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There are many different views on this topis from people much smarter than me but this is my experience and opinion. I was an EMT-B for 3 years before certifying as a paramedic. I don't think there is a ton of stuff you can really learn at the EMT-B level, other than dealing with people. My opinion is that it is great to be a Basic to get your feet wet, but to set a time frame to be a basic sounds pretty silly. If you want to be a paramedic go for it. The experience you obtain as a basic wont necessarily prepare you for that. So start medic school, it will take at least a year and in that time you will do clinical time that will be much more valuable than riding the truck as a Basic. JMO though and I'm sure you will get many others. Good luck to you!

I am not trying to sound like a jerk, but I learned this lesson a long time ago: You decide what kind of day you will have every day. You can not let others control your life, which is what you do when your blood pressure goes up over what someone else said or did. The minute you show any emotion because of what someone else did, you have given them control of your day, it is like you are a puppet on a string. Example: If I said something mean about your momma right now, it could piss you off to the point of you punching me. But on the other hand, you could say "crotch does not know my momma, he has never even met me, so therefore he is trying to piss me off and control my day". Let it roll off of your back, its not worth being upset about. I worked for a large urban system that was on 24/48s and the shifts were brutal with the normal EMS abuse you would expect. I went to work cussing and I came home cussing. Then they switched to 12-hour shifts, and I figured out I could transport 6 patients, or not transport 10 patients. Once I quit argueing with the dumb patients and just started transporting, all the stress was gone, and my smile returned. When I saw that change I realized I had been letting others control me.

All right, folks. I went through and searched for pain management and only found two threads relating to it. TWO. For one of the very most effective treatments we provide, and for one of the few treatments we have that has been definitely proven to do good, that is just not enough discussion about it. So, I want to talk about pain management in the setting of multi-systems trauma. I've been trying for a couple of weeks now to find some definitive research on it as well as the stances held by trauma organizations and other medical associations throughout the country and world, but my search hasn't been especially fruitful. I know that in my PHTLS book, it recommends AGAINST giving pain management in the setting of multi-systems trauma, however speaking with other medical providers from paramedic up to physician, I have noticed that there are a lot of folks who are strongly in favor of pain management for multi-systems trauma patients. Aside from the obvious of watching their blood pressure and respiratory drive (both of which some narcotic analgesics such as fentanyl have a very minimal effect), I'm not finding any strong contraindications for pain management in the setting of multi-systems trauma. So, what is it? Am I missing something? Or is this a situation where we simply decided a long time ago that patients with multi-systems trauma deserve to be in pain more than patients with isolated trauma? What do your protocols say with regards to this? What research have you found/done on it and what do the leading organizations find? Thanks! -Bieber

Is anyone else beginning to think that flammingemt is just crotchity with another screenname trying to stir the shit?

You bring up two points here that are usually the cornerstones of my arguments. The first, the coloring; I have witnessed a "test" like this before, where a child was given a pack of crayons and a picture to color. The child scribbled and drew random lines and went all over the page. The parent said "See? He can't even focus enough to color a picture". The doctor then asked the child "Why did you color the page like that?" and the child replied "I liked the way it looked, and I didn't want to color that picture". What the parent was mistaking for ADD was, in this case, just the child "expressing his self artistically". When the doctor asked the child to color within the lines and make a nice picture for his mom, this child was able to do so, without issue. Children express themselves in varying means and to varying degrees. A child who constantly asks "why" isn't starving for attention or trying to "embarrass mommy", the child is merely trying to express an interest in his/ her surroundings and is vocalizing that interest in the only way possible. The problem comes in with parents who can't be arsed to teach their kids things, or to answer the "why" question because they're too busy texting their friends and trying to hold on to the last desperate piece of youth. Second point: the public school syndrome. In this day and age of "no child left behind" teachers are faulted for the poor performance of students, even if the poor performers are in the minority. Teachers are forced to cater to the lowest common denominator, and the kids who understood the concept on the first or second go-round are left to fend for themselves while the "slow learners" (I'm using this term loosely, because EVERYONE has a subject which takes a little more time to learn; I'm not singling out "stupid" people, I'm talking about the kid who just doesn't seem to grasp the concept) get the individual help from the teacher. Now-a-days, teachers fear having to send a child away to a learning specialist, because the child will usually go home with the story of how Miss So-and-So wouldn't help me learn, and now you have a furious parent to deal with. No... teachers don't want to hear you complain about how they refused to help your child understand fractions, so they help the slower learner, leaving the ones who caught on to fidget, talk, and drift away from the conscious learning environment. Then, when Parent-teacher conferences come along, Miss So-and-so has to explain why little Brian "is a bright student and extremely smart when he applies himself, but has a hard time focusing". Little Brian's parents want to know if something is wrong, take him to the doctor, describe the "symptoms", and of course, Little Brian has ADD. Have some Ritalin and it'll be all good. Multiply scenario by 30 kids per class, 2 classes per grade, 6 grades per school, and 5 schools per city... "As of 2007, 2.7 million youth ages 4-17 years (66.3% of those with a current diagnosis) were receiving medication treatment for the disorder." http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5944a3.htm?s_cid=mm5944a3_w That's not to say the condition does not exist; it most certainly does. I'm not quite sure how to classify it, in terms of where the disorder manifests itself (psychological, physiological?), or if we're really just lumping several disorders under one umbrella (similar to Autism, as recent as 10 years ago). The true-to-life cases need to be observed and treated. The not-so-clear-cut cases need to be weeded out and given help. The parents who would rather medicate their children then answer "why"... well, I'll leave my opinion of them to your imagination.

Its crotchity, this isn't a legitimate question, its a follow up on his comments in the PTSD thread, - PTSD and ADD dont exist, apparently its all crap thats been made up by drug companies. So to quote another forum member from that thread, crotchity "you truly are an asshole"

I believe some cases may not really be A.D.D., but that doesn't mean it isn't real. A.D.D. causes actual changes in the brain that can be seen with an MRI. It's way too easy for people to sit back and say that it is just an emotional problem or a behavioral issue. I have had A.D.D. my entire life, and I can tell you that it is neither of those.

Good attitude... Do what you want... Get whatever Degree(s) you want... Yes, there are shortcuts. Just remember school is just the beginning for everything. There is no one who knows it all. We're all learning. Someone who thinks they know everything, is truly mistaken... As long as the School is Accredited by the proper "Authorities" then you should be confident with the material learned, grade(s) given, & Degree received. Look for the .edu on the URL... Speak to family, friends, classmates, teachers, co-workers, and faculty to help guide you... Welcome to the World of EMS... Good luck...