Christopher.Collins

Oh Im not saying that there is no burden of naming your child that, nor am I saying its even appropriate. What Im questioning is his claims (based on a TV interview I saw last month) that he "is not racist." He backed it by saying that he wanted the child to have a name that isnt common [today]. That just because one man with the same name years ago did the things he did does not mean his child will do the same or even be comparable. If he truley meant that yea whatever, if he wants to name his kid Adolf then let him, its a legit argument in my eye. But they he goes on telling the names of his other kids including "Aryon Nation," ummmm yup your ONLY looking for unusual names and not a racist at all.

Wow, I just dont know what to say. In fact you all have pretty much taken the words from my mouth. Should there be an investigation into what the girls did and the guys having the pictures? Yea sure... scare the hell out of them or do what you can to convince them of the dangers of this. As well make sure the boys didnt start sending these photos out to other people. Should the school employees have gone through the phone in the first place? Absoloutley not! Damn it even as a licensed security officer I am not allowed to search a persons belongings without consent. Company property on the other hand (like a school locker) is understandably a different story. Not to mention there is no reason for them to look through the phone... if its believed the phone may have some information on it thats potentially harmfull to others, be it these photos or even threats against a person... thats what you call the police for!!! I have always believed, especially in recent times that theres way to much power in the school system. As a trained and certified healthcare provider I cant even say the patient has a broken leg, its outside of my scope of practice.... but at one point they wanted to make it legal for school teachers to diagnose ADD and ADHD!?

I remember seeing this on TV when he went to the press about the cake. The father had said he wanted to name his kid Adolf because it was an unsual and uncommon name. I can understand and respect that. Maybe even the name in full, Adolf Hitler. Its just a damn name, regardless of the history behind a particular person who held the same. He went on to say that he is not a racist. I call bull sh*t on that. I mean again Adolf Hitler... cool, whatever. But then you also have a kid named Aryon Nation? COME ON! You want unusual and uncommon names thats fine... but your kids names all have ties to racially biased history? Its a little more than a coincidence. Theres plenty of unsual names out there.

And I guess because EMS is not trained to respond to a fire in 8-10 minutes before a flashover we can not handle responding to a cardiac arrest in 8-10 minutes before biological death. Sorry Im still watching this video, its kinda long. Again Im a hose jockey and even Im having a hard time with this crap. Wow.... my blood is freaking boiling. I dont know anything about hurricane andrew in terms of response but that was YEARS AGO!!! Tell me that private ambulances didnt make a response during and after Katrina!!! I mean damn I know alot of people that went from all the way the hell up here from AMR and other AMBULANCE agencies... I almost went to Galveston, TX myself. These arguments are so irrelivent and prove nothing. Wow, Spenac I hope your not watching this, I see your head exploding before you get half way through.

I mean the only credible argument they made was when Eugine Nagal said that you didnt have to invent a whole new system by having firefighters take on EMS... which may have been true in the 60s or 70s but it dosnt even hold grounds today. at care being seemless between all points on the star of life... too bad circle of life is already taken

Note to Admin: I put this under funny stuff because within the first couple of minutes I just couldnt stop laughing at some of the arrogant statements. If you deem it nessecarry to move it thats cool with me. Ok Im not trying to boil anyones blood here and Im not trying to start a Fire vs EMS fight here but even as a Firefighter EMT I thought this was freaking rediculous.

Im not saying I would be mad at him and hold a gruge if he didnt go to a shelter... but damn, already proving that hes ganna spend money. I dated a breeder/groomer for a short short time, dogs arnt freaking cheap. And thoes dogs arnt ganna be executed if someone dosnt take them home. Its not so much that I care about this situation, its just showing a little character about him. Hes supposed to be about change and making things better for us, and yet rather than adopting a pet hes ganna go out and spend money on a DOG. edit: I mean the pet is supposed to be for his daughter... I dont think shes ganna care if its some pure bred or a mut. So if hes gatta get some pure bred according to a couple of celebrities arguing over it... whats he really going for? Appearance? Nah!!

Yea I agree with the consistancy. FTOs (in one company I worked for) are supposed to let the newbie do all the driving and tech during non critical calls. I drove, lets see, ummm never and mind you I had no driving experience outside of small cars and an easy as hell EVOC class prior to that. My FTO was great, both as an EMT and person, but he most deffinatley had his own way of doing things. And our FTO time was all of 3 or 4 days. For me it was enough in terms of how to do the job, because I was already in EMS for 4 years... I just had to learn driving, because I never drove prior to that and company polocies. It took a little time but I got it.

Check this out... the relativly new APFU (Army Physical Fitness Uniform) Jacket. I was in the Army Guard for a very short time and this was my issued coat. Without light reflecting it looks like an ordinary windbreaker but when there is reflective light its a different story. My issued coat was the middle one with the single reflective stripe and the two outside coats are concepts that were being played with... whether or not they are being used now Im not sure. I had simmilar "technology" in an company issued coat when I worked for American Ambulance. But if this could be built into a uniform shirt it would deffinatley solve one major problem with EMS uniforms.

She should go head to head with Chuck Norris, no holds barred. Well, ok maybe when she gets older.

Gatcha crotchity and yea that makes sense. Typically both paid and volly services around here (South East Connecticut) do the third rider thing for a while to and I support that 100% We dont really have the consistancy of one partner or FTO though. I do see what your saying and agree.

http://muddyangels.org/ Has anyone participated in this before and/or are planning on participating this year? Its a week long bike ride from NYC, NY to Roanoke, VA to honor EMS and many other aspects of it including safety. Provided I can get my finances straight, not work that week and get approval from my cardiologist Im really interested in it. If anyone has done this before advice, comments and any other feedback is welcome.

I agree and disagree with that. I agree because as Ive said the new member should be mentored by someone with good people skills, so as though they do not get intimidated and lose sight of their job. And sometimes, well maybe often, its easy for someone to get discouraged early on in something new. And as you said, even an experienced person has things to learn. Also, working various people may at times cause one to develop bad habbits or confuse them because some of us have different ways of doing things. However, I disagree because given the nature of our job its not always convinent for us to work with the same people. Also, we get sick or hurt or have family emergencies to attend to like anyone else. Not to mention, regardless of personal feelings and opinions of one another or other topics and beliefes, we should be expected to work together as a team at any and all times. I would want to know that even if Joe EMT intimidates the hell out of me, cuz hes twice my size and sour faced, that I can work with him. ~~~~ A related side story; I once had a trainee who was on the job almost as long as I am old. We were both intimidated by that. I had to show him the ways of the company but didnt want to insult his experience, and well he of course probably didnt want some kid telling him what to do. I expressed my feelings to him after I got to know him a bit, let him know I didnt want to step on his toes but that I would be there if he needed help remembering radio codes, getting around and overall how the company works. From then on we worked pretty well together.

Thats a good start. Its important that the mentor get feedback from any crews that the newbie works with, otherwise the purpose of the program is already defeated. I agree and disagree. This is why, if your staffing is sufficient you should be selective of who is a mentor. They should have really good people skills, especially in tense situations. Being a great EMT or Medic alone does not make you an effective teacher and dosnt nessecarilly mean your good with people. As far as thin skin... yea you do need to be kind of tough and passive to do this job but being intimidated by a coworker does not nessecarilly mean your not cut out for the job. Well for starters the evaluation sheets that I used had places for both the mentor the new member to fill out and make comments. The mentors would have comment boxes to evaluate the newbies performance, interactions with co-workers and patients, learning abilities, what was covered today, etc. And the new member would have a section where they can make comments on how they feel about themselves and their performance, the work environment, etc. Additionally there is a spot where they can make comments about their mentor. After completing the sheets (each day they work together or meet) they review what eachother said and why and both sign off and date it. You could also include in your evaluation sheet one or more check sheets that can be completed over a period of time. For example: (evaluators signature and date here) Memeber demonstrates basic knowledge of company SOPs and SOGs (evaluators signature and date here) Member demonstrates knowledge of location of equipment on the ambulance and proper restocking procedures (evaluators signature and date here) Member demonstrates knowledge of propper patient care when verbally given a scenario Something like that. These kind of check sheets could be completed maybe once throughout the probationary cycle or even twice. It would mostly cover skills that cant be covered and expected to be known from day one. While yes you should learn the location of equipment as quickly as possible... its not going to happen overnight. Absoloutley! As you said yourself you dont want someone who is going to discourage them. And that dosnt nessecarilly mean that they intentionally discourage them, the regular member may just be hard to talk to and come off as if they dont care. The mentor should be easy to talk to, easy to ask questions of sometimes no matter how stupid or obvious the question or answer is. And the mentor must be able to establish trust with the newbie. If for instance the newbie screws up (something minor) and is too intimidated to answer to the supervisor, the mentor may be able to mediate the situation. In instances of a major incident like someone got hurt, that should go out the window and propper disciplinary action should be taken immediatley. I can share simmillar experiences as Im sure many others here could too. Its unfortunate but it happens alot. Thats why we need people who want to change things. I understand fully where your coming from with being skeptical about the mentor program, but if your proactive about it... changes can happen. One department I was a member of had a junior corps back in the 80s... it was dispanded for many reasons including animal cruielty commited by unsupervised junior members in the station. Around 2005 (long after electronic locks were installed) we decided to start the program up again. With hard work on the part of some active members, officers and the by-law commitee it flourished with alot of success. Change can only happen if someone is willing to take that step, regardless of the past or what anyone else thinks. I think your taking this step shows great initiative and potential. No problem. Keep posting and/or if youd like drop me a PM if you need some more info.

I remember a day where a call went out for something "stupid." Quick backround to the story... the dispatch area I got my origins from will tone out 3 times within the span of 2 or 3 minutes, if the bus rolls before that they dont tone a second or third time. If nothing rolls by the third tone its automatic mutual aid from the next town... and the max 3 tone system still applies of course. Anyways my town got toned out... 3 tones and nothing. Mutual aid town... 3 tones and nothing. Second mutual aid town... again 3 tones. On or about the 4th town toned for a mutual aid ambulance they finally got a crew... half way there they were cancled because my town finally (after about 10 minutes got a crew). I know that we are expected to put our personal lives and work before the volunteer services but that is just plain rediculous that it can go that far without a single ambulance rolling.

LMFAO... welcome to Connecticut... but does that dictate that you ARE or ARE NOT a true volly? Ive been member of companies that dont offer incentive at all and are run like true proffesional companies. A group of us are there IN CLASS Bs on a regular basis performing various duties around the station and apparatus, having meals together and such. Where regardless of how stupid the call seems, we get on the truck/bus/engine and do our jobs. Also been a member of companies simmilar to what you described where hanging out was for social purposes, people would moan and groan when certain calls come in and only some will go. The only time people would come out of the woodwork is if there was confirmation of fire or decapatation or something cool. These companies offered good incentives just to make sure the bus left the bay.

Personally I dont think a mentor should oversee more than 2 people, 3 max. Unfortunatley there are a couple of things that will dictate that... the ever so obvious staffing problems many agencies face and eligible candidates to be mentors. I feel it should be a selective proccess based on personality and people skills, but again compitency in the field is important. Formal training for the position isnt nessecarilly important but that of course depends on the needs of the company. As Ive said an FTO and a mentor are two different things... this does not nessecarilly mean that an FTO can not be a mentor, merley that they are two different responsabilities. It would be great if the mentor could go on calls with their new member however any compitent regular crew member can have this responsability. The mentors job is mostly to make sure that the new member is settling in and undertsands what is expected of them, as well as to be a neutral advocate if something happens. I say that it is not important for the mentor to go on calls with the new member because of this: the new member must get used to working with everyone and scheduling may not always deem it feasable... if the mentor is more experienced than another member they may be put on a busier ambulance and put the other member with the probie. Also, depending on how the program is set up, the mentor should talk regularly with the crews who work with the new member for feedback.

So dose their funeral home get first dibs on DOAs? :twisted: Havnt actually been to the site yet so Im not asking that to sound dumb. Just being a smart @$$.

Thats a question that I battle with myself every once in a while Ruff. I am going to use my first volunteer agency as an example. We earned a $50 per call incentive and for the most part worked in 12 hour shifts covering 24/7. Sounds like a paid agency to me. The annual call volume (EMS) was low maybe 1,100 calls a year, 1,200 at best averaging 1 or 2 calls every couple of days. So unless your within the top responder ranks your not exactly earning alot of money. Its volunteer because WE chose to take what available shifts and not every shift had coverage. If we wanted to book off we were to try and find coverage but it wasnt a dire consiquence if we couldnt. SOPs and SOGs regulated that we must remain in town but otherwise can go about our daily business. We have a duty vehicle with red lights and sirens to utilize, otherwise we an use our POVs with green lights. In one instance I had refused to take my pay, I wanted to be a volunteer in every sense, but by orders of the chief and treasurer the only way I could do that was to donate it back to the company every meeting. Too much work when I can just cash it and spend it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Today I do not see accepting any kind of bennefits for your time as being non-volunteer. What makes a volunteer to me is making the choice to be there and do what your doing, even if its on a schedule. How does that differ from being paid? You need a job to survive (in the real world) and support yourself and family. You can offer what time is best or most convinent for you but that does not nessecarilly mean you will get it. In other words you do not have as much freedom to offer what time you want. Your not there against your will, but you are there because they tell you to be, if that makes any sense. Frankly I have always believed that to be a volunteer there is a minimum ammount of dedication you must put in to even earn such title. Just because you have the gear and fancy lights in your POV and take one or two calls when you feel like it does not make you a volunteer. You must still be able to function as a team therfore should go to any meetings or company events that you can make, to stay in the loop at the very least. Of course it is always important to put your family and work first, and if its a well run organization the freedom to do that is what makes it volunteer.

With all respect intended reaper, I would have to disagree. In my personal opinion an FTO and Mentor are two different things. A mentor may not nessecarilly train a new member how to do the job itself or even ride on any calls with the new member. An FTO, in my experiences, can be one or multiple persons that the new member works with during a probationary time learning how to actually do the job. Where as a there should be only ONE mentor for a new member who is neutral to the new members needs, strengths and weaknesses as well as the company and regular members. The mentor should remain in contact with the new member on and off duty (as well as thoes he/she works with) making sure everything is working well for them. In fairness a mentor is part FTO and part supervisor... but also part advocate to the new member. They should (while keeping a proffesional demeaner) be a bit sympathetic to the new member. I dont mean helping them with everything they cry about... but they are there for the new member maybe a little bit more than for the company. Of course they should not loose track of right and wrong during this time.

Heather, Mentor programs if ran properly are a great idea. I have both mentored and been mentored in my past experiences and find, especially for the shy types, that it can be a great asset. First and foremost choosing who should be a mentor. Now this may sound harsh, singling people out, but from experience you really want to avoid the stand-offish types. They may be great EMTs or Medics but the point is to make the new member comfortable and welcome. Additionally you would also want them to know that they can go to their mentor for anything, including issues that may need to go through the chain of command. This mentor must also be pretty well familliar with SOPs and SOGs and anything relevant to the company, but not cocky to the point that if they dont know they'll just spurt out some BS instead of asking a peer or super. Showing new members that we also dont know everything, I feel, is rather important as it sends bad signals to show them arrogance is accepted. Mentors dont have to be a Paragod or super EMT in the field, I think that they should be more of a people person if anything, but of course they should be compitent and trustworthy among their peers. The mentor of course should not be shy nor lazy... its a deffinate position for the friendly and pro-active types. They should (if the new member seems lost or lazy) be the ones saying, "hey why dont we go through the check sheets and rig" or, "hey this crew is back late for the end of their shift lets wash the rig so they can head out." Patients is another important quality, unless the member is seemingly going down a bad road really fast (be it atitude or skill level or something else) the mentor should be able remain calm and address any discapline issues appropriately. Some good things Ive seen in mentor programs are (in no particular order): 1) Let regular non-supervisory members be the mentors. I know first hand it can be intimidating working directly with a supervisor, even after 5 years of doing this I still have my moments. 2) Following up with the new member from time to time out of the station, maybe calling and asking how things are going... showing that they actually care. This can be helpfull especially if the new member shows any discomfort in the station. 3) Dont just show them things. Have them go over it with you, have them show you how to operate the stretcher or properly backboard a patient. Have them show you what is where on the ambulance. Alot of people seem to learn better with hands on training than standing and watching. This of course wouldnt apply to anything they know nothing about. 4) Let all regular members know whos mentoring what new member. Unless its a serious issue the mentor should be the first to know whats going on or recieve feedback. If the new member has a problem with another person then (with approval of a supervisor) it may prove helpfull for the mentor to let them talk it out together, but remain during this as a mediator. It would because of such instances be important that the mentor is generally more neutral than a biased person. 5) Addressing the chain of command for issues should be emphasized during the mentorship. The new member must know that at some point the mentor will no longer be responsible for them and they will have to go to the proper supervisors for a given issue. This does not mean that the proffesional relationship should perminantly be severed between the member and mentor. The member should feel welcome and comfortable talking to their former mentor if their is a problem, but should be guided to address it appropriatley. With that ( #5) being said, it is important that the new member be told they may not always be able to contact or address an issues with their mentor. Like the supervisors, they must be taught to work as a team with whatever crew they are working with.

Unreal Tournament = Halo + Twisted Metal (without the cars) + Mortal Kombat

The boot is the trunk I believe.

How about going to a fu*king pound, prefferably a kill shelter style and getting one thats on death row just because no one wants it. Damn I dont even like dogs but Id rather see one thats about to die get a home than die just because it cant... but itll be a cold day in hell before some idiot with money and fame will do that. Itll be 20 below in hell when that same idiot does the afore mentioned against the wishes against what two other idiots thinks he should get his daughter just cuz hes more famous than before.

Now I mean this entirley out of (poor tastless) humor and do not intend to offend anyone here who is of religious faith but... If they really want to start bringing the video game into it, just start saying the parents thought it was blasfamous and a slight against God. The kid could use that as a defense saying he was going insane that he wasnt allowed to be who he wanted... afterall in Halo the heierarchy of the Covenant (aliens) have kind of a we're Gods atitude.