Just Plain Ruff

I've been a supervisor before and had to administer the drug tests post accidents. I've been asked several times to let them go in by themselves to pee. I never let them. When you take on the responsiblity of drug testing and carrying out the tests then you effectively cannot have any friends because you are now the bad guy. Many people will ask special favors for the testing and you cannot selectively choose who you give those favors to. If you are not able to do the job and do it right in an impartial way then you should not be doing that job. I was told many times that they liked me better before I became the supervisor as I did things by the book. I feel that I was fair and balanced(to take a quote from somewhere) and treated everyone the same. But you took on this job so you have to do it with impartiality. But to answer your question I would not have tipped him off.

I was a volunteer for the disaster Action team for a while. I got my medics license and tried to move into the phlebotomy area of their services and they sort of said, Oh a medic, you can't work here drawing blood. So I said why and they said that Medics were in essence not good enough. I tried to argue that fact and also point out the fact that the ER I was working in we were the blood drawers for the entire small 56 bed hospital on the night shift unless we were running a call. They still wouldn't budge so I said the hell with them and left their services all together.

On the heals of the would you keep the money or turn it in. Here's a different scenario you are dispatched to a local nursing home and while you are putting the patient on the cot you knock over a small glass bauble onto the floor, it breaks into several pieces. Do you tell someone or not? to throw a wrench into the matter - the patient has significant dementia and you have transported her many many times before. She sees that you knocked over the bauble. She may or may not tell. What would you do then?

ok we can all take the high road and turn the money in. Heck I've had one patient that fit this criteria - 8400 from one pocket and 11k in the other, he was an MVA patient and unconscious. After I found that money I immediately radioed the dispatch and had the highway patrol meet me at the ER. I turned the money over. It turned out this was this guys life savings that he withdrew to pay off some bills and debts he owed. But then again, If I thought about it and reflected on it - I might have taken the money or a little bit of it. But I would have had to listen to that little voice in the back of my head. No thanks

I know of an EENT doctor who surgically removed 3 ammonia inhalants from a patients sinus cavities. The medic involved was also what is known in Legalize lingo "Defendant".

I posted a reply too I was hoping to see something from Dust or the others but only a few have posted.

Let me chime in on this. My first job was hospital based EMS. We had at least two nurses and two paramedics working in the ER and when an EMS Call came out both paramedics went out on the call. We many many times had more staffing than that but at night that was pretty much the extent of it. When calls were not coming in we were expected to take care of patient from start to finish. That meant exam's, evaluations and treatments. We worked as medics under the RN then the Physicians licence but we were autonomous members of the ER staff. There was only one thing in the ER that I could not do - spike a bag of blood and since 1999 we have been able to do that. We all did the scut work, taking specimans to lab, changing foleys, changing linens and such. It's part of the job and you just do it. I would put my skills up against the skills of any RN out there. Not to say I'm better than every RN out there ok. RN's are taught a different assessment process than I was so I understood that. Our relationship's between the medics and RN were collaborative and not offsetting. We all knew that we could learn from each other and that is what made the teamwork facet of the hospital Based EMS so incredibly good in my opinion When the ER supervisor hires anyone she asks them if they have a problem working with medics if they are RN's and vice versa if they are a medic and if that person says yes they do then they are just plainly not hired. Simple as that. I've worked in 3 different EMS hospital based systems and they must have been the exception to the rules as they were as good a working environment that I have ever worked in. So in short I'd say go for it. If you can get over (not saying you have this attitude) the attitude that you are not a scut worker and you are part of the team then you will be happy and like what you do. You can always just try it and see how it is.

Those seatbelt commercials were wonderful. Why can't we have them over here?

Darker text color would be nice. I got a neck and headache tryuing to read it. but other than that, Funny valid stuff.

Michael go out and rent willy wonka and the chocolate factory and see the oompah's in action or go here believe it or not I had a hard time finding a truly good picture of a oompah Loompah and I consider myself a google search expert. oh well go find it yourself or someone else might be able to find it.

Question on the glucometer==- Is this your personal glucometer or is it company issued? What is the quality control you go thru to make sure the readings are correct? I knwo that when I was working the ER we had to keep a running daily check morning and night with the calibration chips and document that. Do you have to do that in the Ambulance it's been a while since I've been in the ambo. if it is your personal glucometer do the ER's trust your equipment enough to take your reading or do you not tell them it's your personal item? Just curious.

Lucky, your doc should have addressed this a long long time ago. 7 years is way too long to have it just sit there. I'd be asking some serious questions to this doctor about why he let this go on for so long. Good luck and I am glad that you got the meds you need.

yes you will see this time and time again. Even in nursing homes and first responders also. Do not get hung on the fact that some people won't do cpr or wont' do it right. Just get in and do your job and let the chips fall as they may. There are better things to get upset about and to internalize about and this isn't one of them.

Quote: It seems that those that have been in the field for a few years have forgotten that they were once new themselves. Dust responded Quite the opposite. Those people remember exactly what it was like to be tossed into the field with no practical preparation, to sink or swim. I think it is almost as impressive of them to share their advice with him as it is for him to ask for it. I do indeed remember when I was brand new. My first 4 calls were as follows adult code, ped code, trauma activation and a TB patient who was active but we didn't find out till after the call. Needless to say I had to learn real fast. I do indeed remember what it was like ot be new. OJT is all I'll say bout that but if I had known or been told half of what I've read here I think that my first job would have been a little bit easier.

After discussion with AKFlightmedic we have determined a winner. Bassnmedic woo hoo yay yay way to go

I ordered the book today. It should be here sometime next week. I will then ship it out via UPS to the person who wins. I'm taking suggestions for a book or item for the 80000'th post. I will notify via pm and a nice post the person who hit 75000 articles. If you have any questions let me know. and remember - the opinion of this judge is final. I may recruit the help of another person on this board that I trust to help me verify which person won. thanks

I believe if you look at it 33 years as medic 10 as cop 3 as tach dude Well the 10 and 3 can be combined cause you have to be a cop to be a tach cop you can also be a cop and a medic at the same time. I'm looking at all those years in conjunction with one another not added together.

Learn to drive right and not the way they do it on turd watch, Rescue 911, and slaved IF YOU COME TO WORK IMPAIRED IN ANY WAY YOU WILL NOT WORK WITH ME THAT DAY. If you come up on a green light make sure you are ready to stop if it turns yellow. DO NOT in the middle of the night assume there are no other drivers on the road. There are and they will hit you. If you get in a wreck in the ambulance with me in it and it is your fault, I'm gonna be PISSED especially if I have to take a drug test because the company says I have to. Do not second guess me unless you are absolutely sure that you are right. DO NOT second guess me in front of the patient EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can make a informed suggestion but I am the one who signs the paperwork as attendant. Buy me a soda every once in a while, I will reciprocate twenty fold. If I say move fast I mean it - there is something I've seen or heard or know that you don't. If you say move fast I'll assume you know the same as above. Know your district, study your maps, study the protocols, study the ambulance study the studier. The more you know the more likely I'm going to trust your suggestions. NO CUSSING in front of me or the patient. I'll do the same for you. If you steal from a patient do not pass go, I will report you and you will be fired. I will also report you for stealing to the police. If you are on medication that may or may not hinder your performance as an emt DO NOT come to work. If you do come to work you need to tell me what meds you are taking. If those medications may in any way affect your work then stay home.

VEMS yes ask me to go to fido's house cause he's in cardiac arrest NOPE NOPE NOPE I didn't get in this buisness to take care of Fido I'll do it at a fire scene but good lord why do we insist on treating animals like humans(although some humans are animal clones), I know that they are man's best friend but come on. If you don't have any patients to take care of at a fire scene then sure I'll put oxygen on fido and do compressions but that's it. I'm not responding to their house. Plus I'm not comfortable with treating animals - I don't see this as a dual role paramedicine.

NO it's the apocolypse with nitroglycerin.

dumbing down the test - not a good idea it's the same as the political corraptness out there where everybody wins and no body loses. In hide and seek there is no IT and in competetive sports everybody makes the team even the dumbass who can't catch a ball if it was put in his hands. We've gotten so in to political correctness that if you make a test that even a moron can pass you will have morons taking care of you. We've got to stop this. I'm worried that I'll be taken care of by the guys who required the retard version of the test .

I agree NSmedic Can we just drop this topic. It's been over done and undercooked.

You are right Fallout I didn't see that. But no one said table saw what about a chainsaw? Otherwise tell the patient to remove their own rings but do so at your own risk as this could start a missing ring claim if you took custody of the ring for safe keeping. Let the ER's worry about getting the rings off.

appendicitis then or ectopic Either way IV and transport Not much you can do in the ambulance for this patient - she needs intervention by a surgeon either way.

the last time I looked at one of our ring cutters it was rusted all the heck. I don't think it would even cut paper let alone a ring. Funny that no one mentioned a band saw or table saw to remove the rings