Kaisu

We were dispatched to an ER. The patient was in a monitored bed and had been seen by a physician. She didn't think her concerns were being addressed in a timely manner by the ER staff and used her cell phone to call 911. This was a level 2 trauma hospital in an urban area. A crew already at the hospital went to the charge nurse and ascertained that the call was bogus. The call was concluded with "cancelled on scene by higher level of care - no patient contact". I'm pretty sure they took her cell phone away.

Nothing is as difficult as a sick child. On the positive side, WPW is well known, documented, researched and the treatment is very successful. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Prolapsed uterus.. picture

I attended paramedic school at age 49, after a successful 23 year career in systems consulting and I too graduated at the top of my class. Guess what? I could not get a job. It had to do with the fact that I was not plugged into the young boy's network. I was too opinionated and was a threat to a lot of the status quo. I did ride time at a very good hospital based system and was devastated when I was not offered a job. I asked the director what I had done wrong. He told me that I would be difficult to integrate into the service because a lot of the existing medics resented the fact that I had options. (he meant, F**k you money.) I was doing it for love of the field. I moved out of state and took a job where the grueling call volumes, gnarly calls, and crappy pay made them welcome anyone with a cert crazy enough to work there. I made it work. The company has made major changes. We have great equipment, the best pay in this part of the country (more than fire) and high standards. I run CCT now, love the job and am delighted with how things worked out. Be flexible, keep looking and have faith. Your obvious intelligence and passion for the field will get you where you need to be.

Me too... my husband starting puking blood and I just about lost it. Never wanted to feel that helpless or useless again... and here I am .....

Once again the city has come through for me with a lot of excellent feedback, suggestions and advice. Change of scenery? - check. I have resigned from a new and struggling CCT program and going back to 911 full time. Get a good partner? - check. See above Get some education? - check. I have embarked on a degree program (part time) in an almost totally unrelated field; not because I plan on leaving EMS, which, God help me, I am cursed to love, but strictly for the love of learning. The dreaded EMS Gods? - check. Ran what looked like a BS suicide attempt which turned in 5 minutes into a real life threat. I was the ONLY one to maintain a high index of suspicion and had all the balls in play when they were needed. (did wonders for my self confidence). All of the above has turned me around and I owe it to you guys. The fact that I have reached mid-level provider in a short 3 years is due in large part to all you folks. You set me straight when I need it and I am so confident of your understanding and judgement that I feel no need to BS any of you. Thank you And as far as being smart for a chick, I am totally honored. I always wished my 38 triple D's were brains, but I will struggle with what I have in the upstairs.

his stump pain was secondary to a fall.. went to get into his wheelchair, it wasn't locked, "jammed" his stump

Crotchety Crotchety Crotchety

I now consider myself a mid-level provider. While only on the streets for 3 years, 2 1/2 of them were in a high-volume station where I got 2,500 calls under my belt. I have been running 911/CCT for the last 5 months. When I was new and enthusiastic, every chest pain was an MI, every shortness of breath was a PE or flash pulmonary edema. A seeker with great dramatic abilities was in excruciating pain. I was pretty harsh with my colleagues for what I perceived were some laissez-faire attitudes. The long hours and the disadvantaged demographic that I ran in have taken their toll. Although more seasoned and experienced now (usually drugs find their way into the patient as opposed to being squirted across the ambulance) I have caught myself twice on calls with an attitude of less than concern, where the patient was really sick. The first was an adult syncope with a systolic of 68. It wasn't until I saw that number that I felt any sense of urgency on the call. It was 3am, the guy was a complainer and he was a frequent flyer. I am ashamed of myself. The second was an amputee complaining of extreme pain to his stump. It wasn't until I saw the gentleman's full stash of narcotics (which he avoided because "I don't like how they make me feel") that I took him as something other than a seeker. Even though I know about Midlevel provider minimization of symptoms syndrome, the intellectual knowledge of it didn't prevent me being susceptible to it. I found a great article about it here: Minimize This site has always helped me. I am coming to you again for your assistance. Have you fallen into this trap yourselves? How have you dealt with it? Thank you in advance for you advice and feedback. I really appreciate it. edited to try and correct the link

I think the key to this is in the last line of the news report. I read it as meaning this is the tip of the iceberg. The guy has had problems in the past. I have found that if you have a good work ethic, are committed to your profession and your employer, and generally do not make a pain in the ass of yourself, a misstep will not get you fired. If on the other hand, you are in conflict with your organization, colleagues, on a regular basis, then when they finally get one good enough, you are fired. The official reason gives the firee a lot of opportunities to whine to his/her friends over beer.

I have a quick question for you. Why do you need a personal gear bag?

or apply for an EMT job in Arizona with a company that has operations in Vegas... That way you can transfer.

I have found that I can talk most patients into doing anything I want them to. It's a matter of time and patience, and trying to understand the real reason for the refusal. I also have to give a damn.

Where in Arizona? Are you working now?

my cigarettes and at least 1 lighter my scope... (narrow ear canals, special fittings.. really wanna hear) two pens cel phone HT everything else is in the rig or in a kit... and I know EXACTLY where it is

Gotta give that a point... salient, succinct and undeniably correct

sure why not? PM me...

goes to show - you can put auto tuner on a dog and get music. One of my dogs is half malamute.. they love to talk.

made me cry..

LOL... love you man... always have.. always will...

I personally have always enjoyed crotchity's posts. I admire the courage of his convictions that he consistently displays. I learn from the intelligence of his responses and the fact that he doesn't think or post like anyone else. People take umbrage on this forum pretty regularly. I like to think its because we are passionate about our profession. It's a good thing.

I do apologise Ruffems, for misinterpreting the statement. I should have known better. It's you.

Oh Ruffems... are you purposely trying to get a rise out of me? I run on a CCT car. What this means is that an EMT, a medic (me) and an RN take critical care transports when they come up. Nominally in 911 rotation from 2100 to 0900 (when a 12 hour car is staffed, relieving us of 911) staffing issues have us running 911 all the time except when we are on a CCT transfer. Often, we are a "bitch box" in that we are all females. Are you suggesting that we cannot assess a scene for safety as well as a man? Perhaps you are implying that at 6' and 185lbs of muscle with a decade of martial arts training that I cannot defend myself as well as a man? or.. perhaps your issue is that my hormonal self will lose my ability to think in a dangerous situation and will not be as able as a man to extricate myself and my team safely? Is the loss of three males in a bad error somehow less egregious than the loss of three little ladies? I do not want to derail the discussion. To the issue of RN's riding along, it is not a requirement of any kind here in my neck of the woods. The insight I can offer to this question: - of every 10 nurses that decide they want to work CCT (and because of the way we are setup, 911), 2 will be comfortable in this world and want to do it. The other 8 take one of the million other opportunities available to RNs and move on. - of these 2, 1 will develop a working team with their EMS partners, producing amazing patient care and some of the most satisfying 911 of my career so far. The other 1 will be in a constant conflict with the medic, with issues of who is higher level of care rearing ugly heads on each call. Note that these numbers are rough guesses and totally anecdotal. Please don't jump on me to produce the studies. I am pulling them out of my ass. I have learned so much from my RN partner. She has learned a lot from me. This has more to do with personality and character than anything else. Egos need to be set aside and people have to constantly remember that just because this is what they have always done, it doesn't mean it is the only way to do things. I run the occasional shift with the 2nd RN mentioned above. It is a nightmare. My tongue bleeds from biting it because I will not get into pissing matches in front of patients or other staff. I must constantly watch my back because I know she will throw me under a bus at the least provocation - and has. Again I digress..... I think it would be amazing if RNs run a shift or two on the ambulance. Unlike ruffems, tho, my fear is that when they do, it will be one of those shifts where we run 2 patient refusals, a move up for coverage, and spend the rest of the shift watching TV.

Crotchity has friends??? I call BS

Well well well.. fancy meeting you here. It feels like old times now. I am saddened to hear of your health problems and very sad to find out that you are no longer out there in the field. Life can be a real bitch.... not that there has ever been much thrown at you that you haven't thrown back in spades. I look forward to your comments and information. PM me if you are interested in the changes I have been through.. (running CCT now) Welcome home.