KSEMT122

Leave it on there. You can always make it sound better than what it really was, that is the great thing about resumes, YOU control what people read and see. And all in all, it is still experience and that is valuble

I can't believe more people aren't posting a reply condeming this act at all costs. The only thing I can figure is that people have given up on answering NREMT-Basic's posts because they are usually confrontational, which this one is no exception.

The fact of the matter is that it does happen and go on. I, as an EMT feel it should not go on unless it has been added under the EMT scope of practice. It has been said 100 times that if you want to be a medic, go to medic school. I condem the Medic who allowed this, and the EMT who did it as well and didn't say. "Uh no". This not only opens the Service, Medical Director, and the Techs up to severe administrative penalties, it also opens them ALL up to Civil action in a court of law. Unless you are trained to do something, you should not do it!!! Just because a Medic that trusts you shows you how to do an IV DOES NOT MEAN you can do it! Common sense.

I would like to be able to administer drugs and all the other fun things in EMS, I am an EMT and have limited ability to do so. So my decision it to embark upon Paramedic School next September, I suggest ANY EMT who wishes to do more, join me.

Ah yes, good ole nursing homes. This is NOT surprising, although it is a bit amusing. I have to admit I had a little chuckle while reading this post. From experience, Nursing Home staff by majority, (I always get in trouble when I start lumping people together) are incompetent. Let me clarify by stating, that is a fact where I am at, maybe not in the rest of the USA. Let me also say I am NOT insulting anyone's Father, Mother, Daughter, Son, Grandson, Niece, Nephew, 5th Cousin, or anyone in your family that may work in a Nursing home. So now that I've upset tons of people who know I'm right, but like to be politically correct, I will continue... Someone needs to be in contact with the Director of Nursing and the Chief Administrator at that nursing home. You might even give the State Board of Health a ring. I might do a little "self educating" next time I'm there as well. We can all relay stories MUCH worse than this happening in Nursing homes, I'm just waiting for the day when they will finally be held accountable.

It's amazing to see how this post have come along. It started a year ago and now we're talking chickens. That's why I love EMT City! Someone hits a dog and we're talking MURDER, Vehicular Homicide, and CHICKENS!

Ok Law Enforcement point of view in Kansas. No crime was committed. The driver had no duty to render aid,(because it was not a human) He had no duty to stop (because he couldn't get out and exchange information with the dog). The only thing in Kansas would be, that if hitting that dog caused over $1000 worth of damage to his vehicle, he would then be required to report it to the nearest Police Department, if he didn't he could be charged with Misdemeanor "Failure to Report an Accident resulting in Over $1000 worth of damage" The reason you couldn't charge anything else such as, Criminal Damage to Property, or Cruelty to animals is because there was no Intent.

Now that we covered that, let's go grab some KFC!

It must be the morning coffee I had, but for some reason I feel the need to reply to everything today.

It can't hurt to study, study, study. Learn as much as you can during your EMT-Basic. Go above and beyond what your teacher teaches you. You need to remember, the EMT-Basic is the VERY foundation upon which the rest of your career will rest upon. So make that foundation as strong as you possibly can while you still can. I applaud your effort, and keep up the good work!

NREMT-Basic to answer your question about Tactical Medics, I have seen it both ways. But usually, you get your Paramedic and start working at an EMS agency somewhere, or Fire Dept that runs EMS. At some point the local SWAT team will decide they want to put Medics on their teams. This is where it can get tricky. Some departments invest in sending their Police Officers to Paramedic school. Others decide to hire Paramedics and put them through the Police Academy. Either way to answer your question, You will more than likely be put through a Police Academy. I've seen it run a million different ways though. You could end up working for EMS, but practically be working Full-Time with the Police Dept as sort of a liaison between the two, You could get hired Away from EMS to go full-time with the PD specifically in a SWAT Medical role. Or you could still work full time with EMS, and only be called to select SWAT scenes. Hope that answers your question and helps confuse you.

Sorry in advance folks, I can't get the quotes to work properly, so you'll have to pick your way through this post.

NREMT-BASIC wrote:

I have examined enough footage of tazer depluyments to see that often they appear that the officer would rather use the tazer rather than run the risk of scuffing their boots or ripping the name tags of their shirts.

My Reponse:

I must say that is true. Think about it, using a Tazer does usually prevent a scuffle that usually results in the Officer and the suspect being injured, sometimes severely. The idea of the Tazer is to eliminate or signifigantly reduce the amount of hands on the officer has to do. Studies at most departments show a decrease in officer injuries by in most cases 85% or higher in the first year of deployment.

NREMT-BASIC wrote:

Notice the police also did not identify themselves when requested to, which they are also required by law to do.

My Response:

That is not true. Police Officers DO have to be identified as Police Officers, which can be done by verbalization, or in this case wearing a marked uniform. There is no law that requires a Police Officer to individually identify himself, although I would think most departments would discipline an officer internally for refusing to do so.

NREMT-Basic wrote:

Unfortunately, (and my father was an Officer) there still exists the Blue Wall of Silence and such problematic officers are often allowed to stay on the job regardless of their actions in clear violation of departmental regulations govering the use of force or the compiled state statutes dealing with the same.

My Response:

In some cases the so called Blue Wall does still exist. But what you may not know is that is hardly EVER exists in big departments anymore. Trust me, Bigger departments are the first to hang their officers out to dry, smaller departments tend to, in some cases still have a Blue Wall.

I was defending the notion that Police Officers should have to worry about Image while doing their jobs. I do agree after reviewing this video several times that the Officer doing the tazing should be severely disciplined if not fired. I do believe this student was Tazed properly 1 time. And that was the first time, he was showing signs of active aggression, and that much is evident by listening to him on the tape. After that initial Tazering, they should have moved in and subdued him, not stand around like a bunch of punks trying to provoke the man to get tazed again.

Hi there, I voted No, and I"ll tell you why. Although I am not a basic anymore, for the most part, that is what I"m considered while on a rig with a Paramedic. So I speak with experience when it comes to this issue because my partner and I have discussed it.

It is true that we have a scope of practice that we operate under. The bottom line for me as a healthcare provider is I must do what it best for my patient. Often that is Paramedic level care. A Paramedic is responsible for what happens to that patient period. In my opinion you shouldn't be doing an assessment on a patient if you have a Paramedic partner who SHOULD be doing an assessment of his own. If you are in a situation with multiple patients, then you can go operate under your scope of practice and inform the Medic of what you have on your end. In the end it all falls down on the Medic, and I don't blame a Medic for wanting to know about any patients I have or running an idea by the medic for review before I do it, since I understand he is responsible EVEN on a BLS call.

I must admit it has been frustrating to me before, and I have gone ahead and done things while on a transfer without consulting my Paramedic partner, however on First out calls, it is the Paramedics responsibility to assess that patient and determine what level of care is appropriate. That's how it was at my department. I view it from their perspective, once I become a Paramedic I need to know my partner is there for me, they can question me if they wish, that's all part of the system. Paramedics save Patients, EMT's save Paramedics. Or something to that effect.

Remember I AM an EMT. So please don't bash me for my EMT views that support Paramedics! lol,

What my department did to fix that situation was to lower the hourly rate for the tech. So we are paid for 24 hours instead of cutting us off at a certain time. And anything over 40 is OT. So my salary in Kansas as an EMT-D was a little over $27,000. Which in Kansas... Is not shabby at all. I just don't think I could work at a service that didn't pay me for the full 24 hours. Like everyone already said, it apparently is legal, although NOT popular.

The bottom line as I see it is this. Police Officers should not have to worry about how something might "look" to others who are not involved. However half of our training is designed to make it "look good" to the public, often at our expense. The unfortunate reality is that Officers have, and will continue to die because they spend that extra second, wondering how something might look. Another unfortunate fact is that many Police Departments these days will discipline an Officer because something "looked" bad when in fact it was well within policy. I was on the receiving end of a complaint for pulling out my pepper spray and shaking the can, when I was outnumbered 7 to 1 in a remote area and a large male jumped out of the backseat and acted in an aggressive and strange manner towards myself. He never got sprayed, but I received a SUSTAINED complaint, because "the guy felt threatened", LOL I said "And that's a problem how? That was my point, was to make him feel threatened and stand down" So to address the person who said it just didn't look good, Walk a mile in our shoes. You probably wouldn't make it 5 steps if all you're worried about is how something looks. And to reanswer the ORIGINAL question, Tazer's have not been directly linked to ANY deaths. Those deaths have usually been attributed to pre existing cardiac conditions further complicated by improper restraint.

Hey Racemedic, I just got off the phone with Chrystine (odd spelling) at the Board of EMS. She informed me that they do not require someone from out of state to have or get their associates. You have to have National Registry and have your original course instructor fill out the form I linked to on the previous post. The programs have to be compatible and if they are not it would require Continuing Education through Kansas until you satisfied their requirements, however they would grant you a temporary license for 1 year to satisfy all their requirements. On a side note. As of January 1st, you probably already knew Kansas is doing away with National Registry for all levels other than Paramedic, she stated they have not finalized if they would make a Paramedic from another state take the NEW Kansas practical test. So interesting information, and it doesn't seem like Kansas even knows what they are doing yet. Just thought I"d let you know.

Thats wrong information. Yes KS does still recognize the NREMT-P however if you are not KS certified and are coming from an out of state training you have to have a degree and have to go through what they are calling "legal recognition" goto KSBEMS.org to see for sure but you can not just cross lines with an NR card any more. Basically it would be easier to have the degree coming in to the state. This statute has been on the books for a couple of yrs and they have not been enforcing it until recently. and also make sure that your program is accredited. they will research you program and if it does not meet or exceed KS standards you will not get the KS cert.

I do not believe that is accurate. I have a call in to KSBEMS (Left a message) to find out for sure. However according to the KSBEMS website this is what is required for getting reciprocity through Kansas. Your program DOES have to be accredited by CAAHEP, like you said. You also have to have your National Registry and it also has to meet all the requirements listed on the link below. It doesn't include a degree. However, I'll let you know when KSBEMS get's back with me for sure on the degree thing, if I"m wrong I"ll freely admit it. At this point I'm doing this for my own information and like I said I'll let you know for sure.

http://www.ksbems.org/Legal_recognition_ALS.pdf

I agree with everyone on the education thing like I said. It just doesn't jive with helping out a Paramedic shortage. It will produce better quality Paramedics in the long run though. Rid you're right, about another semester, only I'd venture to say give it 2 semesters since it's an additional 17-18 credit hours in Kansas for an Associates on top of the Paramedic school. The only correction I would make to Racemedic is that the AAS has probably slowed down some people from coming to KS without AAS just by the conotation that KS wants AAS. However KS still accepts National Registry Paramedics and does not require an AAS. What the board passed was legislation that stated any Paramedic school in KS had to produce AAS Paramedics. So if any Paramedics are out there wanting to come to Kansas, (I wouldn't know why) you can still come as long as you have your National Registry.

According to Taser International and my Cardiology Teacher, Tasers DO NOT affect people with Pacemakers or any other cardiac device. The deaths that result after someone has been tased has almost ALWAYS been proven to be from something OTHER than the Taser, such as someone under the influence of drugs being improperly restrained after being tased. This is just what I have read and been taught. I have never carried a taser or gone through a training program on them, so it is all hear say. Then onto a personal note, If someone with a Pacemaker decides to get frisky with an LEO, he is man enough to take the charge and whatever may happen to him as a result.

I can tell you what good ole Kansas decided to do to help out the shortage. Someone in their infinite wisdom decided "We have a Paramedic Shortage, I know how to solve that! We will increase the length of their schooling and make them obtain their associate degrees while their at it!"

Still doesn't make any sense to me, but hey. I"m all for educated Paramedics, however what Kansas did further complicated the Paramedic Shortage. So I find it funny when I hear people in Kansas who are on the board of EMS or other high up positions complain about a Paramedic shortage, when they caused it. Like I said, I like the idea of Associate Degree Paramedics, you can never have to much education, however it doesn't compute when their is a supposed shortage.

Our EMS dept required us to switch to our secondary lights while on scene. I agree with the article that was posted, with the exception of the comment about what good does it do for Police Officers to have their lights on when on a traffic stop. Yes, even as Law Enforcement we were taught about the new theory of reducing the amount of Emergency Lighting on scene. However the thing I disagree with in the article states something to the effect that having those lights on during a traffic stop doesn't help the officer. I disagree. Emergency Lighting is a benefit to Police Officers while on a traffic stop for the same reason it is not a benefit at accident scenes. It is distracting to the occupants of the pulled over vehicle. It gives Law Enforcement a "shield" to hide behind while writing out a ticket or whatever it is we may need to do when we get back into our patrol vehicle. It doesn't distract us from viewing the inside of a violators vehicle. Just my view, and the police academy's view. Maybe it's time to rethink it...

Well aparently I read the first post wrong. I thought you said in sequence that he went into PEA ,but with pulses. Obviously I was sitting here thinking, PEA is Pulseless Electrical Activity, So since I read it wrong I thought you were wrong. I"m familar with rhythms, so no further explaination needed. I was not familar that things changed as far as the sequence of shocks. I guess that's the problem with teaching BLS people ALS skills. In kansas we have a Defibrillator certification, which is reading ECG rhythms and defibrillation. They don't teach us ACLS, which is probably why I didn't know things changed. Thanks for the information. As far as the contradiction between PEA and pulses, YES, that's what I was pointing out, I thought that was what was said, I was wrong. Misunderstanding.

Simple answer to your question, Yes. Reality, not as often as I probably should. The dept I used to work for had it set in policy that between the hours of 1pm and 3pm you were to be studying SOMETHING EMS related. Didn't really matter what, it could be reading a Jems or EMS magazine. I follow the lead of others on here and whenever a call comes along that brings things up in my head, I'll start looking things up to learn on a call by call basis. Always a chance to learn something every day, usually several times a day.

In Kansas wearing a seat belt is the law. It is a secondary law, meaning you cannot be pulled over for that violation, but it can be cited if you've been pulled over for another reason. In an Ambulance I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt, unless I'm in back, and then I only wear them on Long distance transfers. As a Police Officer, I hardly EVER wore my seatbelt. Cops have a bad habit of that for lots of reasons, none probably good enough though to justify not wearing one. I can tell you from experience on both sides. Seatbelts save lives more often than not. Like someone already said, that seems to be a common factor. Obviously there are times where a seatbelt isn't enough to save a life. I've also seen unrestrained passengers that have ended up on top of the driver who was also unrestrained, so I would probably agree that an unrestrained passenger is a greater threat than an unrestrained driver.

Good Job on the save though. Whatever you did worked. Sometimes you can get caught up in the critique and forget to commend on a job well done. Sorry that I forgot to do that. Anytime you have a save it is a good job, even if you weren't responsible for it. I'll take a save anyday.

I would have to agree that bagging while doing compressions would not be effective and would at best cause alot of Gastric Distention. So that is kind of odd to me. A couple other things in this scene don't make sense to me, maybe someone can help me understand or you could clarify.

He was in V-Fib, You shocked him at 360J? Right off the bat? And that converted him to PEA, but he had pulses? You should have gone through the 200J, 300J, 360J on a Monophasic Defibrillator or the 120J, 150J, 200J on a Biphasic Defibrillator. Maybe clarify for me because on the last post you said he converted to a First Degree Heart Block, which also isn't PEA. Thanks.

Unbelievable if it is totally true. This does bring up a topic regarding BSI with infectious patients. I cannot tell you how many times we are getting prepared to transport a Respiratory MRSA Patient, and we gown up, glove up, mask up, and anything else we can think of and the nurse walks in without any PPE on with the Patient coughing all over everyone and tells us in a rude snobby voice that "you don't need that!". I think everyone time we transported someone with ANY type of Open MRSA wounds of Respiratory MRSA we were made fun of and chastised for wearing full PPE by the nurses. Never hurts to be careful, but if we are going to be in the medical field we need to learn what, when, and how things can be transmitted. Walking out of an AIDS patients house refusing to treat them is Unacceptable without question. As with any patient unless the scene is unsafe.

This really sounds like a typical problem we all experience with new partners. Especially when you are fresh out of school. That is exactly the situation we are all in at one point or another. It just seems worse because your new and don't really know if you're doing it right or not. Good news is it gets better. It took about 6 months for my partner and I to finally get to the point where we didn't have to talk to eachother to know what we were doing. We verbalized important stuff, but not the everyday stuff. We each knew what the other was going to do. It just takes time. Hang in there. If you work for a dept where you don't have a steady partner, things will take much longer to come together for you. I've seen Fire Depts who do first response or actually run the EMS calls who NEVER flow because they never have the same 2 techs on the trucks together. It usually looks like a bumbling idiot parade. Just depends on how your dept. is. Hang in there it will get better. And be confident in yourself that you KNOW you're doing things right.

First loss, we all deal with them differently as you maybe can tell by reading all the posts. We do pretty much share one thing in common which is the fact that WE are the grief counselors for these families when deaths do happen. We are there in a supportive role after the last breath is breathed. How you deal with your first loss is up to you. If you've properly prepared yourself throughout your training period and your life, you maybe able to look at it as a simple fact and move on. If you're an emotional person, it might affect you in a bad way. In this job for me, you have to take emotion out of it while the patient is alive. I can't tell you how many times we've have a critical patient and by the time we fly them out of leave them at the hospital I don't even remember half of what was done, you just go into automatic pilot. To answer your question honestly, this is how my first loss affected me, I don't even remember it. I can't tell you who, when, where what anything like that. I can tell you my first loss as a student, a code that was brought into the ER and the family was there while I was doing CPR. It was kinda emotional, but you gotta keep those feelings under tight control until you are away from the scene.

If found guilty, you have to get rid of this person. In this situation you run into all sorts of problems regarding the types of crimes involved. Theft, which in itself should be enough to have him fired, and then the issue of "Drugs" although it wasn't clear what type of drugs, but is clear that they were illegal for him to possess. Problems Problems Problems, get rid of his booty before he steals the last Morphine needed for your Old Man, having the "Big One"

Dan