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I will probably get negatives for this, but whatever. I though it was hilarious.

Doctor Dave had slept with one of his patients and felt guilty all day long. No matter how much he tried to forget about it, he couldn't. The guilt and sense of betrayal were overwhelming. But every now and then he'd hear an internal reassuring voice in his head that said: "Dave, don't worry about it. You aren't the first medical practitioner to sleep with one of their patients and you won't be the last. And you're single. Just let it go." But invariably another voice in his head would bring him back to reality. Whispering...... Dave.......... Dave ............. Dave........ Dave......... ..........you're a vet.

I know i will get voted down for this but I wont change cause all the americans need to lighten up & not take life so seriously!!!!!!! You guys need peeps like me to continue to take the piss outta you & show you that life isnt that serious

phil dont ever change

1. A complete examination requires looking, listening, and touching. Sorry fail for not doing this and for passing the bad habits on to your student. Perhaps you could have said as we visualize the pulsing just as a precaution do not probe but gently place your hand to feel the pulsations. 2. If a student doesn't get in there and do a proper assessment to their level and just try and sit there they fail, might as well not show up as I will not give them credit. 3. The argument it will not change care in the ambulance if done does not fly. Your assessment, description may trigger a higher educated person (i.e. Doctor ) to get busy quicker. It is a lazy lame excuse to not perform proper assessment just because it does not change what you will do in the ambulance. 4. As to the education hijack. Get your education. Do not stop at the basic level. Anything you learn in basic class can be practiced once you are a Paramedic.

Depends on the type of call. A call with a lot of work, an arrest, DAI etc. takes a bit longer for obvious reason. On calls where the driver can handle all the tech stuff, i.e IV and assessment without needing me to help I am able to write the PCR during the call and en route. If that happens I can usually clear the whole call in about 45 mins to an hour depending on different circumstances. Some crews can take 1.5 hours plus and it's a pain to have to cover them because their so slow! So many different factors though, hard to really determine this. Things such as patient removal, treatment etc. can all have an impact. Interesting topic though, and interesting replies!

Children based EMS...

Now you will see why Dustdevil and others say this..here Education is a must..ever heard a medic ask how advanced patho, anatomy, and some chemistry will benefit them in their "profession"?? You now have a good answer....

Fixed that for ya. Lisa, you can go many places in the US and become a "paramedic" in three months with nothing more than a GED and an EMT card (and a buttload of money). So no, you do not 'have to' have all those courses to buy a patch. But you said you wanted to be a "damn good" paramedic. To do that, it takes a LOT more education than most shake 'n bake schools will give you or require of you. As a paramedic, you will have much more independent responsibility for human lives than a nurse, who requires a very minimum of two years of education, and usually at least three just for that "two year" degree. Don't you think we need at least that much? Physical Therapists, Medical Technologists, Occupational therapists, Radiology Techs, Speech Therapists, and Social Workers require a minimum of four to six years of education just to begin at the entry level of their professions, and THEY DON'T EVEN PERFORM INVASIVE PROCEDURES ON PEOPLE! To be a paramedic with less than an associates degree level education -- including the same prerequisites as required for an RN -- is criminally negligent. You can go directly to paramedic school and be a paramedic with no experience in two years. Or you can screw around and be an ambulance driver, picking up bad habits and half-baked notions from bad, half-baked partners, and be a crappy EMT with two years of experience in two years. I don't think I have to tell you which one is more likely to get a job, and which one is going to be making more money. And I don't think there is any question about which one you'd want responding to your emergency.

I didn't confuse 'basic tools with Basic skills'. I DO know the difference, and DO know they are not 'interchangeable terms! Before you worked your way to your current level of medical knowledge...what did you REALLY know? At what level do you finally agree that the new EMT should actually start learning what to do and WHY to do it, as well what the findings actually mean? MFR? EMT-B? EMT-I? EMT-P? Where do you draw the line between actually teaching them, and just letting them wear the uniform to schlep gear? As far as Pre-med being the 'Doctor Basic course', the analogy is valid. Education has to start somewhere.... Why crucify the EMT-B for their 120 hour course? It's not like THEY are the ones that set the requirements! You want to crucify someone for the 'minimalistic approach' to education....then go to the NREMT and the State EMS office that sets the requirements! These new EMT's are only doing what is required of them. Just as secondary education builds off of what has been taught in our primary years, the EMS cirriculum copies this concept. As the new EMT progresses through the license level 'food chain', they learn more and more about what they're doing, when to do it and what they find actually implies. The EMT-B course gives the 'basic tools', and as they progress through their education, they learn how to use these 'basic tools' to provide the definitive care their patients need. Sitting around bitching about how the 'new crop of EMT's don't know anything', maybe the solution is to teach them! Rather than sit around bitching about how the field is 'short handed'...maybe encouragement to advance would be more beneficial than running off those just getting into the field.... Something HAS to give here. It can't be both ways. If people that are veterans with field experience are consistently running off the 'newbies' and not helping them to learn; then you are part of the problem, as opposed to being part of the SOLUTION! *DISCLAIMER*: The 'you' being referred to in the above statement is NOT directed at any single individual, but at a speciffic mentality. *edited for spelling errors*

Great answer! Dead space ventilation is a good thing to consider when assessing the adequacy of shallow resps.

I like to take opportunities like that to figure out why it is that it was the right thing to do - its always more interesting just after a 'realistic' scenario. Grab a textbook, or Google some terms to get familiar with a few of the important concepts involved. 'Tidal volume' and 'anatomical dead space' are the things to be Googling if you don't understand them already. I don't don't know where you're at education wise, but the difference between 'hyperventilation' and 'tachypnea'; and 'ventilation' and 'oxygenation' are fundamentally important to understand too. There seems to be a lot of conflict regarding these relatively simple ideas and it is potentially very dangerous for the pt if their EMT acts on a faulty understanding of these ideas.

This was actually the Berkeley Police Department and the University of California in cooperation with Alta Bates Hospital who produced this film. BPD provided the emergency ambulance ambulance service for the City of Berkeley until the late 1970's when the Berkeley Fire Department took over the function. Dr. Heinrich Beernink who plays the fledgling BPD officer still maintains an office in OB/GYN practice.

Would like to compile a list of classes available to Paramedic/ EMT's for continuing education purposes. So here's where I need your help. Please add any classes that you know of. Please post the full name of the course as well. I was wondering of all the classes available, which would you say are worth it. Here is my list to date, some I plan on taking but others are FYI. Some have been left out like PALS and PEPP, ACLS as most of us know them well. ACLS-EP Advanced Cardiac Life Support-Experienced Provider EP-C- Emergency Pediatric Care ABLS- Advanced Burn Life Support AHMLS- Advanced HazMat Life Support FRT- Farm Rescue Technician AMLS- Advanced Medical Life Support BDLS- Basic Disaster Life Support ATLS- Advanced Trauma Life Support (Audit) STABLE-Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood pressure, Lab work, and Emotional support. (Neonatal) OBSTAT- High Risk OB transport CCEMT-P- Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program-UMBC (I STAND CORRECTED) FP-C- Flight Paramedic Certification GEMS- Geriatric EMS ITLS- International Trauma Life Support (Formerly known as BTLS) NRP- Neonatal Resuscitation EVOC- Emergency Vehicle Operators Course OK so what else is available out there in the world of EMS.

The reason that we teach EMT's to palpate is because we want them to assess their patients. As the senior provider on the truck you have an obligation to mentor the EMT. Yanking his hands away in front of the patient served no purpose!

Or- don't shoot the messenger- it could have something to do with the fact that they know you spent more time with your paperwork than the patient. Sounds like you work at a private. Guess how many competent EMTs working at privates the triage nurse has seen in his or here time? I'll give you a hint- it's very likely a small, small number. You could be the best EMT at your company, but if one of your colleges was a moron earlier that day, the nurses are probably going to treat you the same as they'll treat him. Guilt by association. It sucks, but that's life. Just some advice from me to you. As far as the original question, it takes us whatever it takes us. We restock from the ER, including meds. If it takes the supply guy a while to get to us, and it takes me awhile to find a nurse with enough free time to resupply my meds, I could be there 45 minutes sometimes. And that doesn't always include report time (I tend to write more than most people I see). We're required to leave a completed run report copy before leaving, so no matter what dispatch wants, I can't leave until at least then. Nowhere I work has a set policy. One dispatch might start calling if they're busy and running out of trucks in service, or if they have another one for us. They can't order me to clear, but the supervisors might become more interested if I make a habit of very long OOS times.

We don't "hunt and steal." State law requires them to resupply us. Now. If you ask why that law was enacted.... I have a few theories.

Umm, decaf maybe? Pretty sure he was talking about demographics being the only thing he writes down EN ROUTE. Not "at all." Since that's what the last few posts were about- documenting en route versus waiting.

Ugh, don't remind me. My state has several different laws giving specific immunity to firefighters (and specifically not naming other "brands" of providers) for medical care provided in the field. Fire owns EMS, the IAFF owns the state legislature, the legislature makes the laws, and the public suffers.

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=11600&siteSection=1

You know you're a Firefighter if… 1. You can tell what type of fire it is by the smell of smoke 10 miles away. 2. You have ever had a heated debate over the color of firetrucks. 3. You have ever spent 10 min trying to force open a door only to have someone come along and open it by turning the handle. 4. You have ever taken 10 or more showers in 1 day. 5. You lay out your cloths from that day so if there is a call at night you can find them quickly. 6. You take great joy in smashing the windows of a car parked in a fire zone or in front of a hydrant. 7. You have ever been airborne without an aircraft and water was your thrust. 8. You always wear red suspenders. 9. You have ever slept in a hosebed. 10. You carry a ton of specially modified tools in your pocket. 11. You ever cursed out someone for armor-alling the seats to make them look nice. 12. You've ever clung to the air horn chord for dear life because the driver is insane. 13. You have ever played jingle bells at Xmas time on the air horns to clear traffic. 14. You double your weight every time you go on a job a building. 15. You have ever said, "she's hot tonight" and not been talking about a girl. 16. You have ever had "yoda ears" 17. You have ever called a person found after a fire a "crispy critter" 18. You have ever smoked and there wasn't a cigarette in sight. 19. You have ever stomped out a fire with your boots because you couldn't wait for water. 20. You have ever walked 3 miles into the woods in 100 degree heat in full turnout gear and a 5 gal or more water can strapped on your back just to put out a fire.

Where do you write it?