Dustdevil

All I know is that I Googled it, and the government Internet filters blocked the results. :shock: It must be good!

Call me naive, but I just have to write that one off as sarcastic satire, don't you think? That guy cannot possibly have been for real, could he? That has to be a joker trolling for a fight, right? :? I honestly have to say that I don't care enough about the people of NY to even get involved, lol. I mean, when some people out in the boonies are getting screwed, and don't really know any better, I am motivated to fight for them. But sheesh... Suffolk County knows exactly what it has. They know exactly what it costs them. And they know exactly what they could have for the same money. They just don't care. New York politics are all about entitlement. Consequently, nobody seems to begrudge anybody else their piece of the pie, so long as they get theirs too. It's hard for me to have any sympathy for them when they enable the perpetuation of such corruption. The only concerns I have about this situation at all are that, as ERDoc astutely observes, even this remote situation has a detrimental effect on the profession as a whole. The vollies don't even seem to realise that, by calling the paid EMTs and medics granny toters and arse wipers, and proclaiming themselves to be the real heroes, they only confirm the original poster's point that they are selfishly in it for themselves, not for their community. It's really too bad that more citizens don't realise that those losers don't have an ounce of compassion in them, and that all their "giving back to the community" is only about self-recognition because they really don't care about the patients themselves. Personally, I'd like to see the government pull the Border Patrol off of Mexico and put them around New York and New Jersey to keep all the whackers from moving out and ruining the rest of the country.

I think you're getting it now. That's probably the best advice you'll receive out of this deal. If nothing else, it is a very poignant and valuable lesson for the future. And I don't mean so much a lesson about communicating professionally, maturely, and tactfully. I mean the lesson that it really doesn't matter whether you are right or wrong in EMS. Shit happens. I have actually been in your position before and know exactly how it feels. I had HR investigate and conclude in a written report to management that I was 100% right and a supervisor was 100% wrong and had violated several policies in the process. I still got fired and the supervisor got promoted. I watched a totally kick ass medic get his name quietly scratched off the schedule (they didn't have the guts to actually fire him) because he disagreed with a manager about the batting order for the company softball team. This nonsense happens everyday in EMS. And if you think it only happens in private companies, you're incredibly naive. I've met as many arsehole fire chiefs as I have ambulance company managers. In fact, most ambulance company owners/managers I have known were much more people friendly than the fire chiefs, who tend to think their city paycheque makes them somebody with political power instead of just a public servant. Welcome to politics. At this point, it is incumbent upon you to prove to them and yourself just how important school is to you. You gave up a job for it (even if only temporarily so), so you had better give 110 percent to it from here on out. No blowing off studying so you can go play volunteer on Long Island. No studying just enough to get by with a passing grade. If you don't totally bust your arse to come out at the very top of that class, then your priorities you fought for were a lie, and everybody will know it, including you. Good luck!

Do any firefighters still run on the ambulances, or is it entirely dedicated medical personnel now? Do they run 911 EMS inside the SF city limits, or what? Suburbs? Only backup? Only BLS? Only transports? Man, I remember the good ol' days when SF had a system to be envied, by Kalifornia standards. Too bad they've gone so far down the professional tubes. :?

Yeah... but I'm not a single man anymore. My lecherous days are over. :wink:

Sorry Powell, I should have mentioned in my original reply... you don't have to worry about offending anybody with this topic. No offense taken. I mean really, we all already know we get no recognition. This isn't news to anybody, I hope, lol. But it does get brought up a lot here, so there are certainly people who are more than tired of being reminded of it. More than half of the people in EMS don't want us to progress into a separate, recognisable, professional entity, so it's a touchy subject. Got any ideas on how we can change that?

Discussed to death, and usually in an appropriate forum. But since you ask, the public doesn't even realise that we exist. They think we are the firefighters, so when they recognise them, they think they are recognising us too. But really... who cares? Did you get into EMS to be a hero, or to be a medical professional?

"The job" isn't what you think it is. It is NOT EMS, or anything like EMS. If you are in it because you love it and like to help people, you're going to hate the oilfields. But if you are willing to be miserable for a year in order to rack up some savings, then go for it. But remember, there is a reason they pay so well.

Ah! My mistake. I was confusing you with EMSGeek. My apologies. You all look alike to me. :wink:

Welcome aboard! There's a guy in the "Instructors" forum asking about I to P transition in the DC area that could use your help.

Where'd you take Intermediate, Maryland? I'm afraid I cannot specifically answer your question, but I hope I can offer some help. While you wait for recommendations here, you can call the schools in your area and see what you can find. Although, as discussed in another topic over the last few days, I to P transition classes are getting pretty hard to find. Here's what a search of http://www.caahep.org/Find_An_Accredited_Program.aspx brings up for your area: George Washington University Medical Center - Washington, DC Website: www.gwumc.edu EMT-Paramedic Program 2121 Eye Street, NW Suite 701 Washington , DC - 20052 Program Director: Keith Monosky MPM, EMT-P Phone: (202) 741-2945 Anne Arundel Community College - Arnold, MD Website: www.aacc.edu Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program 101 College Parkway Arnold , MD - 21012 Program Director: Melanie Miller MSN, CCRN, NREMT-P Email: mkmiller@aacc.edu Phone: (410) 777-7385 Associates in Emergency Care Consortia - New Market, MD Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program P.O. Box 490 Damascus , MD - 20872 Program Director: Sal Marini MA NREMT-P Email: aecare911@aol.com Phone: (301) 865-8880 Community College of Baltimore County - Essex Campus - Baltimore, MD Website: www.ccbcmd.edu Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program 7201 Rossville Boulevard Baltimore , MD - 21237 Program Director: Robert Henderson Jr. BS NREMTP Email: rhenderson@ccbcmd.edu Phone: (410) 780-6477 Howard Community College - Columbia, MD Website: www.howardcc.edu Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia , MD - 21045 Program Director: Angel Burba MS NREMT-P Email: aburba@howardcc.edu Phone: (410) 772-4948 University of Maryland Baltimore County - Baltimore, MD Website: www.umbc.edu or www.umbctrainingcenters.com Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program 1000 Hilltop Circle Academic IV, Room 316 Baltimore , MD - 21250 Program Director: Dwight Polk MSW NREMT-P Email: polk@umbc.edu Phone: (410) 455-3782 Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale, VA Website: www.nvcc.edu Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic Program 6699 Springfield Center Drive Office 239 Springfield , VA - 22150 Program Director: Holly Frost MS NREMT-P Email: hfrost@nvcc.edu Phone: (703) 822-6560 There are others listed in VA, although none very close to the DC area. Good luck!

I don't have any experience with the MAT specifically. I haven't seen it in my AO. The CAT is the big thing here, along with the occasional SOF-T, and the rare SATS. I have yet to use the SATS, as I just received them a couple weeks ago, but they look okay. Maybe overcomplicated. The locking mechanism and quick release are theoretical advantages, but I don't see a lot of practical application. It's interesting to note that there were no less than nine (9) self-application tourniquets tested and considered by the U.S. Crazy! There is a good article on them all available here... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0VV..._n17213746/pg_1 It includes discussion of the MAT. The article, incidentally, concludes the EMT, the CAT, and the SOF-T to be the leaders.

Hehe... looks like Novisen has been nipping a bit of wodka!

Hiring? You've gone from volunteer to paid since yesterday? That's awesome!

Nobody should be carrying anything that they have not been thoroughly and properly educated on. I don't recall ever seeing any EMT (or paramedic, for that matter) class educate anybody about antibiotic topicals or even the basics of antiseptic theory. I think that pretty well speaks for itself.

Bourdon gauges are notoriously inaccurate. That's why they are not used in the hospitals. And not all Bourdons flow any higher than a Thorpe tube. Rates vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and from model to model. And, so long as you set the rate while the tube is upright, it doesn't matter what it reads while lying down. But Thorpe tubes are pretty delicate and pretty expensive. I certainly wouldn't choose one for my portable O[sub:bd8a996316]2[/sub:bd8a996316] setup. And really, are you going to have anybody on portable O's long enough to make a difference anyhow? That said, what difference does it make? Either the flow is adequate for NRB function or it isn't. As stated above, the number is completely irrelevant. It is not even necessary to chart a flow rate when utilising an NRB. You should be able to do it without a gauge or tube.

LOL! Definitely! So funny that it's almost sad. :? But I realise that blueangelfightr wasn't really going for the definitive answer, so I'll let it go. The difference between "EMS" and "EMT" is the same as the difference between "police" and "policeman." The latter is the worker, and the former is where he works.

Exactly. Until I have assessed that patient, my EMT cannot take over. There is no patient that I can simply sit back and drive on. And everytime I hand off a BLS patient to him, I am still ultimately on the hook for the care he receives. Consequently, no... my load is not lightened in the least bit by an EMT partner. Again, if you were a paramedic, you would realise this. Ignorance is bliss. I would also reiterate what AK said. None of this is a slam against any EMT. I have worked with many good ones, and some truly great ones. It's just that the best one on his best day still isn't as helpful to me as a minimally competent paramedic.

Yeah, I think Kern County's call volume has dropped considerably since they repainted their patrol cars...

I'd have called PD, but I would have told them to meet me at the hospital. I can get this guy there, my report written, and back in service long before PD would ever arrive at my scene. And I don't want to spend any more time on that scene than necessary. Where there is one doper, there are sure to be others.

I would agree with Rid. Good medicine is good medicine, regardless of where it is rendered. I don't think a physician needs to have spent time working in EMS to understand our capabilities and limitations. As Rid points out, even that experience would provide him with only a very limited view, considering the vast differences in regional sophistication. Would you want to work for a physician who had been a medic with DCFD? What are the chances that he would understand and respect the advanced education and capabilities you may have in your suburban or rural system? You see, his "experience" could just as easily be a negative as a positive. If we were talking about the man writing your operational policies and procedures, then yes, I would agree that he needs to have significant experience in the field. But not for the guy developing my medical protocols.

LOL! Please tell me you found all that on Google, and not from watching that much Baywatch!

Yes sir, however you are talking about testing for I-99 after completing a certain amount of a paramedic course. That is not terribly uncommon. In fact, there are some RN schools set up for their students to test for LVN licensure halfway through. But what I believe this discussion to be about is taking a freestanding EMT-I course that is not an integrated portion of a complete paramedic programme, and then maybe trying to finish up paramedic education later. The former isn't a bad idea. The latter is a horrible idea.

He must have been in the ER a VERY long time! :? We're not really given enough history to have even speculated upon diabetes in this scenario. His output is just as important to consider as his intake. Without both, you have no context within which to consider your information. Suspicion of diabetes would be spurred by presence of the 3Ps. You didn't get a history of any of them. And his BGL was 75 three short hours after a meal. Not a typical diabetic presentation. In fact, that is not typical of anybody. If this kid was new onset diabetes, I certainly can't fault you for not figuring it out out there in the bush with no facilities and what little info you had. But I think the ER doc may have dropped the ball on this kid.

Quit. It may not transform your service into a paid agency. But that's not important. Whoever takes it over will be paid.