emtkelley

One night my hubby and I were headed up to the neighborhood bar (now mind you, our service is not very busy). He began to take my radio off the charger and I told him to turn it off because we would be drinking and I wouldn't be able to go on a call. He turned it off and then decided to turn it back on during the trip to the bar. The dang thing went off, call was a 10-50 and one of the worst we have ever had around here.

I think I would be forcefully requesting a chest xray, bloodwork, ect. at this point. If the dr. fails to fill your request, I hope you take him to a different dr.

In 36 hours your pt could have been dead. Merely speculation but it sounds as though your partner was more interested in returning to his warm happy spot in his bed than treating his patient. This stuff really pisses me off. I hope you have learned to be a better advocate for you pts after this snaffu.

Perhaps you should look up lipo surgery and see what you find. Pay close attention to the post surgical complications and then ask yourself the same question as to whether you should have transported. People have died from this surgery. I don't judge who goes to the ER and who doesn't. I get toned out, I go to the call, perform patient care, deliver them to the facility, do my paperwork and wait for the next call. I personally don't get into refusals and it is becoming too commonplace to use them. Does no one want to do their job anymore?? Sheesh.......

I guess I am old fashioned enough to believe that if you really love someone you take the good with the bad and deal with the rest and that you can get through the rough times as long as you are together. It's all about commitment. My parents were separated during WWll for four years and they made it through somehow. 60 years later and still going strong.

Why don't you see if you can do more clinicals and ride time? You may not get credit for it but the experience will be invaluable. You can never get too many hours. The more you do it, the more it will stick. And Dwayne is correct, if you go out of order, you fail. Do your assessments on anything you can get ahold of, a person, a doll, your cat or your dog. It all works! Don't think about of patient assessments as "crap". Good assessments save lives.

Perhaps I am more lenient than I should be but I choose B. We have all made mistakes that we wish we could go back and get a "do-over". I know I have. I have seen many people, including myself, wanting a better life for themselves and chucking drugs, booze, ect. in order to achieve that goal. Had a few people in my life thrown the book at me, I wouldn't be in school right now. Shoot him a chance, give him a choice: get clean or face the music and lose it all.

So I am going to admit something. I have been putting off clinicals and ride time. I know the material but am scared I am going to make a mistake and screw something up. I have promised myself I am going to start things up this weekend and am calling tomarrow on my day off to get scheduled. I am afraid I will not be able to answer the questions that my preceptor will ask me. I am afraid I will fail. I'm not asking for comfort or for a pat on the head telling me it will be alright. I want to get some fight in me and feel like I can get in there and learn and do this. I want my paramedic so badly but can't shake this thing I am going to screw up. Any thoughts?

Interesting........ I am in a similiar situation right now, no money, wondering where I am going to come up with a house payment this month and planning a trip to bankruptcy court on Thursday. Nice. I keep reciting to myself that God shall provide for us but as I try to keep that faith, a fat wad of cash looks rather appealing right now. Could I do it? no. Would the thought cross my mind? yes. and if my children were doing without and going to bed hungry at night (which I know was not in the scenerio)? definately. I can handle going without but when you enter children into the equasion, things take a different spin. Theft is never acceptable but neither is a child going to bed hungry.

Out here in the sticks in IL we get alot of falls, SOB, and chest pain. We have mostly elderly folks around here. Now, in the spring and fall we seem to get a few MVA's with the kids in school, an occasional suicide and around harvest time, we get the farming accidents. It just makes it bad because mostly everyone we pick up, we know personally. That's always hard.

Hi Riblett, My brother lives in Charlotte so I know how the extreme cold and heat get. Scaramedic has a good idea. I used to work at a screenprinting shop and we also did embroidery. We were able to get a variety of sizes/styles that might not be availbale in other places. You might try a shop and see what they could do for you, too. You could also get the smallest coat you could find and get it tailored to fit, although that might be costly. Another idea would be to go to the boys section at Walmart or Target, JC Pennys, ect. and see what they might have. I once picked up a nice jacket, navy with the navy fur collar with applets for $15.00 (clearance priced) at Walmart. I wear it with my dress uniform and it looks sharp. My mom has been known to get kids sneakers sometimes as women's don't fit her well so I know your dilemma. It's very hard to find clothing that fits if you aren't textbook sized. Good luck and let us know if you found anything!

I will be starting my clinicals and ride time soon but I have a few things that stuck with me from my basic time I spent in ER. Don't scoff when the nurse asks you to straighten a room or change bedding. We have to start in the trenches, like everyone else. No job is "beneath" you. I cringe and wait for the stuff to hit the fan when I hear someone say "that's not my job". On the other end, dont put yourself in the position to be a janitor, either. There's a balance there. Treat everyone with respect, you may end up working with them some day. There will always be staff who will despise a student and you can't change that. Hang with the staff who you can learn from. And my wise grandmother who once said "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason".

Although I am volunteer I have a few: 1. Availability of GOOD training 2. Lack of funding 3. Support from community 4. Maintaining adaquate staffing during the day (I am a rural vollie) 5. Lack of decent equipment 6. Having to fight the trustees tooth and nail for a few bucks to buy something for the ambulance Ok, that was six things but they are an issue with our crew.

I'm not a Paramedic but I have one bit of sound advice. Never, I repeat, NEVER leave your partner.....it happened to me last night...not a good feeling :x Good topic! :wink:

Please don't be so quick to make a decision about being a medic. Look at it this way, the crew you did ride time with at ACME was a perfect example of the kind of medic you DON'T want to be! Blow it off and go on and stick with medics you can learn from. Stick closely by them and watch and learn. I would also be reporting that crew to your instructor on behalf of all the patients they MIGHT kill in the future!

Hey! The display looks great!!! I love where you hung the shirt. Thanks so much for posting the pics:)

Last week in class, our instructor had us tube maniquins which he placed in funky positions to see if we could tube successfully. What was the strangest position your patient was in when you went to tube them? What difficulties did you have, if any, and how did you overcome them or improvise?

My hubby used to when he worked for Alert EMS in Cleveland. He saw KC and the Sunshine Band, Smashmouth and a bunch of other bands. I have never done concerts but I have done track safety work with IHRA in Norwalk. Very interesting and I got to meet alot of drivers. I got to rinse Clay Milikin's eyes out when he got the track crud in them. Nice guy!

Dust, The pics really bring it home and give us some chilling reality as to what is happening over there. I am sure they don't even touch the surface as to what you see day in and day out. Bless you for all you are doing. I wish you peace, safety, and God speed back to the City and your home and loved ones. You and everyone else over there are in the hearts of so many. Stay safe.........

You are so welcome and it was a pleasure to speak with you this evening. Have fun at your open house and I look forward to seeing pics of all the great displays! Stay safe out there!

I get asked this sometimes myself, what is the nastiest thing I have ever seen on a call. Like so many before me have stated, it's the emotional stuff that tears us up the most. I can take the yuck that comes along with this job because that is what it is, a part of the job. But no textbook I have ever seen prepares you for some of the examples in this thread. Accidents that should have never happened, hearts which didn't have to break, babies who didn't have to die. moments that stick out in my mind: A guy and his girlfriend were out on a nighttime motorcycle ride and crashed. He is DOA and she is lying 50 feet away screaming his name out. We get her to the hospital and he is transported as well. Only a curtain separates the two while she is yelling his name and a nurse is holding a sign up telling us she has not been informed of his death. The next day, I witness his corneas and organs harvested. The first time I use a combitube in the field, my patient's husband is pleading with me to "make her live, this is our 60th anniversary today". My heart broke for him. Perhaps there should be a forum for this type of subject. It seems to have opened up alot of feelings we would prefer to keep inside. It's not the vomit or the blood that comes with this job that bothers me. That washes off. The memories just kinda linger and can be just as nasty. They never wash away.

I'm glad I clicked on this post! I beleive we might have something at our station. We have a meeting tomarrow night and I will ask. We might even have an old orange coat as well. I will find out and email you!!

Th, I am soooooooo happy you did well on the exams! That has got to be a great relief to you! Congrats!

I also have ADHD. Let me tell you, Stratera rocks! After I did poorly in I class last year, I went to the dr. and was diagnosed and have been on meds for quite a while. If you go under my profile, you can read what I have written about the subject. You can also read how so many people have been very helpful in giving me ideas and support, which I so appreciate! It is refreshing that more people are "coming out" and being proactive about ADHD/ADD. I was always told to "apply" myself. How can one apply themselves when they have no earthly idea on how to begin? I study...and study for my exams. It's really up to the individual what works best for them. Some, like myself, get very distracted very easily and can't think if there is noise. Others like music in the background while they study. I do my workbook, the handouts and read. I don't obsess about it but I do what I need to do to get the material down pat. I am given more confidence being on meds and feel like the sky is the limit now. Please give medication a try.....and don't wait! I just went into my dr. and taked with him about my history with school, that I had done poorly in I class and I want to succeed. I didn't need to go through testing, either. The doseage might have to be adjusted some but your dr. will work with you on that and you will be closely monitored. Personally, I have never had side effects but everyone is different. Good luck to you and I hope you find a way, with meds or without, that you can comfortably live with, in order to test well!

Thanks Rid, this was the breakdown I was looking for! Excellent information!!!!