EMS Solutions

While I dont know what school you are in, if they are teaching to national standards then it should prepare you for the nremt exam. I dont see a need for a $350 additional course. I actually just did an interview with the Associate Director from NREMT and we talked about the CBT exam and the upcoming accreditation requirements. On the CBT some points that were made that I think a lot of candidtates miss are It is a best response exam - meaning that there may be more than one right answer but only one best answer. It is important to truly read each question carefully since you cannot go back and your answer will dictate what the next question will be. Another point he mentioned is that so many of us are used to the paper and pencil type test that this CAT type of testing throws us off. If you havent already, check out the nremt site at http://nremt.org They have a wealth of info there as well as videos all on the CBT exam. In addition, if you are interested in listening to the audio interview I did, it is at http://ems-safety.com/greggm.htm It's about 40 mins long, but you can also download it to listen offline if you want. Good luck

Congrats !!

Whne I first read the NJ report and discovered that the squads didnt even need to have an EMT on board, I was actually shocked to learn this. And I worked in NJ as a Medic. When I told some of my family about this they were shocked as well. I dont think the issue is at the ALS level however, besides there not being enough units. But that comes down to money and how the medic projects are going to pay for them. With the vollies often picking the calls they respond to - 3-4 call outs for an abdominal pain VS. 1 for a vehicle roll over on a Saturady night. Tends to be an issue. So, is the answer having paid BLS? To a point yes. But then you're back in a circle to who gets paid. If the BLS transports and the medic is in the back providing care. The BLS gets paid and the ALS gets nothing. How can a medic provider survive like that? What the answer is I just dont know. In the interest of patient care, BLS units should be paid and medic projects whether hospital based or not should be increased. Dispatching should be done via one radio per region or county etc. Insurance should pay for the highest level of care given and not the ambulance the patient was transportated in. Maybe that is breaking it down a little too simple. Maybe that is what is needed to break away from the current system. I actually did an audio interview with one of the presidents of an ALS provider in NJ regarding the NJ Report and the EMS system in NJ. If anyone is interested in what he had to say visit http://ems-safety.com/audio.htm I dont agree with everything he said but he makes some good points.

Is your agency absorbing the cost? Even disposable masks can be costly. There is a multitude of companies that offer what you need. It's a matter of finding what works for you. Of course the more you buy, the cheaper the per mask cost will be. Take a look at these sites http://www.ashinstitute.org/asp/onlinestore.asp http://www.cpr-pro.com/products.html http://www.cprmedcare.com/ http://www.cpr-savers.com

Night crews always get the short end. Like mentioned before, the cold food, clean up detail etc. I did have one area where Baskin Robbins gave free ice cream for the week, the ER doc put out a big spread for everyone. The company gave away some type of swag. Even a company BBQ was held. The thing is everyone else is brought into the fold, nurses, police, fire, ER staff. Now I know they are a part of EMS as a whole, but they get their own week and recognition. I mean isn't every week FF week? The public awareness aspect always makes me scratch my head as well. That should be an ongoing thing and not made the focus during EMS Week. I wonder if we just cant have one week were we can get some attention and recognition, without sharing it with everyone else just to get the funding to hold a dinner, BBQ or penlight giveaway. But then I guess most of us in this field don't do it for the recognition. If it was for the glory, money or fame, we would be someplace else. Maybe we should take EMS Week and use it to just remind ourselves why we do what we do with each patient we treat that week. With each response, each transport and flight. ============================================================== Just as an FYI - I have a EMS Week Sweepstakes going on. Nothing fancy, but just a little something for us. http://ems-safety.com/emsweek2008.htm Jim

Dwanye - I am not going to go back and forth with you on this. You have your opinion and I respect that. I only wish you had contacted me after your initial issue with the shortcut. I was under the impression that all was well after our contact. Again, thanks for your feedback and for giving it a try. Jim

The problem with business is that those that are unsatisfied give glowing reviews like above. Dwanye, responses where concise and not "something like that". The contents are NOT links to other sites or resources but files, videos and audios that you can either view direct from your computer or download to your harddrive depending on the file type. The software is an application that you use. Like many other software products online Norton, macafee, microsoft, parts are online based to make it easier for the user. I am not going to go and on. I stand 100% behind this product and all others I sell. I offer a 30 money back guarantee that you never asked for. I thank you for giving it a try and giving your feedback. I do feel a bit blindsided however by your post over all. I suppose you cannot please everyone. http://ems-safety.com/testimonials.htm Jim

A popular warning from many SEO companies. Don't try to fool the search engines. This is probably the biggest trap people fall into. People come up with ways to 'fool' search engines, and they work for a little while...sometimes. But then the search engines catch on and write routines that penalize sites that use this practice. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: repeating keywords over and over; using invisible text (white text on white background); using very small text to jam the keywords in a small area. PS - I tried tricking the search enhgines a few years ago with other sites I owned. Ranked #1 in Google for top phrases. Then my competition reported me and google removed all 3 sites without warning and without recourse. It doesnt pay - the search engines like natural indexing, since in theory thats what people want when they search. The engines are in the end a business and want to give people what they want.

Repeating the keyphrase may actually cause more harm than good, if google sees it as spamming them. Things that go a lot farther are inbound links from your website, myspace page, facebook page etc. With the word emt hyperlinked. Also - maybe a better page title would work out EMT City | EMS Forums | EMT Chat | News Training Videos for EMT's Better meta descriptions can help too , although most SE's dont put a lot of weight on them anymore. "Popular EMT forum with chat room, EMS videos, EMT news and training for all levels of EMS." A page one rank at #6 isnt that bad. Most people's eyes tend to drift to the center page area anyway. Now for emt forum and ems forum, it ranks better at 3 and 4 on page 1. Which is better anyway since that is exactly what someone is looking for when they typed it in the search box. PS - Dont expect rank to change in days, it takes at least 30 days for it to move around solidly.

I just posted a new free report that focuses on IV access and difficulties. Uncovering Difficult IV's It has your basic IV knowledge and equipment etc. But thanks to a bunch of emtcity members it has some great tips and tricks on those hard to find sticks. So, if you are interested in what some of the experienced providers have to say on getting that IV established go to http://ems-safety.com/free.htm You'll see the report at the top of the free downloads listing. Thanks so much too all that contributed. Feel free to share the report, put it on your blog or website for your visitors or just link on back to the download page above. I hope you find it useful. Jim PS - There is also a decent article on IV access in the EMTcity files area.

I think it is a great tool for any EMS library. Plus "they" give a 30 day money back guarantee. PM me if you any specific concerns Jim

Maybe he didnt tip the EMT

I cant seem to get the link to work, even when I cut and paste.

Just as an FYI - I just posted another audio interview session like the one with DD. This one is with Dr. Wesley from JEMs. I got his take on non-visualized airways vs ETI. It's about 30 minutes so Dust still holds the time record take a listen at http://ems-safety.com/audio.htm PS - There are also links to Dust's and the Dr. Bledsoe interview as well at the bottom the page.

OK - well maybe not exposed, but "heard" maybe a better term. Over at my site I just did an audio interview with Dust and got his views on a few topics that are passionately discussed in EMS. The direction of EMS How do we improve Some short term goals Education in EMS. If you've ever wondered just what he sounds like go take a listen, but be warned - I call him by his name during the session. http://ems-safety.com/audio.htm I think you will find this session very interesting and enjoyable. Jim PS - Be sure to listen to the interview I did with Dr. Bledsoe after you're done with Dusts'

Thanks for the link to see the details. I also was not aware of this. " It is also known as the finger flexor reflex. The test involves tapping the nail or flicking the terminal phalanx of the third or fourth finger. A positive response is seen with flexion of the terminal phalanx of the thumb." It is similar to what I initially thought it was me rolling my eyes me flexing a different finger me driving my car and flexing a finger All also well known Hoffman signs. I do agree though that time is an issue, and testing for these signs and others may not always be prudent with patients in the field. You may even find that if you start doing this and telling doctors of your +- Hoffmann's sign, they may have no idea either and start flexing their own fingers. As far as it being easy, many things are easy in the field and not done correctly. So I suppose if this was part of a head to toe exam then you would have to take this into the whole picture and not use it as a stand alone sign.

While it is important to note that those of us that are paramedics were not born as medics and had to be an EMT at one point. It is equally important to state that as paramedics, our feelings of one title, one entry level education and one license comes mostly from years of experience and seeing the benefits that this type of EMS provider structure can have. I agree with previous posters on having an entry level 2 year degree type license with additional training for other areas in EMS to include recent discussions in some areas on house call type para-medicine. I also think that by having one title, it will also help the profession grow and expand into what it is capable of. When government agencies both local and above can understand what we do, it will help us get funding, education and growth support from them, much like fire and law enforcement. By having us under one title - I think it will help them understand and get on board much quicker. When will this happen? When we get out of each others way with adding exceptions to the rule, making excuses for small towns to keep EMT based only, supporting the volunteer mentality etc. We need unity to make this happen, but go to any EMS council and see how everyone protects their small area of responsibility. Just as a for instance, NJ came up with a report to try and revamp the system that is in poor shape. But leaders of the volunteer sector refuse to give up their status and still say that it works when clearly it doesn’t. Right now we are so fractured it seems like an impossibility that any significant change will ever come. We need to get behind a national organization like NREMT that has the recognition with many states and get a huge PR campaign going to increase public awareness. This takes millions of dollars and clever marketing and advertising. Can it happen in my lifetime? Why not? I still have a good 20 years left in me. If we unify and get the financial support and proper political backing, we can at least lay the foundation for a new future of EMS. Personally I wish we could just tear it all down and re start from scratch, but I don’t think that will happen. The next best thing is to at least start with a unified organization with standard entry level requirements and standard licensing with an organized body behind us. Yes with dues, requirements etc, just like any other. This can be done without hurting anyone’s bread and butter. We need the right people to head it. Most of all we need motivation and desire and not just talk amongst ourselves. When can we start? Now. Jim

Yes but how fast was the ambulance driving to the hospital. :evil:

How did you see his bruised butt if you already had him on the board? Was it before he rolled over as you were walking up? Did you unstrap him and roll him, and at what point did you get him "trauma naked" ? Before you slipped the board under him or while you were looking at his bruised butt? Maybe his massive internal injuries were visually hidden. Did you check his vitals, besides telling him to keep his hands on his chest? BP. Pulse, RR, pupils etc. 8 mins to trauma and they couldnt find and fix massive internal injuries that lasted a day until he died. Between that and the big speed limit discrepancy - I may have to call "Shananigins" on this "Case one" :evil:

I figured with all these yes and no answer polls going around that wind up into a 3-4 page thread, why not start another?

Try http://ems-safety.com/nremt-audio.htm maybe a different study method may help. Good luck

I heard A-Rod spits :twisted:

As of a year ago. You need to have a NJ paramedic service sponsor you. The paperwork goes to Trenton with your school info (Clinical, didactic hours.) National Registry Info. Your time as a medic and type of service you worked for (911, critical transport) If your school hours meet NJ requirements - you should get a Temp reciprocity for 3 months. Then if you play well with the company you are working for, they make it permanent and you get your #( which is the same as your temp # but without the T) Now if you do not meet educational requirements, they will consider your time as a medic and the type of service you worked for and may give you credit for this time. OR The Paramedic service that is sponsoring you will arrange for you to meet any lacking hours via clinical or didactic thru them. Whether or not you get paid during this time depends on the service. If you have specific questions. Feel free to PM me.

With the amount of training EMT's receive, medication administration should not be within their scope of practice. Some areas allow for Epi pen adminsitration, albuterol admin and NTG admin by BLS if the patient meets very specific criteria and/or are previously prescribed the medication or have a history of a certain illness etc. These programs also add more training to the EMT's to cover these specific standing orders. The problem is that the specific guidelines do not always fall into what the EMT may encounter. This is where higher education comes into play. It may not be all the time, but there will be times when the patient does not present like the book and cannot be treated with by the book protocols. Yet some BLS crews will still treat with the medication because they can and may not see a bigger picture. I don't have graphs or charts to back this up, but I have seen it and I have seen medics do it as well. It cannot be about being a "cookbook" EMS provider. We must think about the bigger picture when treating patients, especially with medications. Training, education and experience is the key to proper patient care. Not just being allowed to do something. If only we were all at one level - Paramedic. Then perhaps EMS could go forward instead of just spinning our wheels. But that is for another thread. Take a listen to my Bledsoe interview. http://ems-safety.com/audio.htm

I believe the re test option is only for 2008 to give people a chance to take it using the new system. You should get a form mailed to you November of the previous year before you expire. So if you expire in March 2008 you get the form Nov. 2007. Keep track of your credits and any documentation. Jim