Dustdevil

Very dependent upon what country you are talking about. Pretty much any country worth going to has standards so far ahead of ours that they'd laugh you out the door. Especially a US EMT-B, which is the joke of the EMS world. Some might let a paramedic challenge their exam. Most would require some additional training since protocols and procedures are VERY different for paramedics worldwide, unlike nursing, which is more standardised. It would take you time to learn local protocols and procedures, as well as laws and drug names before you could even think of passing their exam. It can be done. But without a degree and proof of substantial 911 experience, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible in most places. If you're serious about being a professional, you would be much better off simply going to another country and attending paramedic school there, then working there.

Complete waste of money. Virgin just got sold a bill of goods. There's a sucker born every minute. :roll:

The most dangerous scene we consistently make, hands down, is the MVA. More of our brothers and sisters are seriously injured or killed by traffic than by any other scene danger. But when was the last time you were dispatched to an MVA with the warning to "stage for PD?" For that matter, how many times have you voluntarily waited for police to arrive and stop traffic before you made an MVA scene? Doesn't happen, does it? Why not? Why would you go playing in traffic, yet cower half a mile away from an overdose, waiting for police? Use your head, folks. Failure to do so will land you here ---> http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=39

That is a non-sequitor assumption. The patient needs ALS. Whether it comes from a fire truck or an ambulance is not particularly significant. If it weren't for fire chiefs constantly trying to siphon off EMS dollars for their department, there would be more money to simply put more ambos on the street, negating the need for ALS engines. Your solution is the problem.

Don't worry. I'm going to execute a hostile takeover of EMS administration in Ontario in two years. I'll standardise the stripes, get you out of those stupid striped blue uniforms, get you off of those horrible rotating shifts, up your scope of practise, and abolish the GTA consolidated testing system. And there will be much rejoicing. Any other requests?

LMAO! It's actually a bit disturbing how often it all comes back to Chuck Norris on this board! :?

Don't confuse Factor VIII with Factor VIIa. They are two very different factors for different purposes.

Yeah, I DID go to properties, and the link I posted is the entire link address shown for each photo. Tripod cuts the file name off because they don't allow hot-linking. That's a nice Caddy! I'd love to have one of those babies! Haha, I swear that brown flooring is the exact same flooring that was in every single ambulance made in the 1970's!

Cops on the scene is very overrated in EMS. Almost every time I have encountered gunplay or other violence on a scene, the cops were there. Nice to have around, but their presence is just short of meaningless really. And the false sense of security that so many providers get from them is just plain dangerous. They are just as likely to escalate a scene as they are to secure it. I agree with 422 that running hot to stage is pointless, but the wankers love to do it. Not on my unit. What is really bad are the idiots who run hot to the area, then shut down lights and sirens before making the scene. WTF is that rookie move all about? Do you really want to sneak up on these people? When I hit that scene, I want them to have heard me coming for five miles away. And when I arrive, I want my lights and sirens drawing as much attention as possible. I do NOT want anybody there to look up and suddenly be surprised to see my uniform standing there. I want them to have had plenty of opportunity to leave that scene and avoid authorities. And another thing, you have to think about scene safety on ALL runs, not just the ones dispatched as violent. I have encountered violence more often on routine runs than on those dispatched with warnings. If I get a general sick call at 2am and arrive to find a completely dark crack house in the ghetto with nobody out front to meet me, I keep on driving. The PD can go knock on that door, not me. Don't get all hung up on dispatch info. It's even less reliable than the cops. Unfortunately, there is no black-and-white about scene safety. What is "safe" to me may not be "safe" to you. There have been plenty of times that a partner and I have disagreed on it. There is no single factor -- including police presence -- that signals that a scene is absolutely "safe." You have to go with your gut instinct based upon the best information and experience you have. And you have to go with your partner's gut instinct too. If you think it's safe, but she does not, then it's a no go. No argument about it. You do NOT leave your partner, and you do NOT make a scene unless both of you agree on it.

It's a sad, sad state of affairs when an employer has to teach any medic to do something that they should have been one-hundred percent proficient at before graduation. It is also a sad, sad state of affairs when they have to put on a class to teach something that can be learned from a book in one weekend of independent study. And it is a sad, sad state of affairs that so many certified medics are really just too stupid to grasp 12-leads, no matter how it is taught. Nobody is saying EMSA sucks. In fact, we've all acknowledged that EMSA does some great things. But anybody who thinks they are "the best" obviously has very little EMS experience. And just because a lot of systems use SSM does not make it a good thing. There are lots of things used in EMS that suck, and SSM is one of them.

Sure you can. The problem is that you didn't post photos. You posted links to a page. When posting photos, it has to be a link to an actual photo ending in .jpg or .gif or it isn't going to work. If you can go to the properties of the actual photos and get those links, they will show up.

LMAO! Jealousy is not pretty. :roll: Being uneducated is a sin. Being too stupid to recognise it is a crime. That is what will be the demise of our profession. And by the way, until you are properly educated, you aren't even in "our profession," much less qualified to speak on its future.

Yeah, he wasn't criticising your photos. He was just telling you that they don't show up for us. Apparently they show up for you, but not for anybody else. Personally, I like the checkerboard. Not crazy about those particular colours, but the pattern is great. It will be mandatory when I am EMS Czar.

Yes, Sarge... sticking your head in the sand should cure everything. Ignore it, and it will all go away. :roll: Nobody excused medics who pick and choose their runs. They are guilty too. They simply aren't part of the discussion since we were talking about a specific, all-basic, volunteer system.

Agreed. You've got big, fat cargo pockets on those wanker pants. Use them. If you don't go throwing trash around like a madman, it isn't hard at all to grab it all up in seconds and stuff it in your pocket. If working out of an ALS box or bag, I will usually use the box or bag as my trash container. Then my partner cleans it out as he restocks, while I am doing my paperwork. If you do it that way, it takes NO extra time or effort on the scene, so there is really no excuse for not doing it. Except for laziness, stupidity, or bad manners.

Yeah... everybody in the Northeast seems to think that. Sure glad I don't live there. :? Sucks if you're living in a system that is already good. I wonder why it is that no other medical profession on earth has seen the necessity to institute "protocols" like this? I guess the people running EMS are just so much smarter than every other profession's leaders. :roll:

Wow! I sure didn't see that one coming. That was an awful strange way to end a rant where you just gave a perfect example of why having a basic partner sucks! :?

Sounds like Jackson is worshipped as Queen Of The Wankers there in Virginia. Buff's on two different volly squads (probably doesn't even live in either district), and spends her time impressing basics with her awesome skillz. EMT-Jackson should be changed to EMT-Jackoff. :roll:

This is not just an indictment of volunteers. It is an indictment of basics. After they get past the initial rush of graduating and thinking they are prepared to save lives, basics soon realise that the ugly truth is they aren't prepared for anything more than first aid. The realisation kicks in that there isn't a thing they can do for nearly ninety percent of their patients except drive them to the hospital. They get bored. Sick calls isn't what they paid $500 dollars for EMT school for. They signed up for the action they saw on "Turd Watch" and now they feel cheated. And they simply don't want to be confronted with patients who require something that they cannot provide. Nobody likes feeling helpless. It causes burnout to set in very quickly. So they just don't respond at all unless they think they'll get a chance to bandage or splint, which is about all they are good for. Organisations should watch the statistics and follow the trends. Those who are skimming should be dismissed immediately. And, of course, idiots like McGreevey and his corrupt cronies aren't smart enough to figure out what they are doing to their state with such lunacy. And they're too afraid of stepping on the toes of the good 'ol boys who run the volunteer monopolies in the state and have political pull. Why in the world anybody would choose to live there is beyond me. But I guess it beats them all moving down here. :?

:wink:

Where was the show filmed? Everytime I've seen it, they were in Toronto. My guess is that they are talking about clotting Factor VIIa. There are a couple of studies still underway, I believe, regarding the use of clotting Factor VIIa in traumatic hæmorrhage. I'm not sure where those are. There have already been a couple of studies, but they were not well controlled, rendering the results inconclusive. And those results suggest there is no difference in mortality or morbidity between those who receive it and those who do not. It is not licensed for such use, but it is sometimes tried in desperation anyhow, and with the study results pending, it still comes up in discussion. Even the most rudimentary understanding of human physiology tells us that there are problems with such a product. First of all, when you start encouraging clotting, you start encouraging emboli and circulatory problems. Stopping bleeding isn't a real victory if you create mortal pulmonary or cerebral emboli in the process. Second, clotting factors work by activating platelets ability to aggregate. If you are already significantly hypovolemic, you don't have enough platelets to complete the process. There is nothing left to activate. And, in the case of the JW victim you are referring to, she's not going to allow any platelets to be infused, so quite likely she would see little if any benefit from infusion of clotting factor. Kinda like gas treatment in a car that has no gas. And of course, Factor VIIa is synthesized from blood components to begin with, so she still probably isn't going to accept it if the physician is honest with her.

Ooooooooh! Something I actually like about New Jersey! I never thought I'd see the day! But Springsteen still sucks. :wink:

Made sense back in the 1970's when we thought IV's actually saved lives. The 1970's were three decades ago. It makes zero sense now. These half-arsed, on-the-cheap, paramedic wannabe levels need to go the way of the dinosaur.

I have to admit that I have never encountered this in the field. Or in the hospital either, for that matter. (Not too many kids running around with implanted defibrillators, I suppose. ) But can others who have seen it tell me if Nate's experience is typical? Are the patients almost always reasonably comfortable? Or are there going to be some who might need a little Valium?

BP cuffs make great c-collars. You figure you have probably three different sizes of them, and they are completely adjustable. And if you pump them up enough, you won't have any worries about head movement.