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That's funny that they see what he's doing as a problem. While I read it I was thinking to myself "I wish we did that here." There's a huge difference between passing the in-class stuff or managing a patient for a short period of time and applying your knowledge in real life, providing care for a long period of time. I can't believe they're really bitching and asking him to lower the standards. Suck it up and meet the standards fellow healthcare professionals.

I've always been quite skinny and can eat just about anything without gaining weight...thanks, 20 year old metabolism. I started P90X to put on some muscle, and the "get RIPPED in 90 days" slogan was pretty appealing. I started to see some impressive results after only a month, but got too busy to keep up with it once the academic semester got into full swing. I have a friend who completed the 90 days and swears by it; however he said you really need to keep up some sort of fitness routine or the results fade fast once you're done. The workout is actually really enjoyable and I wish I had the time to keep it up...perhaps when I graduate in May I also have a few friends who are doing the Insanity 60 day thing (it's made by the same company). Insanity seems to be cardio focused whereas P90X is more about muscle building. Either way they're both pretty intense. I'd recommend them to anyone who isn't comfortable in a gym or doesn't want trek there.

PLEEEEEASE stop nitpicking every freaking detail like this. The show will never portray every esoteric nuance to the perfection you guys seem to demand. It isn't a show for you, it is a show for everyone else. Deal with it. I'm happy enough that a public representation of us exists that doesn't portray EMTs/paramedics as subservient stretcher jockeys and simpleminded technicians. Say what you will about the supposed gold standard of "Emergency!," but those guys couldn't take a piss without calling up Rampart on the freaking radio and asking for permission. Not to mention - for it's day - I would say that show contained at least an equal amount of gratuitous TV-candy rescues and improbable situations. This "Trauma" show isn't nearly as good as it could be, but it hits some high points for me. Anything else worthwhile they come up with is just icing.

If you are going to make this work, you will need an incredible amount of family and friends support to be raising your child while you are in classes and on clinicals. Do not kid yourself that you can do this on your own - with a 10 month old, you cannot. Paramedic school is not easy, and it shouldn't be - people's well-being and lives are in our hands. Ask yourself - if you or your son were in an accident, and needed life-saving care, do you want the medic who put the bare minimum in to pass, or do you want the medic who excelled? My guess is you want the medic who excelled. You have a number of issues to juggle - who is going to take care of your child while you are at work? Who will take care of your child while you are in class? Who will take care of your child while you are doing homework and studying? Who will take care of your child while you are on clinicals? How are you going to finance child care and medic school? All are tough questions. Also, remember - you cannot come home from a clinical shift and expect to be able to properly care for your child for the next 12 hours, and then go back on shift. Clinicals are stressful learning times, and you will need to have some downtime to absorb what you are learning. You said "I wouldn't let someone else to raise my little boy." The reality is, someone else will have to be involved a great deal in raising your little boy, so you will have the time to devote to classes and studies. Hard work could make this a reality, but there are going to be sacrifices. Maybe you can do your medic classes over an extended term - take 1 or 2 years more than a regular program, so you can fit in raising your son and working. Maybe you can consider delaying school until your boy is a little older and you can find quality care for him while you are in classes. I'm not saying "no, it can't be done." I am saying "please look at all the options, and all the obstacles, before you jump in." You want to be the best medic you can be, not a bare minimum medic, so you have to make sure you have solved the obstacles before you start. I'm not sure what you meant by "kiss my dream of a career goodbye." I don't know your age, but I suspect you are under 30 (correct me if I am wrong). Relax on the not having a career thing. For some reason, we all think we need to be established in a career by the time we are 24, and have the house, the picket fence, and the car by then. The reality is that the average person changes careers 3 or more times over a lifetime, and many return to school later in their careers to change careers. If it doesn't happen this year, it doesn't mean it can't happen at all. Take a deep breath, and review all your options. Good to see you are asking for advice! You can take what people say, or leave it - remember, advice is what you pay for it... but at least it gives you more things to think about, and a more educated way to make a decision. Wish you the best!

I think we really need to look at this in perspective. If a person has cardiovascular disease, we have no hesitation in leaving them at home to self administer meds & in essence care for themselves. Same with diabetics, epileptics & just about any other illness. The problem with mental illness is the stigma that is associated with it. This is primarily media driven because they are at pains to point out that a person was bipolar or schizophrenic. Why dont they tell us that the person suffers from IDDM? or cardiovascular disease? Mental illness covers a range of illnesses & the vast majority of people with mental illness can be & is sucessfully managed at home, as are most other illnesses. What we see in EMS is the wort cases of people who have a severe mental illness & represent a very small percentage of people who suffer a mental illness. This tends to give us a jaded opinion of mental health overall. In most commonwealth countries many people over the years (and this included such things as women with PMS) we held at the pleasure of Her Majesty until they could be cured. Would we consider this at all for any of the other illnesses I mentioned (although this was the case for many years for people with epilepsy, but attitudes changed with advancement in medical science & epilepsy became an 'acceptable' illness). People with mental illness, rgardless of personal opinions, still need to be treated with dignity & the wholesale institutionalisation of sufferers has not been a standard practice for many years. There are those who do need to be kept under scrutiny for their safety, as well as the safety of others, but personal liberties need to be maintained. Here, & I can only speak for my state, this is covered by legislation & to keep a person, they can only be held for more than a minimal period (time frames vary depending on availability of psych beds & full competency assessments) under the order of a court. This legislation stipulates what the persons entitlments are & appeals processes. However the main underlying tone is that the aim is to keep the person only for the period of time that is long enough to assess & if necesarry medicate & monitor with a goal of release back into the general popuus at the earlies possible time. This is becomeing increasingly important considering the World Health Organisation lists that by 2020 worldwide Mental Illness will be the second biggest killer in the world behind trauma.

Paddy is planning to marry, he is, and asks his family doctor how he could tell if his bride-to-be is still a virgin. His doctor says, "Aye, Paddy, all Irish use three things for what we call a Do-It-Yourself.... Virginity Test Kit.... a small can of red paint, a small can of blue paint and a shovel." Paddy asks, "Aye, and what do I do with these things, doctor?" The doctor replies, "Before ye climb into bed on your wedding night, you paint one of your balls red and the other ball blue. If she says, "That's the strangest pair of balls I ever did see...", you hit her with the shovel. May I just say to those who will not read this as humour, or try to read more into it than they should, I never have & never will condone violence towards women.

"unlike nursing which is standardised" ----- is that statement a joke. I have worked in both hospital based trauma services and prehospital ems since 1994. A blanket statement suggesting that U.S. or foreign trained nurses can hold a candle to an EMT is moronic. Unlike nurses many EMT basics in the united states are responsible for care of the patient door to door. Oftentimes the EMT basic is the only level that is able to care for even critically injured patients until more highly CERTIFIED professionals arrive. Based on my now 15 years experience with RN's; only about 25% could perform at the EMT level. Only about half of those 25% could perform at or above the skills of a decent EMT-Paramedic. Most nurses in the United States exit with a R.N. license after two(2) years of rudimentary nursing training. Of course most paramedics are trained for the same two(2) years OR more in ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT. As far as other countries laughing at the EMT-B certification, I wouldn't know. I do know that few if any states accept foreign training in EMS. I also KNOW that the national registry does not recognise foreign trained Medics. On this disparity, there should be a national accreditation body. Still, to suggest that a medic in Britain is somehow more experienced or has thousands of more hours of training...well that just sounds like a pretty long stretch...And frankly the facts do not show this to be true. Typical US medics have well over 4000 hours of didactic and clinical training by the end of EMT-B through NR-EMT-P. Of course there is always the exception to the above facts. Besides who wants to go to Israel and get shot at when I can just stay here in lovely downtown detroit.

This is what I love hearing! I can understand (via talking to different levels and walks of EMS folks) how it can get frustrating, and exhausting to say the least. I have heard some horrible things, and some wonderful things. And I get that I wont "get it" till I have worked in it. However I love knowing that there are those who still talk about their job with such enthusiasm, and happiness.