beckoncall62

Just sitting here when I heard traffic on the police frequency: "Catch me if you can" "I'm supposed to be backin up one of you guys-do you still need back up?" The response was a "no" so he replied "Ok I'm leaving then"

You know, in my vivid imagination, I can see in my mind's eye the type of person who would display a bumpersticker such as the one named above, and I'd like to tell you all a little story about him. If you don't want to read all of this, or you just don't quite get the point and need it spelled out for you, please refer to the Cliff Note marked with an asterix (*) at the end for a nice summation.

This person is an overweight fellow in his mid 30's, comfortably employed in the food service industry, who uses volunteer EMS to fill the void in his life most people fill with friends, family, and significant others. He lives in his parent's basement, it cluttered with stacks of Galls, Starlog magazines, and Victoria's Secret catalogues despite the fact he hasn't had a girlfrined since the Macarena was in style. One day as he flips the pages of a tome filled with equipment that no person in EMS, living or dead, has ever found a situation that they would need it. Suddenly, his mouth hangs agape as half eaten Cheetoes fall across the page, there, staring up at him, is what he has been looking for all his life, a single phrase, so clever and original that sums up perfectly what he and all the rest of his volunteer squad know, that they are really the difference between life and death.

His bank account is a litle short because of the Star of Life tatoo he just got, but he has just enough to pay for his prize, plus the shipping and handling, and soon, very soon, he is able to slap that baby over one of the many rust spots on his 1986 Yugo, fitted with a strobe pack who's cost could have put him through a year at Harvard. He can't wait to show it off to the members of his squad and with as much power as the Yugo's engine will muster, radio scanner cranked up, he tears off to his squad's building, strobe pack causing corneal damage across the land scape, people everywhere wondering what the hell a Yugo is doing with a lightbar.

He shows off his prize possession to the other former members of the A/V club, and with nasal snorts and guffaws, they high five each other, knowing this time they've shown those lousy paramedics up but good. The others invite him in for a night filled with root beer and gummy bears, and he accepts, but stops just for a moment, to blow a kiss through the garage door at his 'baby', a 2007 6 wheel drive fully armored Freightliner ambulance, which he has pictures of plastered all over his room right next to the Britney Spears posters, the ones where she was younger and looked less obviously like white trash.

And as he falls asleep that night with a little smile on his face, confident in knowing now, now the world will know what has been a secret all this time... With out EMT's, paramedics would all spontaeneously combust in mass fits of panic. And somewhere in the darkness, a paramedic who caught a glimpse of the Yugo blowing by him with N'Sync blaring, observing the lightbar, the driver, and to top it all off the bumpersticker on his way home from another overtime shift because he makes half of what comparably trained people make, wants to shoot himself in the face with a bazooka, and considers that job at the sewage treatment plant just a little bit more. The End.

*Cliff note - Anybody who has a bumpersticker that says anything about EMT's

saving paramedics is a f---ing loser.

LOL-very well put asys.

If only he had a lightbar on his car, it would be complete. Plus he needed some patches. And a stethescope.

This is just a wild guess on my part, but you really hate EMT's don't you?

This happened in 1994 when my twins were born. One of my twins was placed in NNIC at the time of their birth due to underdeveloped lungs making it impossible for him to breathe on his own. They moved me into a hospital room so I could be closer to the unit they had him in. It broke my heart going in their everyday to see my precious little baby hooked up to a respirator, an IV in the vein in his head, patches over his eyes( he was also jaundiced and put under the "billie lights") and him trying desparately to cry. On one of my visits, they had him out of his incubator and were examining him. At this point they weren't sure if he was going to make it. He was responding somewhat to the treatment they were giving him. As we were standing there, my son let out a loud screech (which was a good sign). One of the nurses commented on how long his tongue was and how he was going to make some woman very happy some day! Everybody froze and looked over at me to see my reaction. When I started laughing , the doctor and other nurses evidently felt it was safe to laugh. Now, different people would take that a couple different ways- they would get mad and indignant or laugh-like I did. I'll tell you why I reacted the way I did: that woman's comment gave my son a future. It suggested that he was going to make it out of there alive. And he did. He and his brother just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago. So, the moral of the story is: sometimes comments some might see as stupid (and there are some-I'm guilty of a few), others might not be offended by. #-o =D> :hello2:

OMG! Great idea for a post. I could go on and on about this one..........but I will only tell you about what I do most frequently, especially at four o'clock in the morning. I ask the pt (or family, whoever I'm talking to) a question and then I don't listen to their response. So I end up asking the same question over and over again. I hate to admit it but it is usually the Pt's name. :oops: Please don't tell me I'm the only one who does this. :?

Trust me-you're not the only one. (Nevermind that I'm replying to this a year later.)

take a look http://www.jobpredictor.com/

According to this I'm a chef. :roll:

Hello and welcome to all the new members here from Washington State! :)/ :salute: :newb: :blob6: :happy1: :hello1:

I can tell you that if you stopped at my scene and said you were a paramedic you'd better be able to prove it. I encountered a would be rescuer who said he was a medic. Our unit was the only one on scene of a 3 car mva with 2 criticals and 4 minors. I had 2 additional units and a helicopter in route.

This guy comes up says I'm a medic can I help. I said sure take care of that critical patient till the ambulance gets here. He did and even though he did not cause any harm to the patient as he was able to keep the airway open and apply pressure on the brachial artery that was lacerated which was all he could do at the time since the guy was trapped in the car.

It turns out that the guy was a EMT from a neighboring jurisdiction. I found out that he was an EMT by the 2nd responding unit. Needless to say I reamed him a new one for misrepresenting himself and vowed from here on out that I would never allow someone to help me out with any type of advanced skills unless they fit the following criteria

1. I had to personally know them and what level they were

2. OR - they had to show me their EMT-P or Nursing license before they could do any type of advanced skill

Thank goodness it has never happened again but those are my ground rules

I never stop at a scene unless I can tell there is a real pressing need. If the ambulance is already there then I don't stop.

Now all this goes out the window if it's in my coverage area. All bets are off.

Ruffems-A comment in your post brought to mind something I wanted to comment on specifically-that comment being "Guy comes up and says I'm a medic, I can help". I participate regularly in the chatroom. One of my first times in there, someone asked me if I was a medic. Being fairly new in EMS, I said yes. Since then I've learned a few more things. An EMT-B isn't the same thing as being a medic. It can often be an honest misunderstanding of terminology when this happens, as opposed to someone deliberately trying to misrepresent themselves. In my case, I was having a "rookie" moment. The thing is, it's important for new EMT's to understand the difference between the two. Yes there are some "Randy Rescues" and "ego-maniacs" out there, I agree. But this isn't always the case.

Anyway, more to the topic, I stop at accident scenes under the following circumstances:

1. If I witness it occur.

2. If I come up on an accident after it has just occurred and there are no emergency personnel there yet.

3. If law enforcement are on scene, it's obvious there are injuries involved and no EMS are on scene yet.

4. If it appears to be an MCI

In incidents where there are emergency personnel on scene, I will identify myself as an EMT-B and offer to help.

If they don't want my help-I leave.

If someone approaches me and says

I'm a medic, or EMT, doc, nurse, whatever, I ask them to be more specific so I don't end up with a veternarian trying to give human patient care, etc. I've been faced with each of these scenarios I've presented. So far , it's worked out.

I've read ACLS for the EMT-B. Biggest crock of poop ever. It was too simplified to be of any true help.

Hey JP-if you come across anything decent, in your opinion, in regards to this subject would you please post it? I'm really interested in studying this more in depth. Thanks-stay safe.

Thank you for posting this. I'm am relatively new to EMS-today I got my first opportunity to assist a paramedic with a trauma patient. I really learned some important things from her. I'm printing this up to post at our station.

It's been my understanding within the past few years, since all of this "National Scope of Practice" talk fell upon us, that EMT would be removed from paramedic. You would be an EMT or a Paramedic. I've said it before, and I'll say it again (at the risk of hurting all the EMT's out there) EMT-Basics are technicians, they perform skills. They may or may not know why they are performing the skill or even the outcome of a skill, but they are there to perform the skill. Paramedics are clinicians. They treat a patient based on assessment and and an advanced educational foundation (we hope).

Now, before the basics get their star of life panties in a bind, I was a basic for quite some time. I knew what my job was and how to do it efficiently. I knew on 90% of our patients that I was going to put oxygen on (I could even get the liter flow and device correct most of the time), run a 12-lead, spike an IV bag, get a set of V/S manually, and put the BP monitor on. I knew when the patient would require EtCO2 monitoring. I could most of the time, pull out the appropriate drugs for the paramedic to draw up. I couldn't read a 12-lead, and outside of being able to associate a drug with a symptom, I couldn't tell you why the paramedic might want a drug.

As a paramedic, I understand the end result of the treatments I perform. I can read the 12-lead and I know exactly why I would or would not use a drug on a patient. The skills I preformed as a basic were invaluable to good patient care and the flow of a call. An EMT doesn't "save" me, they make my job easier by doing the skills they were taught to do. You have to know your role, and that goes for both EMT and paramedic.

If EMT's save paramedics, then paramedics save doctors! That's just silly.

Hi ems493, You mean to tell me paramedics don't wear star of life panties, too? Wow, I'm learning something new everyday! lol Seriously though, I agree with what you've said here. I think you said it very well too. It is true I haven't been in this business very long, but I do understand what you're saying makes a lot of sense. One of the things that really amazes me is all the hostility between emts and paramedics. I see it go on here where I'm at too. I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on this topic-but it probably belongs in a different discussion-we're in the funny section, right? I just wanted to reply to your post and let you know what I thought about it. Take care and stay safe.

Not here in Ontario ...

Hey Lithium-I didn't know that. I'm not familiar with the differences between EMS in the U.S. and other countries. That's interesting. I'm relatively new to EMS-I'm still learning! :wink: I have a friend up in your area that's in EMS. He's a member here also. Well, take care and stay safe.

Wowz! Yuz soz coolz!

If i searched hard enough, i bet i could find every one of those stupid cliche's here on the city at least twice..

Rule 41: Posting lists of cliche'd phrases on EMS forums makes you look like a tosser :roll:

Hey bushy-could you define the term "tosser" for me? I'm relatively new to EMS. I'd appreciate it. Thanks :wink:

And from what I'm understand, every single goddamned EMT from Augusta to Sacramento thinks they are being horribly wry, witty, and clever in pointing that out. You people.

Well, Asysin-don't know if I'm one of the EMTs that post was aimed at or not-but if it was-my response is this-I didn't get into EMS to try and compete with paramedics-I know the difference between a paramedic and an EMT-Basic. I have no aspirations of becoming a paramedic-I'm happy doing just what I'm doing now. It's what I focus on being my absolute best at. Therefore I do not feel the need to be witty, wry or clever when discussing EMS issues. I have had my share of experiences with paramedics and nurses looking down there noses at me when "dealing" with me-I don't care-that's their problem-not mine. I respect them for their advanced level of training and responsibilites. As for me, I love being an EMT-Basic and a firefighter. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. If I'm not one of those EMTs from Augusta to Sacramento, no harm, no foul-this was the first time since being a member here that I've shared this about myself and is not intended to be confrontational or sarcastic. I've read a lot of what you have posted on this site-and in the chatroom. You definitely have a lot more experience in this field and I respect that as well. Take care and stay safe.

Subject: Fwd: Canada is Warned

Canada Is Warned

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Immigration, Mohammed Omar, warned Canada, that if

military action against Iraq continues, Taliban authorities will halt Canada's supply of convenience store managers.

If this action doesn't yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next. It seems like it's really going to get ugly.

I like it. lol

Them's fighting words. Rule #40: Anyone who says EMT's save paramedics has a lightbar duct taped to their Yugo.

From what I understand, paramedics are emergency medical technicians too. :wink:

Hmmmm......Let's see...by disarming the police while criminals are still running around with guns of all kinds, they honestly believe they are deterring crime? I've got an idea! Why not disarm the criminals, murders, etc., and help the police fight crime by not tying their hands! Wow-what a concept! (geesh) :roll:

How can some people be 10-8 in 5 minutes or less when coming from home? Do you guys sleep in your uniform? Just wondering. I live at the station when I'm on call due to not living in the community where I work and I usually take 5+ minutes.

Some of us "come as you are" We don't wear uniforms. I personally sleep in something comfortable that would also be apprpriate on a scene.

Are Basics where you're from allowed to give Albuterol/Atrovent or Epinephrine?

I know in NYS, in the REMAC system I'm in that is, a Basic can use Albuterol and Epi-Pens if they've had the REMAC class, or if their squad does an inserviec training with them.

A campus first response team I'm on carries both Albuterol and Epi, and all are fully able to use them. The paid agency I work for however, seems to think that since we have fully staffed ALS rigs, Basics are somehow incapable of giving Albuterol or Epinephrine.

There have been innumerable times where I have had to meet my ALS on scene, and he hasn't arrived yet. (We run a weird program here, ALS isn't required to stay in house if they live in town)

I've beaten the ALS to the scene before, and had a patient that could have used Albuterol, but all I could do was stand there with my ass cheeks clenched.

When is Epi and Albuterol better now or later eh? lol

anyway, enough ranting, some thoughts?

In our area, BLS is only allowed to assist pt. w/ their prescription or upon medical director's ok.

I have asthma and have experienced wheeze on both inhale and exhale.

:violent3: We are on call/ at home. Most of us live within 5 minutes of both of our stations.

Should also add that I meant on my 1st post do I have the right to beat the crap outta the person to defend myself, not do I have to, sorry wrong wording.

JENN

I'll tell you an experience I had on one of the first calls I went on as an EMT- we were called to a residence on a female with some sort of medical difficulty. This woman was a frequent flyer and had a boyfriend who could behave "erratically" at times. The place they lived had a latch and padlock on the OUTSIDE of the door. 2 of the more experienced EMTs went in and I stayed outside with him, due to limited space in the living room. Right after they went into the house, the boyfriend latched the door-as if locking them in! I walked over to him from the ambulance and asked him to unlatch it. He had placed the padlock on and acted as if he was going to lock it. He replied with "I don't want it getting cold in there." After calmly talking with him and asking him again, but actually walking over and unlatching it myself, he didn't argue anymore. Immediately after that call, after I told them what this guy had done, they red-flagged this residence. 2 days later we were called there again. This time, law enforcement was sent there first to secure the scene, while we staged. Law enforcement called us in, but as we were arriving the guy grabbed a chain saw and went after the deputy with it, then the EMTs that had already gotten out of the ambulance. Fortunately we were able to get away from him without being injured. The man was eventually subdued. You brought up a good question and it reminded me of this incident. What can you do when a patient or someone else attacks you on a scene? Personally, I would try talking with or reasoning with them first. If that didn't work, I'd take whatever steps necessary to defend myself and prevent them from injuring me. :naka: Situations are different. Sometimes people can be reasoned with and sometimes they can't.

Congratulations! You're on your way!

Sure they were not "cardioverting"; if this is the case, it is routinely done. Albeit one would prefer to sedate if able to.

R/r 911

They used the paddle defib. on this patient-an 81 yr old woman. She screamed out everytime they shocked her. Ridryder, I'm a relatively new EMT-B. Could you tell me what "cardioverting" is? I've heard it used a few times in the chatroom and elsewhere in the last couple of days. Thanks

DOAs with rigor O:)