Zach Smith

I know many will see this as a dumb question, because as far as I know there isn't an easy way to do this. But I would like to find a way to setup my pager or even a UHF or scanner to set off strobe lights of some type during a page as well as an additional alarm. What type of technology would I need to have this work with my Motorola pager? Thanks in advance for your help.

I came across this bag and HIGHLY recommend it. Much better than my previous, and it really holds everything I could ever need while waiting for EMS to arrive on a scene. Hope you enjoy the video review!

So far I've received very little assistance with my question. Do I need to know the laws for my state? No. I've worked in/with law enforcement and know the regs. Neither did I ask for input on how to drive an emergency vehicle, POV or not. My question was a technical question. Not a legal inquiry on how to drive an emergency vehicle and follow the law. Also, my vehicle is clearly marked on both sides stating "Fire Dept" with red reflective tape fully surrounding the vehicle and reflective bumpers, as well as a light bar. My vehicle is a police model from an auction, so it resembles the local police units, and also gives me an advantage when requesting the right of way. People believe it is a police car until they are able to read the side of the vehicle. So, please answer the technical side of my question as it is truly my only concern as of now.

I'm very ignorant when it comes to vehicle electrical systems so this may be an odd question to some...yet I'll still ask. I'd like to add a few trailer lights to the rear of my POV for responding directly to highway scenes, and I'm curious if running these lights into the flasher would provide me with a strobe effect. If not, what would be the best method for having these lights act in a strobe pattern? Thanks in advance for any replies.

We are on the side of town and usually during response the light isn't as much to clear traffic, but its really a safety mechanism to be used when clearing an intersection during light traffic (it is unspoken with the police and department that a red light can be treated as a stop sign if NO traffic is visible.) It draws attention to the vehicle in the event that human error is involved. We also have a stretch of road many take that is a long paved road where you often have to pass vehicles that try to "race" you and the lights seem to give them an inclination to slow. No one is barreling down the road emergent in their POV's. This is for everyone's safety, and if responding directly to a scene without going to station (tends to be smarter if its quicker...hence FIRST RESPONDER) I like having lights flashing rather than my four ways. Four ways get people to notice, flashing lights can cause people to slow down a lot more aggressively. After all, you have to slow down to be nosy and see whats going on.

I know this sounds very odd, but I was curious if anyone know whether there are wireless LED lights available that would allow our responders to alternate their lights between vehicles using battery power and suction cups without the need to plug into a 9V (this has reasons that I won't get into), and the next step which I know is a leap. But wireless sirens that are hardwired but use a wireless setup to actually easily be installed in various vehicles without having them ran into a switch box into the vehicle. I've searched and turned up nothing, so if anyone can assist me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Some weeks I spend more time at work then at home, and it becomes your home away from home sometimes. You get close to the people you work with, and you often know who has the same interests or is on the same wave length. If my partner and I want to watch a movie or talk about something "R" rated, we'll do so in front of the appropriate company. And I don't know about your station, but if there were going to be a tour or anything of that nature, we would be told in advance to ensure everyone was in full uniform just to provide a more professional appearance rather than people sitting around in socks and with their dept. t shirt rather than the whole shebang. My view is that I'm going to be there for 24 hours, therefore I'll watch what is on tv if desired, and when time permits, we'll plug in the XBox, bust out GTA4, and practice driving our ambulances while shooting on the move. You've gotta stay sharp.

The exam can be difficult because most of the answers are often correct. BUT, what they are looking for is the MOST correct answer. Whatever stood out to me the most was what I picked. The first few questions I did what it sounds like you did, which is to second guess myself and read into the questions. These questions should be based on your instinct more than anything, if you of course have correct instincts. I just pictured each as my own call and selected the answer closest to what I myself would do and had no issues.

Blood samples only have to be inverted 5-6 times and and then can be allowed to sit at room temperature for reasonable periods without any issues. In the hospital the lab will go from room to room drawing samples and they simply label them, place them in their tray, and continue on to the next patient. After making their rounds they return to the lab and deliver them. Our ETA is usually under ten minutes from scene to hospital and the samples are then taken directly to the lab if deemed neccessary. And thanks for the answers to my original question. Haha.

While I've not heard of two many cases where CPR has revived a pt, I've been lucky enough to have several calls that resulted in success. One involved an infant that we were able to revive. Due to HIPAA we of course weren't able to ever know exactly what the cause was. Also with a patient suffering from an embolism, we were able to continually revive him for increments long enough for the hospital staff to at least determine that there wasn't anything that could be done. He was maintained and the only point there is that after being able to see my CPR on the monitors, it hit hard that CPR can be effective depending on the cause. We've also had medics from surrounding counties save coded victims due to a drowning that were brought back. I would not be able to sleep knowing I called someone rather than doing every possible thing I can, even if I feel it only has a 1% chance of success, I will exhaust all resources because I'd want the exact same thing done for me.

I don't mind straightforward BLS calls (mostly that's what I am) but I do perk up and seem to be motivated by critical calls, especially code blues, because I'm actually able to assist someone that truly needs me and use my training to save a life, rather than giving out band aids all day. I do seem to need a true life threatening call occasionally to refresh myself and really feel like I'm serving my purpose.

The services around here usually have us take three vacutainers of blood before running fluids through an IV and I was just curious what types of vacutainers (what colored tops) you use for your service. I've started working on getting my phlebotomy cert so a lot of the stuff we used to not know about and just do is starting to make sense so I'm very curious.

Usually you'll receive the right of way as it would be perfectly legal for you to demand it regardless (at least for Kansas thats what I've been told) but I've always been told to turn off your sirens when approaching if it appears most of the traffic you're about to pass is aware you are driving emergent. Most of the time it seems like we've been able to take a quick detour around to avoid any issues. I personally wouldn't think twice if neccessary for me to use my sirens and disrupt the procession. My patient is my main concern. Not my last patient (not sure if that's bad humor or not).

Ours is simply that the longer we go without a call, the more calls we'll get in a short amount of time...and it has NEVER been proven wrong. Three hours without a call, and after that first call nearly all ambulances are out of the station.

I'm new to the field but have spoken with a lot of knowledgeable individuals and what I have found to be a great experience as well is to look at local hospitals for their openings. Some in my area offer surgical assistants and ER techs that both basically assist in irrigation of wounds, stabilization of fractures, monitoring, and the not so fun, but preparing equipment and rooms for patients and making sure the surgeon has everything necessary. You just get a lot of good experience being around the doctors and nurses and watching them in action and they will allow you to get your hands wet to a certain extent once they know your knowledge and skill level.