Christopher.Collins

Well... yea as Jake said you will get varried opinions as to when to become a paramedic. Here in Connecticut most if not paramedic classes require a minimum of 1-2 years active service as an EMT, some consider volunteer and others dont. Some require x ammount of calls within that year and others dont. We have college and hospital paramedic classes. One of the best (not an opinion) classes offered is actually college based through Capitol Community College in Hartford. They have tough standards and generally anyone who dosnt give it the best they have usually fails or drops out. The second best is a hospital based class put on by Yale (as in THE school of medicine) and St Rapheal, both in New Haven. They are a little more lineant but put on a good class. So before you jump right in you need to first check the requirements... you may not be able to go medic right away. Then get active. Even if you can take your medic immediately and get into a class find something be it FT, PT (preferably in a combination ALS/BLS service) or even volunteer... that way not only can you start seeing how things go but you can start networking with local peers. Find out what area medics reccomend, where did they go, how was their experience there? If your medics are hospital based intercept they may have a volunteer driver program (around here they do)... sign up, learn as much as you can from them when your not returning their vehicle.

Ive got nothing against making requirements for fire departments (that do not provide ambulance service) to have EMTs or MRTs... but the responsability of paramedics is far to great to "force" them to weild if they really want a job. Frankly Id like any firefighter whos assisting me to have at least some knowledge of what they are doing... but if Im the one bringing the ambulance, theres really no reason they should be outranking me.

This is the most recent of ongoing news from my hometown involving two cops I know. Frankly though I think alot of information is missing from these news reports. Im not denying that it happened but I have always known both officers to be if anything, too proffesional. Westbrook, CT like many other towns in the state have a part time police force (made up of constables) that is supervised by the state police. http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/news_ap_Westb...ed_200901220830 Constables Fired Over Drowning Response Last Edited: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 8:38 AM EST Created On: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 8:33 AM EST Westbrook (WTNH) - Westbrook's first selectman has fired two town constables accused of not acting quickly enough on the reported unusual behavior of an elderly woman who was found dead the next day. First Selectman Noel Bishop fired Constables Robert Powers and Rhea Milardo on Wednesday, a week after the Board of Selectmen agreed to impose disciplinary action. Sixty-eight-year-old Elsie White accidentally drowned at a local beach last June. The constables were placed on paid leave in October pending a state police investigation into whether they displayed a lack of urgency in responding the night before White's body was found, when the town's tax collector reported seeing a woman acting strangely. Powers declined to comment and Milardo could not be reached for comment.

You joke... but thats why our Level II trauma center was downgraded to a Level III. The surgeons and surgical staff didnt want to be on call at night.

Im ganna put all the pump operators stuff on the (opposite) front passengers side compartment... that way I can get my medical gear right out of my jump seat. Then Im ganna replace the ladders with backboards, scoops and other immobilization equipment, leave the extrication stuff cuz we kinda need that to do our jobs, SCBAs replaced with O2. Replace the tank and pump with a compartment for a stretcher and patient care.... Wait a minute... come to think of it this already exists! Yes count em up boys, this baby has 4 Federal Q sirens, 2 electronic sirens and 2 bells! These guys (with all respect) seem to have a thing with BIG trucks... I searched for MT Horeb on youtube.com and came across one of their engines. It looks like a wrecker for tractor trailers... you can see the very front of it to the right of the front shot of the ambulance. YES THIS IS A FIRST DUE AMBULANCE NOT A RESCUE.

irlemt I couldnt possibly agree more with your statement. Your no devils advocate, its just the unfortunate truth that there are many times we just shouldnt be on the road. Im sure that Richardb and some other fellow New Englanders can agree with me on that. This winter season has been the worst recorded in at least 3 years... not nessecarilly due to snow accumulation but tempuratures. They have been maintaining at or below freezing almost this entire season. Does this mean we should stay off the roads? Not nessecarilly, but the unpredictability of weather and road conditions are an ongoing danger we will always face. At least untill flying cars are affordable and mass produced. The first snow storm of the season was just about a week before Christmas. It was quite accuratley predicted too, and kudos to the weather people for that. I responded to a medical at a local state prison (it hadnt even started to snow) and between the time we left for the hospital and the time we left the hospital itself (maybe 20 minutes) there was already 2 inches on the roads and still falling heavy with close to white out conditions. Traffic was backed up almost a mile from one bottom of a hill stoplight onwards. We got our next call (a smoke investigation) on our way back to quarters and the road conditions were so bad that once on scene we cancled all responding fire apparatus, donned our SCBAs and investigated the scene ourselves. I remember a particular run when I worked for a transport service where we were called out for a vent transport in the middle of a blizzard. We covered (between base the requesting hospital and the receving hospital) 47 miles with a total of 88 miles ( including receving hospital to base) in weather I wouldnt send a snow plow in. Oh and yea the state DOT usually dosnt plow during heavy snow fall untill after the peak of the storm, generally the state just gets shut down and non-essential persons are pulled over and warned to go home. So I ask this... while a hospital is able to maintain a persons stability but they are unable to provide needed care is it worth risking life to transport them to a place that can give them what they need? The patients life is already in danger, but again on the flip side they are in a hospital and in stable (but critical) condition. Would it be negligent to deny them better and needed care because of weather? I dont think so... because then anyone who met critera for medevac in adverse weather would be in the same position. But how does that differ? In a hospital a patient can be maintained to the best of their abilities. But what if someone is sitting at home and have a sudden onset MI or CVA or any other potentially life threataning condition? What if outside that persons home and throughout the city theres a foot of snow falling mixed with freezing rain? Ehtically it would be political and career suicide to not respond... but to actually respond it may be real physical suicide.

Accident vs. Collision, Beauty Mark vs. Mole... gatta love euphamisms. Man I miss George Carlin sometimes.

This is where, in my personal and proffesional opinion good documentation comes into play. If I suspect the good doctor to be under the influence then he has no buisness giving me orders, regardless of if he is my med-control or not. Maybe its not my job to make a diagnosiss, but if he is obviously or even seemingly unfit to do his job or give orders then Im willing to take the fall for treating him as such. Med control is a phone or radio call away, its also a recorded line where even with poor doccumentation I have proof that I was given an order to administer or not administer a treatment. Quite frankly, in a room full of persons under the influence I would have the police moving or removing people from my immediate area anyways (safety you know). edit (added): In terms of reporting my finding him in this manner and not being my patient. It may not be my business to report him and I would respect that. But the moment he starts barking orders then he will be treated otherwise. That patient is my responsability as is any outside interferance on my scene. Regardless of if he is a doctor or just a plain joe junkie it will be documented that someone tried to give me orders on how to treat my patient. I would explain in detail that they identified themself as a doctor but, regardless of if he is telling the truth or not because of his current state of mind his orders were ignored.

I can see it now... we will sometime in the next 20 or 30 years be on an engine or pickup-utility like squad and funeral homes will be back in the ambulance business. Dont have to worry about to few ambulances... since death is garunteed there is plenty of herses out there, and as far as staffing... well there are lots of people who want to be firefighters, we can just make them "want" to be paramedics also.

I dont see why anyone was disciplined in this situation (based on what you have stated). The newbie doccumented their findings and the patients addmision to recreational drug use. The senior technician did not try to convince any fabrication of the story. The only thing I can see happening (again based on whats given) is that maybe the probie wrote drug use as a diagnosis rather than quoting the patient... but I dont see that being the case. Im not sure if it only covers harrasement claims and certain situations but the "Retaliation" act under EEOC may have protected them from disciplinary action. They did their jobs and while its unfortunate another member was doing what they were... its not the responding crews fault. ~~~~ Ive been faced with a somewhat simmillar situation myself. With an agency I worked with in the past; my partner and I were called to the local PD for a prisoner psych evaluation. As much as I hate this word, it was dispatched and we responded in a "routine" manner as we would for these calls. Quickly my partner and I identified the patient as a fellow co-worker. It was a bit difficult to restrain emotions but we did so and also realised that we have to be really carefull how we approach this situation... the patient knows their rights and our standard of care. With a sudden onset of chest pain we requested ALS assistance but more specifically we called for a supervisor as so if any accusations of negligence were made there would be someone of power overseeing the opposite. After the transport I spent quite a bit of time on that PCR..., I spent alot of time on that PCR and had my partner and Supe/Medic review it.

Im in agreeance. We have no facts on what really happened and what crotchity said could be just as likley a scenario. Ive driven a large rig like this regularly which was equiped with a jake brake... with experience and time I have learned there are both good and bad times to have it turned on. Using something like that when its not reccomended is still driver error but IMHO is not nessecarilly negligence. I could also venture a guess that maybe cruise control could have been a factor... I highly doubt they were using it but you never know. Its another mechanical "convinence" for lazy drivers that if not used properly can be just as much a danger. I personally never use it while driving an ambulance (especially while transporting) as that sudden jolt of it kicking off can be a bit frightening. On top of that I think that cruise control just takes some of your concentration away. Cruise control like the jake brake its not reccomended for use on wet or icy roads. Regardless, without being in that ambulance we have no idead as to what really happened. Of course when push comes to shove, the driver would likley be thrown under the bus (no pun intended) come the investigation. And frankly I cant think of many non-driver errors that could have caused this. If the roads were dry them maybe it wouldnt have happend. It all comes down to situational awareness. As far as firing? I dont think it is entirley nessecary in this siuation per say. At least based on what Ive seen. And that being said I am a huge SAFETY NAZI when it comes to stupid cr@p. Just remember that no one is perfect, even a seasoned driver with a perfect record could have gone through this. That dosnt mean that they were not at fault nor does it mean they were. I recall an instance when my uncle worked operations for a small commuter airport, along with ARFF he plowed and did maintainence. Even someone as responsible as him, not even screwing around or driving fast (I know you guys dont know him) spun a plow and damn near flipped it. Point is sometimes (no matter how unexcusable they are) things can happen beyond our control. If that same situation in the video happened in clear dry conditions then I would probably be less linient and most likley terminate.

Ive read in recent articles that more and more the Federal Governemt will take people with BS and Masters degrees over anything. Of course they would have to be something of relivance like computers and networking, foreign languages, psychology and such. But keep in mind this also... if your looking for a federal job and you think that a crimminal justice degree will be enough, chances are it wont. They want more education today.

What better way to party than with fellow EMS'ers. I distinctly remember a 21st birthday part and a bachelor party where the involved persons were sitting outside the bars with IVs rehydrating them.

I am so telling my wife with a serious face that I want to name my child Moonunit, and Ill insist on it long enough for her to finally believe it.

Think she might be related to the guys that sold that big foot corpse? Maybe she is a virgin, but maybe shes really selling her virgin dog or something. Kinda like the donkey show in Clerks II; Kinky Kelly and the Sexy Stud. Kelly turned out to be a guys name directed to the male donkey, and the sexy stud was the guy.

Well, Ive been looking into the Red Cross. Starting at the lower end of the totem pole as a driver/technician Id be making $16.03 an hour full time, plenty of overtime and shift differential, union and bennefits. Id be driving the cargo trucks and setting up for the drives, handling, labeling and stocking donor blood and sometimes cheufering the BSNTs and nurses around too. That same department is in charge of the BSNTs (phlebotomists) and nurses. If I choose to go for my BSNT its in house free training and then I can start out at almost $17 an hour with the same bennefits. They said at my interview nursing school (and some financial assistance) may be a possibility but having the time for it would be the tricky part.

Found this on a local (state) fire-ems forum.

COPS, Paramedics, Trauma: Life in the ER Hello, my name is Chris and I am a whacker. Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, Miamii Ink, L.A Ink The only "reality" show I ever really liked was the old school Real World on MTV. It was real people living together, got to leave the house, get jobs etc. I dont define reality soley as "unscripted" and really happening.

Im not sure what system our dispatch uses but whatever they determine its either, "respond hot" or, "respond cold." They are usually pretty well about determining priority level also. Aside from here and the private service I once worked for they are the only two agencies Ive been with that tell us how to respond. All other agencies just dispatch the call and typically (unless told otherwise i;e "with the flow of traffic" or "step up response per new complaints of___") the driver will determine response level. Im sure its probably universal nationwide and maybe in other countries... but here in Connecticut while responding you are not considered a legal emergency vehicle unless your lights and siren are operated simultaneously. That being said if Im using one, I am almost always using both. There is enough responsability and liability on us as is in event of an accident that I wont take a chance. If some blind guy happens to be walking down a dark road and I hit him with just my lights running because its 0200, Im already at fault but regardless of my not knowing hes blind Im sure the prosecuter will be sure to prove I did not do everything in my power to warn him of my presence. Then on the flip side that same prosecuter will probably be the guy fighting for noise complaints at 0200 made by emergency traffic. Frankly, if Im responding to a legitimate emergency and someone makes a noise complaint, I dont really care... Im doing my job and that job is to help someone who has a little more trouble than sleeping at night. Now... Im sorry if any of that comes off making me sound wreckless. Yes there are alot of calls we are dispatched to on a priority basis that do not warrant an emergency response, but untill we arrive we have only the word of the dispatcher who has the word of the (sometimes overly panicked) people on the other line. We can not diagnose a patient at our skill level so we can not determine en-route if some calls are not an emergency. Instead of going balls to the wall though I will always exercise due regard. Yes I go the speed limit and stop at traffic lights and stop signs to clear the intersection before I proceed. During the day time I will always use my siren, unless your passing by a store front you cant tell if your lights are working, and people may not nessecarilly see your lights anyways. When I come to an intersection I usually select the most obnoxious sounding siren (usually the phaser) and keep it on all the way through along with my air horn. At night time, particularlly very late night or early morning I will run my lights only but regardless of where I am (a residential zone for instance) I will whail my siren and air horn at intersections, blind turns and blind driveways. On the highway, unless we are slow moving and there is alot of traffic I dont get on the siren alot... because of the doppler effect at certain speeds no one will hear it anyways. But yea, the highway is one place I never ever act like an idiot when driving. If anything I will go around 5mph under the limit. As far as transporting codes... I leave that to the disgresion of the most senior person is in back. That person diserves just as much a chance to live as any other patient regardless of survival statistics, but as spenac says the few seconds you save usually make no difference.

Thanks for the heads up... though we mostly use AEV and Lifeline around this area. How much did they set you back? I mean what was the cost of the overhead cabinets alone... if you know. ~~~~~ One feature Im torn about is the side sliding door on the box. We have it on both of our rigs and I like it because it allows for easy access in tight areas, and also you dont have to worry about opening it on someone walking by or (depending on where and how your parked some idiot driver flying by. What I dont like about it is if you open it, and that one time your not paying attention someone flys by and clips you. Its one thing to have the door torn off prompting you not to step out :twisted: but if the idiot driver dosnt see the door opening well then your taking place of that door. But since this is a perfect world and everyone pays attention to what they are doing, and the amulance drive parks in a safe manner, thats typically nothing to worry about lol. Another feature Im very fond of is that almost every surface in the back is writable and we carry a bunch of dry erase markers. Additionally the window on the passenger side has a sliding shutters that are both white boards. What I like about that... I dont have to fumble with the laptop or clip board to take notes. So thats two items that wont get cross contaminated, two items that wont fly around and slam into my patient or myself, dont have to worry about stabbing myself or anyone else with a pen going over a bump and it keeps me from doing my paperwork instead of caring for my patient. Its not so much a direct safety feature but I do consider it indirect.

The nurses pretty much run my area EDs... of course the Doc will always have rank above them but we mostly see them when its a serious call. I have no problem doing a med patch or handing care off to a nurse vs. a doc... these hospitals are out med control and if they feel then nurses are responsible then I hope thats good judgement. Sometimes its not always a nurse answering the patches at one particular hospital. I recall many instances where the hospital (Level II Trauma) in town of my former EMS employer was close to going on diversion. Everyones hands were tied between trauma alerts and treoge and such and the nurses started giving orders to our senior medics to answer med patches. Of course there was always a nurse in earshot listening in in case they (incoming ambulance) needed further orders the medic couldnt give, but they were able to keep up with what they needed to do. And the notes taken from the patch would immediatley be handed off to staff. Now is that right or proper? Probably not.

I dont know. Im torn on this. Babbysitting for my family has been mostly done by family or VERY close long time family freinds and most all of us (not to toot any horns) have a reputable fire/ems/public safety work backround. In the state of Connecticut, not sure about anywhere else, regardless of age in order to babysitt someone elses (non-family) kids your required to take classes including family first aid and CPR. So for thoes who play by the book a Connecticut babysitter should be certified in a litteral sense. You can learn alot about a person in just a few minutes, but in my experiences first impressions arnt always right. My wife and I were watching this video vigilante caught on tape stuff a couple weeks back, and this one woman was talking about a vsiting nurse / CNA she hired to take care of her father. He had suffered from one or two CVAs a couple years prior and was completley bed bound. She found the woman taking care of her father to be very sweet and plesant and she took great care of him. Eventually she started finding bruises on him and rather than confront the nurse without evidence she installed a camera in his room. Well, it turns out this sweet lady was pounding the hell out of him regularly. And not that it makes it right by any means but he didnt even do anything provokable. This man couldnt even defend himself. Personally, I would never use a service like that. But regardless of how you find your sitter or caregiver... there could still be some bad apples. Yes... if there is no patient on board we are required to keep them in the cab where they can be properly supervised. If left in the back while not transporting they must be secured to the bench seat by a warm body :twisted:

As am I, and I have a hard enough time sitting at the computer for an hour just BS'ing. But being newly married with the thought of trying to start a family and activley seeking a full time job... its just out of the question to go back to school. It sounds like online college may be geard towards me, but I just dont know anyone doing it... and I wouldnt want to waste what little money we have on something that maybe a flop.

How do you all feel about online colleges? Its the new things these days and frankly Im considering it. Not nessecarilly to get a Medic or RN though, just in general. It seems more and more that places of employment dont even care that you have a degree unless its from an accredited college. So is an online degree of any nature worth pursuing?

Isnt there a football coach or someone in sports named Richard (Dick) Buttkiss? The spelling maybe wrong but the pronounciation is the same.