Dustdevil

Soooo... are you bragging or complaining? :? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Exactly, Shane. We wear body armour because we can be shot, not because we have been shot. The same thing applies in patient care. We provide advanced practitioners to our patients because they might need them this time, not because they needed them last time. SPELL CHECKED: One error corrected. :?

How do we know he has no PMH, meds or allergies if he cannot communicate? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

It's not required for a biology degree? :shock: It was for mine. Except for very focused bio degrees, two semesters of organic is a requirement. It is a med school requirement. Should it be required for paramedics? Nah, not for entry level. But should you take it? That's up to you, but it will certainly enhance your understanding of human physiology, and that is the whole point, isn't it? Same with physics. Unless you're going to med school, it's not required. But it is a great class for increasing your understanding of the forces that affect the human body and greatly heightens your critical thinking ability. As for it "putting too much on students," that's nonsense. I want my medics to be as smart as my physician, if not more-so. That means they have the ability to pass basic college physics. Come on, this is junior college we are talking here, not MIT. SPELL CHECKED: One error corrected. :?

Why would you? I don't do anything without thoroughly thinking it through, considering all pros, cons, and choosing the most logical option. On an emergency ambulance (as opposed to a non-emergency transfer ambulance), only about a quarter of my patients need a pillow. Either they are on a backboard, or they are in bad enough condition that the pillow is just in the way. Consequently, it gets in the way, takes up an extra hand we don't have, or gets left on the scene, never to be seen again. When I or my partner go retrieve the cot for the patient, we can very quickly toss the unneeded pillow off the cot and onto the squad bench if it is not strapped down. Saves time and effort and costs you nothing, and you don't end up replacing near as many pillows. Strapping the pillow down is one of those silly things we do simply because "it's the way we've always done it." But operationally, it makes no sense. It serves no purpose and is a potential pain in the ass. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Dammit! Those bastards in Georgia stole my idea! I demand credit! (or cash or cheque) SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Great observations from both UM and param! And Asys, you've outdone yourself again. Your statistical analysis, I would bet, is even more accurate than my own! SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

I am completely fair and objective. I give hott chicks better evaluations whether they sleep with me or not, so why should it matter if they sleep with me? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

I dunno about the trachea, but his heart is in his right armpit! :shock: Most significant spontaneous pneumo I recall was, sure enough, an 18 year old, stereotypically tall, slender white male on a church bus trip. He started feeling bad out on a lonely highway in the middle of nowhere. By the time they made it to the next town to call for help (pre-cellphone/pre-911 days), he was on death's door with a tension pneumo. Luckily, the gas station they stopped at was less than a mile from the hospital I was stationed at, and we had a surgical team in the house at the time. So yeah... that instructor needs to get off the transfer trucks for awhile and experience some EMS. :? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

And NOT strapped down! I hate partners who strap the pillow down to the cot! :roll: SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Let's talk about "watered down" training. I just sat through an "initial" ACLS class that lasted a grand total of five hours. :shock: SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

I've known quite a few USSS agents. Even dated one briefly. I guess the firefighter analogy was not a particularly valid one since, as you point out, they more than have the aptitude for paramedic school. My only point was that the call they have for their knowledge and skills would be so low that deterioration would be a significant factor. Not to mention the dilemma faced when there is a simultaneous call for medical and protection duties from the same person at the same moment. Obviously, one man doing the job of two is rarely an ideal arrangement. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

What kind of moron puts another country's leader as his avatar? :wink: SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Wrong. You're not paying attention. That is basically what happened in the Canadian system, and I praise it on a daily basis. So long as "basics" have the minimal amount of entry level education, training, and experience I believe is necessary to safely effect patient care, I'm happy. Sounds good to me. That is about what has happened in flight medicine where nurses and physicians rule and paramedics are the low man. I don't have a problem with that. Unlike so many others, I am not sitting around and thinking only about what I can do to protect my own little turf. I am all about whatever is best for the patient. Funny how so many seemingly intelligent people completely misunderstand (or misrepresent) my views. To me it's a sign that we need more general educational requirements in EMS education to promote better comprehension, communications, and critical thinking skills in the ranks. Of course, that would mean no more 120 hour zero to hero certifications, so I don't suppose anybody will go for that. :roll: SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

I believe the CC stands for "cheap certificate" since it is considerably cheaper and faster than a real paramedic school. Or it might actually mean "can't certify" since the National Registry and most other states won't recognize it. 8) SPELL CHECKED: No errors found.

Hmmm... you're still not grasping this very simple concept. Let me try one more time. IT IS NOT ABOUT TREATMENT. IT IS ABOUT ASSESSMENT!!! ](*,) It's about a normally trained basic probably not knowing the difference between a common headache and a subdural hemorrhage, and subsequently choosing an inappropriate destination and intervention. But since you are so myopically focused on skills, consider the basics inability to deal with a rapid deterioration in the status of this patient, were it to occur. Did it happen this time? Nope. But if it had (a very real possibility), a basic would have been caught by complete surprise and unable to effectively manage it. I don't know where so many basics get the dangerously mistaken idea that it is perfectly okay to not know what is really wrong with your patient, so long as he doesn't end up needing ALS skills, but it is quite possibly the single most damaging idea in our profession. And it is the reason you find so many medics who bash basics. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Nothing. Who said anything about firefighter/EMT's? :? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

And how much time do they generally waste on a critical patient attempting to interpret something they can't treat? :?

Hmmm... I'll work on that. I'll get some others to get together and brainstorm on a political approach. Although, as I have stated before, nothing short of federal mandate is going to effect nationwide change. Right now, the best you can hope for is that your state gets it's act together like Kansas has and unilaterally raises their standards. As for the quotes thing, when you hit the quote button to reply, everything is done for you. Just highlight and delete the part of the post that you don't want quoted, and make sure you don't delete any part of the quote brackets like you did in that last post. If you want to quote multiple parts of the post separately, click on the " " icon above, cut and paste the quote next to it, then click the " " icon again to close the quotes. Or you can just type in [ quote] and [ /quote] in manually before and after each quote. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

SSG, I was talking about those who enter the profession, not volunteers. You're not in the business. You're in the hobby. Your motivation may well differ from those who choose this for a living. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

Meh... if Bill Clinton can do it (and get re-elected), I find it pretty hard to justify firing anybody for flirting. Yes, it can be a major disruption to the educational process and the professional environment. But it's also prevalent human nature, and is in most cases NOT disruptive or harmful. So, if you are consistent in your application of policies, you will be firing medics and booting students who are in healthy and consensual relationships, and even people who are doing nothing more than flirting. And I submit that is more damaging to the educational process and professional environment than is letting it stand. Unfortunately, it's an all or nothing proposition. And either way, you cause as much disruption as you prevent. SPELL CHECKED: No errors found. 8)

I'm thinking about approaching our medical director about adding exorcisms to our protocols. Is anybody out there doing these? If so, can you send me your protocols? SPELL CHECKED: No errors found 8)

This business is all about two things: people and critical thinking. Therefore, beyond the basic sciences, those are the two areas which should comprise the bulk of your curriculum. Psychology, Developmental and Child Psychology, Abnormal Psychology Sociology, Anthropology Philosophy, Ethics, Logic Algebra, Statistics English Composition, Technical Writing Speech and Business Communications Test out of a few years of French if you want some cheap college credits, haha. But definitely make the basic sciences your priority. Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics at the least. SPELL CHECKED: Two errors corrected. :?

So then the statistics tell us two things: If you stay close to the vice-president, you're more likely to have ALS immediately available. But if you stay close to the vice-president, you're more likely to NEED ALS immediately available Can't win for losing!