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Nonsense. I been taking them every day for nearly three years now, and I'm not dependent.

Hey, seriously...congrads on your training as a medic....I know it's not easy, I've been there. Regarding EMT-B...if you join an outfit like AMR, you not only get to drive an ambulance but actually get the opportunity to access and TREAT sick people. Sure, they do their share of medicare/medicaid patient/doctor/hospital runs, but they also do real street EMS. Not all private ambulance services are created egual....good luck. You'll be fine.

Perhaps the EVOC I attended was different than most, but, I operate, when in Emergency mode, in what I hope is a better manner than civilians who are on the road with me. This is not to say I am never going to be in an accident. One thing impressed on me was to "expect the unexpected. You'll never be disappointed." Another item is from a decades old seat belt ad on TV: "To the other guy, YOU'RE the other guy".

Almost every health professional here requires a Bachelors Degree, the exception is Anaesthetic Technician which is a comparable amount of study but is not a Bachelors Degree (watch that space). For example the following require a Bachelors Degree Chiropractic Dentistry Dietetics Medical Laboratory Science Medical Radiation Technology Medicine (MBChB) Midwifery Nursing Occupational Therapy Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Osteopathy (not a DO) Pharmacy Physiotherapy Podiatrists Psychology Psychotherapy Speech Language Therpay New Zealand does not have RTs. The "technician" type roles do not exist here as they do in the US (eg ER Tech) and the few "aide" or "assistant" type roles that do exist are supervised by a registered healthcare practitioner. A dental technician or nurse aide for example completes a vocational training certificate or other qualification appropriate for thier level of practice but must be supervised by the applicable registered profession. Research and essays/case studies etc form a significant part of our Health (and other) Bachelors Degrees which really expand one's knowledge and give you a strong educational foundation so you can pick up new knowledge easily and have a deeper understanding and ability in your chosen field. This is a major advantage over the "vocational" style "technical" education that was used in the past for our Ambulance Officers.

Hello, 1. BGL = 545 mg/dl (30 mmol so so I think) Dose she take insulin or is her DM controlled with medications? - Voided twice in last hour - Laying on a urine stain - Looks like DKA or maybe Hyperosmolar Syndrome 2. Renal - On the floor 24 hours or so - Weak left arm - Rhabdomyolysis could be a possibility as well 3. CVA - HTN+++ - Droop and left arm deficit - Million dollar question.....is it old or new?? - Do we see any aid of daily living to help her with her weak arm? That would make me lean towards an old CVA - Good LOC.... Again, may be an old CVA...not sure I like Kiwimedic idea...a 12-lead. Who knows what this lady K is. Maybe, get the friend to help you out. She may be able to get her to go to the ED. How safe is this lady? Once off the floor can she actually move around and take care of herself? Also, can the friend give more information about the patient? (i.e. the arm and droop) Besides, what ED wouldn't want a 375lbs women in poor health?? Easy to fix and easy to discharge...... =) Cheers...

i did up and down 3 steps 5x's then walk ten paces put it down and pick it up walk 10 paces put it down, yeah that 5x's times, then pick up walk backwards put down 5 x's, and started it all off with a treadmill walk at 2 speeds for two minutes, my thighs burned and calfs ached but i got through it just fine. did realize i need to get back into shape asap! paramidget

Hi, everyone. My name's Susan, and I've been an EMT in NJ and NY for some 19 years. For 16 of those years I was prescribed medication for pain management because of an injury to my cervical spine due to an ambulance accident that occured in 1993. Without the medication (narcotic pain medication) I would never have been able to continue being a productive member of, not only the EMS community, but of Society as well. I was wracked with almost daily blinding and nauseating migraines and neck pain that clustered, often for up to two weeks at a time without breaking. I had procedures done, nerves destroyed on purpose to ease the agony, but they were only temporary fixes. I wasn't able to take many medications due to adverse reactions and allergies ( would you believe Decadron and Prednisone cause me to break out in severe hives?) and the pain causes my blood pressure to skyrocket. I am already normally hypertensive and take a beta-blocker daily to keep it under control. I had also taken any new non-narcotic medication that became available, as well as anti-seizure meds and ergotomines mixed with caffeine to avoid taking narcotic meds, and nothing, absolutely NOTHING gave me any measure of relief. Because one's tolerance to opiates increase over time, I began to take more and more of the narcotics prescribed to me in order to get relief from the pain, never to get high. I would do my best to abstain from using my medication when I was on duty, but there was never any guaratee that I would be able to get through a shift without the monster pain overcoming me. Finally I approached a physician in the field of Pain Management rather than Neurology because, when you go through 120 vicodin in less than a week, THAT is really alarming, and I admitted to myself that my body had a dependence on the drug. This doctor said that I had acquired a "quasi-addiction" to the vicodin, and I was prescribed fentanyl patches at 75 mcg per hour! I broke out in a rash from the patch, although I changed the site every time I changed the patch ( I also told him I could not work with the medication being titrated into my body through the skin because it made me extremely groggy), so he put me on a daily regimen of time-released morphine tablets and percocet for breakthrough pain. This worked well. At the same time I was going through major problems in my home life. My marriage was failing and one of the things my husband delighted in doing was driving a wedge between my teenage daughter and myself by creating a situation, creating distance between my normally close relationship with her so she would side with him, and then he would tell me my daughter was disrespectful to him or was doing this or that in an attempt to get me to side with him against her. It was an impossible time and my daughter became anorexic and distant. I finally had reached a breaking point and told him I saw through him and it was over. Ashley and I moved out and into a small apartment. Eventually I became financially drained and we faced eviction. My daughter turned 20 and I told her it was best that we moved into separate residences. I was terribly stressed out and we were both very tense and I felt the only way she would grow was if I forced her to live on her own and become responsible. I was offered an opportunity to rent the back bedroom and adjoining full bathroom through the friend of a friend and I jumped on it. I had full use of the kitchen as well. The rent was extremely affordable. My daughter moved into a rooming house in Ocean Grove. I saw light at the end of a dark tunnel at last. I came home one day and was told that my "landlord" came home to find a strange man in her house. He had wandered in to her Living Room from my apartment. I didn't know anyone and certainly didn't give anyone permission to enter my apartment ( I had a separate entrance which I kept locked at all times) so I thought this was odd. I had also just found out from the friend that told me about the place that my "landlord", who I'll refer to here on in as "HR", was a recovering addict, and had used heroin for some 25 years. I immediately went through my things, and found, lo and behold, that my medication was missing. Now....you know that morphine and percocet, as well as any opiate, when taken on a daily basis, will cause the body to have a physical dependence on it. Your body knows when it's not available anymore, and lack of it causes the body to go through withdrawal. In pain management you sign an agreement, a contract, with the treating physician stating that you will not abuse the medication, and the medication is prescribed on a monthly basis with no refills. I was 15 days shy of my next appointment. I panicked. I called the doctor and explained what had happened and he found me in violation of the agreement....and booted me from the program. He gave me a few fentanyl patches in decreasing doses ( a two-week supply)...I hid these. I said to myself....okay....I have to find another doctor and another plan of attack on my pain issue. Well, you guessed it. The patches ended up missing. I confronted HR and under pressure she admitted that she stole these from me. So, two days into the withdrawal process she approached me and said, " I'm going to call my connection and get some "D". I know you're feeling like crap...do you want me to get you some?" Now, when you go through withdrawal you feel like you want to crawl out of your skin. Your belly hurts, your intestines are in serious rebellion, and you can't stop vomitting. My brain said, "It's an opiate, just do tiny increments every so many hours, it's just a temporary thing, no problem." And there you go. I climbed aboard the Heroin express. Something which, in my right mind, I would NEVER have done. The temporary one or two day thing turned into a six-week nightmare, and I went from 1/4 of a crystaline bag a day to 6 bags a day. A week later I found myself acting as the runner between her and her connection. I got payment from her in the way of a given number of "bags" of heroin out of each bundle she purchased. I wound up stealing from HR, and went to jail for felony theft. If I didn't go to county jail I'd most likely be dead by now, either because of the "gangsta' types I hung with or because of the drug. I do not miss the drug or the lifestyle. I no longer use. I am now in Recovery. I am searching for a job. Yes, I still have my certification and a valid CPR card, but with a felony on my record I doubt I'll get hired as an EMT. I need to show that I'm the responsible person I used to be. What I want to ask is: Do all private ambulance companies in Northern and Southern NJ do backround checks? I have no problem with random drug testing, I do that now on a weekly basis. I am searching for gainful employment doing what I did best....or even, just doing ANYTHING right now would be great, because my lease is up on June 15th, and I have to find a place to live in or someone willing to have a room-mate like me. I am currently on Unemployment.

I would imagine so. I wasn't convicted on a drug charge. I was convicted on a felony theft. I am in Recovery, as I said, and do not have any desire whatsoever to go back to that lifestyle. I made a bad mistake and allowed myself to be influenced and follow others down a dark path. We don't all repeat our mistakes. I was an excellent EMT and loved what I did. Is it right to be condemned for the rest of my existence because I did something wrong, or is that the way it is in a democratic society? I have learned in the county jail that there is no such thing as being innocent until proven guilty.....and you are treated like an animal rather than a human being. I have fallen from grace. Is there no chance to redeem myself and climb back up? I was not convicted on a drug conviction. I was convicted on the charge of a felony theft. That was last year. I do not wish to join a fire company. I have been an EMT in good standing and never did anything against the law in my 52 years of existence until that happened last year. As I said, I fell from grace. I am no longer using. I am clean. I do not wish to be condemned by my peers the rest of my life....I did wrong and I realize it. But the sad state of addiction is that, when you are in the midst of it, you are not who you used to be. I am not that person any longer.