Dustdevil

Back on topic... do NOT drop out of nursing school. And do NOT try to take EMT school while in Nursing school. Nursing school is hard enough when you are able to give it 100 percent of your attention. If you have to divide your attention between the two, you are not doing either one of them justice and will end up either failing one or both, or end up being half assed at both. IF you flunk out of nursing school (damn rare to happen in the senior year, in my experience), then you might consider going to EMT school, but EMT is not a profession. It's just a foot in the door to something bigger. It would take you two years to make a decent paramedic. In that time, you could have gone all the way back through nursing school, so EMS is not really a viable "back up plan," unless you seriously want to devote another two years to becoming certified to be a $10 dollar an hour ambulance driver. And if you do that, within 5 years at the most, you will just start thinking about going back to nursing school, but between family and finances, you will no longer be able to. Finish what you started. Then move on if you like. EMS is not for quitters.

Anginine Maxalon Penthrane Suxemethonium Others in the US may not recognise Salbutamol or Lignocaine, or maybe even Aramine, as it hasn't really been used much in the states for a decade.

Exactly. You "can't do" what? Treat him? Release him? Call the hospital? The one thing you absolutely can NOT do is keep him from leaving. If he says 'bye bye,' it's game over. Forget about it and go back to watching the races.

Haha, well I brought a backpack, a duffel bag, and my B3 flight bag (which is the Air Force's fancy name for a big green "US Government Property" suitcase). Before I had even arrived in country, I was wishing I had brought nothing but the B3. I brought way too much crap. Yes, you may end up wanting and needing all that crap, but you are much better off having it mailed to you or just order it from walmart.com. Pack light on the clothes since your destination will issue you site specific shirts. Bring just a week's worth of BDU pants since they are easily ordered. Wear them everyday in Houston so you don't end up with a bunch of civvy clothes over here taking up space. One pair of boots. Order the second online. And by the way if you (or anybody else) wants the Converse desert boots (which are FANTASTIC and I highly recommed them, let me know and I'll give you a code to order them online for less than $80 bucks. The same place has BDUs and other stuff at excellent prices, plus the discount. Radio over her sucks arse! Two stations in Western Iraq. One is Z-Rock, which gets real old real fast. The other is a schizophreniz mix of crap that changes every two hours. Country in the morning. 80's pop for lunch. Hard alt rock for dinner. And cRAP all night long. Definitely burn all your favourite CD's to iPod before you leave. If you don't have a bunch of CD's, then wait til you get here to get an iPod (available in every PX), then dowload all your music. Bottom line is, if you need music to live, do NOT count on Armed Forces Network to suit your tastes.

Wow, I've heard of him! Very sad news. Another pioneer is gone, but not forgotten. His contributions will live on for generations to come.

September 10??? :shock: Dude, you're going to be there processing at the very same time as "medic3" from the chatroom! She's flying out of Toronto on the 10th. She'll be in northern Iraq. Y'all need to meet up for some pics! Advice: Pack damn light! Anything more than a carry-on backpack and one big rolling suitcase is overkill and a major pain in the arse to drag through four airports. I can't vouch for your destination, but anywhere in Iraq, you can get most anything in the PX. And package delivery from walmart.com is usually a week, so don't bring anything you won't immediately need. Also, make sure you bring a sweatshirt or jacket to wear in Houston. Yes, it's hotter than fark in Houston, but they keep it colder than fark in the processing centre to keep you awake, haha. Oh, and quit smoking all that crack after today. It takes a good three days at the very least to get it out of your system. I wish you were coming over here, man. The FD on this base needs some serious help! Take care, and hit me with a PM with your base location and e-mail and DSN number if you get one.

Hmmm... how come there are so many petite medics on this board, yet they are such a rarity in the field? :?

I'm very sorry to hear about this, Jo. He sounds like a man who still had so much to offer his community, the profession, and mankind as a whole. Peace be with his family and friends, and let us all pledge to carry on with our best efforts in his name.

EVERY single professional firefighter in the State of California is at least certified EMT. A VERY large percentage of them are Paramedics. And a VERY large percentage of those wannabes who are trying to be firefighters are also EMTs and Paramedics. Not to mention that a couple of hundred schools are cranking out several hundred new ones every four months. Not to mention the "Boot Camp" there that cranks out EMT-Bs in 14 days. And have you not noticed how many Californians come to this website desperate for a job? You're crazy if you think anybody is going to have any problem staffing a service there without drawing on AMR and others. Yes and no. The principles are the same, but the results are not. Even in California, unions are fast losing their foothold. The governor himself is going against unions. Many US states are non-union and will never be union. Again, I really think you are not thinking realistically for the US work environment. In places like Ontario or BC, where all EMS is government run, the situation is not even remotely analogous to private systems in California. Canadians don't have to worry about private industries stepping in and taking over a government function. Canadians don't have a billion unemployed/underemployed EMTs just salivating at a chance for an ambulance job, no matter how low the pay or benefits. Maybe up in the northeast where Union is a way of life, and the government would rather sit back and regulate industry than provide it themselves, your theory would be valid. But, as most any American will tell you, the northeast isn't part of the US. What I said would happen has indeed happened many times over in this country. Ask anybody who has been in US EMS for a long time. This, you would know if you were more familiar with US EMS and labour issues. Politics and labour issues are synonymous. This definition of "political" from the American Heritage Dictionary says it all: Based on or motivated by partisan or self-serving objectives. Sounds exactly like your "solidarity" and "labour issues" to me. Hey... you say screw the companies and the communities and the scabs. I say screw the wankers. What's the difference? We're both screwing somebody. What makes your point of screw so much more valid than mine? And if they had listened to YOU, they would have been unemployed by now. Good thing they listened to neither of us, right?

More assumptions made by myopic judgement. No, I am not taking a stand against your idea. I never said that. I merely pointed out the very real reality that has played itself out hundreds of times across this country that you obviously have never practised in. If the private provider implodes, the local government can and will provide service for their citizens without them. That is fact. It has nothing to do with whether or not I think workers should stick together or anything else. Unlike yourself, I am not here with an agenda to spout my political views. I am merely pointing out the obvious for the intelligent consideration of those in such a situation. I wish them the best. They just need not be naive and end up standing together in "solidarity" in the unemployment line because they thought their 80 hour EMT patch was indisposable. Remember, we don't have one and two year programs for basic level providers like you do. We have a huge glut of basic level providers, including every paid firefighter in the State of California. Sort of takes away the bargaining chip you seem to think they have there, doesn't it?

Ah, now I understand where the confusion comes from. You are quoting me out of context, and I still have to wonder if you are not doing so intentionally to suit your agenda. Let me try one more time to get it through your head... I said IF THEY STRIKE... then the fire department would step in. They did not strike, so you can neither prove nor disprove my statement. You're a smart guy and obviously have some keen insight. But your emotional passion for the topic seems to keep you from seeing the picture clearly. That is going to hold you back from doing the right thing and achieving the things you could achieve for those you represent. Step back and try to UNDERSTAND situations and statements rather than simply marching forth with the party line and not bothering to listen to others. Also, you need to understand that this is not Canadia we are talking about. This is CALIFORNIA, where FD EMS is the rule, not the exception. There is not a decent sized fire department in the entire state that does not have a contingency plan sitting in the chiefs desk drawer, ready to implement on a moments notice, to take over EMS functions. Your understanding is quite valid for Canadia, but it's crap in California.

[stream:f54d0aebc3]http://www.destgulch.com/movies/luke/luke18.wav[/stream:f54d0aebc3] You're wasting your time, Ruff. What we've got here is... FAILURE to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. This guy has some serious self confidence issues, and is bound and determined to make himself into a victim in every forum.

You are still misquoting both me and you. Whether or not you are doing so intentionally is in question. That is NOT what I predicted. And it is NOT what you predicted either. Quit trying to take credit for something you never said. And quit trying to say I was wrong about something I never said. Drop your party-line agenda long enough to actually read what was said and quit making ASSumptions and misquoting me.

If you respect yourself, this career, and those who have worked so hard to make it a profession, stop drinking. Now.

PUHLEEZE... :bs: I've needed to bust a window maybe twice at most over the last thirty years. It's damn rare indeed that ALL of the doors on a vehicle are locked, no windows were broken in the impact, and nobody inside is conscious. The odds are just astronomical for it to happen five times in a day for one medic unit. If you had to bust windows on five vehicles during one shift, I have to seriously question how well you checked the doors or windows before you started whipping that punch out of your holster. This is a prime example of why basics should not be given "more protocol" and "more skills." They tend to be too eager to utilise their shiny new tool when it is not indicated.

Sorry PRPG, but I have absolutly no idea what quote you are talking about. Are you talking about my signature line? :?

So are you disputing my point, or are you just stalking me around the board to harrass me as usual?

Been reading long? Nobody said they would jump in and save the day. We said that if the medics went out on strike that the FD would jump in. The medics didn't strike. You're claiming victory for something that nobody ever predicted. I suppose you predicted 9/11 and the Tsunami too? :roll:

Not finding a word in your dictionary is not necessarily a sign that it is incorrect. Unlike general grammar, medical terminology is not finite. Probably more than half of the med term we utilise is not in the dictionary simply because they are compound words. The roots and suffixes of the words are listed, but the whole word is not. Orthostatics may not be listed in your dictionary, but then again, neither is dogs. Is dogs not a word? Of course it is a word. And so is orthostatics. And orthostatics and orthostasis are two different things.

So, if this doesn't apply to you then why are you so defensive? Me thinks thou doth protesteth too much. If you're as good as you seem to want others to believe, then grow a sack of self-esteem and don't take everything so personal when it was quite obviously not even meant to apply to you.

Say hello to my new signature line!

Dude, I think you just made some of those drug names up! :?

Word. They all suck compared to the Philips. No comparison. Too many idiots buy LP defibs simply because that's what they've always used. I'd love to accidently break the one I have. Some of the clinics out here have Zolls, and I think one or two actually have Philips. Unfortunately, all replacement units will be Lifepak because the powers that be have no imagination. :roll:

Personally, I'd rather work with a calm and intelligent bystander with absolutely no medical training at all than either one of those losers. Your Ops manager was blowing smoke up your arses in order to foster a good working relationship between medics and EMT's. Sometimes lies are useful.

LMAO!! That's actually an excellent analogy! Very appropriate. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. And, if done correctly, it can't hurt. I actually use that technique on the station radio here everyday with great success! When I first learned CPR in the late 60's, it wasn't even called CPR yet. It was just "artificial respiration" performed with the victim on their face. :shock: But when I took Advanced First Aid in high school, they were teaching the PCT, and it was still part of standard CPR up through the late 70's. As already mentioned, it was only for witnessed arrests. It continued for a very long time as standard practise for medical professionals, even after it was taken from lay CPR. In fact, some still teach it. And yes, sometimes it works!