Leaderboard

Don't you EVER ask for a discount. EVER. If it's freely given, you may accept, circumstances depending (thanks for your story Squinty). To ask, or to be offended because one previously given is not extended, is churlish in the extreme, and reflects poorly on our profession. Just what is it that makes you so god damn special that somewhere you ate is OBLIGED to give away part of their profits to you? We get prodeals through my SAR team. If they stop being offered, which companies occasionally do, we don't say a word except thanks for the previous years of prodeals. Do we *ever* go into a shop and ask for discounts? Absolutely not. That's actually grounds for dismissal from the team. In the rare instance that something is offered to us, we ask that the business make a tax deductible donation instead (which I know has happened). That way, it benefits the whole team and not just one or two of us who happened to be in uniform. Man, this kind of stuff REALLY chaps my ass. It's so stupid. Really. Just don't do it. Wendy CO EMT-B

Wow, I have gotten a few discounted coffees while on duty, have gotten a few take-n-bake pizzas on duty, and gone to the local theme park on "heros weekend" with free admission. But seriously! To talk to a manager because you didn't get you discount is utter BS. We had a thread not long ago about professional courtesy and what it was but wow man, I rarely am suprised by the selfishness of human nature, but to pull a stunt like that is unforgiveable. I certainly hope that your local "discount program" ends soon because of entitlement issues. Fireman1037

Watching the stuff on tv, and on FB, on Casey Anthony, I have to tell you that it looks more like a witch burning of 200 years ago than a trial of today. Bottom line for me? 12 of my friends and neighbors have decided that they had to allow her to go free so as not to risk putting an innocent person in prison. And I think that that took amazing courage. They watch the TV, the read the papers, and yet they decided to do what they thought was right despite knowing the pain and hate that it would bring them and their families. I would gladly shake their hands and stand by their sides. Is she guilty? I don't know. Yet I'm not willing to condemn the suspect, jury and judge based on the feedback from a bunch of talking heads on the news that lie to me daily. Send your love to the baby, but to call for this woman's head is to side with the likes of the Taliban, and others, that believe that suspicion is the same as guilt...and that is pathologic. I can't support you in your cry for a justice system that will put innocent people in jail instead of risk allowing the guilty to go free. Be angry if you must, but to bring your children to the gathering that calls for the death of a woman that has been found not guilty in a United States court of law spits in the face of all of our men and women of the military, those involved in law enforcement, that have lost their lives to protect your civil liberties.... Just my two cents... Dwayne

The only time I EVER said anything about a discount was when I was having breakfast at McDonalds with a cop friend of mine. We were both on duty and in uniform. He ordered a rather large meal, while I just wanted a sausage biscuit and some tea. The cashier told him that police eat free and said mine would be $2.14. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything and just paid it. I'm not looking for handouts. Instead I said, "What if I wore a gun too? How much would it be then?" The words were out of my mouth before I knew it. The manager, who saw everything, said that she thought it was wrong, too. My meal was comped. I thanked them and that was the end of it. Afterward, I was sorry I said anything. It may have been wrong for them to do that, but the restaurant owner doesn't owe me a thing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Best of luck. A lot of solid advice so far. Just expect firm answers from potential employers, and don't leave any details (travel costs, day rates, duration) out. Assuming something is the fastest way to get caught. For example, I ran into a medic who was going out west to work. Somehow he seemed convinced that he didn't have to get registered in Alberta to do this, nor did he seem to believe me when this was pointed out. The company had a special 'deal' with ACoP to deal with this. LOL. He even paid for his flights out west, just to find out as you guessed, that he couldn't work. A week or so later he was back in town. The last I heard he was trying to do international work for free to 'break in.' That is not the way to do it. Needless to say, if you approach this line of work with a direct goal then you should be ok. Be it for academic reasons, to fund your endless summer, or whatever. Just keep in mind no money is free, so it might be ok now. You might not miss the night shifts, but long rotations in/out have their own unique issues. Just keep asking around, and making those contacts. Soon enough you will get a feel for who is good, and who to stay away from. Personally, I deal with a few key companies that I have a relationship with. If I do consider trying something new, I am very critical of their operations. If I have any concerns I just walk away.

Had to find one of my old threads. Besides this 9/11 would be the other.

I don't get a goddamn thing. Even in the hospital cafeteria... All EMS gets free drinks... But I always end up paying for mine, the dirty rotten bastards.

I dont think there are many people who dont believe that she was guilty as sin, but belief is not the same as proof. It then becomes opinion, and I dont think that anyone wants a judicial system that works on the basis of opinion.. There are certain safeguards built in to most western legal sytems that create a safety zone to protect the innocent. Without those safeguards,we might put away (or execute) a few more guilty people, but also a few more innocent ones. High profile cases like this one and OJ Simpson's boil our blood, but but we probably do not hear about those in which an innocent ordinary citizen has been acquitted thanks to those safeguards our forefathers built in. Trial by Jury beats the hell out of Trial by Media1!

Took an old bloke to an appointment at the local base hospital a year or so back. He told me about how lonely he was since his wife died a few years ago, and that he had not been able to visit her grave as he could not drive, public ransport wouldn't take him there and a taxi was out of the picture as he was unable to walk once he got there. While he was in his appointment i bought some flowers form the hospitals gift shop and when he was finished, went via the cemetery, wheeled the stretcher right up to his wifes headstone. Poor old bugger cried his eyes out, he'd have hugged me if he didn't have dense L hemiplegia.

So again I think this world is completely bonkers. The media should have some sort of policy of doing public trials like this. Last night on one of those Nancy Gray type things on CNN there is a missing grade 5 girl from somewhere in the states. So a reporter goes to the step father and asks "If you could say something to your step-daughter what would it be" his reply "Get your butt home". Ok not what you would think any one would say and alittle harsh but with those words the reporters have invaded his face-book, any other thing that may have his name on it and are now saying "He should be a person of interest and that the cops should be investigating him" Well first of all they are investigating him because he was in the house when it happened. Just like the Jonbente Ramsey case this family is going to go through the ringer. Once the accusations are out there who ever it is towards never lives them down and there are many people that have had to live through this public trial system. Personaly I turned it off as I dont want to be a part of a public trial. Now with Casey I dont know if she is quilty or not and I will never know, but the public is all up in arms over the out come of their own judical system and are on a head hunt. The crap the media puts out there is borderline slanderous. They even have an expert that has created a picture of her if she has plastic surgery.... Come on people there has to be something eles to report on.

Well, I get your point and I agree with you on most of the above. What I meant was: Even if tolerance could be achieved - it wouldn`t be by such provoking texts. And when it cannot be achieved in the overall way that would be quite welcomed (though unrealistic, I`m with you there, mankind just isn`t able to do that) even then, just because that`s not possible - you don`t need to make it worse. P.S.: I do believe that tolerance can be achieved/can be found, within single individuals, just not in a group, `cause there`s a certain dynamic to a group within itself that can bring out the worst in people.

Yeah, I'm going to take a different tack....an arrest in an ER, and you need more than two people for compression? And (what sounds like) a basic recruiting folks because he's unable to continue compression due to exhaustion? For a patient with an initial rhythm of asystole? This entire code sounds like a cluster fuck. I'm thinking that if this was perhaps a competent medic that 'gloves' was maybe easier than saying..."I want no part of that mess...." But, then again, unless he's banging one of the nurses, or ill, I don't know what he was doing at the ER while off duty. Just a thought... Dwayne

Throw out your Littman II and purchase a Littman III. What are we living in? The olden days? A good TASER will take you far. Don't go cheap and just get a stun gun, invest in an X2 TASER that can shoot out prongs. OC is a must. Make sure it's at least 2 million SHU, no whimpy stuff. Some sort of Shotgun capable of firing breaching rounds is a must... in those cases you need to bust down a door. Benelli makes a nice shotgun that acts as a triple threat (buckshot, breaching slugs, and bean bags). A tactical flashlight that can attach to the end of your shotgun. An asp collapsible baton. A Kevlar vest with trama plates. Your own Motorola radio with a tactical headset. If you are missing any of that stuff you are clearly not somebody I'd want responding to my emergency. <end of sarcasm> Make fun of me all you want guys; I'm prepared. But, don't feel like you need to carry a lot on you. Your bus will be,nine times out of ten, nearby enough that you can grab whatever you need out of it. I have most of my patients come to the back of my vehicle anyway while I'm examining them.

So, in my little cosey little rural area, the small town diners like to give us first responders breaks on our bills. Typically police, fire, and EMS get some type of break when they come and eat in their uniform. The local, family owned, doughnut shop gives us free doughnuts if we come in our uniforms. Coffee is also "on the house" sometimes. I guess this may be why police officers are associated with doughnuts, because they're also always hanging out there. Another family owned diner gives us a generous break when we eat at their place (around a third off). Some chain restaurants also give us breaks. Denny's gives us their employee discount, so does Burger King. However, today when I went into Denny's I didn't get my discount. My bill came and I noticed it was full price. I ordered a chicken fried steak, eggs, pancakes, and coffee, and I was being charged full price! I told the waitress (who was new), and she said that we had to pay full price (I knew from prior experience taking to the owner that we got the employee discount). I asked to talk to a manager, and she came out and apologized and gave us the discount. So this sparked my curiosity: what places give you free or discounted stuff?