A call to arms! EMT-B's defend yourself!

[sassy_emt]

the only people on the crew of an EMS ambulance should be highly educated medical professionals. EMTs simply do not even come close to meeting that definition. But, if it makes you feel any better, neither do most paramedics in the U.S. Yet. And that is what we are trying to change. That change will never happen if you can still be one of us with a 3 week first aid course.

Dustdevil,

I want to become one of those medical professionals you spoke of.....I am fininding that most of the medics I talk to say that I should be in the field at least one to two years befor going on to paramedics training. Suggestions on that????....

As for the three week training course ........I went through a slightly longer course time including the ride along tme I put in....I also have to maintain at least 24 credit hours of continous education certification over a three year peroid to keep my emt certification up dated. I feel confident that when I transport my patients on a BLS call I a giving them the best care I can at my level......again I want to go on and get my paramedics and then on to become a flightmedic.

[spenac]

the only people on the crew of an EMS ambulance should be highly educated medical professionals. EMTs simply do not even come close to meeting that definition. But, if it makes you feel any better, neither do most paramedics in the U.S. Yet. And that is what we are trying to change. That change will never happen if you can still be one of us with a 3 week first aid course.

Dustdevil,

I want to become one of those medical professionals you spoke of.....I am fininding that most of the medics I talk to say that I should be in the field at least one to two years befor going on to paramedics training. Suggestions on that????....

As for the three week training course ........I went through a slightly longer course time including the ride along tme I put in....I also have to maintain at least 24 credit hours of continous education certification over a three year peroid to keep my emt certification up dated. I feel confident that when I transport my patients on a BLS call I a giving them the best care I can at my level......again I want to go on and get my paramedics and then on to become a flightmedic.

Don't delay. If your serious about this profession go straight to ALS. You can work BLS while getting your education. I don't know who dreamed up stopping. Always move forward.

[medicare-emr]

spenac why don't you just answer the question, how long have you been a paramedic?

and then, i'm sorry if i hit home, it seems that your attitude has changed slightly, let me paint the picture for in South Africa. Firstly the pay sucks at all levels, the ratio's for ALS in the Western Cape is 1:249500 people, so you can consider yourself extremely lucky if you get a ALS paramedic attending to your call. what this teaches you is to be on top of your game and deal with what comes your way. you try sitting next to a patient who is bleeding out and you cant do anything more than what you have done, maintained the airway, stopped the bleeding and monitoring his vitals dropping, phoning the control room every five minutes to ask where is the ambo, its on its way, 3 hours later the ambo arrives, not even responding p1, because the dispatcher said it was a fracture. and because you have no resources to your availability, but you know what to do, but you cant get your next qualification, because the college you were studying at was closed down because of some political crap, some one pissed on someone's battery because they felt threatened about the quality of training provided by the college was to high, so sorry that i am stuck as a BLS provider. Come to SA and see the crap we have to deal with here, you think your job is tuff, you guys have all the equipment and resources to your availability. here's little me trying to raise the money for an ECG, so we can provide a better level of care because we dont want to lose our licenses and practice out of our protocols. but to save a life i have stepped out once before and didnt even realize it because i had been working with an ALS partner for so long.

so BLS is all my community of 16500 people has and will get until we get an ECG so i can mobilise the ALS unit. I invite you to come to SA on your next holiday and come and see what work is, you will be surprised what you can learn as an ALS in this country. thats why we produce the best para's in the world, thats why out of the 1000 registered para's in this country only 300 are practising in this country. the rest are all abroad working on offshore rigs @ $380 p/day.

so i am proud to be BLS, and would love the opportunity to further myself to ALS, but like i explained its not possible right now.

brentoli:

Why can we not come together as basic's and realize we are not the be all-end all of emergency care? Patients can be much better serviced by higher levels of care on a 911 truck. It is what they expect.

the fact that you took it personal means that you are an ass. the reason why basic's cant come together is because of guys like you dissing fellow basic's with commentry like being an ambulance driver, i can clearly see you work in fire, if you cant take pride in being a basic then you are nothing but a glorified drip stand and a cone packer

what you :shock: or , start taking your job seriously and act professional :!:

:roll: bye bye boys

[Lone Star]

And you would have potentially killed your patient thus further proving our point.................

High flow O2 in a stroke pt. is contraindicated due to cerebral vasoconstriction potentially increasing the infarct and further occluding cerebral blood flow. In fact, most stroke pts. require NO OXYGEN!

So tell me again why your EMT basic class qualifies you to treat pts. in an emergency response environment????

IF my assessment and treatment suggestion were so grossly detrimental to the pt's well being, then tell me why the Instructor/Co-ordinator told me they were correct? IF the medic did such a good job, then why did they end up LOSING THEIR LICENSE after I made a call to the Medical Control Board?

I can only hope that since you've decided to tell this 'lowly basic' how WRONG he was...then please explain these answers in 'little words' so I can understand!

Also, let's keep in mind that I didn't supply that information for you to use to tell me how little I know as a Basic, those were the FACTS as they pertained to the situation at the time!

At the end of the day, it STILL boils down to the fact that EMT-B's have their place in the 'EMS Food Chain', and our narrow little scope of practice only means that we're the thinnest spot in the line between life and dead!

[spenac]

Medicare you are not alone in dealing with patients alone as a BLS provider. Did it many years. I to have sit with people bleeding to death and all I could do was try to control bleeding and shock position. I have sit there no phone or radio contact hoping help would arrive. I have had dispatch cancel the ambulance for some unknown reason while I sit trying to keep the person alive. I have sit to many times knowing what to do and with all the equipment needed but unable because of not being ALS. Thankfully I was able to get ALS. I hope you are able to find a way to get yours. If I had the time and money I would love to experience your area as well as many other areas that don't even have BLS to share what I have and to gain additional experience. It sucks to be BLS only, your own statements show that in that you realize you could do so much more if ALS. If BLS is all you got do your best, my heart goes out to you and the people you help. Having done BLS in a remote area it sucks, but I did what I could. Now still in a remote area I practice ALS, and I see so much more benefit for my patients and I am helping others to get their ALS, so even more can be helped. I have not said BLS doesn't have it's place, but it needs to be backed with ALS. If an area doesn't have ALS it needs to get it and yes I know easier said than done. Keep working for ALS and hopefully one day you can get it.

[medicare-emr]

i have an ALS partner now who has given up a contract offshore to relocate and stay here with me. but without an ECG we cant offer ALS levels of care. in the interim we have started a first aid training facility to start training people in the community with basic first aid.

we require funding to get the response service up and running, because providing the free service i have the past two years has ended up costing me quite a bit. so if you know of anybody who will donate an ECG or any equipment will be great help.

nice to see the attitude has changed, we must never forget our roots :wink:

[rat115]

I've got to add something here.....

I don't respond to many posts in the forums because of the bashing that occurs here.

Basic is just that....BASIC....a starting point. Everyone must start there. Everyone should respect that someone is starting. So many people don't feel that basics have enough training....Quit slamming those who are basics and find a way to CHANGE the training!

Can basics do a good job.....Some can. Some can do a better job than ALS providers who forget that they've got to remember the BLS before they work on the ALS. Without the BLS, the ALS is a lot less likely to work.

If you don't like what I say, remember it's my PERSONAL opinion. Find facts and don't bash me. (And FYI for those who may want to bash the fact that I'm a basic....1) I'm in a rural area with little access to ALS and 2) I'm finally getting to get started on my ALS training....have to drive over an hour each way on the interstate to do it, but I finally get to work on it. )

[spenac]

i have an ALS partner now who has given up a contract offshore to relocate and stay here with me. but without an ECG we cant offer ALS levels of care. in the interim we have started a first aid training facility to start training people in the community with basic first aid.

we require funding to get the response service up and running, because providing the free service i have the past two years has ended up costing me quite a bit. so if you know of anybody who will donate an ECG or any equipment will be great help.

nice to see the attitude has changed, we must never forget our roots :wink:

Attitude hasn't changed still think we all need to go ALS. As before BLS sucks w/o ALS. Glad your making progress.

[medicare-emr]

Basic is just that....BASIC....a starting point. Everyone must start there. Everyone should respect that someone is starting. So many people don't feel that basics have enough training....Quit slamming those who are basics and find a way to CHANGE the training!

Can basics do a good job.....Some can. Some can do a better job than ALS providers who forget that they've got to remember the BLS before they work on the ALS. Without the BLS, the ALS is a lot less likely to work.

I will stand by your side and support you, as one basic to another, nicely put, a starting point. like it 8)

[JPINFV]

Until the paragods can be 'bothered' to descend from the mount, and start taking nursing home calls, and the 'routine transport calls', there will ALWAYS be a need for the EMT-B. Any private carrier will show that statistically, the BLS calls outnumber the ALS calls, therefore in your non municipal settings, the higher BLS call volume will therefore generate the revenue to allow the company to be able to 'reward' the EMT-P with the higher wages for the higher training.

The "routine transport calls" such as dialysis, doctors office, wound care, discharges, etc don't require an ambulance. Those generally require nothing more than an oxygen tank, a gurney, and a van (like wheel chair vans).

Most nursing home calls actually require an ALS assessment. Afterall, why is it that any SNF patient with a history of cardiac problems gets a monitored bed regardless of the complaint (side note: most ER beds where I live have a monitor, but they aren't always used on all patients for monitoring cardiac activity)? Furthermore, what could seem like a routine BS call to transport a patient to an emergency room could easily require an ALS assessment. Just because the pager says that the complaint is "pain all over" doesn't mean that is what you are going to find.