medicgirl69

hmmm, we have to agree with the Qs, Ss, and Bs, as well as the food and bathroom (we've learned to hold it a looooong time) ...my partner and I have noticed that the full moon brings out the seizures and the preterm labors around here. And, for me personally, if I take any overtime shift, I am sure to have to change my uniform at least once because that will be the day I get puked on, spurted on, or otherwise covered in some nastiness!

I had a very similar experience myself only two months ago. Two patients (ran on each one within 12 hours), both ETOH, pinpoint pupils, elevated HR...but, on FSBS - both were below 30 - no history of medical illnesses besides being methadone clinic patients and no access to any diabetic medications. There were no other substances found at either scene after extensive search. Long story short, they had both admitted to trading their methadone for some "VALIUM" from a "lady at the bus station". The second guy had one of these "Valium" pills left in his pocket and after analyzing it in the drug book at the ER, found the pills were actually glipizide (diabetes medication used to lower blood glucose). Common thing for these guys around my area is to score their heroin and then top it off with Valium and a healthy dose of King Cobra. Makes you wonder if these two will think twice about buying their "Valium" from that woman at the bus station again...but I doubt it!

Great advice from everyone. It's great to see everyone encouraging education as part of your working experience - it can only help you in the future. I can say from personal experience that a newby EMT-B can be a great asset to a Paramedic/EMT team. My current partner came from BLS transfer car to my unit (dedicated 911) after only 6 months. Yep, the first couple of shifts he was shaking in his boots (almost literally), but he ASKED QUESTIONS constantly, even on scenes of calls, and was constantly reviewing the BLS protocols, putting equipment together that we might use on a call, and just familiarizing himself with the system. Fortunately we have a great working relationship and are able to talk about everything. He is very dedicated and loves to learn, and now that we have been together as partners for nearly a year I can say he is one of the best EMTs I have worked with, either on ALS or BLS units. We enjoy learning new things together, we share information from classes that we take, and we regularly review skills and local protocols together, which has also been a great help to both of us. And, finally, one of the things I appreciate most is that he is not jaded. I know we have all at some point worked with some EMTs that just have no desire to do more than drive, so it is encouraging to see new EMTs who are excited about their jobs. And, just for the rest of us, I think it's our duty to keep our EMT partners excited and involved in things to the extent that they are allowed. So, jump in and go for it. We were all newbies at some time!

We have had the Power Pro Cots in use for about 3 months. My partner and I think this was both long-overdue and one of the best back savers ever; easy to use, excellent battery life, no problems at all with it. It is slightly heavier than the manual Strykers (Power Cot weighs approximately 90 lbs), but a couple of uses and redistributing the weight properly and you'll never notice it. Someone also mentioned the tracked stair chair. All the years I been working, never had a stair chair, thought it would be a waste of money for the company - but now that we have it, I have averaged at least one use of the chair per shift rotation. It is also an extremely easy-to use compliment to our equipment and what a back saver. Even our first responders love it, they request to use it every chance they get. Thank you, Stryker, for both of these great tools.

I'M BACK ---- and again I should always be on top!

I leave you people alone for a couple of hours while I actually run calls - and ya'll fill up 7 more pages - how am I supposed to stay on top with that kind of competition....one more call today and I might have to surrender. :wink:

:twisted: I can't believe I almost missed this topic while I was on vacation - I SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON TOP!!!!

Observation only - who cares if someone has acrylic nails - shouldn't he/she be wearing gloves anyway? Great topic - amusing.

Flora Loamsdown Thank you so much for posting this - All three ALS crews here have had the laugh of the day visiting these websites.

Well, I sleepwalk and sleep-talk quite often - drives my partners insane, more so when I am anxious about something or if something is bothering me. A few months ago, I woke up on a night off and found my husband sleeping in the living room. His response to my interrogation: "Baby, you said something about a needle and fastpatches and suddenly the couch looked really comfortable." Sometimes I wish he weren't a medic, too - at least then he wouldn't understand what I was talking about at night.

I've worked many different shifts through the years, while climbing the seniority ladder - but recently I moved to a set schedule, every Wednesday, Saturday and every third Sunday. In theory, I thought it would be a good shift, but management decided to change us back to the standard Kelly (1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 4 off) and I realized how much I had missed the rotating shift. People do not like to trade for my Saturday shift, and I was always missing out on events with my "non-EMS" friends and family. So, can't wait to go back to a rotating schedule and get a few weekends off here and there. On the other hand, my husband - also a medic - works four (4) 12 hour shifts a week, great for the overtime built in, but kills any time we would have had together. Fortunately, he will be moving to a 48/96 schedule soon - then maybe we can have some time together again. In the end, 10 days a month - even when we are up the entire 24 running calls, DEFINITELY beats working 4 or 5 days a week - I absolutely value my time off and have been able to actually attend my kids ball games and concerts, go back to school myself, and I'm home with the kids 20 days a month - what more could I ask for.

I am enjoying all the comments on this string...so here goes mine: As a former dispatch manager turned field paramedic, the inadequacies in radio etiquette drive me absolutely insane, but I usually keep calm and quiet on the outside while exploding in my head - until one particular dispatcher tones us out, then has the nerve to say the following "Medic 42, are you available to come up on the radio for a call?" and proceeds to wait for us to respond - HMMMM, does she realilze that she just toned us out for the call and we are already expecting a complete dispatch....one day, though, she is going to send me over the edge and I know I'm going to respond to her with "NO, not this one, maybe the next one." :roll: