Dustdevil

LOL! Man, you sure managed to completely misconstrue this thread. This is a real problem with New Yorkers. They all seem to think the rest of the country (and world) actually give a rat's arse about what they think or do. One only need be two states or more from NY to realise that it is not the centre of the universe. Although television may make you believe that you are something special up there, and that the rest of us care, I can assure you that -- especially in the EMS world -- the rest of us are laughing at you. Not as much as we are laughing at New Jersey, but I digress. And don't forget, young rookie, it is the New Yorker who came here saying he had a problem with all of this in the first place. The rest of us are just trying in vain to help him escape the Dark Side. If you have a problem with that, go talk to your homey about it. You have just demonstrated for us what is wrong with so many rookies in EMS. Whatever everybody else is doing around you is automatically assumed to be the way things ought to be. Not a single intelligent thought about the rest of the world or a possible better way. Monkey see-monkey do. I'm glad you're happy up there, because trust me, there aren't many employers down here that want anything to do with your kind.

Unless you are speaking as such things as snow tires and snakebite kits, no. We cannot agree on that. The requirements remain constant in EMS. And we certainly cannot agree on it in the context of this particular thread. This guy is not asking about "equipment." He's asking about his whacker tools. I don't care where you work. You don't need a farking multitool on your belt on the 32nd floor of a high rise when the burned out bulb, that you should not be changing anyhow, is thirty-two floors down on the street in your ambulance. To compound the problem, a great many of these guys aren't just carrying a lot of useless crap on a belt. They are carrying it all on TWO belts, one being a big leather Sam Browne police belt or similar. It's just stupid. It's not even about function. It's all about looking the part of a NYC whacker, which is depressingly popular up there. You have shown yourself to be too smart to actually believe that is a valid analogy. And I don't think you are being dishonest either. So the best I can figure, you're just caught up in the same monkey see-monkey do whackerism as ninety-seven percent of all NY medics and therefore cannot see how silly it is to the rest of the world. Sorry bro, but when somebody says they have a problem, then refuses to even consider the solution when handed to them on a silver platter, that person is leaving themselves wide open to ridicule, up to and including names. I would hope that you would take notice of two points that have come to light in this thread that should be of particular interest to you: wrench. 2. EMS agencies in New York can't seem to keep them stocked on their vehicles. wrenches every year, you have a decent shot at convincing them of the benefits of spending a bit more for your fluourescent gay pink wrench with the big "STOLEN FROM THE CITY OF NEW YORK" stamped on it, and subsequently having a lot fewer of them end up in the pockets, whacker bags, and dresser drawers of their employees. The same concept drastically cut the disappearance of scrub suits from hospitals years back. Any whacker who wants his own, but without losing his job, can just buy one of the cool coloured wrenches from you directly.

Ooops! My mistake! :oops: I misread and assumed you were talking about the Red Cross. I didn't even know AHA had a first aid course. When did this happen? Sounds like they are at war with the ARC. :?

We've discussed the Phelps article here before. He's more than a smart man. He is an astute and visionary man with what the vast majority of those in EMS just do not have: the ability to see the big picture. I wholeheartedly agree with him. It would be far faster, far more effective and efficient, far less expensive, and just far better in every respect to simply trash the current system in the U.S. and start over from scratch. We don't even have a foundation worth saving to build upon. Scorched earth. Kill em all. Let God sort em out. I wish Phelps and Bledsoe and a couple others would go before a senate committee and tell them all of this!

Really? That's news to me! I taught for the Red Cross for many years, and CPR was always an integral part of the First Aid curriculum that could not be separated unless they already had a valid CPR card. After all, a great many of the conditions you discuss in first aid include CPR or artificial respiration as part of the potential treatment.

Of course all of these things "work." The point is, when they work you run the risk of being pwn3d by a right hook. Especially since YOU KNOW that you are not using these methods for any medically legitimate purpose. And playing stupid in court isn't likely to get you any sympathy. Certainly not from me.

Employers are kinda like girlfriends. You can love them for what they are, or you can love them for what they have the potential to be. In EMS, private industry (including hospital based) holds the most all-round potential. Yes, some major changes need to be seen in EMS and the insurance industry before all of that potential is realised. But that day is coming, slowly but surely. Ever notice that anybody who gets the choice would rather go to a private hospital than a public (county, VA, military) hospital? Ever notice that most nurses and doctors would also rather work at those private hospitals? Hmmm... I wonder why that is? Ever notice that the best, most prestigious, sought after, and expensive (best paying) universities are PRIVATE universities? Ever notice the rich and powerful send their kids to PRIVATE schools instead of the local ISD? Ever notice that most attorneys only spend a couple of years as a DA or PD before rushing off to PRIVATE practice for a better job, making better money? If you find yourself on the wrong side of the iron bars, would you rather have the Public Defender or the Board Certified criminal trial attorney in PRIVATE practice? Are we seeing a pattern here yet? There is nothing inherently wrong with private industry running vital services. Hell, in fact the government contracts most of their really important projects out to the PRIVATE sector. Who do you think is the better, more cost effective provider between FedEx and the US Postal Service? See my point? The problem is not private industry. The problem is EMS itself! When EMS grows up and begins to reach its potential, it will be like every other industry. The private sector will not only be the better provider, but it will also be the better employer. Unfortunately, this -- as all issues in EMS do -- goes right back to the education issue. Our lack of education holds us back. The government pays people a living wage not because they are worth it. Look at what the meter maids and subway ticket takers make in Boston or New York. They pay them a living wage simply because they are a jobs programme for the otherwise unemployable. Conversely, private industry pays people well when they are worth it. When they provide a service that is of significant value to the mission. Right now, we simply aren't worth it. Anybody with a month or three of night school can do our job. The supply greatly outpaces the demand. And thanks to that, way too many who enter this field are simply not interested in being a medical professional. They just want a civil servant job they can sit on for twenty years and retire, and without having to get "all that book learnin." Yeah, as long as all we are is dime-a-dozen labourers, like street pavers or trash collectors, then sure... the city is the best thing going. But good luck finding true professionals of any profession rushing to work for the city instead of private industry. Keep fighting the good fight, Duke. I'd love to work for you.

You're kidding, right? A year of night school that is, as JP says, "so easy a caveman could do it," and you're expecting more money for that? A prospective medic should have more than twice that amount of school before he even sees the inside of an ambulance. And, of course, damn few attorneys are getting that $1000 an hour fee. Remember, this is news because it is unusual. If it were the norm for attorney fees, it would not be news.

You are, of course, very wrong. Hopefully, you're smart enough to figure out why, because I think everybody here is tired of explaining it to people who don't even try. EMS isn't that easy. But EMT school is.

I find the whole New Jersey thing sadly hilarious. I mean seriously... they do everything completely different from the rest of the country, and they just don't understand why it isn't working. The hilarious part is that they seem oblivious to the obvious, and lack any understanding of what is wrong.

Chicago and Las Vegas? Geeze... you're all over the map. What's up with that? :?

Having worked both for the last thirty years, I can't see any significant difference between in-hospital and pre-hospital resuscitation that would need to be addressed. Other than the fact that a lot of EMS agencies carry a lot fewer medications to remember, what else is there?

Ya know why there are so many well paying jobs for network geeks? Because nobody volunteers to do it for free. Ya know why there are so few well paying jobs for Paramedics? Think about it.

Maybe before Air France shut down the Concorde, you did. It's a lot farther from California to Indiana these days. :?

Or what? I challenge that statement.

I thought for sure they were talking about firemonkeys. But yeah, not a chance they are talking about ambulance drivers.

That's two hobbies you have fallen back on so far. What's next?

LMAO! One less wanker on the rosters! I'd be interested in hearing her tell us who taught her to do that in the first place. Although they would never admit it publicly, I wouldn't doubt some dim bulb EMT instructor did. Either that, or it's just more "monkey see-monkey do."

I think you forgot the first three words of that quote, which were "With few exceptions..." That means I was not speaking of each and every system on earth that uses 24 hour shifts. It also means that I recognise that it is a viable alternative for some systems that works well for them. Geeze, I get so tired of people who insert the word "always" into every post they read. :roll:

Plus 10 for a good attitude and some great information, WANTYNU. :thumbright: I'm sorry I missed mrmeaner's comment though. :?

This whole 24 hour shift thing is quite possibly the very worst legacy we have left over from the firemonkey roots. It's just asinine. Yes, a lot of idiots with firemonkey mentalities love it so they can go work another job or two somewhere, but there is absolutely nothing functional about it in most professional systems. This is a throwback to the days when firetrucks had square wheels because of the infrequency with which they actually rolled out on anything. There was little chance that they would actually do anything in 8 hours time, so they figured hey... why not just spend a whole day? That is simply impractical for EMS today, even in most rural systems. Damn few really professional EMS providers even do this anymore. With few exceptions, most agencies you find still doing 24s are either fire-based, or just plain stupid and unimaginative, with poor leadership.

Both, lately! But I was talking about how slow the pages load. It's painful.

I have a cousin who went back to school in his mid thirties to get a geology degree, and he is now making mad cash doing just that for an oil company in Houston. Don't ever think it is too late for a change.

That's actually the most lucid and intelligent thing you have ever contributed to this forum. I like it! If that was the result of alcohol, you should drink more! Yeah, we spent a little time doing some ambo spotting down in Sonora last month. The first ambulances we saw were Mexican Red Cross ambulances, and they were the most prevalent. The next ambo we saw was run by the local FD, which had no Star of Life, Red Cross, or other medical emblem on it. Just a Maltese cross on the door. Then we saw ambulances from two different services, one of which had Star Of Life emblems on it, and the other did not. The one that did not was called San Juan, so I suspect it may be part of the international St. John's organisation, but they did not have the St. Johns emblem on them. All of these were running EMS, so apparently it is a 1970's EMS free-for-all in parts of Mexico. I'm just wondering how (and if) they get paid. We also saw what we presumed to be a military ambulance, which was a big olive green type I with nothing but a giant red cross on it. As for uniforms, the firemonkeys (that's "bomberomiquito" in Espanol ) were wearing what firemonkeys typically wear. Blue work pants and blue t-shirts. The Red Cross guys were wearing what looked to be the same shirts the guys at Jiffy Lube wear. A two toned grey and navy shirt with Red Cross patches on the breast. I didn't see what the medics from the other organisations were wearing. Next time, we'll spend some time actually talking to some of these people and find out exactly what qualifies one to be a "paramedico."

The unfortunate truth is that, no matter how fast your connection is, EMT City is quite possibly the slowest website on earth. :?