicab. And don't abandon your mates.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

If I know I'm only going to sleep for a couple hours then I'll leave them in. If I am headed for a full night's sleep, I will yank them and take my glasses with me. I will also take an extra pair of contacts and I would advise keeping some really good comfort drops (like Systane) in your pocket. They're worth their weight in gold if you're up for a long shift.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Diagnosing over the phone the severity of someone's condition (especially when it's described by someone who's not professional and has little experience or descriptive ability) is like me trying to tell you why your car won't start by "feeling its vibes" through the internet. It is just kind of a dumb idea. I don't think it does much good, personally. But that's me.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

I got 18. I misread the which symbols don't have digits (just from fatigue I guess), the Venetian Blinds, the Card with Dealer's Mark and a couple others..

I disagree with the buttons on the lady's shirt one... I've seen both...

Anyways, bedtime.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

You have GOT to love the scene where "The Penguin" whacks the both of them with that ruler... and the expletives and whacks keep intensifying... now there was some comedy for you!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Never experienced it, but boy have I watched it... it can be amusing to see sometimes and other times it's just sad. Probably yet another reason why I don't drink very much nor very often.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Oh goodness! :oops:

Crazy joke, pretty funny...

But damned if it didn't make me blush!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Pulp Fiction:

"Pretty please, with sugar on top. Now wash the f*^%ing car!"

Boondock Saints:

"And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee.

Power hath descended forth from thy hand,

That our feet may swiftly carry out thy command.

So we shall flow a river forth to thee,

And teeming with souls shall it ever be.

In nomini patri, et filii, et spiritu sancti."

"Is it dead?"

And perhaps my favorite UNSPOKEN line of all...

Deja Vu:

"REVIVE ME"- written on the main character's chest.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Excellent. Lucky man... and lucky for his buddies that they got him back. It's always more difficult when it's someone you know....

So glad this had a happy ending!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Guy's a YouTube self made director. His stuff is really dumb. He's got a followup to this one called "apology" but it's really the same gag over again.

:roll: *sighs* there are many idiots who wish to display their idiocy... this must be why YouTube was created. Lucky us!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

It depends on the body language and actual behavior of whoever the entranced "fanatic" may be, no matter what religion they ascribe to. If they're acting really nutcase and not tracking correctly, off they go to the psych eval! If they can respond appropriately albeit seeming really ridiculous or strange to you, then they don't get to go off to the psych eval. All a matter of degree and nature of disruptiveness.

If you start sticking up the 7-11 or physically threatening someone all in the name of God (or Allah, or Joseph Smith, or I could go on forever) then you're a psych case. If you're preaching on the street corner and not threatening anyone, just being your normal weird self, then you're fine. Until you take off all your clothes. Then you're a psych case.

Be whoever you want to be.. just don't act too far outside of what's considered "appropriate" in public and don't threaten anyone else.

Yes? No? Maybe? Do you see my point?

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

I just can't wait for the day when my significant other finally takes his EMT (he was going to this summer but plans changed) so I quit getting blank stares at some of the more technical lingo. That said, he knows exactly what the radio means and he's very good at polishing boots (bless his heart!)

He also knows that if I say DO NOT touch that pen that I mean it!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

=D> Nice. Way to go and admit you made a mistake and promise to do better.

Sometimes it takes a while for a case of forum noob-brain to wear off... you're getting there!

And hey... stuff happens sometimes. Thanks for being a good citizen, and apologizing.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Flight for Life (St. Anthony's) URL: http://www.stanthonyhosp.org/index.php?s=flight_for_life_co

AIRLIFE (HealthOne network) URL: http://www.airlifedenver.com/

I'll try to get ahold of my St. A's friend and see if I can pull some contact info for you; may be a while though.

As for the other services, I know Northglenn runs primarily 911, Action Care runs 911, Denver Health runs 911 and Rural Metro runs some 911 cars, some general transfer cars. Again, it'll probably be a few days before I can get in touch with my buddies (being in MI for skool and all) but I'll see what I can scare up for you.

Here's some links to their websites, as far as I could find:

Northglenn Ambulance: http://www.northglennambulance.com/

Action Care: http://www.actioncare.com/index.html

Rural Metro: http://www.ruralmetrocolorado.com/

Pridemark: http://www.pridemark.net/

That should be enough to get you started and find some contact info (in case school ambushes me and I get too swamped to play email tag with the folks back home).

Good luck!! I think you'll like Denver. Ever been there before?

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Hey there.. being a Denver gal (away at school in MI) let me tell you what I can.

There are many services you could work for in the Denver area. The list that I can think of immediately is:

Denver Health: they're running some BLS cars now, so if you're a basic there's still something for you other than wheelchair van driver. I've heard pay is ok, don't have numbers to give you, however. Municipal; separate from Denver FD but stations with them (from what I've seen in downtown, really never done much with them.)

Rural Metro: works mainly in the Aurora area, has been known to cross over into Denver proper occasionally. Aurora is in the Denver metro area, not the city proper. Know a couple people working for them that seem to like it well enough; the only problem seems to be that Aurora Fire has medical control and it depends on who you end up on scene with as to how your patient care ends up working. AFD is moving to all FF/paramedics (too many chiefs, notta lotta Indians...) Generally works as posting, not quarters; their general transfer cars go 911 when the system overloads. Private company. I can get you pay scale and benefits info from my buddy if you want.

AMR: Does mostly interfacility transfers as far as I can tell. I'm not real sure where or if they run 911 cars in the Metro area. Private company.

Pridemark: Know an intermediate that works for them, he seems to like it and I haven't heard a lot of complaints. They're a private company. Don't know about posting vs. quarters. Could ask my friend about benefits, pay etc. if you like.

West Metro: You must get your FF and or your medic to work with them from what I remember (as of 2 years ago); they're a private company. Heard they have good pay comparitively. Unknown on posting vs quarters.

Parker: Combo FD and medic department, in Parker CO (not really far from Denver, maybe about a 25 minute drive depending on how fubar Parker Road gets during rush hour). Don't know if all their guys are FF and medic, but they have nice equipment. Unknown on posting vs. quarters.

Action Care: Also does more of the Aurora/Parker area stuff, trends down towards Englewood some; I know a basic working for them and he likes them. As far as I know they run 911 and general transfer. Can get more info from my buddy if you want, regarding quarters, pay, etc. (I know, I have a lot of friends, lol)

Englewood Fire: Don't know if they hire just medics; their boxes are new from what I've seen (I don't remember seeing them the past few years, all I remember in that area was Action Care but now Englewood's got some shiny new boxes). Unknown on quarters vs. posting.

Northglenn Ambulance: This is the one I'm personally familiar with; private company, generally does quarters unelss the system is way loaded up and then they go to posting; runs medic/medic and medic/basic teams for their 911; all their cars do interfacility transfer runs. They work in Northglenn proper and Commerce City (where they station with South Adams Co. FD). I don't know about pay, personally (I was a 3rd rider shadowing one of my crew advisors) but I could get that info if you'd like. Know a lot of great people who work for them. Can get you more info if you would like.

EDIT: Wups, forgot about the flight stuff! The 2 services that run flight are Flight for Life and Life Flight. Flight for Life is based at St. Anthony's and Swedish; I can't remember where Life Flight is based. I can get you a lot more info on the Flight for Life program from (you guessed it, another friend) who works in the St. Anthony's system if you want. If you're interested in this stuff, drop me a PM.

Best of luck to you!

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

I am a very hands-on kind of person. I prefer to be the one providing patient care, interacting with my patients. I don't know how many of you have been in the ED as a patient in recent memory, but think about if you even saw a doctor at all. If you did, it was probably for less than 5 minutes. Who did you see the most? Who provided the majority of your care? In my case, the nurse and the tech.

I took a lot of things into consideration when I decided not to go through medical school. The cost of medical school was a very large factor for me. My family doesn't make very much money at all- they run a small business.

The length of medical school also is somewhat prohibitive for me- not in terms of calendrical years, but in terms of how much time I'd have to spend stuck in the world of academia. I have discovered here in undergrad that there are a lot of things in academia that I respect, and there are many that I loathe. The culture of the university world really isn't for me. I detest having to play the game and having to prioritize some inane memorization over the emotional and physical well being of those around me- I've never been really good at saying no, I can't listen to why you're hurting right now because I have a cell bio test in the morning. That kind of prioritization is not very conducive to the GPA that most medical schools desire.

The fact that doctors (especially ED docs) don't get to spend nearly as much time with the actual patient is another big kicker for me. I'm a people person. I think that a lot more can be accomplished with medical interventions if you can establish a positive relationship with the patient. And from my observation and experience, medicine is much more than the phsyical interventions that you perform. Ergo, doc saddled with paperwork and minimal patient contact just didn't appeal to me.

Then there's the fact that I eventually want to have a family. I don't want to be the always absent mother because I had to take 7 extra shifts in the hospital because my colleague is under review, etc. all that BS that happens. I feel as though nursing will allow me some more flexibility because all of that responsibility will not fall squarely on my shoulders.

I decided to get my bachelor's in biology before I did anything else because frankly, my physical body is something I struggle with every day and I know one day I will no longer be able to work in the prehospital environment. That may extend to the hospital environment, depending on where the dice fall. So having a bachelor's degree in biology will allow me to seek out positions in scientific companies, or a teaching certificate so that I may become a middle or high school science teacher.

Now I plan to get on the waiting list for nursing, and go through paramedic school while I'm on that list. Have no fear- I am not the sort to turn away from nursing school because I am enjoying EMS too much. Being an RN is my goal, and I can't wait to attain it. I've got to do something while I'm on the waiting list- and it might as well be a medic's cert and working as a basic. The more patients I see, the better medical practitioner I will become.

Stay safe out there

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

(P.S. if you really really want to become a doctor, then you will find a way to do it. Saying that because you became a paramedic you killed your chances of being a doc sounds kind of strange to me. Maybe your life experiences and interests changed what you THOUGHT you wanted to be; they didn't PREVENT you from going to medical school, however. You are the deciding factor in that one.)

PPS- I think I'm going to get eaten alive for that last one, but we'll see. If I'm wrong, tell me why I am.

Oh my gosh... the punnage keeps continuing... ROFL

Wendy

Nah, that would be an indicator that says something in the Cyrillic alphabet and screams at you in a heavy accent.

No offense meant to anyone.

Wendy

Welcome to the city!

Ehler's-Danlos Syndrome refers to a collective group of heritable connective tissue disorders. It may include "joint hypermobility, skin extensibility and tissue fragility." It has to do with a malfunction in the expression of the collagen protein. There are 6 different categories, each of which is directly heritable. A person with one type of EDS will not have a child with a different type of EDS according to--

http://www.ednf.org/abouteds/index.php?opt...2&Itemid=30

Now... what is Osgood Schlatter's disease?

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

You should have seen the look on the faces of the maintenance guys out at my summer camp when I went down for a vehicle maintenance meeting. Not only did I check all the fluids I could find a dipstick for (I'm used to Fords, so of course my vehicle had to be a Chevy) appropriately, I asked for help in locating a couple others, checked THEIR levels, topped off what needed to be topped off, then checked my tire pressure and put more air in the tires.

Then I pumped my own gas and wasn't even bothered by the fact that it was a pump where I had to listen to the gas going into the tank to tell when it was full. I've never seen a group of more astonished men in my life!!

It's not that hard, ladies... ask your brother or your dad or a savvy aunt or SOMEONE to show you how to check basic stuff on your car. Even changing the oil is easy; and remember, if you have to change a tire on the side of the highway, break the tension on the lug nuts BEFORE you jack the car up. Then remember to tension them down again AFTER you let the car down. That way you don't spin the wheels in the air, wasting energy and time, and your wheel won't fall off when you take off driving again.

Speaking of check oil lights... my mother siezed the engine in a Ford Pinto because she ignored a "Check Oil" light for 3 weeks. She thought another light would come on when it REEALLY meant it. With her mother in law in the car. That was a fun week...

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

Unless it's a proven intervention that allows some facet of care to be vastly improved (read- definitely not dead vs. maybe not dead), and the background education (note- education, not training) is increased to allow for that intervention to be performed with a full physiological understanding as well as technical skill competency, then ABSOLUTELY NOT.

The IO definitely falls into that category; why would one establish something that invasive when all you can do is pour saline in it? Do you even understand what bone tissue is composed of, and what needs to be taken into consideration when introducing foreign materials into that tissue? Is it going to make that much of a difference when you don't have the knowledge to utilize this procedure?

The LMA- I don't know enough about it to be able to tell whether or not it would be beneficial. I've always seen it discussed in terms of a secondary airway device, kind of like the Combitube or the King LT. That is, it allows you to establish a BETTER, but NOT PATENT airway in your patient. I've heard the LMA can slip if placed incorrectly or not inflated correctly, and that it has a higher rate of vocal cord damage.

Here's a question for you; does one have to visualize the trachea when inserting the LMA, or is it a blind pseudo-intubation device? If you have to visualize the trachea, then you definitely need more physiology and anatomy to be able to do more than go "Ok, the instructor said there's these goopy white lines and it goes between them!" If it's a blind intubation device that can be placed with a simple understanding of physiology (like the Combitube) then perhaps it has merit and educating basics in its use would be a good idea.

I know I certainly wouldn't want to try to use them until I had the knowledge- not a checklist of "if you see this then do this"- to make the decision whether or not to use them. And I'm a basic.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B