blueangelfightr

I couldn't think of a better comparison.

That pretty much covers it. An EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) is a person that has completed the proper training to receive the title of being an EMT. EMS (Emergency Medical Services) is a system of people and equipment that includes but is not limited to EMT's, MICN's (or RN's that do pre-hospital care), ambulances, helicopters, etc. Usually these services are activated by the 911 system and they provide emergency response for sudden illnesses or injuries. An EMT-B certification is a 120 hour class and a state test following to be registered. A EMT-B is considered to give care that is at the BLS (basic life support) level. An EMT-P is much longer, an EMT-P is kind of a pre-hospital nurse. They can start IV's, push certain drugs, provide ACLS (advanced cardiac life support), and do a more detailed assessment. An EMT-I is kind of an in between. (I wish I knew more about their guidelines and what they can do, but NJ does not have an EMT-I level) So hopefully between these two responses you can understand a little more of what both abbreviations mean and stand for.

I believe FDNY is moving to hortons mounted of F450's. However, it may be F350's. I'm not sure if they are type 1's or 3's though.

Type III Hortons. All BLS units. Also, a rescue truck.

It's a convenience store.

EVMTS (Essex Valley Medical Transportation Services) is an EMS system ran by East Orange Hospital that covers the towns of Orange and East Orange as the primary EMS service. They don't have the best reputation around here.

You're right. I didn't even notice the EMT patch on the MONOC crew member. I think both companies need a overhaul.

Because MONOC uses ambulances as their ALS units. However, ALS does not transport, thats why the BLS rig showed up. It depends on the area if an ambulance or SUV shows up as your ALS unit in NJ.

My honest opinion? Become an RN and don't waste a degree. There is no where to go in the Paramedic field. You are a paramedic or you are an administrator. That's about all you can be with a degree in Paramedic Science. If you really want to, alot of hospitals will accept RN's as Paramedics and let them go into the field. Usually accompanied by only an EMT-B certification. Plus when you have your nursing degree you can get a job doing pretty much anything. If you want to specialize in a certain type of care or be an ER nurse or even work in the trauma section. On top of that if you want to expand your education you can become a BSN or MSN. Not to mention the pay scale is alot better when you are a nurse compared to a paramedic. I'm probably going to get heat for saying this, but it's the truth. On the plus side. It really is a fun job with alot of action that will keep you entertained for years to come. The pay isn't horrible, but it isn't great either. I would suggest something along the lines of an EMT-B certification first and see if you really like it. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters. Good luck.

In NJ you have a card and if you aren't too sure you can contact the NJ state dept. of health or you can even look up a name online if you have a name or city name all you need is to clarify if it's an EMT-B or EMT-P certification. http://www.state.nj.us/health/ems/emtcertsearch/search.shtml In other states, I don't know what they do.

MONOC is the only thing I can foresee giving us a problem right now.

I think that's because the state feels that we are volunteering and should not have to pay $500 for an EMT class on top of giving up our time for free. I'm a volunteer EMT and I take about 20-25 calls a month, so I don't think that money was wasted. With your logic we should pay for doctors and nurses to go to school too, I mean after all they're going to do this for their career. You have to spend money to make money. I think that volunteers are even sometimes more dedicated then the paid people because when you go paid you think of it more as a job, not treating real people with real care and compassion. But that of course doesn't apply to everyone. I don't really have complaints about EMS in NJ, but we have quite a few rigs and 5 ALS providers within 10 miles of us, so we can pretty much get things done.

Thats not true. NorthSTAR takes about 20 minutes from the time they get the call till the time they're on the ground. They still operate... well, I don't know about right now with this going on. They're good for extrications because you can't get the pt. out right away anyway. Other then that, A Level II trauma center is 10 minutes from my house. A level I trauma center is about 20 minutes away. And the nearest hospital is about <10 minutes away. So there's not too much need.

Pt. slammed her index finger in a car door and had us transport to the hospital. (The finger was probaly broken) 5 hours or so later calls us back because the finger was swelling! :shock: No other complaints, but her finger was red and enlarged. We got a RMA thank god.

Are you kidding me? But you don't say anything when other older and "more mature" "professionals" critize the young people. Really, give me a break. You guys aren't professionals, you are people who made this a living. Nothing more, nothing less.

How old are you? Your come backs are as good at a 7 year olds. Really, talk about maturity. You're a prime example. :roll:

Have a medal.

You know what, whatever. It's assholes like you guys that really make me wonder why I would want to help people. You win. Think what you want. As soon as you guys get your heads out of your asses maybe you'll realize these "kids" are YOUR future.

My bad, I mis typed and put an 's' in that word.. Typing a huge paragraph, it's hard to believe I can mis type something. Isn't it? Btw, I don't like english and I'm not going to pretend to. Idc if I'm not getting paid. The ONLY reason I brought that up is because when you are going through high school and such, 120 hours is alot of time to dedicate to something. If I was out of high school and making it my ccareerthen 120 hours would mean nothing to me because it's what I need to make money. I don't know if that made sense. :? Anyway, I have no intention of playing hero, I just hate some peoples attitude toward BLS because we're "under trained", and because you're under 18 or 21 you have to be unprofessional. I really try my hardest to be professional and provide the absolute best care to my patients (within my scope of practice) and I get mad when some idiot who has no clue about any of what I do tries to make assumptions. To tell you the truth, I have no intention of being a politician. I want to be a flight nurse. Having my EMT certification and eexperienceso young will help me though more advanced training and give me eexperience Play hero? No. Make a difference I'll try my hardest.

Who said anything about sucking at my job? I use my cerification (well, right now lack there of) as an excuse. How else can I explain to a patient in pain why I can't give them pain medication. I treat everyone the same no matter what kind of call it is. Also, my company is pretty damn good thank you very much.

After reading this thread I have a few things to say. First of all I'm 17, and not an EMT yet. I'm doing my classes but I have yet to finish and take the test. Furthermore, I actually have some experiance (I have 50 calls so far) so I'm not an idiot, but I don't know anything even close to everything. I've seen some descent tramas, bad medicals, and alot of simple everyday calls. I DO work with the patients, even with the paramedics (they don't seem to care about my age or certifications) I know how to do vitals, administer oxygen safely, CPR, and all that good stuff. My goal is to become a flight nurse, so I have long term goals in health care. I have to say, myself and my mother (RN, working on her BSN) have a discussion all the time on the way doctors/nurses/ and even nurses aids act to EMS in general. At most times, it's horrible! Neither of us can understand why. Also, I'd say a good 1/3+/- people on my squad are at or under the age of 21. Many EMT's and many are pretty good ones with descent experiance and knowledge. Why does it have to be a fight about who can and can not touch patients. As long as you and the next person are trained the same then you can both do the same job... even if one is 18 and one is 40. The one thats 40 will probaly know more, but the onw thats 18 will still know what hes doing. And so what if someone is only an EMT, around here being an EMT is mostly voulnteer and we give up OUR time to help people. So a 120 hour class is alot. Especially with Senior year, looking for college, work, etc. I work my butt off to try and do this, I don't expect B.S. from people who can not accept that fact that I don't have a PhD and work with patients. I treat patients to the best of my ability, you can treat yours to the best of your ability. If I need help, I ask! I'm not afraid to ask another EMT for help or a paramedic. We are BLS (BASIC life support) if I was getting paid for this, you might have a case. But I donate my time to help people and if a 120 hour class and a test can give me the proper knowledge to do that then as far as I'm concerned, I'm good.

I have no problem searching.. I'm on many other forums and I search alot. However on the re-inventing the wheel thing... Wheels were stone once, then wood, and more recently we got rubber tires on wheels. Hey, I think wheels wrapped with rubber tires are better then stone wheels. Don't you agree? I mean sure they go flat sometimes, but it's a much smoother ride with the reinvented rubber. Think about what life would be like if people didn't re-invent things. I mean dial up came before broadband, I'm glad they re-invented that. Now I can read your posts quicker. And please, no need to be rude you've done a good enough job. Thank you for your time.

Thanks for the welcome. See, thats exactally my problem. Press too lightly you get nothing, and if you do it too hard it reduces the problem of my hand moving, but I still get weak/nothing. Thats why I made the post. And idc about chatting, because I can deal with that. It's the tapping that can sound like a pulse and screw me up (don't know when the real one started/stopped). Oh well, I'll keep trying and practicing and see what I can do. Thanks for the idea though.

I know how to take a blood pressure anywhere. It's not the matter of getting it, it's the matter of being very touchy when i move my fingers above bell when moving as I stated. I'll try pushing down harder next time and see where that gets me. And thanks for the welcome mike. :roll:

Hey Everyone! This is my first post! Let me start off by saying I'm not an EMT yet, I start classes Moday, but I ride as a first aider for my local voulnteer squad. As of now, I have a littman lightweight stethoscope however I find that it can be rather useless in the back of the rig. As I'm sure most people encounter taking a BP manually can be sometimes hard when hitting bumps and moving all over. The biggest problem for me is that if I tap the top side of it while doing something I can hear the tap. Well, not too bad right? It can be going over the bumps and moving around constantly which ruins my results. i'm sure almost all of you have to deal with this daily. However, when I use my mothers (shes a nurse) littman master classic, I do not get any noises except what I want to hear. My question, would it be better to just get the master classic, or do you have any tips to help keep noise levels down with my lightweight? Thanks for any/all advice.