WANTYNU

This explains a great deal, Thank you Bryan. I am very sorry to hear this news. His thoughtful posts and, tenacious comments will be missed. My sincerest condolences to his family. Joshua

Well stated, more importantly a LICENSE would send an unspoken message of professionalism (to both the industry as well as the public). I know (before some pounce on this statement) that there are may "professions" that are licensed, but that is just a method for control and finance, whereas a Professional EMERGENCY MEDICAL license has educational implications that in some cases can cross state lines. This is critical in the establishment of a national standard. In my opinion a license is a very necessary first step. `WANTYNU

Our USAR gear is actually pretty good, but it’s this awful custard yellow and as you may know a few in this profession have physiques that trend to the lipid enriched side, so once dressed out they start looking liked plump ripe bananas with helmets… -w

Richard, I know we're up to Avg 3000 ALS & BLS calls per day (most days the MDT has job #'s in the 3500's by 23:30, time I sign off). Whatever the number it always feels like we're short a bus or two. FDNY has added some units but some hospitals have shut down as well, so your total might not be far off. AMR and Transcare (Metro is gone) runs 911, private and Intrafacility, I think Senior Care and another few do only private and step down. Most of the voluntary hospital EMS (volunteered by the hospital to assist the City with 911 responses ("FDNY 911 Participating Ambulance" i.e. Paid EMS not Mutual Aid System) do purely 911 calls , some of the larger institutions do general, Intrafacility and Critical Care transport as well. -w

Come on, We all know the REAL reason they stay away from “True to life” costume / casting is our USAR gear makes us look fat… -w

At the same time you need to start thinking outside the box, yes other professions have been depicted in an unkind or unfair light as well, there is no doubt about that, however when they have protested it just may not have caught your eye. Not all computer technicians wear short sleeved shirts, clip on ties, ill fitting black pants with white socks (some wear logo’d polo shirts…) and even lawyers have complained about their inaccurate caricatures, not all bankers are crooks (last one probably hard to prove). The point being, yes TV is just TV, but this show has obviously touched a sensitive spot in most first responders for the very reason that WE ARE ALREADY so widely misunderstood by the public. Is that exclusively our fault, I think salient arguments could be made for both positions, however shows like this certainly don’t help the fight to correct these misperceptions. I do believe a difference can be found on the positive side and not the negative, in that most of the other groups portrayed on TV have some type of PR spokesmen (women) who puts out in the public view a positive spin of the profession which acts somewhat to counter negative stories or images. Unfortunately I can’t think of any such group that has run a successful campaign for EMS. Always IMHO Be Safe, WANTYNU

Point taken. -w

No it's not just a TV show, it's a view to the public about a profession not well reported nor understood. Perception is EVERYTHING -w

Folks I think we're all missing the message here, it's not about drinking on the job, or in the rig, or having sex in a place that is sometimes dirtier than a public restroom, it's at last WE ARE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!!! YES, we can live normal lives, we can take the rig out of service, have a drink, unwind and laugh with our coworkers on a bluff overlooking a beautiful sunset that is all our own, because at the end of the day people no longer get sick or have accidents. Working 9 to 5 it's a way to make a living… I can't believe I was soooo blind! This is GREAT!!!! Opps, is my sarcasm showing? -w

What she said. And Dust took the words right out of my mouth (again), the public has no perception of who or what we are and what we do (nor the crap we wade through to do it). To some of the public we're "Ambulance Drivers" (or a hospital taxi) to others were traveling doctors because we wear a stethoscope. And to most (in the city anyway) we're a traffic nuisance that drive too fast (or to slow) and belch diesel. What is real life? Real life is the two EMT's that called in the MCI that made national news (the fire where the civilian called by the media a hero, because he carried a child down a fire escape) were suspended because some higher up watching the news that night saw something he didn't like when the techs were moving the (OK and conscious) kid on their stretcher to the medics who transported the kid to the hospital. Put that on TV and nobody would believe it, land a helicopter on a regular roof and everyone thinks it's real. Real life always beats fiction, again no reason it can't be done if the show "Paramedic's" violated HIPPA laws, then do stories BASED on real situations. We do not need more nonsense that distorts the reality of who we are and what we do. Quality acting and stories are good entertainment regardless of the subject. As always IMHO Be Safe WANTYNU

Why do you think this? Look I do understand the idea of "Acting", but there was a time when actors studied their subjects, and made an effort to portray them accurately, and the writers tried to make a believable story line. I've seen Medic's treat EMT's that way (and they got a reputation for such) but fellow medics, they'd have nitro paste in their boots before their next shift… (btw CPR shows up on a monitor… the wave form does not stay flat until there's a heart beat….) A friend of mine defends this by saying they need action so they combine a year's worth of jobs into a day, but is it too much to ask for the SCENT of authenticity? "COPS" has a decent viewer base and that's just a bunch of shields busting petty felons (and it's a "REALITY" show). Like any show if our day ran like this program, we'd be on an Ativan drip by the end of the day, and speaking of which I know "Rabbit" would be in custody if he pulled a stunt like that in NYC, let our actors practice within the law. For the folks who say you need drama, you can have that without a plane crash or a truck blowing up every 15 seconds, what about dialog? Look at ER, you have a trauma, disease, kindly homeless person with nowhere to go, and some staff issue (child care, boss issues, love found or lost, etc) and ran that formula for years to many awards. I think this show sucks and possibly worse does damage because it distorts reality so greatly it gives the public false expectations. Maybe my standards are too high for today's TV shows. Go ahead tell me I'm wrong. As always IMHO Be safe WANTYNU

Can't load the picture, but with a bunch of other experienced folks recognizing it as 60 cycle, it most likely is. But there is another reason I've seen. Was the monitor left out in the sun or in a hot bus? Remember it's a thermal printer, if it got hot, it could print thicker lines. Just another R/O -w