becksdad Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Thank you to everyone who posted!! Many of the people I was hoping to hear from did post, and pretty much said what I was hoping and expecting to hear. Namely, that there are positives and negatives, just like anything else (and I don't necessarily view unpleasant tasks as the negatives - we all do them). What I really like, and is reassuring, is that the positives outnumbered the negatives. Its funny how those of us that have done strictly street EMS probably have little idea of what the daily world of an ER is truly like. I know I don't yet - I see ER's for about 10 minutes at a time, then out the door (usually). So the education continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyedoc Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 A paramedic's version of hell? For me yes. There are some hospitals where EMS types integrate and work well with ER staff but I bet they are the exception and not the rule. The argument for or against EMTs/Paramedics working in a hospital ER is an old one. SOMEDIC Actually, I spent 2 years in the ED functioning as a paramedic. I can only remember insterting only a handful (pardon the pun) of foleys. Yes, I did transport patients to the floor, but usually if they were on a monitor and needed ACLS monitoring. We had PCA's that did most of the foleys and transports. Most of the time, minor care (aka whinercare) was staffed by 2 medics. The medics had a rather broad protocols in the ED. The traumas and codes were handled by 2 medics and 1 RN...and the doc of course. Don't lump all ED's w/ medics into one group. At most ED's, the medics are glorified techs and I feel that this is a waste of education and clinical ability. Also, I worked as a street medic while I worked in the ED. Actually, all of the medics I worked with in the ED worked on the bus as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpy_CFS Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 A paramedic's version of hell? For me yes. There are some hospitals where EMS types integrate and work well with ER staff but I bet they are the exception and not the rule. The argument for or against EMTs/Paramedics working in a hospital ER is an old one. SOMEDIC Nope, I can do one better than all of you. That is being a fully qualified paramedic being employed as a hospital orderly because after three years of failed job applications due to a ridiculous abundance of trained EMS workers and a low amount of jobs, an orderly is the best you can do. You get to watch your peers come through the doors with patients who you're shunned from trying to eves drop on their presenting complaints to keep your mind exercised, your jobs are limited purely to moving patients or pieces of equipment from point A to point B... (25 average between ED and CT? try 75 per 8 hour shift) and the running of bloods back and forwards of course, whilst being extra vigilant not to grimace time upon time again when you could have used clinical skills yet hospital policy strictly forbids you doing or thinking clinical. That my friends, is paramedic hell. Feel free to post me a noose to hang myself from the drip stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somedic Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Scorpio: Thats a sad story but it points out why America is the best country on earth. Come to America. Gain citizenship. Gain State/local EMT certification. Go to work responding to fat, lazy,and ignorant Americans. You will always have a job in EMS in this country. Ive never heard of any similar situation than the one you are in. Thanks for sharing. SOMEDIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Ive never heard of any similar situation than the one you are in. Seriously? We have somebody post that very same story here at least once a week. You can go to almost any paramedic school in the country and find somebody ready to tell you that story. I hear it all the time. I don't know where you live that everybody with an EMT patch gets an EMS job, but it sounds like a fantasy world to me. For, if that were the case, there would be five ambulances on every block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushyFromOz Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 well, here is a fantastic way for bushy to lose his cool...... That is being a fully qualified paramedic being employed as a hospital orderly because after three years of failed job applications due to a ridiculous abundance of trained EMS workers and a low amount of jobs, an orderly is the best you can do. For gods sake, when did going to university and getting a degree made you fully qualified...this is the attitude that holds tertiary based education back. This dumb ass i know all mentality is exactly why students in iniversities have such a hard time out in the real world, because attitudes like yours breed contempt. It is obvious from your post you have not worked as a medic, because as you stated you have failed job applications. Get into industry, get back into school, do another cert...stop whinging about how you have a piece of paper and now they should just hand you your career on a silver platter If you thought that simply getting into a university course that has no pre-selection, and no guarantees was gonna get you an "in" think again. They punch out lots of graduates because they need to make money. If you cant get into the field mnake yourself more employable - the thing that kills people on selection is the psychometric and if the attitide you just displayed is a typical "i have a cert, now give me a job" attitude that a lot of uni students have in this country, then im not surprised your an orderly You are not a paramedic, and if you got into a service tomorrow you would not be a paramedic, you would be a student paramedic, and there in lies a difference. You want to liberally apply the term paramedic to anyone with a degree or an interest in EMS and use its literal sense then go right ahead, but a true use of the term paramedic would involve a deeper critique of ones education, attitude and experience and you seem to be lacking in the last two Suck it up bucko, it only gets harder from here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 ...the attitide you just displayed is a typical "i have a cert, now give me a job" attitude that a lot of uni students have in this country... I can't comment upon what attitudes exist Down Under, but I can tell you that very same attitude exists even among the two-week EMT school grads here in the US. Consequently, I have to give big props to those who spend four years developing that attitude, and wish them the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushyFromOz Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 They pushed the tertiary based modell with such a big stick it has begun to make a culture of people who believe that having a degree should automatically give them a job because they have the education requirements on paper. A degree is generally a pre-requisite to become a student, and any services internal programs will take 12 months to 3 years to complete End result is a whole lot of people who think that their lives should be easier because they have a no guarantees piece of paper with no experience backing it up, blame the universities and ambulance services for having to many graduates and not enough jobs, yet fail to realise that universitie have to make money to survive, hence large volumes of graduates Ambulance services will not recruit abopve the staffing levels required, because they will lose money theoretically, EMS standards will rise because they can take the best for a large group of educated people we are trying to get a job with government agencies in a profession that has just been voted the most trusted in the country, so you better believe the competition is gonna be stiff and the standards high Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpy_CFS Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Bushy, I would stop digging that grave with your mouth before you fall in because you do not know me, regardless of the fact that you think you may. I have seven years of experience as a volunteer medic including eighteen months runnning, yes running, a volunteer ambulance service down here (Not St John for your information, an actual ambulance service). A further three years of training and experience in firefighting, leadership, hazmat operations and some road crash rescue training. I have the highest of references from patients, intensive care paramedics, nurses and a couple of doctors, I worked as a trainer of emergency medical response and fire awareness training (I know this doesn't sound like a lot but this job required a paramedical or nursing degree because of the clientelle). I am a friend of the president of the SA ACAP branch who is continuously trying to get me to give SAAS another try and apply again. The time I did get thorugh to interview, I was knocked back but when I went through for the feedback interview, I astounded them so much that after the interview, the head escorted me out and highly encouraged me to reapply. I thought this was a little odd until the SA ACAP president told me that they were so impressed with the feedback interview that should I get through again, I was practically guaranteed a job. The reason I haven't gotten back to interview is because I'm overweight by their standards and after two years making myself absolutely sick trying to get within the appropriate weight range, I gave up because having seen hundreds of completely obese ambos on our cars, I did not believe that with all of the above, being too f*(&^ng heavy was a good enough reason not to employ me and hence stopped applying. So before you go shooting your mouth off and criticisng me, recognise that I have done as much as I possibly can to get into SAAS short of f*&%(ng liposuction, so back off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushyFromOz Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 If your credentials are that good, go interstate.... But your attitude still sucks,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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