sirduke

Sounds like a witch hunt to me, could be wrong, but to take this long? Smells of Bull Sheite to me. Had an in-law get caught up in the same thing, cost him his teaching certs, a ton of money, and endless embarrassment, and in the end, proved to be a complete fabrication by his nieces who were prompted by an adult. It could be real, but me thinks not.

Thats what I thought I was saying, alas, missed again. My point was that one should examine their reasons for entering EMS, not jump in with both feet and then be shocked when the water is cold. I left a much better paying job because I had gotten to the point where I would rather see a wolf crouched at the door than go into work. The pay scale is low, compared to the rest of the medical field, but I'm not starving, nor am I doing without anything that I need. Can I afford everything I want, no, but then again, measure wants against needs. I have much more time to spend with my family now, even while in paramedic school, and working two jobs. Don't have to travel to Tex-ass anymore either. (sorry Dust, but you can keep it) One of the problems I see is people assuming that there is glory untold and financial rewards beyond measure awaiting them here, only to have their hopes and dreams dashed on the rock of reality. Then they go off and bad mouth EMS. It is like anything else in life, do a little research before you go whole hog.

Well, as a late comer into EMS, let me say this, if you are coming in for the glamor, for the excitement, for the money, for the glory, or any other misty-eyed emotion, then you are coming into it for the wrong reasons. It is a medic eat medic profession, with more politics than Washington dreamt of, don't believe me, just read some of the forums. A Alpha male/female dominated profession, and no one it seems can get along with anyone else. There is nothing, NOTHING, glamorous, or glorified, or wonderful and exciting about getting woken at 3 am to go into some nasty mother stickers house and pick his non-med compliant ass up off the floor, and haul him to the hospital. Wrecked cars have sharp edges, and you get back aches from lifting 400+ lb. land whales, miss holidays, miss meals, not that you could tell it from the average medic, and gray hair comes early. Did I mention the low pay, piss poor benefits for the most part, and extreme lack of appreciation from both patients and employers? Look long and hard before you enter this world. Examine your reasons well, before you commit to this. Having said all that, let me say this, I wouldn't want to work any other profession, note, I said profession, not job. And don't mind Dust too much, he wishes as most of us do to see this profession progress, and tends to be a bit harsh at first. Remember this if nothing else, this is a PROFESSION, not a job, slackers and whackers not welcome. Nuff Said? Probably not

Dang, I didn't know you did your clinicals at AMH too !!! You have just described the preceptor we called "The Chihuahua", she was the most anal retentive person I've ever met.

Yep, that was a great link Welsh, wish all my preceptors had read it prior to me meeting them.

Since we have a topic about what students shouldn't do on practicals/clinicals which ever you prefer, I thought I'd offer a different angle on the same thing. I'm sure this will cause some ire amongst the city dwellers, but here it is. Things not to do as a Preceptor. Treat the student as a personal servant, they are there to learn, not fetch your coffee and snacks. Make snide remarks to other people about the student within the students hearing. Refuse to allow the student to assist or attempt procedures, then tell the student he/she isn't aggressive enough. Inform the student his/her instructor is an idiot for teaching something that disagrees with your protocol or personal preference. Make sexual innundendo to your assigned student. Try to screw your way through the students of your preference. And perhaps last but not least, don't be a ass to your student just because you've had a bad day and they can't defend themselves without fear of censure by their instructor.

Rule 12. Don't eat the preceptors chocolate. We had a student do this, ate the entire box.

Rule 11. Realize that most preceptors think you are a dumb-ass, don't prove them right.

Store your beer and liquor outside, saves on refridgeration... Dress in layers, lose laced boots, keep all flesh covered as much as possible. Easy on the caffeine, etoh, eat a balanced diet (if such a thing exist in EMS) keep your noggin covered, and move slow on ice. Yeah, I know I'm in Georgia, but I spent several years in Germany and believe me, it gets cold there.

I had a very good friend commit suicide, he gave off all the classic warning signs none of his close friends, myself included, noticed them until after, then of course they were as clear as day. We tend to get so caught up in our own problems that we never pay attention until its too late. As for the ones egging this kid on, they most likely saw it as a grab for attention. Unfortunate

I'll bite, WTF is a yabbie? Oh, and welcome to the site Foz

Learning to spell would be the first requirement I would make. Please learn to either spell, or use the spell check, you embarrass the rest of the Georgians here.

Got to agree with Timmy. Fire and EMS should be two entirely separate entities, as should be law enforcement. My hometown has a Public Safety Dept, which is Police/Fire, and it works like sheite. The ones who want to be firefighters hate the police part and the ones who want to be police hate the fire part. In a fire, they usually are able to save the chimney, but little else. It just isn't the way to go, separate them and be done with it.

Because we can.

take it if terri will be my love slave..... leave a shift from HELL

Spoken like a true firemonkey

Damn, how long are your caths?

Agreed, look sad and respectful as you blast through going to someone who isn't quite ready for the graveyard.

Take it, goes well with double chocolate pound cake, leave the last slice

AIDS..... Another Infantryman Discovers Sex...Anal Injected Death Syndrome... I'll believe it when San Francisco heaves a collective sigh of relief.

Worst was one of our trucks that hit a buzzard, busted the windsheild and splatters crap and blood all over the truck.

Leave it, sounds scarey, leave jar of Vegamite sandwich spread..... if you don't know what it is, ask an Aussie

The occasional "good" trauma call is nice, same for a real medical call, but not when they seem to come back to back all night. I personally don't like sitting at the station with no calls, gets boring fast and the director starts finding little busy work jobs for you to do.

Wouldn't JVD be another factor in determining Hemo vs Pneumo?