Just Plain Ruff

Crotchity I like you, you have spunk but continuously it seems like you are trying to force your viewpoint down our throats. You take an issue and hammer on it until the regular posters get exasperated and stop posting quickly rendering the post dead. There is a fine line in almost everything and to you it seems that your point of view is the correct one and whatever we say or state is wrong and you are right. I think that cell phone use when taking care of a patient or driving is inappropriate but between calls and when you are stationed either on the street corner or in the station that your time is your own. If all your duties are done then as long as you are prepared to respond to a call then there is nothing wrong with using cell phones. To me it just seems like you do not have an open mind no matter how much you try to show that you do. NO offense intended in this post just some observations. If we are going to ban cell phones because they disrupt work, then we need to ban smoking for all EMS workers, ban reading books that do not pertain to work, ban television and internet and email usage while working because it disrupts work.

I got your back Terri Can I bunk with someone? I"m on a strict budget and the lower the price for me the better.

I'll show you one person who has 1 2-3 minute conversation per shift. ME!!! I have my phone on me but I do not make calls on it except to call my wife and wish my son a good night. I may have one more when my wife goes to bed but that's it. So you have to agree with the previous poster. I don't think it's professional for anyone to be on a cell phone when working and DEFINATELY NEVER NEVER NEVER when with a patient. Use your cellphone while you are taking a patient and I'll remove it from your hand and throw it in a sharps box.

is anyone alarmed by this other than me? To not have protocols but merely guidelines this sounds like if you haven't been caught with your service's pants down you will be, it's only a matter of time. I know spenac will argue this but I'd be a little nervous about refusing to take someone to the hospital without a strict list of items that I have to complete. I'd also like to see the guideline. I'd also like to see what the patient signs. There are many patients I'd like to say - No I'm not taking you but until I get a list of items backed by the medical director to allow me to refuse transport I'm gonna shy away from this one.

count me in. I'll be there

when I workd in the ER my soon to be wife at the time came in with a migraine. I gave her 10 of nubain in her rear end and she ended up sleeping on my couch. We got married several months later. we were engaged at the time of her shot.

I would also more than likely not work her. I would contact med control to discuss this. I would begin to work her but that call to medical control will be with one hand and setting up the iv with the other.

maybe this one too http://www.downloads.nl/results/mp3/1/O+Come+Emmanuel

try http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=262235...ome%2C+Emmanuel If this site doesn't have it then no site will. http://www.airmp3.net/search/-o_come__o_co...anuel/mp3/Xama2 Let me know if one of these will work.

in my career I have had 5 patients who would have benefitted from a magnet. This particular night this guy would have. They take up 3inches by 3 inches in space so I can't imagine that space is an issue.

Does anyone out there carry magnets for defibrillators and pacemakers? I had a patient tonight that his implantable defib went off 5 times while I was treating him. NO precurser - sinus rhythm throughout. Does any out there carry the doughnut magnets on their trucks? If you do do you have protocols to use them? If you do have protocols is it possible for me to get a copy of your protocol.

sounds like someone's feelings were hurt and the attitude came out. Popularity should never play a role in hiring or appointing or voting for people for just such a important role as 2nd lt. but this is the world we live in and if the other person gets more votes than you then lick your wounds and get on with life. AS for your friend, as a 1st lt. you should know that you need to manage people and not get too chummy with them or you will not be an effective leader. I have been a supervisor before and to get too friendly with your subordinates is a recipe for disaster when it comes to discipline. I'm not saying you can't have friends in your service but those friends need to be aware that at work, they are simply subordinates and not friends. To overflow a friendship into the service is not a good idea. When someone comes to this forum with your attitude you have to prepare to get many negative responses. I'd wonder what the friend of the person you are slamming would have to say about you and your friend? It might be eye opening. As for dirty laundry, yes that is everywhere and NO you don't want it exposed or it might be taken negatively by the public and hence be a black mark for your service yet your friend came in here and began the airing of the dirty laundry and now you are here ragging and disparaging your service's most imporatant members. Before casting stones make sure your house is in order. Your first two posts defend your friend to a fault yet airs negative comments all the while. Your service sounds like it needs a good housekeeping and maybe with your zeal and your friends desire your service might be the better for it. but don't come here yelling at us, most of the more vocal members might not be as nice as I or Mobey are. Threats of kissing your ass are not warranted - as a matter of fact they are counterproductive to a adult conversation. I'd suggest toning down your rhetoric if you want anyone to discuss this with you as adults, if you still continue to spout kissing your ass, just go back to your playground and go away. If I get a response from you like "Kiss my ass" I will not respond just as Mobey said he won't . Having that type of statement said in a professional group just proves that you "may be" petty, angry and immature. This is a professional forum and statements of that sort get you blacklisted quickly around here, or at the very least get's you a reputation that nothing you say has any merit even though you may be the Bombtastically Exceptional Best fire fighter volunteer emt extraordinare out there. Keep the name calling and insults and petty threats at the playground and please be professional here.

that is excellent news Kat, good to see one of us getting some recognition

How about PEPP?? NRP is a good class to get. You never know when you will have a newborn that needs resuscitating. Having NRP is a good foundation IF if is taught by the right people. What I mean is that if the people teaching the class take care of less than 50 critical newborns a year then you are not going to be getting the advantages of experience. good knowledge though.

I work in a area where we have a two man crew and first responders. We are usually on scene before the first responders and they take over compressions. If I don't get a return of circulation in 20 minutes then that patient is just a keeper of a sheet cover. We rarely if ever (kids are different and arrests while transporting are exceptions) transport codes.

And one more thing, the service I work for runs two als trucks. We do not have a supervisor on duty at night EVER. Day shift does have a supervisor but it is the ED supervisor and they cannot leave. To require that a supervisor get out to make sure that we little boys and girls who are entrusted to a 100K piece of ambulance truck, a 15k lifepack and a 7K cot cannot judge accordingly who needs to go to the ER and who doesn't and get that supervisors signature then I must be living in the dark ages. To get someone out to my scene which may be 30 miles away is just a ludicrous thought. Factor in the snowstorm that we had overnight and the wrecks they worked and got refusals on, just puts everyone involved in danger and makes scene times much longer. How can you justify keeping a unit out of service until the supervisor get's there? You have a unit that is available technically (only waiting for a supervisor) and that unit is closest to a MI or a trauma and they have to send another ambulance to run the call will never never never stand up in court. don't make me get my script pad out again to demonstrate the absurdity of that thought process.

Dr. James Coleberd, my first mentor physician died yesterday while undergoin a double bypass. He was a founding member of the level 2 trauma center in Clinton MO (No longer level 2) and was one of the best physicians I've ever met or worked with. He was the medical director for the Emergency room and ambulance service for Clinton MO for many years. We sort of lost touch over the years but this news is very sad to those who worked with him over the years. Rest in peace Doc, rest in peace - You will be missed.

I don't understand this distrust of medics on scene. Having a supervisor come and verify that the patient isn't under any duress by the medic on scene for every refusal is just absurd. Here's the conversation I see happening "sorry sir but before we leave I have to have a supervisor respond to verify this refusal" patient "How long will that take?" medic "He's on the other side of the city, it will be about 20 minutes before he get's here" patient "but I want to go to bed" or anything else they will say medic "but I can't let you refuse until he verifies that your refusal hasn't been coerced by me" patient "WTF!!!!!!!! they don't trust you enough" or "holy crap you can't just let me sign it and let me go" medic "No sir, I'm sorry but you will have to wait" patient "Don't they trust you enough to have me sign off???" medic "no sir it's not that, it's a safeguard we have in place" patient "they just don't trust you do they? Are you new or stupid or something" medic "No sir, stupid is as stupid does but I don't like the policy any more than you seem to but rules are rules and we always have to follow the rules, and the rules state that you have to stay until the supervisor gets here" patient "F that, I'm out of here, Edith, get the car, this guy wants to kidnap me and he's gonna kill me, get me out of here" Medic "you can't go sir, you have to wait till the supervisor gets here" patient "That's a bunch of crap, I'm out of here" medic "Ok sir, have a nice night" See where this stupid policy and advocation will lead. Dramatized for your edification but to have a supervisor verify that you are getting refusal that isn't coerced is just the dumbest idea out there. If your medics cannot be trusted to do this then that medic doesn't need to be taking care of patients. No-one I know of (and I know many medics) have coerced a patient into signing a refusal. I say coerced because that's what is being implied by this entire topic. If any of us do coerce a patient in to not going to the hospital just to get back in service to get the next call then they should be fired - PERIOD It is not our place to force a refusal on anyone.

Thats gonna be a very very busy supervisor. Nice segway to your new topic Crotchity

by your logic I'll bite I had a patient in critical chf pulse ox of 64%. He was adamantly refusing to go the hospital. He was a&OX3, had all his faculties about him. He refused to go, the doctor was called and talked to him directly and he refused to go. we told him he would be dead in 20 minutes if he refused. He still refused. His family physician came to his house and he refused to go. in fact he told his doctor and all of us that he wanted to die and for us to get out of his house. We called in law enforcement they came and he threatened to have us arrested if we didn't leave. The cops said that since he was competent and knew all the pertinent questions that we had to leave. We parked a couple of blocks away and after 20 minutes we called his house and his daughter answered and said he still didn't want to go. We went back in service. 2 hours later we got called out to see him again and by the time we got there he had already passed away. So by your logic our refusal apparantly was negligent because this refusal contributed to his death. Should we report this incident to someone so they can keep track of this "Alarming" statistic????? Or were we just lazy?

but bashing the auto industry is fun, you notice I did not bash them. But unions in EMS are not well represented since there really aren't many. Listen I'm not adverse to unions and workers trying to get everything they can because it's the american way to get what you can come hell or high water. But I think that the whole deal sucks anyway.

NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not the job bank. Funny thing is if the laid off workers get a job bank then are they truly laid off? The question begs to be answered., Ever since I read about the job bank about 15 years ago I have had no sympathy for the workers since they are not suffering, they are getting paid not to work, paid to walk to picket lines and all that. Sorry but no sympathy from my side of the world.

strokes, MI's and the occasional wreck numerous scene flights based on our rural status of hospital. Ortho, MI, CVA and MVA most get flown. It also helps that we have a bird on a pad here at our hospital

that was pretty impressive. But Dust deserves Kudos for 10K

there are myriad reasons for this situation that the auto industry is in. consumers unions automakers government All share at least an equal amount of blame. consumers who demanded those gas guzzling vehicles with no regards to the cost of the vehicle and the cost of gas. At 4 bucks a gallon I didn't see many Big SUV's on the road. Unions - who strike at the drop of a hat, who drive up the wages and benefits to an insane amount of money. Automakers - pushing gas guzzling SUVs and Hummers and resisting the push for more fuel efficiency standards. And many many more reasons that are intangible but very real. Government - taxes, coporate welfare and all that stuff. Not sure how much blame to assign each party but in the end we are all at fault for the state of affairs we're in right now. don't even get me started on the banking bailout.