Equivalentrade

Wow good feed back. I didnt think about looking at this from the point of view of "what not to do." The company itself is AMRs rival where I am. Im not wondering, is there a "most" proffessional company to work for? This one is obviously one I am 100% going to avoid working for. I keep hearing that AMR is the largest company.. Does that mean they will be the most proffessional? This was a good lesson.

The way I see it, more points of reference = More information. I dunno ^^ Im sure someone more experienced can help!

Hey guys, its been a while Ive been busy doing ride times/clinicals and studying. Some foreward information, I have currently done Three ride times (12 hour shifts) with my local Fire Department as an EMT-B Student. They were strict, well planned, and very proffesional. I learned alot and got to do alot. I can say I was very impressed. However, we are told that it was mandatory to at least ride with ONE private company. Since everyone does AMR, I decided to try another local company that I will not name because I am about to defame it. Today I had that ride time, with a company im going to label ACME so as not to reveal the true name. Just like my FR rides, it was a 12 hour shift. I showed up to the station nice and prompt, with everything pressed and all my items in order. The EMTs/medics that were at the station were all in what I can only describe as untidy attire. Shirts half tucked in, unshaven, wrinkled shirts, and worst of all, mouths like a bunch of sailors(even in front of patients). Even the guy in charge was cursing up a storm as they all sat around and talked about video games... The day continued to be one transport call after another. I was not guided at all to do anything, and thier PT care was less then BLS would provide even though it was a class 2 ALS vehicle. We would simply pick up a PT, and transport. No Pulse Ox, No EKG, not even O2 for heart PT's, nothing... We even picked up a CHF transport, and didnt even hook the women up to a god damn pulse ox! I am just a student so I couldnt scream at the medic in charge. It was frustrating. Yes the PTs seemed stable. BUT most of the transports took a good 15-30 min across the entire city, in which case some of them could have deteriorated and such. Some kind of diagnostic equipment should have been used! I personally have no interest in Fire academy or joining fire rescue, and after seeing how this private company worked.. All I can say is that I think im going to be going into LPN next term when I finish this BLS cert.

Lol the LEDs on the monitors. the 3-LEB and 12-LEDs that monitor the PTs heart rythm.

Hmm I dont think you can go and just ask, but I am not sure. Our instructor said that we cant just go and ask to ride if we arent scheduled simply for liablity reasons. But it cant hurt to call one up and ask ;D <3

Reread your original post. It came across to me as sarcastic. : / Maybe i was mistaken. You made it sound like our classes are jumping in too quickly/callously, and maybe thats how we just do it down here. Guess i misread the part "since we'd be wasting everyone's time if we have no idea what we're doing." I think i clearly stated that we were performing only what we were taught in class.

Hey guys! Yesterday was great. As soon as I got to the station and we did line up, calls just started coming in. The guys I rode with were amazing. Their attitude was "If you can do it, and you want to, just step up and get it done." I did alot of vitals, hooking up with the LEDS, did neck brace+ back board. Got to learn more about the stretchers and how to use them properly. They showed me where everything was on the truck, and how to restock it. I of course showed up 100% clean shaven and looking like I was ready to kick some learning ass. I brought all the gear I needed. Around 2-4 they had a big chiefs meeting at the fire station so I politely told the LT that I didnt want to be in the way and that I was going to go study my EMT chapters so they could all do thier thing. After the meeting I watched them do a "Drill" something I will be doing in fire academy when that happens. My Precepts* (i think thats what they are called) took a nap from 4-6 since wed been running calls from 8-1. Then at 7:59pm the bell goes off and I hear "05 please respond.." the LT turns to me and says, "Its 8:00pm, You dont have to come since youre supposed to get off at 8." Well my thought process said, "Like hell im leaving before I get one last call in tongiht" and I politlely asked him if I could come. That turned out to be the most beneficial call of the night. I got to do bandaging, put on the LEDs, talk to the patient and calm him down since he was severely anxious. They just let me do alot with the PT which was really good practice. (diabetic on blood thiners decided it was a good idea to down a pitcher of beer in a bar. walking to the bathroom he passed out and broke his nose on the wall) 9:15 came around and I was so glad that I had gone. Anyhoo I have to leave for class now, thanks everyone for the advise and comments! P.s. Id be weary of any program that thought you could learn just from textbooks and labs and no real world experience. And I have been in classes for a month now. Theres nothing wrong with putting to use what weve learned with Vitals and other such things and putting them to use with practical applications in a real setting. That IMO is the best way to reinfoce what we have been studying so far. Its "Learn and then Do."

Wish me luck :X Ill come back with stories later. Ciao!

I will do my best. Everyone has good advice. From now on im 100% going to keep my reports simple.. Thats a gold nugget in my book. As for being a rookie... A) I am and I just do what the instructers tell me! They said to carry it all on my person because if im asked to do something it will look bad if i have to ask to borrow something from them :X. As for jumping straight in to para school or waiting... I dont know as of yet. Ill see how the term progresses. <3 Thanks everyone!!!

@Becksdad Thanks alot That was very informative and helpful. I am always early, sometimes by too much, its one of my "peeves" to be late. I have EMT pants, tha I have my Penlight, Hepa mask, Bandage Scissors, note pads, pens, stetho ect all tucked into pockets in. I didnt know what I could do once I got there, so those things you suggested, you can be assured they will be top on my list! I know my biggest thing is going to be PPE. Thanks

How are you getting your practical real life experience with no ER or Ride times?

Planning on it if I can. I heard some people did that last term and are doing very well. I signed up for extra ride times and such to get as much experience as I can. Im not kidding myself and saying it will be easy. However, If i CAN do it, I will

This is definitely what I want to do Though I do think its smart to wait till next term for Paramedic school to buy a better stetho. Good advice, thank you. P.s. My first ride time is next Wed. the 13th. I will be riding with the Hollywood FR05. I cant wait. I was told to make a good impression and would like to of course. That being said I think it would be a wicked awesome gesture to get bagels for the station so the guys just getting on or off shift have some kinda breakfast.

Its been 2 weeks since school started and things are moving quickly. Today I did my first hospital rotation. Boy was writting that report difficult. So much lingo and information had to be put in such a small space. So many acronyms! Its not overwhelming, its just alot to take in so quickly. Im going to work on my report writting tommarow till I get it down pat. Other then the report writting I had a blast. I was there 10 hours and to me it felt like 2-3. Theres just so much going on and so many things that need my absolute focus! I love it. I might be dazzled by all the sparkley lights atm, I dont know, but I can say I love what I saw today. Thats the first step I got one of those Stethos from our Bookstore.. Boy its a piece of... sigh. All day I was trying to take vitals and all I kept getting was feedback from the 2 tubes rubbing against each other. I heard that littman was the way to go but the cheapest one was 50 bucks and I just spent 300+ out of pocket on my EMT gear. Might be a few weeks till I can save up to get a different stetho. Im gonna try to learn how to use the one I have as best I can atm. Anyone got pointers? I think im aceing the lecture part of class. Ive been studying like a mad man, highlighting, stickying, making flash cards, the works. This is all so exciting. - ian