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For my Children on Remembrance Day. Members of Your Family that Served I would hope that you will remember your Grandmother, whom you knew and her service to this Country as an Nurse in the RCAMC Korean War. Your Grandfather Charles Frederick Kilpatrick in WW I, Fort Garry Calvary Corporal and a Prisoner of War (he could never speak of the hardships he had to endure) Your Grandfather who you never got to meet, RCAF Flight Officer in WW II Your Uncle who died defending Canada in WW II and whom after I am named: RCAF Flight Officer. Paramedic Friends Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom, of 1st Field Ambulance CAF Cpl. Glen Arnold, of 2 Field Ambulance CAF Clp. Micheal Starker of 15 Field Ambulance CAF All Killed in Action in Afghanistan Never Forget: The 11 Hour. The 11 Day The 11 Month [ THE FINAL INSPECTION The soldier stood and faced God, Which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, Just as brightly as his brass. 'Step forward now, you soldier, How shall I deal with you ? Have you always turned the other cheek ? To My Church have you been true?' The soldier squared his shoulders and said, 'No, Lord, I guess I ain't. Because those of us who carry guns, Can't always be a saint. I've had to work most Sundays, And at times my talk was tough. And sometimes I've been violent, Because the world is awfully rough. But, I never took a penny, That wasn't mine to keep... Though I worked a lot of overtime, When the bills got just too steep. And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear. And sometimes, God, forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears. I know I don't deserve a place, Among the people here. They never wanted me around, Except to calm their fears. If you've a place for me here, Lord, It needn't be so grand. I never expected or had too much, But if you don't, I'll understand. There was a silence all around the throne, Where the saints had often trod. As the soldier waited quietly, For the judgment of his God. 'Step forward now, you soldier, You've borne your burdens well. Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, You've done your time in Hell.' Author Unknown~ It's the Military, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. It's the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It's the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag. If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, they paid in blood

1. Piss poor medics that were thrown through a minimalistic half assed run course with piss poor preceptors. 2. Piss poor equipment, crappy protocols that do not address even the basics of patient care. 3. A Fire Department that places little emphasis on caring about the medical needs of the community. 4. Poor and minimally involved medical direction that is not current on evidence based medicine. 5. A city that has decreased faith in the department due to multiple political and racial scandals. Need I continue???? The study did try to address the logistic issues, but many turned a blind eye and listened to a Fire Chief with no EMS background and one who had no interest in EMS. Add to that a time where medical direction was weak and with its own scandal, it all added up. These folks are over worked in an undercaring system. I'm not sure it can be saved...................

To my dad who served in the United States Navy in both Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during WW II, then in he served in Korea, and my Uncle Clyde who was also in the USN and served during WW II. To my Uncle Lester whom I never knew, he died in Burma during WW II, while with the Army Engineers building the Burma Road. Another uncle served in WW I. I also reflect on those who during WW II made it possible for the soldiers and sailors to do what they did to preserve our freedom. My mother made radios for on board the destroyers, one of her girlfriends worked at the Martin bomber plant near Omaha building aircraft, her other girlfriend worked at the bomb plant at Meade Nebraska. I salute all of you.

Here's to my cousins, damaged and suffering from PTSD from Iraq and Korea Here's to my coworker, struggling with demons, fresh back from his deployment to Iraq Here's to my several friends currently serving in the armed forces Here's to those I don't know, but hold a special place in my heart for There are not words to describe my gratitude and love. Go out and hug a veteran tomorrow. The life you enjoy is due to their work, and paid for by their tears, broken lives and emotional struggles. Wendy CO EMT-B

Buy a LUCAS instead, you get better CPR, and it keeps giving good CPR. Makes your life and your moves a little easier too. An ER in Saskatoon did a ultrasound of a patients ankle (the name of the vein escapes me) and apparently there was very good blood flow with the device

I think its a very important thing that our children understand that this is not a holiday it is a day of remembering.

Thank you Squint for your contribution for Rememberance Day. As a child who grew up in the military, in the military and married military it is very important to all to understand how important is to never forget those that died for our freedom. Tomorrow I will be attending our town festivities (yum moose milk at the legion) I would encourage all to make your best effort to attend your communities activities. If you are unable to do so please take the time at 11:11 to have a time of silence and remember your country is free because of those who gave their lives. happy

Very good post squint - there are many veterans in my family and many, many close friends either currently are or have served their country. In honor of all that have served, will serve, and have given their lives - thank you is not adequate enough for keeping us safe. God bless and keep you safe always.

Thank you for this post. My grandfather was a Marine in Korea and WWII. I miss him so much every day as he was a magnificent man. After retiring from the Marines (and serving for 20 years), he went to finish his HS degree and go to college. He worked as a Special Education teacher then until retiring at 70. He truly gave his all to this country. I miss him all the time.

Although not related to EMS but still related to medicine, Dr. Ben Carson wrote a book many years ago called Gifted Hands. For anyone unfamiliar with him, he is the head (nice pun) of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

I finished up Canning's book, "Rescue 471: A Paramedic's Stories", and am about 1/3rd of the way through "En Route" by Kelly Grayson. I thoroughly enjoyed Canning's book, although there seemed to be a few short stories that werent very interesting to me. Overall it was a good read. So far i like Grayson's book more, we seem to have a similar sense of humor, and he goes into a bit more detail about his treatments for each patient. The ALS treatments being spelled out in great detail are of great interest to me since ill be starting the medic program this semester. Im hoping to learn a bit more about advanced care from this book before i get into the classroom. Thanks again for all the recommendations, ill be picking up some of the other books that you guys suggested as soon as i can.

A bad chief is a bad chief regardless of whether or not it is a fire based service. -Nate

I've worked in management for a service that operates a mix of MICU trucks (EMT-P/EMT-, ALS truck (EMT-I/EMT-, and BLS trucks with a squad paramedic at each station. It works, and it doesn't matter what type of setting you're in (urban, rural, metro, or combo of any of these) as long as your dispatch is efficient and they constantly stay focused on planning ahead with unit allocation. It takes a great deal of team work, putting one's ego in check, and working efficiently as a crew to turn the call in a respectable amount of time. The most common reasons these systems fail is because of the individual employees attitude, the lack of efficient dispatching, and when the system starts putting the paramedics on the squads on ambulances due to staffing issues. With that said I honestly think that it is often used as an escape method to avoid hiring and/or meeting the compensation requirements needed to retain (or recruit) additional paramedics. It works great to supplement the ambulances, it however should not be the primary source of ALS care that is provided. I honestly think the most cost effective ambulance type to run is the EMT/Paramedic unit, however this is outside of most services finical boundaries. This is just another example of why the government needs to shift more funding towards EMS. There is no reason that when you call 911 and say you're having a problem (legit life threat) that you're not guaranteed a paramedic every time. Often the dual paramedic trucks are really a waste of money. If the call volume is so high that the second paramedic is there to trade off, then maybe the service should consider hiring additional EMTs and staffing another truck. A well trained EMT can be just as valuable as a second paramedic (more so if the service has EMT-I/EMT-P trucks). -Nate

Dear Fireflymedic, Thank you for the understanding. If you are ever in San Francisco, please allow me to show you our department's hospitality. Seb Wong

You should leave this forum. We are professionals.

I cant believe this uppity group of wackers is willing to piss on this show. The latest attempt to bring our profession to the publc and there willing to step all over it then try and support it.

THere's a super great book..not really EMS but it's about wartime medicine...called On Call in Hell. It is written by CDR Richard Jadick who is a recipient of the Bronze Star with a Combat V for Valor. Inside Jacket: "Not even working as a resident in a shock trauma center in downtown Baltimore could have prepared Richard Jadick for this. The two-month-long Battle of Fallujah would be remembered as one of the bloodiest episodes of the war, with some of the worst urban combat seen by American troops in decades. And here he was in the middle of it... In spring 2004, with the military reeling from an acute doctor shortage, Jadick, a Navy doctor, volunteered to accompany the First Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment (the "1/8") to Iraq. Five days after the birth of his daughter, he shipped out. When his unit was ordered to take the center of Fallujah, Jadick found himself under fire--and in hell. But instead of letting the wounded come to him, he went to the wounded, setting up a makeshift emergency room in the middle of the battlefield. For eleven days at the Forward Aid Station--and many beyond--Jadick and his team worked tirelessly and courageously around the clock to save their troops. It is estimated that without Jadick at the front, the Marines would have lost an additional thirty men. Of the hundreds of men he treated, only one died after reaching a hospital. Wrenching and at the same time uplifting, On Call in Hell offers a portrayal of brothers in arms--and a snapshot of war--that few will be able to forget. Awarded a Bronze Star with a Combat V for valor, Jadick has become a modern American legend--and a hero for the ages." One of the best medical books I've read in a long time

I read a great book by Kelly Grayson called "enroute". It is essentially his memoirs over his career in a series of short stories. Each story relating to a memorable call he had been on. From the joyful to the bizarre to that one call none of us will ever forget for the rest of our lives, I found myself reading his book and thinking, "yup, I've been there and I know exactly where he's coming from." Another book you might like is the memoirs of a Vietnam vet dustoff pilot. Even though there is a slight lull in the book at about the 3/4 point the first few pages and the ending left me amazed at what this man accomplished and how he ended up after the war. The book is called "ChickenHawk" by Robert Mason.

Is it because of a time issue that you don't read? If so, I like the way Kelly wrote his book, each chapter is only 2 or 3 pages and can therefore be easily set down to come back to later....a good book for the bathroom if ya know what I mean.

Search Amazon for Peter Canning.

"En Route" by Kelly Grayson looks like a good read, and so does "Rescue 471: A Paramedic's Stories" by Peter Canning. These are exactly the kinds of books that i was looking for. Thanks for the help!

You've never heard stories of squads picking up more then one person? Never heard of "patients walking away" or "got out of the truck and left." So Im not positive on the spellibg if a word but the way this wacker community disowned a show in under 6 weeks is a digrace to the community itself. I don't know what you expect but like I said hope you never see it.