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Doesn't really matter to me Hey no prob, I should be running into him in the next couple of days at work. It's been a couple years but he might still have some inside info that might help to stop you from running around in red tape circles! I'm considering working and travelling when I'm done school in a year. Don't know where yet, somewhere warmer than here in the winter! My dad is American and lives near San Diego and I have relatives in other parts of the state too. Please let me know how things end up going for you as I had also considered Cali.

There are also several other provinces Kiwi. Which one are you in again? As for the original poster, I work with a paramedic who came from CA to Alberta. Let me know if you would like me to get some information from them. Yes but, even the weather in northern CA is nicer than where I'm at year round It is however nice to have the health care I do. That will probably change with the decade however, but that's a discussion for a more political section of the forum ...

http://www.canada.com/news/national/Dying+officer+thanked+paramedic+rescuers/2426743/story.html

Yet again a thread on this forum turns away from what the real meaning is, into the quest of two people this time to feel sublime and righteous. You both still have no idea, the ACTUAL topic is not about either of you. And if one is to look at someone demeaning their peers, they should take a look at themselves. Have a great day.

The story reported on in the link I posted was a fatality of "one of our own". I made a simple comment that the situation was a little more serious than tonsils, which I *hope* most would agree with. Nowhere in that post did I make mention of sincerity. So, what I am saying is that I will not apologize for your misinterpretation of my comment. It certainly is unfortunate with several lives being turned upside down. I hope none of us ever have to find out what it's like to be in that situation. Yeah, a lot of unrelated stuff ... seems to be the norm for these forums though.

I had a bunch of guys that were terrible; they booked off work, took sickies, bitched and moaned and them doing work was like pulling teeth. The thing was that nobody had actually sat down and listened to these dudes and figured out what the problem was, what they wanted, what we wanted as managers and how to take the two and marry them up. My answer is to do it; sit down with the guys and see what they don't like and what they all want; not money but I bet they say hey we want to come to a place thats happy and enjoyable to be at where its not some boss chaffing and riding thier ass. Culture man, culture is the answer.

The easiest way to increase morale is to find out what the staff don't like it and fix it. Make for them coming to work not "work" but some place the ENJOY coming to. The best jobs I've had are not because of the work but because of the people. I had a job that was a really good JOB but the culture sucked it was just a bad place to work because the people were fucked in the head and it made the day long and hard. Not sure what kind of system you are running, it would be hard to make them enjoy sitting on a street corner for ten hours but you could do something easy like throw a pool table in the lounge; internet; TV etc. If you have walls, tear them down (well not ALL of them) and get engaged with your people, show them you care, show them you're not a person to dole out punishment but somebody who cares about them as a person and not as bums on seats. Things like paintball or orginised sports go down well, the social club here organises them and pays for cable TV at the station. Throw around a couple manakins and let them go nuts if they want to practice skills for example. People who work TOGETHER with common VALUES and mutual RESPECT towards a SHARED GOAL will do more than any other, and that is a proven fact.

Ambulance crashes into presidential motorcade Now, being in an accident is an embarrassment to begin with, but to hit a vehicle in the Presidential Motorcade? Ouch.

That is my ultimate utopian fantasy (as far as EMS goes) and is pretty much how Seattle works with Boston and Tulsa not far behind. I'd like to take that one step further, if I may. Now when I say "Paramedic" here I am referring specifically to Intensive Care (ALS) but in this model we can make excellent use of Community Care (ECP/Paramedic Practitioner) and also alternate referral pathway programs like CARE in NSW, ECPs in the UK and our very own extended care/community paramedic service here in New Zealand (Wellington). In my little utopia there would be lots of guys out and about in rapid responder 4WDs that can be high impact; go to calls and triage, treat and dispose either to self care, a referral pathway, treat and release or transport them somewhere appropriate (which may be, but does not have to be, the ED). It might be entirely appropriate to transport a broken arm in the car and not have to take them in an ambulance which would free up resources for when they really are needed. There would be no "BLS" and no "ALS" there is just one level of a "Paramedic" who is your off-the-shelf standard ALS Paramedic (what we call Intensive Care) and throw in expanded pathways plus one or two select skills; none of thos million extra skills blowout crap just something like suturing and limited independant prescribing for some antibiotics or one or two common GP meds. A complete change in the dispatch grid is also needed; this off-the-shelf AMPDS send everything on a 1 (red lights) is inappropriate and would change. You would have several variants - Somebody in a 4WD + am ambo (for things like a cardiac arrest) - Somebody in a 4WD (either an ECP or an Paramedic) - Send the caller to a phone advice line coz they're not dying anytime soon This is sort of how the UK works; send somebody in a 4WD and get him there quick, assess and cancel the ambulance if it's not needed so it can be sent somewhere more appropriate. While retaining the "emergency" role of what ambo does now I think we need to shift more towards recognising the "community health" role too because lets be honest 90% of the jobs I've gone to are not "emergencies" and the patient needs "care" not "life support". New Zealand's new term for our model going forward is "emergency community health". Obviously this would require very high levels of education, Bachelors Degree is a good place to start but Post Grad Dip or a Masters degree is more appropriate here. Now this model may be easier to implement here or in other nations e.g. Australia and the UK because we have nationalised healthcare including a nationalised health information system (the National Health Index) but I think it would be a struggle in the US. /End fantasy

No offence, as I know that you are just now starting out on this quest for knowledge, but I have to say your current plan sucks. Back-asswards, to be specific. Go to RN, RT, or whatever you are going to do FIRST, then go to medic school. Establish a career before you waste time or money on a hobby. Establish a foundation of EDUCATION before you piddle around with tech school TRAINING. Yeah, I know it doesn't sound as exciting, but then again EMS isn't the blazing ball of excitement you think it is from watching "TRAUMA" either. Do what makes sense for your family, not what sounds exciting. Good luck!

Personally, I think that's just sloppy and perhaps laziness on the part of the EMT's dressing themselves like that. It's not a fashion show, however some care has to be taken in our appearance as we are after all in the public eye. We should look professional. As for services that require employees to buy their own uniforms ... I wish there was a way around this. I've worked for places that dictated this and it got expensive, especially when the wages weren't all that great. Fortunately, basic uniforms/jackets/boots/safety gear are provided to me now. As for anything extra such as insulating winter clothing etc etc, we are responsible for that ourselves. There is however a way to tax deduct that stuff ...

As an employer I would appreciate an up front applicant rather than for me to find out the hard way. All that will do is alienate you and your employer and likely have you back in the employment line real quick. If I have a student who wants to work for me I make the extra effort to ensure they have time off for school and still give them as many hours as I can. I consider it a two way street. If I give them as much opportunity as possible to complete their education, then I may end up with a paramedic working for me, at least for a while.

The wide awake drunk as someone already said. Anyone ever had a Jagerbomb? Or several? Terrible feeling the next morning ...

Hehehe ... breakfast at Denny's at 330am, several cups of coffee and a strawberry milkshake ...

Sorry Jaime, I was having a discussion with Lisa regarding the antics of some on here. Your input is welcome though, so long as you keep it civil. If you had wanted the thread to form some sort of position, you might want to consider posting more than a simple link to a news story rather than respond with attitude to a response which empathises with the officer. To me, Lisa's comment was in complete association to the news story you posted as she expressed her understanding, if even in a small way, of how that officer felt. So, why did you post the article without a comment to give direction to the thread? To bring attention to the fact someone appreciated the efforts of the paramedics? To bring attention to the fact that these medics acted selflessly? To bring attention to the fact that it was a dangerous act and they risked themselves? There are any number of ways this thread could have gone after you started it. If you don't want people making particular comments in a thread you started, then put some effort in rather than a simple cut and paste and make an actual comment.

This was a little more than tonsilectomy ... What kind of cop WOULDN'T have a vest on? Unfortunately they don't make them for tracheas ... This was an extreme situation that doesn't happen every day. DUH, I think we all know these medics SHOULDN'T have done what they did. Great thing to point out there rock ... I only hope I have the same courage to do what they all did, should I ever be faced with that situation because I know I couldn't live with myself if I ran away. Yup.

... and if you happen to have a Crestline with the killswitch under the dash and some idiot criminal knows about that, THEN what are you gonna do?

That was my question, why not chemically restrain but I guess there's the answer. Still, if he's still posing a threat during transport why not get the po-po's back? Another question which I think was already asked, was he of relatively sound mind? GCS 15 and posing no immediate danger to himself? If so, why was he transported? Did the family make up the story of him cutting himself with glass to get you there faster? If you have no spit hoods and the NRB wasn't staying on his face, try a pillow case (sans pillow). Your patient can still breathe just fine, but cannot spit on you

If I might suggest, get the Wii Fit Plus. It has all of the routines as the Wii Fit but includes several additional options such as personalized routines and more fun games. Over a 3 month period I used the Wii Fit faithfully and did every yoga and strength exercise once a day with very few missed dates. It took about two hours (mostly commentary by my trainer) but I lost 20 pounds and 3 inches off my waistline. The newer Wii Fit Plus allows me to skip all the commentary and I can get through the routines in less than an hour. Edit: I'll also admit that I didn't change my diet all that much, still ate what I liked, maybe occasionally reduced the amount of intake, but still lost weight. I was thrilled when the Wii Fit Plus came out.

Yeah, I've tried contacting the company through their website to obtain further information, twice. No response. I guess they are selling enough of them that they don't need my money.

I'm certainly glad you're not in my area then, Tom. There is nothing "safe" about an impaired driver, no matter what they're on be it ETOH, your little friend marijuana, exhaustion or anything else that will impair concentration ability. Unfortunately it's not realistic to take all these "safer" stoned drivers and stick them all on your street. Otherwise I'm sure thousands of communities would be more than happy to donate those lowlifes to your neighborhood. Well said ...

Someone driving after smoking a joint is impaired. It's wrong in so many ways, it's not even funny. Reaction time is still slower. I suppose it would be ok for some guy to hit the bong a few times before going to work operating heavy machinery, however he has to drive through a school zone where your kids are crossing the street to go home. But that's ok! Because a little weed is safer than drinking ...

Doesn't mean it's right to prove it infallible either. Also, one doesn't have to be out of control with their drug use to incite something otherwise preventable ... could have been the first time in a long time or one excessive night. Point is, when it comes to illegal drugs, even a little bit is too much. I've seen several people out of control who were drunk and "just hitting the bong". Just like the last drunk/stoned driver I saw who caused a 4 car pileup. Meth heads aren't the only idiots out there.

I know ... it's really too bad. But hey, at least those people know what their future is, whereas the rest of us have to lead a relatively healthy life not knowing how we'll go.

what is the volume/cost/size of EMT today? what current changes are occurring that will have future effect on EMT careers? any help would be awesome thanks... oh and im doing a ride along soon...any advice?

Unfortunately rig work (everyone has done it) isn't generally considered experience, due to the lack (or absence of) calls. There are more smaller services in and around the Edmonton area as opposed to southern Alberta that hire frequently; rural is a good place to start out and get some actual experience before attempting a larger, urban center. Try this: http://www.collegeofparamedics.org/pages/Employment/default.aspx

Like I said before ... we have to pay for Duckett and superboard bonuses somehow right? I'd certainly like a six figure wage, never mind bonus ... yeesh

Annie you are a smart lady Perhaps whomever is giving Duckett this bonuses should consider putting the money back into the health care system where it's actually NEEDED? He doesn't care where the cuts are or what they do to us, look at the money he's getting! When I did my EMT program, I left Edmonton to live in Calgary for the summer. My school didn't have a program running in their local office. When I didn't have classes I drove from Calgary to 170km north of Edmonton to work for the rural service I was at during my earlier EMS days. (Yeah, 4 years in and I'm still green). I was hired during my practicum and stayed with that service for a while, and it was a 200km drive away. I dunno, seems like even as recent as 2006/2007 working rural was a right of passage into busier places. Now? Well ... so many people seem like things should just be given to them because they passed ACP and have a reg number ... Annie, your thoughts on that? (Not like I don't already know!)

Exactly.

I suggest you contact a lawyer familiar with prehospital litigation. Also, if you have access to it, Lexus Nexus is a good resource for pertinent case law. I would also suggest you contact anyone who has had experience in testifying either as a witness, a defendant in a case, or simply giving a deposition. They could clearly tell you the pitfalls, traps, do's and don'ts of how to properly document a patient encounter. If you are focusing on someone who has lost their job over a poor report, I suggest you expand your search into the areas of negligence, standards of care, scope of practice, and malpractice.

FAIL! Door locks FTW. It's not complicated. Fire them! Oh, that's right... you can't fire volunteers. Too bad this wasn't Mt. Horeb's big black monstrosity.

So in the interest of keeping the conversation going....with the pt's Hx, age, and cardiac findings (occasional PVC's to increasing PVC's to trigeminy) is not chest pain/discomfort, and sudden SOB not a significant finding that could be either a result of the pain and SOB or a cause? And maybe im mistaken but isnt the progression of the ventricular ectopy a change on the EKG including the 12 lead? In general, I was not very worried about the pt. She was in some amount of distress but I (eventually) did not feel that she needed immediate treatment. With that said, I like the way someone else put it....Could I have prevented something that potentially happened or could have happened an hour after I dropped her off? PS. ... Im begining to detect some tension in this post.....CHILLLLLLL, maybe we should get a 12 year old to post and solve this issue.