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I hear ya, Richard. Although-with all the bitching and moaning we do among ourselves- fire vs EMS, single role vs cross trained, etc- we still ARE a family. Any time someone needs a hand, who's the first to step up when we need it? Same for police. We have a great relationship with our police officers- they are great. As dysfunctional as we all are, who else would want to hang with us? LOL

You, my friend, have just explained 90 % of the work we do. Sometimes "Hand holding" is all that they need, outside of the transportation itself. I lost track of how many families had come up to me, after I transported their friend or relative, on just how much better some patients felt, emotionally, even those on "final rides" to a hospital, because someone simply had a conversation with them, or listened to them.

Its OK Herbie. I cope and around this time of year it helps to talk about it. Keeps everything from getting bottled up. I do suffer PTSD and have gotten treatment for it. Talking is a big help. I was there that day on the 10th floor for a job requirement. There was a goverment office there that I had to interview at for a security clearence. Thatw as my only reason to be there that day. As for staying on "The Pile". For some reason i felt I had to be there. In the first moments after the towers fell alot of folks just started looking around trying to find people and help in any way they could. I was not a responder at the time, I had no training in rescue, nothing. I was just a pair of hands, eyes and ears trying to help. I got on a bucket brigade with the Jersey City Fire Dept and just passed buckets of debris. Time just stood still I didnt realize how much time had passed between shifts or what evere you wanted to call them. Things I did see I dont want to ever see again. Some things of that day I just dont remeber. I have tried but they are just not memories I have. It was after therapy to get me over things that I started looking into EMS as a field. The strong urge I felt that day to help others always stayed with me. Its not THE reason I became an EMT but an underlying one.

I think one problem may be that too many of today's instructors never took the CBT, since it is a relatively new thing. It sounds like things really haven't changed much though, from the written exam days. Having already been a paramedic for thirty years, I took the NREMT-B written in 2005 and walked away honestly wondering if I had passed or not. The questions were that confusing. Although, I have to say that basic questions are a lot more confusing for an ALS practitioner than for someone straight out of EMT school. As for your friend, I have to honestly say that this simply may not be her bag. No matter how interested she seems, or how intelligent she is, some people simply don't have the aptitude for certain subjects. I'm a good medic, but I can't boil water, much less cook. Whether or not I can sing is a matter of heated public debate, but I digress. If she is bound and determined to do this for whatever reason, then I have but one piece of advice for her; She needs to LEARN THE MATERIAL, and not learn the test. Flash cards and review question books are shyte. They are marginally useful as adjuncts to gauge your knowledge. However, they are absolutely useless as test prep material, especially if you have already failed once or more. In fact, they are probably hurting her. She needs to read, read, read, and re-read the book until it is not just memorised, but UNDERSTOOD. She should be immediately reciting the answers to questions, not because she has them memorised, but because she UNDERSTANDS the answers. When a student doesn't actually understand the concepts concretely within their brain, either their instruction sucks (entirely possible, but this is her second school), or else she simply does not have the aptitude for this particular field. There comes a point where one must be honest with themselves about their limitations.