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Learning to choose a proper thread name for your question would greatly enhance your career. Renamed.

That's fine advice, but you better have a spare pair of undies available too. LOL

One thing I forgot - try taking in a deep breath, hold it, and bear down while lifting. It gives you an extra measure of protection, and the momentary increase in BP hasn't shown any advserse effects to my knowledge.

All good advice. When I started really concentrating on my core, I noticed my back aches were less frequent. The stronger your abs, the stronger your back. Repetitive motion causes wear and tear- no way around it, but as you noted, exercises and targeted strength training are vital- especially with someone who may be slight of build. That said, injuries do happen. I liken our back problems to the heart and lung problems of old time firefighters who started their careers before the advent of the SCBA. It's simply part of the job.

The physical demands of this job have much less to do with your physical attributes than you're technique and intelligence. I find that I spend the majority of my time doing nothing significant and then am suddenly in a position to need to lift fat people on a heavy cot and then drag them through a bunch of weird places. At these times it's much more about making sure that I move the load so that I can lift if evenly and safely, use good lifting technique, ask for help if I need it, while the firemen are snickering about what a pussy I am. Screw the whole, "Me and Bubba pride ourselves on never having had a lift assist, not ever." One of the best medics at my service is 5'4" and 115 lbs. If she can't lift she'll ask for help, if she can't ask for help then she'll come up with an intelligent way to get the job done and not get hurt. She's my hero. EMS is sometimes about brawn, but get good now with the fact that you need to focus way more on brains. Brains are at a premium, people trying to prove that they have an unusually long penis can be found running all over EMS scenes. Make sure you're fit, and then stay that way. But know that if you are thinking of getting into EMS and your main focus is on the physical that you're off in the ditch here brother. Welcome to the City! Good to have you. You've been stung a few times about spelling and grammar. Don't let it bother you. Those folks are just poking a little fun at you in the hopes of helping you improve, thus improving your chance of success in EMS and other things. Don't take it personally, but do take it to heart, OK? Dwayne

Do you know what I think of this new dispatch system? *GAG ORDER* ..... "Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader According to Slave Lake town councillor Rob Irwin, the level of ambulance service being provided in Slave Lake has taken a big hit since the province took over the management of the service last year. Irwin vented his dismay for the record at council’s Jan. 19 meeting.“The province promised the service would not decline,” he said.“I’m hearing we’ve gone from eight paramedics to two.”The result of that, Irwin asserted, is that 90 per cent of the calls the ambulance service responds to do not have the ALS (advanced life support) rating, but are of the basic life support (BLS) category. The percentage had been the reverse previously,he said. Irwin said he’s also hearing that response times are slower than previously. The circumstance has arisen, he said, in which the nearest ambulance to Slave Lake was an hour-and-a-half away in High Prairie! “Not only that,” Irwin continued. “Equipment,some of which was locally fundraised for, including ambulances,has left town.“It’s a shocking and horrible situation,” Irwin said, not mincing words in the least. “The service has been decimated since the takeover by the province.”The impression is apparently not an isolated one. Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said it was brought up by other communities at an Alberta Urban Municipalities meeting, with provincial health officials in attendance. Please see Page 3" http://www.lakesideleader.com/2010/100127/week4.pdf

Hey, I have a question about body structure when it comes to being an EMT, I am not a really big guy but I am interested in being an EMT, What do I have to be able to do physical wise in order to be an EMT?

Be ready to be belittled and criticized for every tiny thing you may mention. The attitude here is "you are wrong, so we will trash you for it" no matter what. Ignore those people, some of us here are friendly and understand.

Funny because after my post in this thread my "rep" went to negative something. Funny, the popularity contest. Another reason why this site can suck sometimes!

So what if they transported her to the hospital and she died. This is probably another false positive of "the ambulance came and at some point following this the patient died so by automatic link, the Ambulance Officers are responsible". Having said that, in DC ..... I dno, I hear they're a bit shaky.