buckeyedoc

You said it, brother. What a wonderful (notice the sarcasm) justice system we have.

The dept. is recently affiliated with the IAFF and they are working a resolution into the agreement. I don't believe it is illegal, but it is wrong. I know of a couple of departments that pay for "on call" status when the crews are sleeping. It's like $2.00 an hour or something like that. The hours also don't count towards overtime. I know of a guy who went home (in the district) while he was on the "on call" status to get some additional uniforms and was fired for walking off the job. Oh, did I mention that the volunteers of the department were paid "on call" status while they were scheduled for their volunteer shifts. They were able to respond from their house for runs. That was the guys defense for going home to get uniforms. The reason for firing him was that he was not on the volunteer roster and therefore wasn't able to leave the station for personal errands while on duty. That is a bunch of crap. :protest: :protest::protest::protest:[/font:67c12a29af]

We had a psych transfer the other night of a 19 year old who was drunk and said that she wanted to kill herself. Well, her parents took her seriously and called the PD. We picked her up at one hospital's ER and took her to another. When we get there, the nurse asks if we had a female crew available. Well, we didn't and we had to transport her. Personally, I do not feel comfortable transporting a female psych patient of any age. All they have to do is make one comment about inappropriate behavior and you're screwed. Whether or not it is true. Fortunately, on this run, I was able to find a female ER tech I know and the nursing manager agreed to let her ride with us in the back as a witness. As a rule, when I transport female patients (psych or not), ALL of the lights in the medic are on as bright as they go. Actually, there was a question in all of this. What do your departments/services do to prevent such incidents? I know of one service who has 2 cameras in all of their medics. One above the jump seat looking rearward and the other above the back doors looking forward. They are digitally recorded and the box is locked up in a compartment and the only ones with the keys are the chief officers. All of the DVD's are locked up in the chief's office. In case you're wondering, they have cleared all of this with their attorneys and there hasn't been any HIPAA violations.

We don't have built in sleep time. We get paid the full rate for 24 hours. There are shifts where we run the entire shift. Then again, last Saturday, we had 4 runs and got 9 hours of sleep. It's hit and miss. There is a dept in the area that you only get paid for 16 hours out of 24, unless you're on a run. I don't necessarily agree with that, but that's just my opinion. kristina, Please permit me to make an observation. Please space out your posts after the period. It looks like a big run on sentence.

I know when I started as a medic in the ER, the whole lab values thing was new to me (as being a new medic). Fortunately, my girlfriend (now my wife) was an RN/CEN and helped me understand the lab values. We get "bad labs" calls from nursing homes all the time. Most of the medics turn up their nose and bitch about the run. I approach it from a different angle. If I see someone with a BNP of 633, I know that we're dealing with CHF. If I see a pt. with a K+ of 7.4, then I know I better get a monitor/12-lead on this patient. That is what working in the ER has taught me...among other things. I have learned to get as many CE courses I can. Not only do I get updated information, I'm not scrambling around re-cert time for CEU's.

This is what my wife and I have: This is what we use on our medics: (PIECE OF CRAP) We use Nextel for our personal and business. We are so fed up with Nextel. We thought when they merged with Sprint, the service would have been better, but it still sucks.

I'm on 24/72's as well. I love them. I work 91 days a year and still have time for my other 3 jobs (PRN schedule). My wife is on weekend work at the ER and she only works 96 days a year. I have overtime built into 7 out of 8 pay periods without picking up any additional shifts. On my light week, I pick up a 12 hour shift and 9 of that is overtime. Most shifts we have a fair amount of down time, but there are those shifts that we run our butts off. That's just the nature of the beast.

We are lucky at my station that we don't have to put up with new partners every shift. Our station manager has recruited (for the most part) good people. My last partner had to be the laziest piece of crap I've ever met. When I started out in EMS, it was the driver's job (basic, medic or whatever) to get the bus back in order after the run. Being the medic on the shift, I do about 95% of the EMS runs. I would get the bus back in order, re-linen the cot and even take the drug bag to the pharmacy for exchange. Don't get me wrong, I don't care to do it, but I've put my time in as the gopher. As soon as the run was over, she would run out to smoke and talk on the phone. I don't know how many times her battery died from talking on it so much. All she did was bitch and moan about having to do anything. Well, I ran her off my shift FINALLY. My partner now is a little better, but a bit immature. I'll work on him though.

Dust, you forgot something.... ...they get to put more initials after their name.

I wasn't the patient, but it was my partner (back in 1998). He were told that we had to get our PPD shots at the local ER. My partner and I went in after we took a patient there. My partner is 6'4". We decide to just stand up while we get our shots. My partner is gets his shot, looks at me and his eyes roll in the back of his head. Initially, I thought he was just kidding, but when he passed out, I knew he wasn't. He fell straight back, hitting his head on the floor splitting his cocanut requiring 14 stitches. His head bounced up and hit the little basket that sits underneath the ER gurney and split his nose open. Every nurse and doctor in the ER came running with a backboard, c-collar and CID's. I spent 4 hours in the ER waiting for him. It was funny. The real crappy part is, when he got his itemized bill, they charged him $71 for a philly c-collar. We offered to pull one off our squad and give it back to the ER.

Seen it once while working in the ER. Sure threw me for a loop. We also had a lady come in saying that she is allergic to insulin and having a reaction. Funny thing was, she had never taken any. She was CCFCCP.

I am totally against trauma surgeons having L&S on their vehicles. I work in a level II trauma center and have the surgeons on call. All of them live within 20 minutes of the hospital. The squads in our area are pretty good about calling a trauma alert. If a trauma happens to just show up on our doorstep (and it does happen), then the ER docs are good enough to stabilize the patient until the surgeon arrives. On a lighter note, we had a trauma surgeon who bragged about how much his suits and shoes cost (more in a joking manner). Well, we had a GSW that required a chest tube. Just so happened that Dr. K (that's what I'll call him) was in the ER dropping something off. Well, you guessed it, blood all over his $1500 Italian suit's pants and $300 leather shoes. Dr. K is a real good guy and really doesn't have the god complex (as hard as it is to believe). "Dr. C" drives a 2006 Lexus SC. I would love to see what he would do with lights and sirens. That son-of-a-gun would light up like a Christmas tree.

I've had a similar experience w/ silent MI. Had a 58 yo female diabetic w/ no cardiac hx. C/O tooth pain, but had a dental procedure 4 days prior, so I chalked the pain up to that. We had the LP12 w/out 12-lead capabilities. Heart rate around 110, B/P was up, but not off the charts. I had just called the ER and was about 10 min. out and she coded. UGH. Was able to get her intubated, defib'd and 1st round of ACLS meds before we got to the ER. I was kicking my self in the butt about not picking up on it earlier. The ER doc said that nothing really should have tipped me off. I still felt inept, though. That's the only one....and I hope the last.

I watched a show on its use in the military. Glowing reviews from all who used it...including a cardiologist. I haven't personally seen it used in the field.

They have commercial ones out there. Here is a sample. [web:6653b961e3]http://www.tmsmedtec.com/Brochure/LIFEPAK%2012%20Mount%20Brochure,%20Rev%20E%20-%20rgb.pdf[/web:6653b961e3]

I am trying to find the LP12's wall mount. I've found one, but the cost is a bit high. If you know of a dealer, let me know. Oh, BTW, I did Google this and didn't get great results, so don't suggest it. Doc

Perhaps they received a grant for a new vehicle. Maybe they just want to upgrade their unit to something larger because they one they currently have is too small (ie Type II). Maybe they want to upgrade to a larger unit because staffing has picked up and a smaller unit just won't cut it anymore. Don't burst someone's bubble simply because you don't agree with them. EJD049, In my humble opinion, try to stick with a ambulance manufacturer that is close to you. That will help if you have any warranty issues. In my humble opinion, I like Wheeled Coach and Horton. I've been involved with the purchasing of ambulances before and those 2 have been good. Their product is good and so is their customer service. Wheeled Coach has what they call their Stock Series. My service has 5 of the Custom Series Type III's and we have not had any issues with them. That is just my opinion based on personal experiences, but find the unit and manufacturer that suits you. Doc

Wheeled Coach Taylor Made Horton Ambulances PL Custom Medtec Ambulances AEV Braun Ambulances Osage Ambulances LifeLine Ambulances To name a few.

There is a FD in a college town that requires all of their personnel to be medics within 1 year of date of hire (if not already a medic). They even pay for medic school. HOWEVER, the chief absolutely refuses to put an ALS protocol into effect. How stupid is that?

That about sums it up. Doc

Thanks for the video. I will most definitely use this. There is absolutely no reason that the person in charge should have allowed the building to be entered. I remember watching "To Hell and Back" about the fire officer who was conducting a training burn and got burned. The video goes on to show all treatments he has to go through. It was hard to watch, but worth it. If you've never seen it, I would advise you to. You may never be a firefighter, but it will serve as a reminder that things can go terribly wrong, very quickly. Doc

On the 17th of this month, my son, Zach, would be 10 years old. He lived 4 days and then died. My ex-wife and I had to make the decision to have the ventilator unplugged. There may have been a very slim chance he would have survived, but what would his long-term life be like? Medically, the outcome didn't look good. I didn't leave his bedside in the hope that he would wake up. I was the only one to see his eyes open. I, in a way, know what this family is feeling. I would give anything for Zach to be alive today and seeing him go into the 5th grade. Instead, every St. Patrick's Day, I visit the grave of my son. My kids (6 1/2 and 5) visit his grave with me on his birthday to take him a present. Everytime we pass a cemetary, they wave and yell out, "Happy Birthday, bubby Zach". Unless you've had to make the decision to see your child die right in front of your eyes, then you don't have any idea what this family is going through. I know that God is protecting Brett Shively, Jr. To the parents, this is not about medical right or wrong, but giving their child a fighting chance. :angel5: Zachariah Daniel Patrick Moore, 3/17/1996-3/20/1006 :angel5:

I've had the privilege of working with an medic who didn't have legs. One was amputated in a car wreck and the other was cut off a few days later at the hospital. He had 2 prosthetics and walked with canes. He obviously didn't do much outside of the medic, but when the pt. was in the back, just sit back and watch him work. He moved great in the back of the medic. The whole car accident was what got him involved in EMS. He always had a medical-type book in his hand. He was also a great teacher. The newspaper did an article on him. I'll try to dig it up and post it. This was back in the early-90's. He has since passed away from a massive stroke. Not to mention that he was one heck of a nice guy.

I'm sorry to admit that I have not taken the time to read all 7 pages of the replies. As you can see below in my signature, I have a B.A. My degree is in Theology. I have worked as an Associate Pastor for a church and worked with youth for 13 years. I am a firm believer that there is a time and place for everything. I am not about to quote scripture to a 13 year old girl in the back of my medic who is pregnant. That is not my place. I do, however, believe that she has sinned and will be judge accordingly, BUT NOT BY ME. God doesn't need my input. I do believe that God has given me the medical abilities that I have. I have had patients who have wanted to discuss the Bible and I was delighted too. I WILL NOT make the back of my medic a pulpit to preach to my patients. One patient comes right to mind. We had a lady, a hospice pt., who we took from the hospice hospital to her residence so she could die. She was absolutely the sweetest lady I've met. We got to the house and she wanted us to wait with her for a while. Our dispatch approved (surprisingly). You could just tell that she only had minutes left. She asked if I would do the last rites for her. I politely told her that I wasn't qualified to perform last rites and would gladly say a prayer with/for her. She smiled and said that she would appreciate that. Her husband was right there with us the entire time. My partner and I took her hands and I said about a couple of minute prayer with her. She died during the prayer. Although my partner and I really didn't know the lady all that well, we had only transported her a few times, we felt grief when she died. My partner and I attended her funeral (which I don't normally do, BTW), and her son came up to us and said that he really appreciated the few minutes we spent with his mom and dad. I believe that medicine can't exist without faith.

It's called "Safe Haven". It didn't happen at our FD, but it did happen at the ER that I work in. I wasn't working that night, but my wife was. The PD and child services are called. The baby is given a complete physical (obviously) and released to child services.