donedeal

Palm Springs still operates as a full service public safety agency and several of their police officers also function as paramedic first responders and are cross trained in fire. Their ambulances have blue lights, meaning you could actually be pulled over by an ambulance. However, Palm Springs lost their certificate of need to transport patients. They respond to any call in their district, but the patient must be transported by an AMR unit with a Palm Springs medic on board (unless its BLS).

EMT-B $600 includes CPR card, books, and no gas since it was on campus and believe it or not there were no required clinicals or ride times to even drive to. Paramedic- $6500 and probably over $1000 in gas/food by the end. All the Cont Ed desired- free through work.

The only payment systems I've seen in south Florida are hourly or salary with some departments giving you a bonus if you run over a certain number of calls per month. Usually the private companies like AMR do this as an extra incentive because their base pay is so awful. The only bonus I've heard of for fire rescue companies is a monthly stipend for having a 2 or 4 year degree, which is an excellent idea.

Does anyone know how Paramedic salaries compare in a hospital based ems system versus a private company or city service, particularly in the northeast? Also, any pros/cons to working in a hospital based ems system.

To clarify on the patient a little more. He was baker acted for suicidal ideology and has been to the facility on numerous occasions. He is not delusional, is not schizo affective, does not suffer from hallucinations or hearing voices, ect. He gets depressed and is rational enough to make the decision to voluntarily come to the ER but then gets aggressive when he decides its time to go. But at that point, he is BA and not allowed to leave until the psych eval. Now, after reading these posts and talking to a couple other people, I don't think I'll press charges on the fact that I wasn't really hurt. Just shocked for a little while. But as some of you said, chalk it up to experience. I will never enter an aggressive situation without backup again. It could have been much worse. However, if I was really injured (any fractures, severe swelling, CT necessary), then I would pursue. It's not like the guy is completely insane and unable to make rational decisions. He's probably out on the street as I type this right now. Fit for the street but not for a cell I guess.

I am wondering if anyone has any experiences with being assaulted by patients and if you have pressed charges? I was punched in the head by a psychiatric patient, who had been Baker Acted ( Florida law permits a mental health professional, law enforcement officer, or judge who issues an ex parte order to initiate an involuntary examination when a patient acts against his/her best interests, is suicidal, or will cause harm to others). I was assisting 2 nurses get the patient back into his room when he lunged at me and struck me in the side of the head with a closed fist 2 or 3 times. He was then wrestled to the ground. All of the staff said I should press charges, but when I spoke to the police officer to fill out a police report he told me I was wasting my time. Because he was a psychiatric patient, I have no case, and that no judge will prosecute. Any thoughts? I want to pursue this despite what he says. It is ridiculous that a patient can assault a healthcare professional and get away with it.

How did you get a job on a first responder rescue unit at age 15? I thought you had to be 16 to get any job, no matter what it was in this country.

Does the 2 year degree have to be in "emergency medical services" or Paramedic sciences? I have a BS in Health Policy Management, and am working on a Paramedic certificate. But I do support higher education standards. The caliber of some fellow students in my course is a bit scary. Perhaps strong entry requirements or prerequisites in the sciences.

Thats the point, they should'nt be used. Its unauthorized and unjustified usage, trying to hide it by using lights only. So the EMT in the back won't realize/make him stop. However, to clear up confusion, in my original post regarding the highway call, that was dispatched out code 3, so lights and sirens approved (in a safe manner please) But there have been prior incidents where he tries to get away with using them because he is a L&S junkie. Those situations put together, he should be fired. But its word of mouth, no one is writing him up.

Because you are exactly right my friend. He has been caught with the lights on without sirens when the EMT was in the back (unaware of driver's use of lights) during routine interfacillity or appointment trips.

And he is not burnt out, he is a 19 year old driver hired without an EMT liscense about a month ago.

I work per diem at this job about once every week or two. Therefore I have a new partner every shift. So to give some perspective, there really is no loyalty between partners because it is not a consistent situation. This person has been reprimanded before for inappropriate use of L & S and management is building a case against him to have him removed from duty. My decision was one more step to get an unsafe driver off the road for your and my safety. Why should I risk my life by getting in the truck again with some joe blow I just met. In fact, I did follow chain of command, by first telling him I did not think this was safe and he responded, "its fine!". Who's the next person in line? The daily field opts commander.

The DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department is currently recruiting qualified National Registry-certified Paramedics and EMT-Intermediates/99. We are seeking candidates for both dual-role Paramedic/Firefighter positions and single-role Paramedics. Taken direct from their website: http://fems.dc.gov/fems/cwp/view,a,3,q,525780.asp

Im looking for information from anyone who has experience in DC county ems. I've noticed on their website that they hire single role paramedics, (as opposed to being fire cert too). I am wondering how difficult it is to get hired with them, experiences, ect. Please PM me if ya know anything. Thanks in advance. As I started posting this I thought to myself that maybe there should be a forum dedicated to ems departments in different major cities, since there seems to be so much talk about FDNY, boston, chicago, ect. This would put all the info in one area. I know as a paramedic student looking for future job opts, this could be very helpful.

It seems like they have all your information already and you just have to wait for the paperwork to come back to you. You haven't taken the written/computerized test right? So they will send you a list of dates/times for that, or a website for you to look up and make an apointment. As for the change in payment from 35- to 70-, I've heard that since you got it in before the change you are not responsible for the extra cash. The EMS division of the Department of Health is really bad at answering your questions over the phone, but they respond to emails quickly and accurately. Here is the email I used about 7 months ago. MQA_EMT-Paramedics@doh.state.fl.us again, good luck.

Hello and welcome to Florida... first you need to apply to the state for your liscense. The application can be found here. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/emt-paramed...ts.html#Initial Once your application is approvded, which takes about 4-6 weeks, you will be cleared to take the state of FL written test, which is now computerized through Pearson Vue, or a similiar electronic testing company. While FL recognizes your education from another state, they do not recognize your liscense or EMT Nat'l Reg. There is no practical involved. The results from your test are typically available online in about 2 weeks, and you will get your actual liscense in the mail about 4 weeks after you took the test. You will be nationally registered (again) and registered in the state of FL. Good luck! PM me with any more questions, I went through this process about 7 months ago, things may have changed.

Is it legal/acceptable to drive code 3 in the breakdown lane on the highway? I had a partner last week who drove code 3 down the rightside breakdown lane of I-95 for about 2 miles at approx. 60 miles an hour to a call. It did not feel safe and I questioned his reasoning and was told it was fine! Later off the highway I knew he was unsafe when he hopped a curb to bypass some cars. I've since requested to never work with him again. Am i over reacting? Is this common practice to drive in the breakdown lane?

Alright, these explanations make sense and I stand corrected. I have no idea the circumstances of the situation. She could have been in arrest for 40 minutes before they even got there. I can also imagine that intubating in the back of an ambulance is a lot more difficult than in a room. But what about the fact that the nursing home is about a block away? Would that change anything?

As a senior member of the emt city community and an experienced Paramedic, I would expect you to explain your answer. I think of this website as a teaching/learning community. Experienced Paramedics and EMTs can extend their working knowledge of EMS to new, inexperienced individuals. If what I stated was incorrect, please explain why. Your answer, as a member of this community, fellow EMS worker, and role model was extremely disappointing.

How long would you spend on scene of a cardiac arrest? A rescue company called our hospital tonight requesting dr's orders to discontinue cpr. They had been on scene at a nursing home working an 80 y/o female for 40 minutes. Wouldnt you load and go in a situation like that, intubating, IV and giving meds en route? I see no reason why they would stay there and do compressions for 40 minutes. Put on the pads, see if its shockable, if not, then get the hell outta there and to definitive care at a hospital.

The other day at the hospital we had a 49 y/o male patient come in with chest pain and SOB. He was brought back right away, still walking and talking, with obvious signs of respiratory distress. We did a whole workup on him, lines, labs, CT scan, ekg, ect....patient's breathing eventually worsened and he needed to be intubated for stabilization. At this point his BP was 60 systolic, HR around 120. The patient was still conscious and struggling to speak. It was not until the patient was given succinylcholine and etomidate that the patient went into arrest. It seemed as if the process and use of drugs to intubate actually put this man into cardiac arrest. Is this normal? Do these drugs lower blood pressure as a side effect? Perhaps cardiac arrest was inevitable, but i couldnt help but wonder if we just bagged him and pumped fluids into him if he would have stabilized. Unfortunately he did not survive. CT revealed a tear in the esophagus, Boerhaave's syndrome is suspected.

In many areas an ER tech is a non-licensed position. Most employers in this setting require training such as an EMT course, or PCA, nursing assistant, medical assistant course, ect. But, you do not need a license. This can be a good thing because you can have greater responsibilities in the hospital than you would on an ambulance as a basic, such as IV establishment, phlebotomy and performing EKGs. You may want to still look into getting your IL EMT license though if you want a 2nd job, or plan on going to Paramedic school, as the license would then be required. Check IL department of health website and look for the Dept of EMS or something along those lines to find out reciprocity information from nationally registered applicants. You may or may not have to take a state test as well. good luck.

I will be starting paramedic school in January. Currently Im working in an ER and Im on AMR's payroll (but only work like 2 shifts a month). When I start clinicals and ride times can I fulfill them at these institutions or is this a conflict of interest?

good luck, once you start finding several articles on a specific topic, you will be able to form a thesis from there. This is the hardest part, gathering all the info, forming a thesis and main arguements. Once you start writing, its a breeze. I did my senior thesis on the unification of wireless enhanced 911. I am not sure what sort of emergency system Mexico already has in place, but if that is something you would consider, I could certainly bounce some ideas. PM me if you'd like.

ahhhh.....now i see....thank you.