Dustdevil

If you don't know by now, then I suggest you see a physician soon. Preferably, one who speaks Spanish. :wink:

Surely you jest! Everybody knows you can't become a paramedic without passing college microbiology! Hey, where's that internet place where I can get my RN without going to nursing school, since us paramedics already know more than an RN does?

Plus 5 to Pyroknight. That was your best post ever. You should frame it. And rant more often.

This is one of those questions that would require a lot more information in order to even begin to address it. For starters, knowing at least what state you are in would be helpful. And really, even in the case of most states, it is a matter of local or agency policy. It is certainly not a universal standard across the U.S. Even if your state allows application before certification, the employer may not. And it's pretty damn rare to find an actual EMS employer with a two month "academy" that hires new grads, much less one without a cert. Mostly what you will find are just ambulance (taxi) companies who will throw any warm body behind the wheel with not even an orientation shift, much less an "academy." The bottom line is, like JCicco says, the definitive answer is going to come from your potential employer himself. Call them, because no "yes" or "no" answer you receive here is worth the bandwith it wastes.

That's what this site is all about! Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. You can't help people who don't think they need help. If somebody is really convinced that their 3 week first aid course (EMT- makes them an educated critical thinker, capable of medically assessing people's illnesses and determining their medical needs, then that person needs a lot more than any professional guidance we can give them. They need a reality check. The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem. Funny thing is, I have never heard somebody with an advanced education make these same silly assertions. Not once have I ever heard a medic say, "Wow, that was a waste of time. I already knew all this from EMT school!" And I never heard a nurse say, "wow that was a waste of time. I already knew all that from paramedic school!" The problem is not medics putting basics down. The problem is basics with delusions of grandeur.

Good looking rig! Let's see the inside! I pity all who have to work in a 4x4 ambo though. It sucks arse. :?

Plus 5! Listen, folks. I have eight years of college, including nursing and biology degrees, and over thirty years of experience. Guess what... I STILL feel inadequate for my job! Anybody here with nothing but an EMT-B training course under their belt who is comfortable and confident with that is just plain dangerous, and should get out now! That delusion in itself is proof positive that you lack the necessary education and critical thinking skills to be entrusted with the lives of human beings for a living. And where the hell did this whole, "We don't need no stinking paramedics to tell us anything!" attitude come from anyhow? I never, ever saw this attitude anywhere until the last few years. WTF? Is it just because this site is exposing me to people from areas I had not yet been familiar with, or is this new breed just a bunch of idiots? Plus 5 to all the usual suspects here. Minus 5 to a couple of n00bs who apparently just don't (or won't) get it. :?

LOL! I bet dozens of those were built across the country in the years following the release of that movie. I know a rich kid in Texas who ran motocross standbys had one customised up to look just like Mother's ambulance. I hope the original one is in a museum somewhere.

I'm with Jake. It has been a very long time since I was in a system where "intercepts" were even heard of. But when in those systems, it never seemed to happen much. And when it did, it was because the Basic or Intermediate was genuinely concerned that something beyond their scope might be going on. That wasn't always the case, but they did have reason for concern. And this is exactly why medics need to be on every ambulance. It takes a medic to determine if a patient needs a medic! But no, I never experienced abuse of the intercept system. Although, there does seem to be a lot of reverse abuse, where firemonkeys in places like Los Angeles and Seattle dump everything that doesn't excite them on the private providers, many times inappropriately.

LMAO! Dude, that is so true! BTW, there was a previous topic here where the concept of gowning our patients was discussed, or mostly cussed. You might search it for a little more varied input.

Search first, cuz it's already been done. Might still be here.

You are, of course, quite correct, JP. This is one of those many, many situations in EMS where it is all about appearances, and nothing else. You can be a great medic and still do stupid things that make us all look bad. But I agree, if you are going to make us all look bad, you have to go. The profession is bigger and more important than just your job or your fun.

Thanks for the link, Vent! That certainly adds context.

Part of religious freedom is my freedom to disregard other's stupid beliefs. I have to neither agree with nor respect them. That is my freedom. And besides, why do I have to respect them if they don't respect me? I was here first. This is MY home. I would not go to their home and tell them how to run their lives (although, I do recognise that a lot of ugly Americans DO do that). Religion and medicine don't mix. You don't want medical care? Fine. Sign here, and I am out of here. You can walk your Somali arse to whatever witch doctor you want to treat you without exposing you.

Not most people here! The prevailing wisdom of truly educated, experienced, and qualified EMS mentors is to NEVER stop your education. That means go straight from EMT to Paramedic. You wouldn't take a break between pre-med and medical school. If you're smart, you wouldn't take a break between high school and college. Similarly, it is NOT wise to take a break between EMT and medic school. I would take no further professional advice from any idiot who told you that. By the time you finish paramedic school, you're going to have at least two years of field experience as an EMT. Just do it.

Minus five for posting a story without linking the source. It's called copyright infringement.

Yeah, well I am glad you have an x-ray machine in your ambulance, but most of us don't. And simple palpation will tell you if there is thoracic wall injury without stripping your patient, so that is not necessary. As for this "cultural sensitivity" nonsense, gimme a break. Somali mama would have never made it into the back of my ambulance in the first place. She would have been staring at a locked door, or better yet, the back seat of a police car. And she is not my patient, so she can just take a flying screw with her yapping. You want cultural medicine, go back where you came from. I don't travel the world expecting other cultures to conform to my sensitivities. Those that come to America should respect OUR culture the same as I do when I visit theirs.

I don't get this whole scenario, so let's talk this out. EMTs splint a painful arm without disrobing the patient. Perfectly acceptable. Not a problem, medically speaking. I don't ever recall any EMT class I have witnessed require disrobing a victim for extremity splinting. It certainly isn't on the NREMT checklist. There is your standard of care, right there. Then the hospital apparently x-rays and casts the victim -- meaning she WAS disrobed -- and fails to notice or recognise the other bruises and act on them. Not acceptable. This WAS covered in nursing school. This is another case of what CBEMT mentioned in a previous topic. These guys weren't fired for doing anything wrong. They were fired because their patient brought bad press to the agency.

Why would that not make sense? Are all of your MVAs single car, single occupant collisions? And does it really "make sence" to be out-of-service until you get your one KED back from the ER? :?

Back in the early 1970's, when there were still a lot of cars around that had straight back bench seats (and Kendrick had not yet invented the KED), the short spine board was relatively useful. However, I must say "relatively," in that we were not yet really into c-spine precautions then yet, so the SSB didn't get used a whole lot, except on the really gnarly wrecks and babies. The rest of the time, we just put a foam whiplash collar on them and let them walk to the ambulance. Good times! Anyhow, while there was indeed once a place for the SSB in our arsenal, that time has long ago passed. Seats are contoured these days, as are the bodies we are applying the device to. Consequently, a rigid, flat SSB is worse than useless. It's complicated and dangerous, although they still haven't figured that out in many parts of the US, including Louisiana. There really is no comparison. The KED is by far the easier and preferred device. Any comparison is like comparing muzzle loading muskets to Kalashnikovs. They share a common purpose, but one is a functional, state-of-the-art device, while the other is simply a museum piece.

No problem. I hate people of African and Jewish descent too. Is that "fair" enough for you? Whoever told you that life was "fair" is the one you ought to be upset with.

Speaking of abuse... :?

The question is, do we WANT to know? :? The way I see it, everybody hates somebody. Why shouldn't it be gays?

Months ago, we had an MCI and the ER was to capacity with casualties. The group I was working with was new, so we had not worked a lot together and didn't know each other's styles well yet. I had a patient with major multiple trauma from an IED. Holes all over him. He was going to surgery as soon as a suite opened up. I gorked him out of his head with fentanyl. He needed it. Some ER doc started to go off on me. He was quickly brought down to earth by the surgeon, the anaesthesiologist, and the head nurse, who said they would have done the same thing, and assured me that the patient would be thanking me... if he were not currently snoring. Bout 20 years ago, I had a chest pain that was a classic MI presentation, and I was comfortable with that diagnosis. I had given him probably 6mg of MS by the time we got to the ER. As soon as I gave the doc my report, he rolled his eyes and went into a lecture about how inappropriate it had been to give the guy MS when it obviously was not an MI. About fifteen minutes later, the doc tracked me down to humbly apologise after looking at the 12 lead. It's the small victories that keep us going!

You guys disappoint me. I can't believe you're all going to let this perfectly good pun go to waste.