TylerHastings

I don't feel like the gloves excuse was a valid reason however the Paramedic was well within his right to refuse to assist seeing as he was "off-duty" he would not have been covered under any kind of malpractice insurance unless he maintained his own. With all due respect to you I would probably just drop it and say that you don't mention it to your service. You never stated if this medic even worked for your service so I am not sure what good if any that would do.

This gentleman right here is well on his way to having said associates degree, which many of us (including myself) figured would never happen for one reason or another including the fact that this guy was once a anti-being a medic kind of guy. I am proud to say taht this gentleman and a few others that have responded to this thread are now people I consider mentors as was stated don't shoot the messenger just do the time. Take it from me man, I was a snot nosed EMT thought I knew everything about everything, I was told the same thing get your degree don't go for the patch. Well I didn't listen to these folks the first time and I left my first paramedic program because of the fast paced and the feeling that I was not learning everything I needed to know to be a true provider. Another thing that you will find with most mills is the fact that they teach you the NREMT test they don't teach you the why's and wherefores of what your doing. To address your comments about GED's...I am not a high school graduate most of you on this forum have never heard this before, I did however receive my GED and I left high school part way through my senior year. Does that effect you in a job hunt yes, however I have found it effects you more when you are looking for those unskilled jobs at McDonalds or Pizza Hut than it does when you are looking for a job at AMR or SDMSE or Balboa...I think you said North County. Anyway don't handicap yourself by just being another number to these companies when you go applying be someone who stands out for having the fortitude to stick out the two years for an AS degree.

I think the guy who predicted the end of the world will be wrong again it may just end tomorrow because I actually agree with Flaming and I can kind of understand the logic behind that last post. And I never thought I would do this based on other posts but Kudo's

With all due respect gramps I did not say I felt it was not useful I stated that it was not neccessary granted I based my opinion off the backwards state of CA where I live but still....I took and I feel like I was a better provider because of it. To the OP I do feel like it would be beneficial to you to take said course. I firmly agree that there should be a stricter requirement for paramedics. As you will see in some of my other posts on the education horse I am now a firm believer in the degree program thanks to the likes of Dwayne Dustdevil AKFlightmedic, LoneStar and Mike. However @Flaming....funny we seem to have locked horns on this topic as well. Anyway one must be very pragmatic about what the education requirements are around the US seeing as I am enrolled in my local community college to get all of my pre reqs however I must transfer somewhere out side of my local area to a place like LA riverside or San Diego in order to get my degree and complete my training.

Ok Flaming for starters there were TWO of us who stated that we would initiate physical violence against those people. And if it came down to it I can think of no better person to have against my back when it came time to start dishing out blows. Dwayne is probably one of the most intelligent people I know on this site. Knowing him through his posts and our conversations he would probably want to react physically but he would find a way to get out of the situation using that intellect. I have learned from much from him including great restraint I can only hope that if the chips were down I could exercise the same restraint. Also to Flaming...I feel like your advice is poor not so much in this thread, but in other threads simply because it does not promote the betterment of EMS. In this thread I can neither agree nor disagree with your opinions simply because I have yet to see you set out a truly logical argument. EDIT: If only Dwayne could have taught me how to spell better...

While I do not feel that an A&P course is necessary I feel like I would have and most other providers would have benefited from having one under the belt before beginning the EMT course. I don't feel like there is ever anything wrong with taking more courses than required. If it were me I would take it.

To the OP listen to this man, he knows what he is talking about. I started my career as a EMT and then as I was starting to think about moving on to become a paramedic I ignored his advice and I attempted a "medic mill" I was doing fairly well until I failed a test and realized that the reason I failed said test is that I was having to study for the next two chapters before I had even finished the first. Medic mills move overly fast and give you the bare basics of information to be a "provider" I feel like I was headed towards being a "cookbook medic". I am now enrolled in a community college and am double majoring in para-medicine and technical theatre. I owe a lot of my career and my knowledge to the likes of Dustdevil Dwayne and Lonestar. I am glad that I have spent the time on this forum and have learned not only from my mistakes but from the mistakes of others.

Dwayne its funny that you bring this up. I have seen with my own two eyes a gay couple completely wipe the floor with another gay couple because they were doing this exact suck and grope in front of the their adopted children as well as the children of numerous others at this dinner. No one realized what going on but the two couples walked out after being told to take the argument outside. They did and this location had some french style doors (I guess thats what you would call them) that we could see through and both members of the offended couple just hay maker(ed?) the two offending parties. Now to the OP does that show some sort of bias or does this just show that some members of the Gay community are just rude crude and inappropriate? After having witnessed this I asked the couple would this have been the same result if I had done the same thing with my Girlfriend, they stated "No, we would have only clobbered you, we don't hit women." I can respect that but are you going to try to tell me that the gay couple had a gender discrimination problem? While the situation you point out is similar amigo, I ask you is that not considered socially acceptable to most individuals in your area? Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean that you can force your beliefs on these individuals. Now as far as my thoughts on Gay work partners, I have no problem working gay guys/gals. In fact I work with a gay guy right now and he is a blast because he tries so hard from time to time to sound straight. My theory is that if your gay your choice, don't force it on me. A few summers ago I worked on a production at a small theatre in Hollywood that was put on by a FLAMING GAY however I had no problem with it because we respected each other and each other beliefs. I feel that is probably the biggest problem with the world today is a lack of respect for beliefs. You state that you are writing a column for JEMS about discrimination against gays. I am sorry but by your own admission in the post above this article is going to be guilty of what is called reverse discrimination when you state that you want replies from older gay men. Well then that leaves out lesbian women, straight women and straight men. I am sorry but your asking for a non representative sample and I don't care who you are or where your from but that would invalidate any data you might accrue were this to be a scientific study. You are taking a small minority sample out of a large number of subjects.

Hey AK, I agree with what your saying and I am not saying I am against the burial at sea but as Ruff has pointed out "our government has in the past ben less than truthful".

BREAKING NEWS: A US official says Osama bin Laden's body has been buried at sea (AP) what more can I say....it sounds fishy....no pun intended...

I heard that to Ruff and I also agree that some big attacks will happen in the next couple of weeks.

To the original poster: It seems as though you’re trying to foist your personal views on everyone in this thread. While you personally do not feel that pornography is suitable for viewing in the public library, apparently those who set the rules in said library do not agree. While I do agree that pornography should not be accessible on computers owned by a governmental agency, I don’t feel that we should be limiting computer access by the general public (such as at the public library). Just because an individual CAN access ‘adult images’ on the computers at the public library, most will not access them there, simply because of their personal views. Now addressing your link to the story about the fire chief: The only opinion I can offer has already been offered; you’re comparing apples to oranges. What he was doing is considered harassment, pure and simple. I offer this fact based on the legal definition of harassment which is stated above by Lone Star. Now, I call into play a little personal experience. My father was a Judge, who had a case regarding what one party felt was pornography because a man was taking pictures of a woman sunbathing in her own back yard. The woman, who was the subject of the pictures, attempted to sue the man for civil damages. The suit was dismissed due to the photographer’s attorney discovering that no legal definition had hereto been set forth, and there was no case law covering such a suit. Now, to let you know about these photos… The woman was topless, laying face down on a chaise lounge. The only thing visible was her bare back and her covered behind. While the Court of Public Opinion may have a different view that what the U.S. Supreme Court has, since it’s an unsanctioned court; as Lone Star said, it’s opinions are irrelevant and calling attention to them is a moot point.

At least it's not ME getting the 'Gibbs slap to the back of the head' for once!

I saw this floating around the internet earlier...but to the OP I don't see anything in that article that says they thought it was ok. Would you please site your evidence for that belief?

There seems to be a growing trend here of Thats why I took the class...

BAD JOKE WARNING Welcome to the city Biebers Baby