Eydawn

Should organic chem be required for paramedics? I'm all for more anatomy/physiology, biology, basic chemistry, etc.; also, if you require rigorous science courses for paramedic, woudn't that make bridging programs to nursing easier, since you have the science background you need and therefore just need the more specific nursing type courses? Also, do you think organic chemistry can be adequately taught in 20 weeks (my college is on the quarter system, three 10-week quarters but organic is still divided into two sections) or should it be stretched out over a lengthier time period? Should I take physics even though I hate it and it's not required for a biology degree? Should I take the second unit of organic chemistry before considering nursing even though it's not a prereq for nursing? Eydawn NREMT-B

Useless radio traffic... if it isn't the location of your patient or you going off duty, stay the *hades* off that channel. Especially at scouting events, when all my First Responder young'ns (who are really just eyes to locate patients and holler for help) decide it's a good idea to chatter over the FIRE DEPARTMENT (for this past New Year's, our transporting agency and only source of ALS) about who is switching to what team and where the marshmallows are. :shock: Idiots who mess with *my* kit... I know where every piece of my equipment is, you keep your grubby paws out of it unless I specifically direct you to dive in and grab me something I need. Especially moving my kit out of my field of vision because FD says "get this area clear!" leaving me with no BP cuff and no tape. People too stupid to watch out for their own safety, creating more patients and less staff. Thanks, folks! People glued to their cell phone to the extent where I find out waaay more about their personal life than I ever wanted to know. Really. The back of the rig must be organized and there must be both tape and gloves available at all times. I'm sure I'll have more soon....

That's awesome.. instant barrier! I'll have to remember that. I usually am a people shooer... "Move along folks.. unless you know more than I do, we gotta let the folks in the shiny vehicles take care of it" (on my college campus) Usually I've got someone I know moderately well as a stuff fetcher around.. so I make them do crowd control. Eydawn NREMT-B

Deeear God... I can't think of anything creepier than a dude cross dressing to be a really fat black woman.. that's really really strange..... Not me! The person below me has put salt in a partner's drink when they weren't looking (like, dumped a bunch in).

...was killed by someone in the transgender community. ... being killed (by the mafia, explaining her disappearance) John has been accused of the fatal shooting of his wife.... ... was killed in the 2001 World Trade Center attack ...was killed in a downhill skiing accident Wow! Mafia, transgender psycho, husband named John, WTC and downhill skiing! I think I need a vitamin or something Eydawn NREMT-B

Maybe this makes me an anomaly, but even as a Christian I believe God speaks differently to different people, and that is why all peoples have some sense of the divine, or something larger than humanity (be it spirits, ancestors, deities, etc.), so I choose to discuss different religious beliefs with others as much as possible. You have the right to believe what you believe; I have the right to believe what I believe; if we can talk about it and show interest in each others' beliefs instead of shooting each other down (even between different denominations) then that is true compassion and interest. Eydawn NREMT-B

Does it count if all the Dorm Assistants (RA's) have your cell phone number b/c the college is so lawsuit-scared that RA's are not allowed to touch anyone who's sick? And if you have dispensed ace bandages to all your friends at various times in the year? Uh oh.. I think I might be in this category.. Eydawn NREMT-B

Alright. In the ideal world, no, a First Responder should not be the primary care provider in the back of an ambulance. Not a good thing... I mean.. you can do the physical skills to some extent that a Basic could, but you don't have the education to understand why you're doing what or what to do when the situation gets hairy- you have so few skills that it's difficult to adapt to weird situations. Now, if you're talking as a team member, then sure, but what's the point, really. If you've got a paramedic in the back or a basic, all of a sudden you have extra hands to take notes, hand you stuff, spike the IV bag (note, the bag, not the patient), get a blood pressure while someone else is doing something important like ventilating or intubating... but unless you've got a paramedic, FR#1, FR#2 three person team, you're generally going to have the highest skill levels in the back and the FR becomes nothing but... an ambulance driver. When you have a bad case you and your partner jump in the back and the firefighter drives... or the other firefighter gets thrown into doing compressions... why have a permanent lowest man on the totem pole? I don't see the FR getting to do much other than compressions every now and again and being a stretcher fetcher/gear hauler/driver. Sounds like what some Basics get to do! The only way I can see a First Responder in a paid position is if you're out in hicksville@nowhere.com and you have absolutely no one else available. Then yes, put the FR's on the rig, and get the patient in the best shape possible to the hospital. Better than having a trauma victim with a spinal injury ride in in someone's car. But I'd be trying to get the volley fire guys to go through basic school so you'd have at least that much available to you. Now, as an observer/helper/volunteer, why the hell not? Greatest way to learn something and you're supervised so you won't get yourself or the patient in trouble! You might not get to do much, but you'll sure as heck get to watch and learn! That's what hooked me into this field, in all honesty... the first ride I ever had was the best thing that ever happened to me and I was a 17 year old First Responder.... Eydawn NREMT-B

Well, since we can't give blood transfusions (so all the Jehovah's Witness folks are ok) and we can't give birth control (so all the Catholics are ok) and the kind of care we provide is compassionate, skilled care regardless of who our patient is, I think this discussion isn't particularly pertinent to EMS in and of itself. I mean.. unless there's some Scientologists who don't want to intubate because it screws over the karma of the person's aura which will send them straight to somewhere or other when they die.... (I know nothing about Scientologists... no offense :wink:) I can't think of any procedures that EMS personnel would object to DOING. Now, what the patient objects to you doing to them is a whole 'nother bucket of worms. Stuff like praying with patients or baptizing stillborn infants falls under the realm of compassionate care, rather than physical care; you might not believe it but it helps them, so you do it. To a point; you have to remain true to your own beliefs, so if they want you to profess your faith in God/Allah/Buddha/Etcetera with them, then you can say, I can't do that, but I can affirm and support your doing so. I think this idea applies more to other medical fields, like pharmacists, primary care physicians, and so on and so forth. If a physician can't perform a skill or isn't comfortable with his skills in that particular area being requested, he can always refer a patient to another doctor. In emergency medicine though, you don't have time for that, so you better be ready to kick butt when necessary and reconcile yourself to whatever violations to your faith that might have occurred later. You have a mission- a job to do with all of the manual and cognizant skill that you possess. For me, that is a part of my faith; I minister to those injured, sick or otherwise hurting. If they want me to pray with them, I'm glad to; the only prayer I'll do otherwise is as we ride out towards the call- for protection and assistance in DOING MY DUTY. And I don't scream it out to the world; my relationship between God and myself is not something I need to advertise or foist on others. Look at it this way- you get mad at the co-worker whose significant other is all over them in a very public way; it makes some people uncomfortable. They have a right to that emotion, but not to subject others to it who don't want to be subjected to it. Therefore, since prayer is an affirmation of my relationship with God, and it makes some people uncomfortable, I keep public display of it to a minimum without losing my ability TO pray when I need to. Eydawn NREMT-B

Yea... faith is the thing that has kept me alive and going. Life gets hard, life is not always happy.. but if God is there, you can pick up the pieces and keep moving. Funny... my faith has strengthened the more I've gotten into EMS... just started RCIA classes tonight, have never been baptized Christian and it felt like it was time. God bless all of you, it's so encouraging to see I'm not the only one! Eydawn NREMT-B