mobey

My most humble apologies for being "counterproductive." I have sent a PM to the administrator requesting he remove all of my posts and delete my username in full. Congratulations on running off yet another member.

This action is not necessary.

Part of being on public forums is knowing when to stop reading. I have been following this thread and I gotta say I do not see the hostility that you are seeing.

I think you are mistaking terms like "counterproductive" for terms like "You are screwing up the thread".

Personaly I would like to run your scenario especially if you have ECG's, you have alot to offer to us.

I believe there has been alot taken out of context and we would be disapointed if you left due to a misunderstanding.

I agree tniuqs.

i believe you can keep up on your knowledge or perhaps even advance it through working the rigs because you can keep your nose stuck in journals and books. But really for most in industry (present company excluded) how many do?

Anyone I have talked to that worked industry before 911 for more than a year or two, all said the same thing. yes I agree I am being anecdotal (and I have seen MAST pants save a life :wink: ) but i can only run on my experience and feedback from others.

If you are interested in taking a long distance program I would try out and take a look at the program offered in Lac La Biche.

I have investigated it, and I think I will apply but... LLBiche is like 5 hours from me and Camrose is 1 hour. The courses look pretty much the same, and I have heard good about both.

This is not a personal attack

It is sad how many good EMT's and Medics are wasting the good they have to offer on the rigs in AB. A friend of mine took her EMT, went straight to the rigs for about 3 yrs, came back out and had a hard time getting comfortable in a 911 service. She said it took over a full year before she was even remotly comfortable with patients.

I work full time 4 on 4 off

Have a stay at home wife, and 2 kids in school. I pay my rent and drive a newer Malibu. There is money outside the rigs, but you will have to work for it. Of course that is not as easy as sittin in an MTC, losing your core knowledgebase and skillset.

If it works then do it. I'm just trying to find out if anybody not stuck in the 80's and in a progressive EMS system has heard of this.

Well I consider myself and co-workers to be in the late 90's early 2000's, and no, I have never heard of it. I have taken 2 going on 3 university A&P courses (not degree) and feel I have a decent understanding of how absorption works.

So it is my Opinion that the lack of vasculature combined with a thicker membrane would make absorption slower through the top of the tongue. Also since the nitro spray would have to "sit" on the top longer there would be a better chance of it being washed down the esophagus or inhaled.

I work with veteran Paramedics, Newbie Paramedics, and students and have never seen this done. so my answer is no, this is not a standard practice and I don't think it would be a good idea to start.

Bet you never read a blog or maybe an insert that you are supposed to have the patient rinse their mouth after NTG per bucosal/sublingual mucosal either? But, you already knew that too.... :wink:

R/r 911

Sorry to interrupt...But I would like to learn something positive here. Rinse thier mouths ..Really?

Why?

I have never heard of that before.

(And I do administer my Nitro SUBlingual, I think that was in the first week of PCP school hehe)

Are you union? Perhaps it is against a breech in one of the sections.

As I have been working towards out transformation, I have had many individual staff members come to my house to voice thier concerns. One fairly meek yet excellent EMT finally asked, "But aren't they going to take away all the good calls?".

When you look at the list of excuses in the original post, i wonder how many of those are made up to mask the question in bold.

Of course everyone realizes how the threads on this forum almost always end. Some newbie will jump in saying something stupid about basics doing an advanced treatment or how they should be able to expand their monkey skill set, because it doesn't look that hard. Then an experienced member will jump down their throat, 5 people will back him/her up, the newbie will leave the site, admin locks it, and round and round we go.

So I would like to see a series of well thought out posts from both EMT's and Paramedics. I am in a service where the general consensus is "A good EMT is as good as any Paramedic". Believe me i deal with it everyday, and I can tell you it comes down to the fact that these people have no idea what a paramedic is. Perhaps if I could get some well thought out opinions/facts from some experienced members here, I could help them understand why we need to go ALS, and some basics here could learn a thing or two as well.

Perhaps if we don't direct these posts at eachother, and just post generally, this will not turn into a mud slinging contest.

The point of this thread is to have a link to some quality posts, where we can direct newbies when they put their foot in their mouth, instead of derailing and locking every freaking quality thread that hits this forum.

So as an EMT trying to change an EMT system to a Paramedic service here is the excuses i have hit from the other EMT's. (No knee jerk reactions please)

Paramedics "waste" too much time on scene.

Paramedics all think there god and treat EMT's like $hit.

We don't do enough cardiac arrests to warrant a Paramedic.

2 good EMT's are as good/better than 1 Paramedic.

Paramedics waste valuable time starting I.V's on traumas when they should be transporting.

Paramedics lose their BLS skills and we(EMT"s) end up picking up the slack.

*Now remember these are people who for the most part have never worked in an ALS system, please take the time to intelligently educate us on the subject*

Usually, those in charge are convinced they are in charge because they know best, and that they don't need to do anything to improve.

In actuallity these people are in thier positions due to the "good ol' boy" system. Not because they are the best person for the job!!

Which in turn means they have the backing of thier superiors because they coach thier kids in hockey, or they are a leader in thier church etc. etc.

And that is what you call a Dead end job!

But keep your head above water and your resume updated because not all places are like that.

Ask them for a situation where they had to "Think outside the box"

If they can't answer it tell them to go work industrial.

If the pt. is stable I give a very brief patch:

Coming in with 87 y/o female complaining of mild SOB. SPO2 96 RA, Skin pink warm dry, we have her on 3lt nasal cannula, she is normotensive we will be there in ***minutes.

If they are unstable by my standards I will phone in and be a little more detailed with a little history and whatnot.

I can also request this pt. go direct to the trauma room and they will have the Dr meet us in there.

They told me they didn't have to have any pre-requisite A&P. She felt she got all the A&P she needed in the first week of paramedic school. I actually put down my sushi, turned to her and said...

"No A&P? Your school sucks." My friends know I never put down my sushi.)

That amazes me. I had to have A&P before PCP (EMT) school. :roll:

I'm currently taking my EMT course through Alberta Health and Safety Training institute in Calgary. It's an accelerated program, they cram it all into 3 months of class work. It has been the MOST intense three months of my life,

Have you started practicum yet?

I have met and worked with a few students from AHASTI, they seem very competent and confident.

Just don't go to Flatline Responce, I have yet to run into a student that was prepared for ems after that crash course!

Just today I did a 45 min transfer of a patient for a CT quering reocurring subdural hematoma. I did vitals and physical before we left the hospital, got him settled and planted my butt in the airway seat and buckled up. About half way I moved back to the bench, reapeated vitals, did a quick neuro and headed back to the airway seat. The whole trip i could see my patient moving around. Not to mention i think I would notice if he lost all muscle tone and slumped over in the cot.

So by the above posters standards I was acting as a poor attendant?

We even have a new program set up with the health region called transfer of care paramedics. It involves one Paramedic, one EMT who sit in the hall their entire shift,

How are these people viewed by the rest of Calgary EMS?

Are they below average people who coulden't cut it? Or just the opposite?

What is with my generation???

Read that post out loud to whoever is in the room with you and watch their reaction.

I think you are trying to discuss rural EMS but I can not be sure. I am a rural EMS buff and would like to discuss whatever you are bringing to the table ... but please for the love of god, proofread your posts people.

I do not listen to people who tell me they can't afford a full paid service. My home town runs a full paid service with 2 units (only 1 paid full time, other is utilized if staff are around to run it), and they have ALS (unless he is on the first car)

Anyway point is the company does 100 - 120 calls / year. That's right full time ALS supported by a mere 100 calls / year.

If there is a will there is a way!

EDIT to add this:

I am about 95% sure on these numbers: Wages in said 100 call/year town:

PCP (EMT) $19.70/hr $4.50 on call

ACP (Paramedic) 26.19/hr $4.50 on call

Hmm ...fire him and revoke certs. Negligence? Abandonment? Something must fit.

But I have to wonder if he was maybe kneeling in the "alley" at the front of the box. I think this may be more common than we care to think it is within transfer companies. My sister-in law was recently transfered between 2 hospitals for a C-Section, my brother said the medic sat in the airway seat, rotated to face the front and chatted up his partner for the majority of the 1.5hr transfer. He did however do a couple sets of vitals and ask about pain along the way.

I am not going to say I have never slipped to the front of the alley for a sip of my coffee on a 6:00 am prescheduled transfer. But I am never away from my patients side for more than a minute or two.

I believe this medic was a little too complacent and maybe even "burned out".

This is a plus for the King airway. There os a large opening into the esophagus for drainage and tubes. *As far as non-visualized airways are concerned*

I'm afraid I have to disagree with all of you.

Mobey and Akroeze, remember that our MFR in the U.S. is not really part of the EMS continuum, as it is in Canadia. It's just a forty hour first aid course here. A good one, to be sure. And specifically designed for public safety personnel who will commonly find themselves first on the scene of medical emergencies. But not really training for EMS professionals. It's certainly not like in Alberta, where it is a foundation for paramedic school.

Ahh I see. In that case it actually sounds like a great idea. Especially working as a cop.

My personal opinion is that they could include what ever these skills are into the EMT-B curriculum and who ever cant keep up with it will be led to the door. Would it not benefit everyone to have better educated, more highly skilled basics than to create another expensive program? If you need a EMT-I you more than likely will need a EMT-P. That is my opinion and it is just that my opinion.

Two very good statements this time!!

Yes better educated basics is the way to go!! Get rid of EMT-I and extend the didactic portion of EMT-B by 4-500 hours.

Then you will have highly educated EMT-B's who can perform some ALS procedures.

But wait... as you said if you need advanced procedures, you need Paramedics, so let's scrap the "B" altogether and just have one cert, Paramedic.

By george I think he is gettin it

Would it be better to get rid of EMT-B and go for all EMT-I and Paramedic?

I know the best would be all Paramedics but since that is not happening.

I'm wanting to be a police officer

Not to be harsh, but if that's what you want go do it. You have no reason to take MFR, EMT or Paramedic. EMS is striving to become a profession. Please do not enter it unless your going to be a professional health care worker, and dedicate yourself to advancing EMS in your area.