MedicAsh

I think Ruff covered it.

I live in Northern Wisconsin and in my area Paramedics start out $15-$17 per hour. We are a county owned hospital based ambulance. We work 12's here. If you work fire EMS you get paid significantly more.

Wow great to see some older names! I am still here. I did have a name change though. I used to be ashley_dpEMT

I'm alive somewhere......I think *checks pulse*.....................Yep it's still there

*Drops in used 7.5 ET Tube with a hole in the balloon*

*Machine plays Poker-Face by Lady Gaga*

*Ash blows out eardrums because she sounds like nails on a chalkboard*

Thats why I gave it to the machine. Its a needle that I won't use anytime soon. I need the 20's and 18's I have in my pocket. LOL

*drops in unused 24g IV needle*

Machine plays Some random 50's song I dont know.

All of our backboards have the plasticy buckle straps for adults. That is what is favored by our service here.

Out comes a banana flavored condom (giggle)

*drops in a quarter*

I am still alive LOL. I have been busy with work and life in general.

Should I become an EMS student and eventually an EMT?

This is totally up to you. I took my EMT-Basic class when I was a senior in High School (not part of school but rather a class through the fire department). It was tough. I started the class at 17 and graduated at 18. Was it tough for a 17 year old kid? Yes. I enjoyed the class but you better make sure that EMS is what you want to do. I knew I wanted to eventually be a medic. It took me 12 years to eventually hit that goal. Was it worth it? Yes. I was grateful that I had the experience I did when I was in medic school. I think it helped me alot. I suggest taking a basic class and then getting your feet wet. This way you can decide if EMS is truly what you want to do. I have seen students come and go and I have seen many of them brand new EMTs with no experience that quit because they realized it isn't all daiseys and roses. Just being honest.

Also, will my age hinder me greatly? It can. I was 18, but as stated before, more and more services are requiring you to be 21 because of insurance purposes. You should look into your area.

What are the challenges of studying to be an EMT that I should be aware of? You learn really fast that this is real life. What you see in the Hollywood is not what EMS is. Many times you run a code, the person dies. I have had one save in my career. The rest have died. Thats how life is. Diseases are VERY real. HIV, Hep-c, Hep-B, all of that.....yes it is real and yes you could be exposed. Get an accidental needle poke and you suddenly realize how scary it can be waiting test results. Class is serious. Yes, we all goof and have fun but you are learning how to save someone or help them when they are in need. If you use improper skills you that can be the difference between life or death. Don't think you can just breeze through it. You need to study and you need to know your stuff. Do NOT get cocky!!! You may think you know it all but there is a difference between book smarts and street smarts. It is my personal pet peeve to have students come in that think they know it all. You are there to LEARN, not to prove how much you know. Sorry if it sounds harsh but I don't sugar coat it. EMS is not a sugar coated profession.

If you're concerned about the emotional and mental strain of the job, but know it is a challenge you want to try and overcome, should you think twice?

If you question your personal abilities you need to really put thought into this profession. Yes, there have been calls that have gotten to me. It happens. As I said above it is not all roses and daiseys. But also know that there are services that are available to help you deal with some of the stress. I have found that talking with the person on the call with me helps me if I doubt something I did. If I am with a basic, we discuss the call or even go talk to the doctor to get some input. You need to be able to have positive coping skills. Going to the bar and getting drunk it not healthy. Make sure to have a hobby that you enjoy. I found that my photography is a great way of coping with the stress of work at times. If you find that you can't handle the consistant stress then you should get out.

I am not trying to be mean so don't take what is above personally. I had someone tell me pretty much what I told you when I was wondering about getting into EMS. I am glad she did. I walked into this profession knowing that it was going to be tough. I love what I do and I am very happy in EMS. There are some lessons that you have to learn the hard way but they can make you a good EMT or medic if you learn from your mistakes.

Ash

Hey everyone,

I am looking into some different pediatric spine board for our rigs and I was wondering what you all use out there. We currently use the NyCanCo Pediatric Immobilization Board but it seems like the crew here doesn't like velcro (I sure do miss my spider straps). Any suggestions?

Hahaha I love it!

Anyone know much about this company? What kind of hours? Is it a decent place to work? That kind of info. Thanks

I honestly think that getting help professionally is a good idea. Find a therapist that you are comfortable with and have them to listen and help sort things out. Sometimes that impartial party really can help.

um..................

I would LOVE to go to Rapid City! I was looking at Pierre with AMR. I am looking for jobs in Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota or Montana.

This can be a common occurance here as well. What we do is do our best to keep the patient warm. We have wool blankets as well as regular cotton blankets. As for ourselves, we usually have the firefighter's tarp to block the wind, but usually I keep moving around. We will swap getting into the ambulance and getting things ready. This keeps us from getting too cold. We won't put warm fluids to a patient unless they are in the ambulance. We have had them freeze while outside on scene. I am lucky that I have been on few of these calls but they do happen. I like what others have said about the pocket warmers. I am going to have to do this next winter.

Does anyone here work for AMR? What are your thoughts on the company? Do you like your job? I am looking at a possible job through AMR in South Dakota. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

Ash

I wish I would have seen this earlier. I would love to go to this. Maybe next year

The zombie video was awesome! LOL

Wisconsin does not require a state test as well as registry. If you have your registry then you can have a liscense.

Patient with poor oral hygiene and had tooth pain. He needed transport to ER. The crew had less that 3 minute transport to the ER. They gave him 10mcg Fentanyl.

Ash

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I totally ust realized I put 10mcg but it was 100mcg of Fentanyl.

Patient with poor oral hygiene and had tooth pain. He needed transport to ER. The crew had less that 3 minute transport to the ER. They gave him 10mcg Fentanyl.

Ash

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Thanks everyone for the input. I really appreciate it.