Richard B the EMT

Well, with scientific advancements, today, such is "You're kidding", but tomorrow, "What took you guys so long?" Hope it comes to full reality. Lost a friend a couple of years back, Renal Failure secondary to Diabetes, took himself off of Dialysis treatment. Spoke with him by phone the day he died. If this had been available then, probable different outcome.

I would presume that an "Emancipated Minor" could RMA (Refuse Medical Assistance), but question, except through OLMC, a non emancipated minor. Please correct me, as we seem to be using differeent words for the same thing. I Say RMA, You say ROT, which I presume to be Refusal Of Treatment. Is that one and the same?

Found her. Professional Sword Swallower Heather Holliday, attempting to swallow an iPOD Shuffle. iPOD Shuffle Swallowing Attempt

Just a small admonishment, here.Whenever buying footwear, from sneakers to combat boots, if they need time to be "broken in", they don't fit! Footwear should fit you, not the other way around, as your foot will simply become assimilated to the misfit, with possible pain to follow.

I am forgetful if JEVAC is Districvt 4 or 18. Steven, what community are you in? FYI, District 4 is having it's monthly meeting at Forest Hills VAC tomorrow night, Thursday March 10, at 7 PM. They are just east of Woodhaven Boulevard on Metropolitan Avenue, right next to the LIRR Overpass. Landmark at the corner of Woodhaven and Met is the Wendy's.

37 years ago, when I started, I was in a newly started up Volunteer Ambulance Corps. We were all greenhorns/newbies/newjacks, and I was, at 19, most of the time, the youngest on the ambulance. Simple considerations are, treat each patient as if they were the rich relative, about to rewrite their will, but don't be condecending in doing it. If it seems dangerous, request Law Enforcement Officers back you up, as they'd rather be requested and not be needed, then having to rush to drag anybody's ass out of the figurative fire. Learn where the dangerous areas are, but don't be fearful. Also, learn that fear is a good defence mechanism, as when to stay, walk away, or run away. Self defence skills are nice, but you're supposed to be helping, not injuring. Also, if your agency uses soft body armor, remember it doesn't stop some type bullets or knives; "Bullet-Proof" vests are NOT bullet-proof, just bullet resistant. Remember that you are not Kal-El, better known as Superman. Just this last week, an EMT working a nice upper-class neighborhood in Long Island, NY, got shot by the person in a car crash he was trying to help (he survived, Nassau County, NY PD killed the patient/gunman). Another thing on the vests you should remember, it might stop the bullet, but the impact is going to be akin to being hit by a Seagrave Ladder Company. You can be shot, not have bullet penetration, but come away with fractured ribs. Show respect, even if they don't seem worthy of it. Call them "Sir', "Ma-am", or even ask them how they'd like to be addressed. The only patient I ever called "Grandma" asked me to call her that, and due to my training, I was in some discomfort calling her that. However, it was what she wanted. You'll pick up on other tips as you go, but the often overlooked "Golden Rule" usually applies (NO, not the one that "Them with the gold makes the rules), "Treat others as you would ask to be treated by them".

Why do they have to be surly? Couldn't they be nice? Shirly there must be another way. (Leaving it open for the obvious retort comment)

Look at it this way: If Tom Edison had not invented the lightbulb, our night time postings via computer to the internet, would be created by candle light. Actually, the problem seems to have been corrected.

Kyle, ask someone where you are doing the clinicals, what they reccommend. They might have specifications the boots must comply with.

17 years old, and telling everyone else how things are going to work is in defiance of Dale Carnagie (wrote the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People"). After 37 years in EMS, with 25 of them in perhaps the busiest 9-1-1 system in the United States, I can tell you that, dispite my longevity, due to location, and sometimes dumb luck, I might have experiences more than some, but others may have more than me, in a much shorter time. While I may tell someone who has been a military Medic/Corpsman how they are expected to perform in MY system, I am still in awe of what great numbers of them have experienced before we even met. Just as a mention, this week, a Nassau County (Long Island), New York, EMT, as a part of a response to a single involved car crash, got shot! Nassau County PD returned fire, killing the gunman, who had a small arsenal in the car, and on his body. Over a decade ago, one of my friends was pinned down in the crossfire between another gunman and the NYPD, while attending to one of the gunman's victims. In all my years on the job, I've only been on the scene one time when an NYPD Officer not only had his sidearm unholstered, but fired it. My "counterpart" Military Medics/Corpsman associates might have that experience several times an hour. I also mention, "young whippersnapper/grasshopper/young Jedi", that in New York State, to even sit for the final written test to become a NY State Department of Health Certified EMT, you have to be 18, even if you take the test on the day of your 18th birthday.

Perhaps the system can be adjusted, so that it won't remove anything until at least 6 hours after a member logs in, on any given day? That degree of programming is above my pay grade, anyway.

Re eating an iPOD Shuffle, there is a Youtube video of a woman, Heather Holliday,if memory serves, who is supposed to be the youngest professional sword swallower, attempting to swallow an MP3 player. Due to how light the device is, she cannot do it. Also, I have seen this particular sword swallower at the Coney Island "Museum".

Contact the New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association, NYSVARA.org, and look up districts 4 and 18, for the New York City area.

Webmaster: I am experiencing problems with the City's updating. A problem I thought had been cleared up has come back, specifically, I check for any and all postings from when last I was on line visiting, but after responding to one posting, or even just pulling one up, all postings disappear. I click on the internal View New Posts/Content link, and it always seems to give back "no new postings", even if I had just responded to 12 strings from the e-mail notifications of new or updated postings. Please check and advise. Thanks in advance, as always. Richard B, the EMT.

Welcome back. A rose by any other name would smell. (Parody of a Shakespear line) You do realize I'm joking at youze, right?

...but if you like that mentoring Paramedic so much, why are you going to stick him or her? LOL

Just remember, in the Peanuts comic strip, Linus is always afraid of nature hikes, becausew he believes he's going to get "chomped by a Queen Snake".

When I turn around to try read it backwards, I'm facing away from the screen, so I can't read it backwards. lol

I am told they do, but I was "grandfathered" in, as I was already in the pre-merger NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation EMS. The young lady in question probably WAS evaluated, as she came in much later than the merger.

So no one will think this is just a problem in "the sticks", I mentioned looking for the Popular Communications HQ? It's on a major roadway, in a major town in Nassau County. I was on my own time in my own vehicle, and this was prior to my purchase of a Garmin Nuvi GPS for my van. Also, if you are in some sections of some municipalities, either due to lack of maintenance, or nastiness or the locals, street signs are missing, or have been stolen. I have had anxiety when, at 3 in the morning, during a snowstorm, trying to find an address in a neighborhood where the street gangs have stolen the road signs. I have to go blocks before I find any road signs, then count streets in north/south and east/west to just get to the block. THEN, if I am lucky, there will be a visible house number visible. Try that when the street lights are out, due to downed wires from the storm. I believe it to be a universal problem, be it an area like my own New York City's 8,000,000 population, to some parts of the countryside, where cows outnumber the population, or even prarie dogs.

As I previously said... Also, quoting Charles Dickens, "The law is a Ass!" When I first heard this from my EMS Academy instructors, we all were shocked: EMS is NOT allowed to make a field decision that a person is a presumed EDP, but an NYPD Officer IS. Hence, on the officer's determination, NYPD takes the patient into "Protective Custody" to protect the patient from thenselves, and EMS ends up, basically, just supplying the transportation to the ER. Youy bet your Bippy, the patient will be cuffed during transport, and, as the LEO won't go too far from their handcuffs, will ride in the back with the patient and EMT or Paramedic "riding shotgun" that tour.

Fred, I've heard stories like that. Smith always got riled that, after 25 years living at a place the locals called the Jones' place, after a previous owner. He finally sold the place. After another 25 years, with the Brown family, and then the Green family, living there during the interum, the place was owned by the Dworkins, who complained to Smith, that the locals were calling it the Jones place.

Let me reiterate, here: the FDNY EMS Command's protocol for RMA/AMA with patients over 65 years old is age driven. It doesn't make a difference if the EMTs or Paramedics feel comfortable accepting that patient's RMA or not, although they can advise the OLMC doctor of their comfort level, or suspicions on patient illnesses/conditions. Sometimes the OLMC will accept the RMA when the onscene crew feels the patient should go, or deny it, when the crew feels the patient is good to be left home. the main thing is, over 65 and wanting an RMA, OLMC MUST be contacted, per our protocols.

This son of 2 veterans of the Second World War's Army of the United States salutes your memory, Corporal Buckles.

Anyone in a town or city ever get the call from the guy who says he's at the corner of "Walk" and "Don't Walk"? Actually, some locations in cities are also hard to find. I find the store names on both sides of the block, with advertisements for what the store sells, and what languages the store people are fluent in, but the building number? Fugetaboudit! Even where they have the number posted, there is no standardization. Is the number on a post in the yard near the sidewalk, or visible only from directly in front, or at right angles to the street? Is it over the front door, in the front steps, or on the screen door they've already tied open to allow your access, so you cannot see the number? I once went to the offices of the Popular Communications magazine, and couldn''t find the address. Why? The building number was clearly visible, in 5 foot high numbers, but they were above the second floor windows. I didn't know I wasn't looking high enough. Just for a laugh, does anybody know what is located at 350 5th Avenue, NYC, NY?