Dustdevil

What exactly is a "mainport?" Airport, or seaport? If you're looking for coastal, then Seattle, Washington is probably your best bet. There isn't hardly a decent coastal major metropolitan service in the country. All of California sucks. New York sucks. Houston sucks. Most of Florida sucks. Even if you are not limited to coastal, Seattle is still probably very high on the list of your best bets.

If your agency does not have Paramedics, then there is only one skill I recommend be added to your BLS protocols: Pronouncing full arrests on the scene. If you can't do anything for them, then at least don't jeopardise other lives with a bunch of pointless, siren screaming, bat out of hell runs to the hospital with a dead body. IV's and airways aren't going to bring those people back. And if somebody needs ALS, they need a Paramedic, not a wannabe.

Too bad the dispatcher didn't have that same common sense in the very beginning.

That site does not list accreditation. It only lists schools approved by the state EMS department, best I can tell. Accreditation is a whole 'nother animal. Any school can give you a patch. Schools that are accredited are recognised as going above and beyond the minimal standards to provide students with a quality educational experience. I assume quality is what you are looking for. There are two lists of accredited schools, based at the websites of the accrediting agencies. They are: http://www.coaemsp.org/accreditatedprograms.htm http://www.coaemsp.org/accreditatedprograms.htm While national accreditation is certainly not a guarantee of superiour school, it is very much a step in the right direction, and those who do not have it should definitely be asked why not in order to test their commitment to quality. What prerequisites are you taking? Hopefully things like Anatomy & Physiology, General and Child Psychology, English, and Communications. No offence, but you could definitely benefit from a course in keyboarding too if you intend to become a medical professional and be taken seriously. If your school is not requiring the above courses, I would be very sceptical of their quality. And yes, as I said before, the calendar length of your course is almost completely irrelevant. The factor to be considered is the hour length. The school with the most hours wins, no matter how long or short the calendar length may be. That is very much a matter of local norms, really. Remember, you are in a flooded job market in NorCal. You have no value whatsoever. You're just one of ten-thousand EMT-B's there competing for very few jobs. Consequently, employers can demand the very best and be very choosy. That means they may only hire those who are seasoned and have plenty of experience. On the other hand, there are managers out there like myself who prefer new grads to old burnouts because they have no bad habits to be broken and can be easier trained to function within their own agency's policies than somebody who is used to "how we always did it back east." Consequently, again, it is time to get on the phone and start doing an elementary job market survey. Find out who the employers are. Talk to the people there that do the hiring. Ask them these questions. It will vary from agency to agency. Again, you are just a number in a sea of patches. There really isn't any sure-fire way to make yourself stand out in a positive way. But there are definitely ways to hedge your bets. First, make sure you attend the BEST school, not just the shortest school. Those employers know which schools are turning out good EMT's and which ones are just turning out patches. Don't fool yourself into believing they think all patches are the same. Would you choose a doctor who went to a 3 year med school in Mexico City over one who went to four years of med school at Stanford? Of course not. And employers will look at your educational record the very same way. Second, present a professional resume. At the very least, do considerable research online regarding resume writing so you can get an idea of how one should look. Even better, check out some books on it. Even better, consult with an English or Communications professor at your college for assistance. Even better, have it done by a professional. You are definitely going to have to put more effort into it than you put into your posts here. Third, and most important, be prepared for interviews. There is a topic in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of this board regarding interview techniques, as well as multiple other topics covering interviews and interview questions. Search for them and read them. Be prepared. Also be prepared to answer medical questions, both in an interview and probably on a written exam administered by the employer (which goes back to the quality of your education. The faster school may give you a patch, but will you learn enough for your knowledge to stand out from the rest? If not, you've wasted your money.). The Speech-Communications class that you SHOULD be taking will cover much of this, including both resumes and interview techniques. Don't blow it off. That patch is useless if you can't get a job! Two other interview issues: KNOW the company you are applying for. Know as much as possible about them ahead of time. Sound like you've done your homework. And also, have a MUCH better answer to the question, "why do you want to be in EMS" than the old, worn out lie, "I just want to help people." I won't hire anybody who feeds me that BS. I don't know if you have any plan or desire to entire the fire service, but if you don't, you are even more limited in your job prospects in NorCal than otherwise. Chances of you finding a real, 911 EMS job with your EMT-B certificate straight out of school are next to non-existent. Regardless, if you are interested in the fire service, that is NOT something that will impress potential employers. If your goal is to attend the fire academy, or if you are taking fire service classes at the junior college, I wouldn't be displaying that on your resume or applications, or mentioning it in interviews with non-fire providers. Would you hire somebody who only intended to use you for a temporary paycheck while they looked for a better job? Of course not. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Don't blow it by not preparing, both educationally and personally. I'm afraid I have to repeat myself here. You ABSOLUTELY MUST get on the computer and the phone and do an INTENSE and EXHAUSTIVE job market analysis before you even think of laying down hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a stupid EMT course. And, especially in NorCal, I think if you do such an analysis and look at the results critically, you will find that your dad is right. It's a stupid idea. My true advice is to either move or find a less stupid idea for a career. Good luck!

Friendly warning: You definitely will not lighten the mood here by bringing up religion. :wink:

Like you, I too suffered career ending injuries in an ambo wreck. So I have spent considerably more time pondering this issue than most medics. One key principle I have come to realise is this: anything you can invent, an EMT can screw up. Tonnes of them still refuse to wear a seatbelt in the cab, much less in back. Look at previous threads about body armour or crash helmets and you will see the high refusal rate that exists in EMS, which is overpopulated with complete idiots. Consequently, it isn't as simple as just inventing a better mousetrap. We have to employ smarter medics and supervise them more effectively too. The Winter Park seat is a good step. Shows that somebody is using their noodle. But I'd like to see Winter Park put hidden cams in their ambos and see just how widely disregarded the seat quickly becomes. I guarantee you it will be. Despite the fluffy news piece, there is simply too much you cannot do for your patient from that seat. Not to mention, if you have two patients your seat is gone, as is your access to that equipment. Ultimately, I think it's a stupid plan. For me, it all comes back to a ceiling mounted harness, as is used in helicopters. A tracked hook runs the length of the module, and the medic locks into that hook wearing a body harness. There would be a locking mechanism. such as that in shoulder belts, that locks up on sharp deceleration or shearing impact. That would prevent the body from being thrown into a wall in most cases. It would have saved me from four years of physical rehab for a broken neck. But alas, again, nobody would wear it without being forced to. The so-called "nurse catcher" nets are a good idea. I do, however, think that they are terribly overrated. A 200 pound body travelling at 55 mph will rip that thing right out of it's mounting hooks. It might stop you in a very, very low speed crash, but it's only going to slow you down a little at highway speeds. There are plenty of people thinking about this issue. Unfortunately, there are probably few if any Professional Engineers involved in the process. Typical EMT mentality -- "we don't need anybody else's help." It's going to take somebody thinking way outside the box to put this all together into a workable solution or two.

Only the ones who can't properly apply a sling, which is actually very, very, very common here in the US. Remember, you're from someplace where EMT school is longer than 120 hours.

=D> Damn, I hate it when I agree with firemen.

Something to be considered is what the fine print above the receiving representatives signature says. What does it say? What exactly are they signing for? Are they accepting responsibility for the patient? Or are they simply acknowledging his arrival? Are they verifying any actions by the medic? All of these things have to be taken into consideration, not only by you, but by the agency you work for and the person signing the form. This issue isn't particularly new, and when I drew up new PCR forms for an EMS agency in the 80's, it was a prime concern. After much discussion, it was decided that the signature line on the PCR would read something like: This way, very few hospital personnel feel uncomfortable signing it as they had been with the old form which was a lot of nebulous fine print using the word "responsibility." And it does not require a particular level of signer. And, as an intended side benefit, it stopped the complaints from nurses that they had not received patient reports or PCR copies from our people. Of course, ultimately, your employer will have to decide who can and cannot sign. To my knowledge, there is no legal standard. And there certainly is no universally recognised standard in the US. Just read this board and you'll see how may two-bit agencies don't even fill out their PCR's until they are back at the station, much less get a signature. So, if you're doing this at all, signature or not, you're ahead of the game.

Have them all pile in the ambulance and sling and swath each other. I figure that's about as useful as anything an EMT-B learns and a skill that they can take home with them without any fear of them hurting anybody. And next time you see an EMT who can't figure out how to properly apply a sling, you can laugh at him and tell him you taught 7 year olds to do it in fifteen minutes.

Yeah, we know. She was complaining about you in the chat room. :roll:

Meh... sort of depends upon your definition of "emergent calls" I suppose. If you're talking about nursing home transfers that *might* go bad, then oh well. And similarly, if you're talking about EMS rejects who were told by the FD to call a private ambo for their stubbed toe, oh well. But, if you are actually talking about a legitimately contracted 911 EMS provider who is running without this equipment, then you need to find out if your community is even requiring it before you blame the provider. Of course, if you are talking about private non-emergency transfer ambo wankers who are jumping emergency runs that they know they have no business going on, have 'em strung up by their genitals.

And that is the result of people coming along and jumping into conversations that they weren't interested enough in to read first.

Actually, yes it does. Sounds like you weren't quite ready to be a medic then. Regardless, another medic could have saved your ass just as well. There is nothing special about an EMT that enabled him to rescue you where no mere mortal could have. And your point is...?

Wrong. I do not now, nor would I ever be stupid enough to reside in a community which did not provide me with adequate, professional basic services. Try again. So, what exactly does that mean? By volunteering, they are not on anybody's "side" but their own personal egos. To be on our "side," they would have to quit, which would not fit with their egos. As Rid so accurately pointed out here, almost every post from every volly is about "I" and "me." There is no getting those people on your side. Get real.

The problem wouldn't exist if EMT's simply accepted the fact tht Paramedics are better than them.

It's not the same people. It is a different newbie on every page who is in denial, hasn't read the thread, and starts it all over again.

If you weren't there today for free, it would be in the budget tomorrow. Guaranteed.

Sweet! Excellent analogy! =D>

Etes-vous du Québec?

Easy for you to say! :roll:

Nah... I'm talking about Non-Rebreathers (three one-way valves) and Partial Rebreathers (none, one or two one-way valves). Most services have only PRB's, yet they continue to erroneously call them NRB's. And most medics keep reciting "15 lpm" like a mantra engraved in stone, even though it is neither a requirement nor an absolute value. The sad ones simply weren't taught the proper way to apply an NRB or PRB. The pathetic ones never improve their education enough to realise it. Venturi masks (Venti-Masks) are awesome devices that provide a much more stable and quantifiable source of oxygen to the patient than other devices, as well as better information for the hospital who will eventually have to judge the effectiveness of your therapy. Unfortunately, they are really only appropriate for patients receiving an FIO[sub:cabf94089b]2[/sub:cabf94089b] of less than 0.4, and those patients would usually be much more comfortable with a nasal cannula. Consequently, there isn't a lot of pre-hospital application for the Venti-Mask in most urban and suburban settings.

"O[sub:3ad535ff16]2[/sub:3ad535ff16] NRB @ 15 lpm" :roll: First, chances are it isn't even an NRB. More than likely it is a P (partial) RB. Second, why 15 lpm? What is your medical and scientific rationale? Third, without telling us what FIO[sub:3ad535ff16]2[/sub:3ad535ff16] are you providing the patient, the litre flow itself is hardly relevant.

You're spinning and dodging again, Sarge. It has been made crystal clear here that this is not the issue, yet you keep trying to steer it back to this red herring. It's not about motivations. And, as much as you seem to want to think so, it isn't about you. It's about the community and what they deserve. No, check that. It's not about what they deserve. It is about what they NEED to survive. I don't give a rat's arse how pure your motivations are. Your motivations don't put you on the scene within ten minutes of a cardiac arrest 24 hours a day, so people die, despite your motivations. And I don't give a rat's arse about the motivations of the paid crew either, so long as they are on the scene of my cardiac arrest with ALS within ten minutes of me going down. Your rhetoric about motivations is crap. It's irrelevant. And it is transparently disingenuous for you keep bringing it up.

I would start by asking Napa Valley College why, if they are accredited, their name does not appear on any public list of nationally accredited schools. Me thinks either you are confused as to what accreditation is, or else NVC has some explaining to do. If they claim they have applied and are awaiting accreditation, find out which agency they are awaiting accreditation from and call that agency to confirm it. They're apparently already been caught in one lie. I don't think I'd take their word on anything else. The most important things you will want to ask of schools you apply to are: 1. How long is the school? And we're talking contact hours here, not weeks or months. Actual contact hours is the ONLY way to evaluate the length of a school. For example, if school A is four months long and provides 120 contact hours of instruction, it would not be as "long" (or as good) as school B who provides 240 hours in six weeks. If there is no significant difference in total hours, they both schools are in the running. If one is significantly more than the other, than the lower one is to be completely disregarded. 2. How many of those hours are classroom. How many are clinical. And how many are ride time? Yes, I know that everybody wants to get out and get their hands dirty. That's why you're joining the field. But in EMT-B, clinical and ride time are pretty close to pointless. It's just a first aid course. There is darn little first aid provided on an ambulance, and almost none in the ER, that you will get to be involved in or benefit from. The classroom and lab are knowledge. Knowledge is your primary tool. Field exposure becomes important at the paramedic level. At the EMT level, your hours are better spent gaining critical knowledge and leaving the so-called "experience" to your employer. If a school is skimping on class time in order to turn out seasoned stretcher operators, forget them. 3. What are the qualifications of the instructors? And I don't mean the program coordinator who you will probably never see because he sits behind a desk all day and leaves instruction to a bunch of off-duty firemen. Who are the actual instructors who will be teaching you? Is the person who is responsible for teaching you physiology and pharmacology a fireman who went to a 6 month paramedic school? Or is he/she a Registered Nurse with a degree and significant education as well as educational experience? Obviously, I shouldn't have to point out the difference between the two. 4. What is the first-time National Registry exam pass rate for their students? You'd be amazed how many schools that look great have half their students fail the registry exam every semester. Chances are, you don't want to go to that school. 5. What services or resources does the school offer those who need extra help passing the Registry exam after a failure? 6. Does the school leave it's lab and resources open for students to come and go for extra curricular practice before class, or on non-class days? Laboratory -- not field practise -- is where you will learn the most and get the most understanding of your skills. 7. Where do the graduates of this school end up working? Does the faculty claim a high employment rate for their graduates? With whom? Are those employers anybody you have any interest or possibility of working for? 8. Do employers in the area respect this school and its graduates? Call them and find out. Are those employers anybody you have any interest or possibility of working for? 9. Will completion of the course result in transferable college credit? 10. Do they make you wear a ridiculous looking uniform? (hint: if you have to buy it at a uniform shoppe, it is probably ridiculous looking.) Your dad is right. It is an extremely stupid idea. And yes, you are not likely to make a decent living wage, especially in Norcal. To quote a great philosopher, "This isn't a career. It's a hobby." Being a Paramedic is barely a career. Being an EMT is nothing but a step towards being a Paramedic. Damn few communities in NorCal even utilise EMT's in their EMS system. In fact, most communities in California have their firemen provide the service, so there are no EMS jobs for EMT's. Those few jobs that do exist are heavily competed for by the thousands of people just like you who get cranked out of the community colleges every year with no idea whatsoever where they will work. Consequently, job prospects are extremely low, and the glut of candidates keeps wages even lower. Supply and demand. So, quite honestly, the very best prospect you have after graduation -- if you're hott -- is a poverty wage driving a private company ambulance to carry non-acutely ill patients that the fire department has already decided is not worth their time to a hospital or nursing home. No blood and guts. No lights and sirens. No glory. No satisfaction. No thanks from anybody. And not enough money to live in a decent apartment or drive a decent car in SF. And that's only if you're smokin' hott. If you're a low-IQ high school dropout with no serious educational prospects and parents who can't afford to get you a better education and future, and you're not hott, then find a government job where you get union wages and can sit on your arse and retire in twenty years. Bus drivers get paid twice what an EMT gets paid, a cooler uniform, and a career they can retire from. If your parents are loaded and can be counted on to support you the rest of your life, or if you simply can't overcome the erroneous impression you got from watching too much "Turd Watch" and "Paramedics" that being an EMT is exciting and glamorous, then go for it. You might find a job as a non-emergency transfer ambulance driver somewhere within a year. It sucks. It's not anything like what you saw on television. It's a boring grunt job. Within five years you will either get tired of it and wish you had those five years of your life back, or else you'll get serious and finish Paramedic school and move someplace where you can actually get a job, if you can afford it. But even then, chances are it will be a crap wage, and your dad will still be disappointed in you. And you will too. Good luck!