Bieber

[Bieber]

Hi, everyone,

I've already posted a couple of replies to some existing threads here, so I thought I should go ahead and introduce myself to the forum. I'm Justin, I'm a paramedic student in the middle of field internship and set to graduate this December. My preceptors gave me the nickname Bieber (and made sure everyone in the hospitals know to address me as such), so feel free to continue the trend.

I live in the midwest and got my EMT-B in 2007, my EMT-I in 2008, and entered paramedic school in 2009. After I finish, I plan to work part time at the service I'm doing my field internship through and possibly part time at one of the more rural services in the area while I continue my schooling and hopefully get into the PA program here.

I originally went to college pursuing a Bachelor's in foreign language when I had a change of plans and decided I wanted to go to medical school instead. Someone suggested I go and get my EMT first to get my feet wet in medicine and it stuck. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to go through paramedic school for a while, but I eventually went for it and here I am.

Anyway, that's me, feel free to ask me anything.

[DwayneEMTP]

Welcome man!

I was impressed that you jumped right in with responses not long after becoming a member...good for you brother.

I'm a true believe in see one, do one, teach one. So while it is certainly important for you to make your original posts, it is also very productive for you to respond to others as you've already done. I have a feeling you're going to be a really good medic.

Ask, explain, argue, teach, learn, but never, ever sit on your hands...

It's good to have you Beiber. (Do you have like, some weird 12 year old's haircut or something?)

Dwayne

[speedygodzilla]

Welcome, nice to have more active members!

[Lone Star]

Bieber,

Welcome to the City!

Just out of curiosity, I went back and looked at your other posts. I'm impressed!

Not only were you willing to jump in and join the discussions; but when you found out that you had made a 'mistake', you stepped up and owned it.

If this is how you are in the field, I can see good things for you. Not much in EMS is 'black and white'; (hell, this applies to the whole field of medicine!). You're already showing signs of someone who isn't content to rest on your laurels, and is willing to keep activly learning as you go.

I, for one; am looking forward to your discussions/debates.

Now that you've gotten your feet wet, jump on in; the water's fine and the pirahnas have been fed.......for now....

[Bieber]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! I appreciate it and the all the kind words, it's nice to be in such an inviting environment. I look forward to enjoying more discussions with such professionals as yourselves.

Dwayne, my hair may have been slightly Bieberish (though I admit to nothing), but I've since cut it. The nickname's stuck nonetheless.

[Richard B the EMT]

Dwayne, my hair may have been slightly Bieberish (though I admit to nothing), but I've since cut it. The nickname's stuck nonetheless.

At least now I don't have to ask.

Nicknames have a way of sticking, for better or worse. One such nickname became my E-Mail address, another is my CB Radio "Handle", or on the air name (anyone still use a CB? "Ya got the Witchdoctor, mobile around the New York City area").

BTW, I use "Witchdoctor" but not in the EMT City, as there is someone out there uses "WitchDr" as their city online name. Whoever that individual is, has only 2 postings, but I respect the similarity in names.

[Lone Star]

At least now I don't have to ask.

Nicknames have a way of sticking, for better or worse. One such nickname became my E-Mail address, another is my CB Radio "Handle", or on the air name (anyone still use a CB? "Ya got the Witchdoctor, mobile around the New York City area").

BTW, I use "Witchdoctor" but not in the EMT City, as there is someone out there uses "WitchDr" as their city online name. Whoever that individual is, has only 2 postings, but I respect the similarity in names.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBMEZvZSWFQ

[akflightmedic]

feel free to ask me anything.

Ok...I will.

Seeing how you present yourself in an educated and impressive manner and do not appear to be a ricky rescue yahoo type...please answer this question which has come up many times on the forums.

Knowing what you do now, almost finished with paramedic school...did you or do you feel better prepared because you went through the various levels of training or do you wish you had gone straight from basic to medic?

Has your opinions of experience changed?

Are you glad you spent time as a basic before going to medic school or do you wish you had gone straight into medic school after basic?

Did the time as an intermediate "waste" more of your time?

Did you find yourself wishing again you were in medic school?

Were you happy with the level of care and knowledge you had working as an intermediate or was there some disappointment?

Would you recommend people skip intermediate?

Would you recommend people skip or not give as much concern to "getting their feet wet before medic school" if their area allows that?

[Bieber]

Ok...I will.

Seeing how you present yourself in an educated and impressive manner and do not appear to be a ricky rescue yahoo type...please answer this question which has come up many times on the forums.

Knowing what you do now, almost finished with paramedic school...did you or do you feel better prepared because you went through the various levels of training or do you wish you had gone straight from basic to medic?

You know, I did feel better prepared in some things, but I don't know if you can ever really be all that prepared for all that paramedic school entails, no matter where you're coming from. The one thing I do really wish I had done that I think would have made a huge difference especially in FI is to have actually worked a year as an EMT before getting into the paramedic program. Unfortunately it isn't required by my program anymore but I really see now the value of previous experience as a basic before you go on to paramedic school.

Has your opinions of experience changed?

Didn't even see this question until after I'd answered it! But to expand, experience is everything. I'm what everyone calls "book smart", with no common sense to save my life. But reading about a condition and actually seeing it are two separate things, and one of the hardest things to overcome in internship has been that difficulty in making my brain and my body work at the same time and trying to remember everything I've learned in the heat of the moment, if you will.

Are you glad you spent time as a basic before going to medic school or do you wish you had gone straight into medic school after basic?

Well, unfortunately I didn't spend any time working as a basic but rather dicking around, basically, while I tried to figure out whether I wanted to go to paramedic school or not. But like I said, experience as a basic before paramedic is invaluable.

Did the time as an intermediate "waste" more of your time?

Not at all. The things I learned about acid/base balances and fluid shifts and fluid therapy made relearning and expanding on it in paramedic all the easier. I feel like getting my intermediate first helped me in a lot of ways to be a little more ready for paramedic.

Did you find yourself wishing again you were in medic school?

Well, I'm not quite through yet, I'll be graduating in December assuming I survive the final half of internship, but yeah, I do kind of miss the parts of the program we're already done with; all of the lectures, clinicals. It will probably always feel like there is still so much more I could have learned, but I'm happy with how I've done and where I am and I wouldn't trade the last year and a half for anything.

Were you happy with the level of care and knowledge you had working as an intermediate or was there some disappointment?

Well, I never did get the chance to work as an intermediate, but I was disappointed in the limitations of how much I would have been able to do had I worked as one. I decided to do paramedic because PA/med school isn't a sure thing (not that paramedic was, not in the least) and I felt like, at the very least, I want to be able to provide the best possible care to patients in the prehospital setting, and at the most I wanted to continue my education after working the streets for a few years and continue to provide the best possible care in the in-hospital setting as well. I feel now like, if I don't ever become anything more than a paramedic, that's something I can be happy with and proud of. Since entering medicine, my goal has always to be able to provide the most and best care I could to my patients in whatever setting I'm in, and I think that in the prehospital arena becoming a paramedic was a requirement for me to be able to offer that to my patients.

Would you recommend people skip intermediate?

I would recommend people take it as they work for at least a year on the streets as a basic. Even if you don't intend to practice as an intermediate, the knowledge you gain in the class will "soften the blow", so to speak, in learning some of those things in paramedic school that they don't teach in basic. Ultimately, it's whatever works best for the person, but I can think of no wrong reason to take advantage of more knowledge that will help you or make things a little less foreign in paramedic school.

Would you recommend people skip or not give as much concern to "getting their feet wet before medic school" if their area allows that?

Oh no. Not at all. If your program doesn't require you to work for a year as a basic before entering paramedic school, take a year off beforehand and do it anyway. It is unbelievable just how much experience matters, and you don't want to be spending a lot of time in FI just learning to be a good EMT before you can work on being a good paramedic. Like I said, if I could go back and do it again I would have definitely worked as an EMT before going to paramedic school. Every chance you get to work on a truck with patients is like gold when you go to paramedic school. Its worth simply cannot be understated.

[Richard B the EMT]

Prior to the EMS/FDNY merger, the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation EMS would have already NY State DoH certified as Paramedics personnel ride for at least one year in EMT title, to get them familiar to the procedures and protocols of the department. EMTs elevating their status to Paramedic needed to be in the department at least one year before they would be accepted into the training program for Paramedics.

Nowadays, they put Paramedics trained outside the agency into the streets almost as soon as they finish the department's basic training, admittedly under close supervision by senior Paramedical personnel.