etfink

The IAFF also represents EMS. Here in Phoenix the IAFF Local I-60 represents private EMS, and I have been happy with the representation. It aslo ties us in with the fire services better which as we are sister services in this systen, is a good thing.

I worked on that unit for 6 months. It works very well. "Saving Phoenix 500 LBS at a time" :wink:

Why are some people still in the gene pool?

We had a similar problem with Dopamine. 81 yo female acute pulmonary edema. Pulse Ox 80% on 15l. BP 60/30. Can't give Lasix or Morphine due to BP so we gave Dopamine to raise her pressure then the Lasix. When we got to the hospital she was talking. BP was 98/62. We got in a lot of trouble for not patching for the Dopamine however. Well you win some and you loose some. :oops:

35 yo female, ill person: I've had diarrhea for 3 days. OK what made you call us tonight. I want to go to the hospital OK well again why did you call us. I didn't want to make a mess in my SUV. It is a new BMW AHHHHHHH!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Time to be a contrairian... OK all of the criticism was 100% accurate but come on what do we expect? This is "drama", entertainment to the unwashed masses. This show is dealing with a highly technical profession. I challenge you out there to find me a show about another profession that is accurate. Rescue Me? Cop Shows? Oh wait how about military shows? Alias that was realistic right? How about The Unit? As I have stated in earlier posts I have a BS in Nuclear Engineering. I have never seen radiation or Nuclear Power realistically portrayed. I for one am glad to see EMS portrayed at all performing procedures. Anything helps people understand that we don't just drive the ambo. Granted I wish it was technically more accurate but if that's what you want that's why there is Discovery Health. I'm sorry if I'm rambling, I'm in the middle of a 48.

I hope it will not be offensive to have a BLS give his opinion this :wink: I would feel very comfortable with this patient and have had many patients presenting like this be turned over to me. There is a caveat however; lets run a strip and get a BGL prior to downgrading. Just like a refusal I cant imagine downgrading without a full set of vitals. Dizzy...we need a d-stick. In AZ this is a BLS skill and after a BP and pulse this would be one of the first things I do. I understand the idea of well as long as ALS is here...and it never hurts to be more cautious, however i can't think of many medics that I have worked with that would ride in on this if their local protocols allow it.

Hey this is not all that unrealistic. First pay. After training which lasts 2 weeks the starting pay is 9.75 an hour. Benefits- They cost around 250 a month for the whole family. Pretty good coverage. Shifts- Variable. Most shifts are 24s. There some inter-facility with 12s or 20s. Paramedic school- Hell yes. That's why I came here. You must be a Basic for 1yr and test for it. In addition you sign a contract to pay off school, but you get pay and school is free. OT- I've never had a problem getting as much as I want. I usually put in 160-180 hours every other week. 401K with matching and a 20 yr pension. In fairness there are downsides but I thin it is a great place to work.

Where in AZ do you work? I work in Fountian Hills where we have a response time of 8-10 min and a transport of at least 20. Because of this we try to do as much as possible en-route. I often however work in Pinal County and have 40+ min transports as well.

I just left the system in Hawaii. Their basics are registry EMT-Is. Interesting they require 2 semisters of A&P to get into their lowest level of certifaction. They call their medics MICTs.

Those are good points about college and I am sorry for getting so fired up. I am lucky, in my system we are large and diverse enough that people can work rotating 24s, static 24s, or 12s. Looking at it from a broader point of view I can see how other agencies would not be able to support that kind of flexibility. Hopefully there will be more formal EMS education ie college that I will have the chance to attend in the future. You an I are in strong agreement that that is what our profession needs to be thought of as true professionals.

Not to mention, any EMT working an ALS service ought to be taking the initiative to learn such things on his own. I bet you learned it the first time you watched that medic do it. Anybody who requires an entire class over such mundane tasks is a total idiot and need to find a new job anyhow.

Great points all. Thank you. Spock Would you mind telling me a little more about the scope and daily job of a CRNA? I've heard a lot about being a CRNA but I'm unsure about how true it is.

You are obviously a great parent. Good for her!!

Uhhh...my point was not that this would take the place of any medic training. Rather the more a medic student knows about ALS the better equiped he/she will be to: 1. Make an informed decision to persue an advanced cert. 2. Learn the material and understand it better while in school.

If you are refering to my spelling error of "preference"? If so wow great job! You can cut people down not just for their level of certifaction but for a spelling error. If not and this is an actual question please ignore my sarcasim. I have gone to college, and a have a BS in Nuclear Engineering. I don't mean to start any problems Dust and a 8 yr vet. I thank you for your continued service and wish you the best. Stay safe, Eric

Maybe there is something to it. Like previously stated nothing that increases their scope, however some more education and the ability to be more useful to our medics would be great. Like most of us basics I learned how to strip a bag, set up a 12 lead and hand my medic requested drugs and the such by my medic partners. In urban settings where there are ALS rides there would be a great advantage to standardizing this level of education. Further for EMTs who want to go to medic school it would let us learn more on the job. As stated before lets look at these things without raging EGOS.

Nate, Who do you work for?

Hi all, So I'm fairly new here and have while reading posts I see a lot of people who under occupations list terms that I am not familiar with. Who out there have certs that have a Scope of Practice that exceeds the NREMT-P? Could you please share a little about your careers? EMS is a second job for me, I was formerly a Nuclear Engineer. I am starting Medic school and am just looking ahead to the next step. I have and am considering RN or PA education as I already have my BS but I don't want to leave the field. What have you all seen? As Always, Thanks

Fair enough, I forgot to run spell check :oops:

That is exactly what we do in metro phoenix with SW Ambulance, have stations either out of firehouses our our own. We have a 1min mark to go enroute and a 10min response time. We just move when the toner goes off. I love it! I work 10 days a month. I would never go to a system with 12s. For those that like them great I mean no disrespect I am just very firm in my prefrence.

I work for Southwest Ambulance in Phoenix AZ. My pay is 9.75 per hour and I work 24s. OT is always available. You would start dooing interfacility transports but can go to EMS in 90days or less. We have a 20yr retirement program and good other benifets. Here however is the best part: We have an in house Paramedic program!!!! No charge!!! Full pay and benifets while in school!! Paramedic pay and wait you get paid for 56 hours a week even though school is M-F 8 hours a day!!! [ Of course there is a catch..you sign a contract to work for 2 years as a medic. If you break the contact you pay back the cost of school on a prorated basis. I moved from Hawaii as an EMT-I to work here as a basic. It was the best decision I've made in a long time. I should be starting medic school in a few months. Anyway congrats on your new career.

Thanks for the insight. I of course was talking about as a Medic. I have been a basic for 5 years and an Intermediate for 2. I'm starting Paramedic school is Sept. I work now in a high volume EMS role. What type of degree? I currently have a BS in Nuclear Engineering. (yes i'm serious) Would that be of any help? The US is my home and my first priority however I would love to go overseas (as a civ for a change) and work for a while. I was considering the UK, Austriala, Israel or to the north in Canada. What do you guys think

So I am very curious, what do all you know about international reciprocity? Is there any? At what level(EMT, Paramedic)? I know that there are programs for RNs and MDs but what about us? Thanks Eric