firedoc5

"When in doubt, fade back and punt."

Race with a train,,,you lose. http://www.wfiwradio.com/car1.jpg http://www.wfiwradio.com/people1.jpg (Couldn't get the actual pictures to come up. How do you do that?) 27-year-old Christopher Joas of Fairfield was killed instantly Friday afternoon when the car he was a passenger in was hit broadside by a westbound Norfolk Southern freight train. The driver, 20-year-old Nathan K. Knavel of Fairfield was injured and taken to Fairfield Memorial Hospital where he was treated and later airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. Police say Knavel's car was northbound on S.W. 6th Street shortly before noon when it was hit broadside by the train. Both men worked at the Wayne County Press.

Has anyone had a code at a funeral home? I'm not talking about someone on the slab, but say like during the wake or the service it's self a mourner goes down? I know several times some one may faint, but I'm talking going into full arrest.

Makes me think back to the good ol' days.

At least on the golf cart one's you can pop wheelies. :glasses7:

I think she should get some of the $$$ from the movie "Titanic". :evil3:

dkay72027, I applaud =D> the posts that you have written. Well thought out, not emotionally fed (that I can tell), and you really lay out how you feel. And I have appreciated those who perform the duties that you do, and be serious about it. There are many here that has had bad experiences, including myself, with First Responders and Volly EMT's who, I guess tries to dazzle with BS. But I've had excellent experiences also. If we had a call in a certain area we knew that when we got there things would have been handled well. And in some other area's we'd dread even getting within a mile of certain one's. So like in any profession, there's good and bad. That's when you get into the realm of a real "whacker". The best way I can explain a true whacker is someone who newly joins an organization, get a little orientation and training under his belt, and is given a patch. Then he goes out, buys an $800 light bar to put on his truck that is worth $500, get's all kinds of decal lettering put on made of reflecticite, and buys a scanner that can monitor 400 channels a minutes. These are the guys that give First Responders and Volunteer EMT's a bad name. There's other little things that some do which can be added onto here by others. (not meaning to hi-jack) I'm by no means saying they all do this, but the one's that do, drives us absolutely NUTS! Even though there are those out there that have little or nothing good to say to First Responders, you are still a part of the system. However, as EMS has advanced in the past ten or twelve years, the level of First Responders may eventually be phased out. In some areas it may have already happened. First Responders may be required to become EMT's. And there are more and more Volunteer Fire Depts. that are requiring all there personnel to become EMT's and ERT's. I am glad that we do have First Responders like you and I hope you can keep doing what you are doing. But there are changes coming.

Well said Wendy. :toothy7:

I thought I had posted on this.... Take it from a former member of a company of hard-core trauma junkies, sorry to say, yes. (I'm so ashamed). We we would get "antsy" after a while. I won't go into details. But I know not everybody is/was like that. Some prefer the transfer only type of calls and are quite satisfied. And that's alright.

Saw this on the news this morning. Same thing sort of happened to me one time. But I was so much shorter than him that he 'whiffed' and the cops came flying in.

I like that one. "Cocaine" - Eric Clapton

I think it's a shame and an outrage that this lady has to sell her things. Shouldn't White Star or whatever company now in business still be paying her? I'm not going to get going. All I know is that it's wrong.

I've always said that something had to be done, but....MAN!!! That's some drastic measure.

From what I've experienced is that normally the funeral procession will stop and pull over. But due to respect do not use your siren. It may be different in other areas.

Most of the time when we had a chopper come in, they would land but would let us approach while still shutting down with blades still turning. Those of us that had the additional Flight Safety Tech. course had large orange patches on our flight vests so the pilot and crew knew who could and could not approach. If someone did not have the patch the pilot would use the PA and stop them. We would off load what gear they needed. When ready to take the pt. to the helo pad, the pilot would have gone first and would already had things warmed up and in motion. Again, only those of us with the orange patches were allowed to approach and help load the patient. If for some reason it was only one nurse and she wanted an extra set of hands, one of us would go with them. As for using the term "hot" or "cold", I guess the way we did it was "warm". As for when we had a chopper come into the airport to fuel, and it was a true "hot" fueling, we had our airport Crash/ Fire/ Rescue on standby and at the ready.

Yes, there has been a rash of medical helo's going down recently. But remember, at times it seems like there's a rash of airline passenger jets going down at times also. But you have to look at the percentage of successful flights that had no problem. I know there's a big difference between commercial airlines and HEMS, but accidents do happen. There's always the risk, whether by HEMS or by ground. How many ground units have accidents that you don't hear about everyday? Very few I hope, but it happens. Kind of a side note. Back in the early and mid-80's, when I was first starting out, almost every HEMS flight had a Viet Nam vet piloting the chopper. They were considered the best due to their experience. Now they are getting older and retiring. Could it be that the pilots of today, even though well qualified and trained, are lacking that edge due to lack of experience?

Saw this on the news too this morning. Another air tragedy. God bless to all.

Loss of a dedicated member of the EMS world. Godspeed, Michael.

"Southern Cross" - CSN & Y

When you know you have to get up and do something after all. ADULT: Since we're doing George Carlin... "You can prick your finger, but don't finger your prick."

I think you must have missed understood what I was saying, Dust. I was talking about those who do become an EMT and get all that stuff and strut around but when asked to take an additional shift and won't do it or say they can't go on a call because they were in the middle of a bar-b-q or something. Comparing them to those who more than likely are scheduled 3/4 of the time on the roster sheet, will drop everything when they get a call, miss family things due to calls, you know those type of things that not only makes changes in the new EMT's life but their whole family. THAT'S what I was meaning by "life style". I guess I over stated "life style" due to my own personal experience. When I first got my paid EMT job, it was 24hrs. a day/ six days a week. You LIVED at the ambulance service. No shifts. Anything you did or went was in an ambulance or one of the service vehicles. Then on my one day off, I'd go to my folks, get my laundry done, and since my father was the coordinator for the volly serv. there, if they got a call and I felt like it, I'd go to. I know, my own fault. I tend to forget that very, very few had done that. Also, what I meant by life style was that if paid, or especially a volly, you had that pager and no matter what everyday task you are doing, when it goes off, that becomes priority in your life and you gotta go. Who knows, I probably still didn't get my point across like I meant to.

Like playing doctor??? Sorry, couldn't resist, Sputnik

In my EMT-A class there was one student that was, well let's just say he came up with some really "way out there" stories, that when asked, "Why did this certain patient go into full arrest?" His answer, "Because his heart stopped beating." And he was serious! About two years later I wound up working for the same private service he was working at. He hadn't changed a bit. When I was taking the EMT-I class, which he wasn't in because he couldn't pass the entrance exam, was trying to give me advice like tutoring because of his "experience" in the Navy. He was supposedly a Navy Hospital Corpsman in Viet Nam. (like, yea, right). He did finally get into an EMT-I class about two years later. Luckily, before he completed the class the company we worked for asked him to quit, which he did. Sorry, didn't mean to high jack if I did.

When this thread first appeared and I read just the first few pages of the "article" and I kinda, sorta, avoided it. I was going to leave it up to some of the big dogs like DD, Spenac, JP, 4cmk6, and others. I'd peek in every now and then. But for some reason today I'm just in a certain mood and thought that maybe it was time for this big dog to bark. What nerve some, if not all, those posters had. Granted, some of the more lengthy posts I sort of scanned over, but from what I picked up it just seems ridiculous. Sometimes I didn't know to laugh or cry, or both. The one thing I picked up was the comparison of hours between EMT classes and "beautician" classes. Yes, "beauty" classes seem to have more than expected. But I don't think it was discussed how much beauticians do have to learn. One of my best friends took a two year course for whatever the actual name of "beauty" class is actually called. I was amazed at what they had to learn. They had to study dermatology heavily, the science of hair itself, they had to pass a separate class and test for CDC (Center for Disease Control) in case of lice, dermatitis, and other possible contagious diseases. And the list goes on. They don't just learn how to cut here and snip there. And in some colleges they have to do a rotation, as a nursing student would do, with a Dermatologist. Has anyone taken that into consideration? But that is just justifying why there are so many hours for that profession. I'd say 90% of those posters had no idea what they were talking about. Some may know something about certain subjects in EMS, but you know what they say, " A little knowledge can be dangerous". Is it just me but did it seem that a few were just trying to "out do" others? Instead of trying to impress with their actual knowledge, but baffle them with their BS? It seems like they are taking just what class room hours that are mandatory and that you take a test and you are automatically an EMT, or even a Paramedic. I guess they forget about the clinical time, the ride time, study/preparation time, etc. I know I'm going to get slammed for saying this, but actually, even when you get your patch, you might be an EMT but you need the field time to truly become a seasoned EMT. And I don't think those whackers know that once you become an EMT-I or Paramedic, you have your provisional time before becoming certified. EMT's, no matter their level are life savers. Not because they put in their hours, have all kinds of patches, passed all kinds of classes and tests, but because they are determined enough to learn things to the best of their abilities. And for many, it's not a job or a volunteer dedication, but to those serious enough, it's a life style. Also, is it just me but did it seem that some had a "holier than thou" attitude? And it just burns me up when an EMT-A (nothing against career EMT-A's) think they can do just as good if not better job of patient care than a Paramedic and that becoming a Paramedic is a waste of time. I might be wrong, but that's how some of the attitude appeared to be at times. I'm jumping off my little soap box now. Let the bashing begin if lead to.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever documented or reported a pt. stable or unstable, hmmm. MINIMUM at least two sets of complete vitals. I personally liked to talk with the patient, if they were coherent, at all times. That way you can do two things, 1) Notice any change in LOC or other symptoms. 2) Your patient knows someone is right next to them at all times and will not leave them. If for some reason I was not able to I made sure my partner (one I could trust) did. In the field I can't see where it can be your call whether they are stable or unstable. You can say they "appear" either way, but it's not until a doc with all the goodies in the ER and Lab can actually make that call. (Am I going on too much? Sorry) BAM away if called for.