crotchitymedic1986

Last night, while i was shooting up some heroin at a party with my ERdoc, I was searching some old threads on here, and came across a novel idea, unfortunately, I can not find the post today to give props to the originator of this idea: I think we can all agree that EMS salaries could be higher, and someone suggested a good way to make that happen. He/she suggested that we could instantly increase our salaries if everyone just took a month off from their part-time job. This doesnt mean quit your job, just choose not to sign up for any shifts during a 30 day period (or pick-up extra shifts at your full-time job). They suggested, and I have also stated in the past, that the medic shortage is not realized because so many medics work two jobs. Since the trucks are staffed, there is no reason to raise wages to attract or keep people. If everyone would agree not to work part-time for the month of July 2009, the true shortage would be realized. You can make this July, an EMS Independence Day, if you choose. Then again, that date maybe too close for planning and spreading the word. What do you guys think, this July or July 2010, or a month that is later in 2009 ? Would it work ?

Thank you for those kind words. I do apologize for my earlier tone, it was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but i realized that many did not take it that way, so i am trying to do better. Feel free to knock me around when i get out of line.

http://publicsafety.com/article/article.js...p;siteSection=4

ccmedoc, i understand where you are coming from, but do you not believe we have an obligation to police ourselves ? Isnt that what professionals do ? If you had a medic in your service who obviously did not know how to pace a patient, would you let it go, or make sure he got taught how to pace (whether you did it yourself or through a supervisor) ? Is that not policing our coworkers ? Once this guy is busted with illegal drugs, and it becomes public knowlege, what kind of reputation do you think your service will have ? If he showed up for work high, and crashed the truck, would you not feel guilt for not preventing the inevitable ?

At some point last month two people made me aware that a private message was circulated in this forum, that was from someone with an AOL web address, pretending to be me, that stated my confession of being "Iamgod" (apparantly this person was a member for some period of time, and then left the forum, after pissing too many people off). For the record, i am not "Iamgod", and I do not have an AOL email address, as I am too smart to pay $$$$ money for something that is free. My email address is jacksonseth58@yahoo.com, feel free to email me anytime. As far as where I work, as stated many times in various threads, I am no longer in EMS -- I work in medical sales now. I have not, and will not name the company I work for, for the same reasons that most of you do not. Since there are people in this room that have searched for my myspace or facebook account (to find information), and have gone so far as to make up a fake email about me, I do not think it is too unrealistic to believe that someone would call or email my employer to try to get to me (some of you forget that when you are sending what you think are secret emails to your buddies in this forum, they are often forwarded to me, so I am well aware of what you are saying and what you are doing). Love me or hate me, we have had some wonderful debates. I appreciate that the moderators in this room are not scared of controversial topics or debates. If I raise your blood pressure to an unacceptable level, all you have to do is just ignore my posts. At the point that no one reads or responds to my posts, or when the moderators ask me or tell me to leave, I will know that I am no longer welcome, and will leave the forum gracefully. God bless, and be careful out there.

CB, i agree, but ask yourself this, how is that monitor and O2 secured. Do you have a portable bottle velcroed to the end of your stretcher ? Is the monitor in a mounting bracket, if so is the bracket secured to the truck using 4 wood screws that are bout one inch long ? Do you have spare O2 bottles inside your truck, maybe in those little silver cups, screwed to the floor by one screw, and then has one screw tightened down against the bottle to hold it in place. None of that works in a 40mph crash.

I am in no way perfect, but i do not use illegal drugs, am currently not on any prescriptions that say i should not drive when i am on the medicine, and do not drink alcohol before my shift. When I do drink, i do not get drunk. It is not about judging someone, it is about safety in the workplace.

Actually i do not let the alcohol abusers go, I have orderd drug/alcohol test on many employees who either reaked of alcohol but were functioning fine, or were obvioulsy altered by whatever substance they were using (legal, illegal, or prescription). When you set foot on that ambulance, you have a responsibilty to your coworkers, patients, and the public. If you can not control your habits, you need to pick another line of work. It is not OK to be a drug abuser or an alcoholic in this field.

I totally agree with you regarding the legalization of drugs, as long as you are willing to pay your own healthcare costs, and not put it on everyone else. But are you saying you would feel safe having a known heroin abuser driving your ambulance daily. Like it or not, it is against the law to use these substances currently, and once you break one law, how hard is it to break another ?

If you have never seen an ambulance that has been through a frontal substantial collision, let me paint you a picture: 1. The cot goes through the Captain's chair. It can be rated for all the "Gs" you want, but if it is bolted through 3/4 inch plywood (as most are), it doesnt stay locked to the floor. 2. All the plexiglass and supplies comes out. 3. The monitor and O2 tank come flying to the front to hit the medic that was killed by the stretcher. 4. The box will often collapse the cab of the truck (in the typical pick-up truck chassis). 5. If you roll over, the box will fall apart as if it were made of paper. 6. If you are on the squad bench, you can expect the safety net to slow your body down just enough to say one last oh-sh*t before you crash into the ALS compartment and die.

Well, lets go that direction then, change it from ER doc, to one of your own off-duty Paramedics, does that change your response ? And wouldnt, "cleaning" the report up be falsification of documents ?

I would say follow your passion, whatever that is, whether or not it is related to EMS or a Federal job.

Well lets say he was smart enough to bail before the cops got there, or the cops arrested the homeowner and let everyone else go. It is one thing to be drunk, it is another to be using illegal drugs. I do not doubt that some hospital administrators would turn their cheek and let it slide, but do you have any responsibility to the patients that he may be treating while high. Then again, maybe he is never high while on-duty ? We dont know ?

You respond to a superbowl party for a person "unconscious". As you enter the residence you note all kinds of illegal drugs being used openly, everyone is very high, they tell you the patient is in the back bedroom. You enter to find CPR being performed on a young female who still has the tourniquet and Heroin syringe attached to her AC. THe person doing CPR is just as high as everyone else, and is doing it poorly. When you ask him to step aside, you realize it is one of your local ER docs. He has cocaine all over his upperlip, and is so high he can barely talk. So you work the code and go about your business. P.S. the doc is not responsible for her death, he did not provide her drugs, the house is not his, he was just attending the party. Now the ER Doc was engaged in some illegal activities, and he was not one of your patients, so you do not have any HIPPA issues. Do you report what you have seen to his employer, or let it slide ?

Topic may be in the wrong thread, but I see this as a management problem, so I placed it here. As I was reading an old post, I was struck by someone who was asking whether or not they should hire a medic because he/she didnt make a great first impression. The poster was more or less saying, if we werent so desperate, I wouldnt even consider him/her. That raises alot of questions, at all levels of EMS. 1. Do you work at a desperate service ? If so, how does hiring warm bodies effect the care your service delivers ? How do you like working with someone who is a below average employee ? 2. If you do not work at such a service, why is your service different ? What does your service do to attract and keep the "best" ? Is it money, benefits, equipment, schedule, call volume, management, none or all of these things ? 3. Does your service fire everyone that should be fired, or does it take an act of congress to get rid of the bad apples ? If so, is that because of the shortage ? 4. What does it feel like when you walk into your service, as an outsider ?

For mine, if you responded emergency to the residence or NH, you didnt need one. But if you responded non-emergency to Peg tube replacement, you needed one.

Guess things have change, I only had to get Phys Cert statement for non-emergencies.

Oh ok, thanks for the headsup, will have to check it out. But its not a surprise, I found many of my topics posted there upon arrival.

Take all the emotion and drama out of the scenario, and just deal with facts: You are resonding to a call that is 10 miles away or 52,800 feet: If you travel at 40 mph (.666 miles per minute),with no stops, you will arrive in : 15 minutes If you travel at 50 (.83 miles per minute),with no stops, you will arrive in: 12 minutes If you travel at 60 (1 mile per minute) with no stops, you will arrive in: 10 minutes But we all know the faster you drive, the more likely you will be to make frequent stops and starts. Several scientific studies have proven that driving L&S only shaves a minute or two off of your call. Which is about the same amount of time that is wasted in the dispatch center. You are far better off to have a sufficient amount of ambulances, staffed by crews who know their territory. P.S. Your boss probably has you responding to non-emergent calls L&S, so that you will not have to get the Physicians Certificate signed for medicare/medicaid.

why are you calling me ditch doctor ? Probably the nicest thing anyone has called me, but not sure what you mean.

This is why I didnt mind running nursing home calls, these folks are far more of a challenge than your average 40 year old MI or trauma patient. Start with a full head to toe survey, want a better description of her chest pain, what does the 12-Lead show ? Does she have a fever ? My initial guess would also be PE, but she could have any number of issues, including the flu, MI, return of Cancer, electrolyte imbalance, or even a severe UTI (seriously).

I think the legal issues will vary state by state, but yes at a minimum you will need to remove the lights and siren. I would search autotrader and craigslist for a nice southern ambulance, that might have been used by a volunteer service (low mileage, no rust). I think AEV builds one of the toughest/strongest boxes (their ads routinely show an ambulance on top of their ambulance, to show how strong the box is. Wheeled Coach used to have the superior electrical system, but not sure if that is still true ? If you can find a superduty, you will have more towing power.

I agree that anyone that is on a fentanyl patch daily, will have a high tolerance for any pain medication that you choose to administer, but you still have to worry about OD. I would remove the fentanyl patch, and continue with Fentanyl IV. Since it is shorter acting, you have less risk of OD, than you would with piling MS on top of the fentanyl and whatever other pain medications are already in their body. If you had a long transport time and the fentanyl wasnt working, you could then move on to the next med in your arsenal.

I would love to be able to see an employer's credit report, especially in these times. Just because you have a buddy there that hasnt been stiffed yet, doesnt mean they are not in severe trouble. You can kind of get that if you work for government by looking at their budget that they must publish. But when you work for a private, you have no idea how much cash is in reserves, how much debt they are in, or if there is any IRS monkey business going on -- Leasing the same employees between two different corporations ?

No need to say it with sarcasm, as there will be many who jump to that same conclusion. I think more kids die in bathtubs and swimming pools than monster truck rallies. With that being said, I think all motorsports could improve, you shouldnt have your life at risk when you go to an entertainment event. Does any one really believe that a single chain link fence is enough to separate a 3000lb car that is going 180 mph from the fans that are sitting in the stands. Seems like every time i have seen a fence that got hit by a car doing 20mph, the fence lost.