Dustdevil

I'm just sayin... :wink:

It's not just the uniform either! I was caring for a multi-trauma MVA patient one night while running hot to the hospital. He was either drunk or high. I don't remember which. All the way to the ER, he kept yelling at me and my parther, "SLOW DOWN, MAN!! SLOW DOWN!!" We weren't even going that fast, so I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Finally he yelled, "COME ON MAN!! SLOW DOWN!! THE COPS ARE AFTER US!!" I looked out the back doors and there were no cops behind us, so I told him, "No there's not. There aren't any cops behind us." To which he replied, "THE COPS ARE AFTER US MAN, CAN'T YOU HEAR THE SIRENS??'

Hmmm... that depends on whether or not the caps are mandatory.

Dude, we should have an "ugliest uniform" thread! I would nominate East Texas Medical Center EMS. Puke green shirts with sea green collars and shoulders, and sea green pants. They look like they ought to be working a Quick Lube garage.

Heck, I can't even begin to count the hundreds of times that people mistook me for a security guard while in an EMS uniform, even when I was NOT wearing a badge! People are not into details. They don't read what the badge or patch or nametag you are wearing says, so they are really meaningless to everybody except others in fire, police, or EMS. That is why I have long advocated the establishment of a very separate and unique identity for EMS personnel. Best I can tell, this is the only country that doesn't universally do so.

I'm still not exactly certain what you're saying. But yes, I believe the minimal entry level education for EMS should be collegiate and include a much stronger scientific foundation. But then again, I have to say that it should also include a lot more vocational (read: clinical) education than it currently does too. Regarding the poll, neither choice works for me, as there is no "always" rule which applies to individual medics.

Can you clarify the two choices for me? Are you referring to their pre-professional background, or the content of their EMS education?

I had the door thing pulled on me when I got my first station assignment. Took me about 10 seconds to figure out what they had done. I took out my pocket knife and took the door off the hinges and walked out. Then when they told me to put the door back up I told them to F off. Finally, the captain made the jokesters put the door back up and it took them half an hour. That pretty well stopped the pranks.

Who gets to decide for the victim if HE wants to pay the price or not?

hehe... that uniform actually looks pretty familiar. Check this out. That little kid is me headed for work in 1979. :shock: If it weren't for the gun, it wouldn't look any different from the Hennepin County EMS uniform.

LMAO!! ... and then pray you don't get tapped for a random drug test.

Agreed. Whatever they look like, they do NOT look like medical professionals to me.

Hey, dinner is getting cold and Third Watch comes on tv in 20 minutes! I don't have time for spinal precautions!

That's awesome that you have that option! Kudos to your service for providing such an opportunity. What part of Texas are you in?

LMAO! The off-colour use of the word "unit" has only come of fashion since I retired. Thank God for that, because it was probably the second most common term for the ambulance here (second to 'truck')!

Now that's good stuff, right there! Few things pissed me off more than losing that sense of security when a thief is on the loose at your station. Whether it's your wallet out of your locker, or simply your food out of the refrigerator, thieves are the lowest form of EMS life. Anything that gets them back is a good thing!

You and MedicRN seem to be unfairly characterizing paramedicmike and I. Hell, I was one of (if not the) first people to post my pranks in this thread. Did you two miss that? It doesn't make a bit of sense that you would sit here and whine that I don't have a sense of fun or humour. Gracie, there is nothing wrong with your topic, and there is no reason to be disappointed with the results. I'm just personally disappointed with the [im]maturity level of a lot of our brothers out there. And even more disappointed that others would openly condone such criminal conduct as "humourous."

I'm the funniest, most lighthearted and entertaining mother F'er you'd ever work with. I simply have the good sense to know where to draw the line. If you don't recognize criminal activity as a reasonable line, then EMS is not the field for you.

Oooh! Offering alternatives! That is the mark of a great post! Five bonus points for you!

Word. But now in retrospect, I only thought TDH was horrible. Then I encountered the NREMT. What a joke! :?

Yeah, to clarify -- and I think I speak for paramedicmike too -- I was referring only to criminal acts of assault and the misuse of various chemicals and medications. Those are not "pranks." Listing somebody's house? That's no prank either. That's hardcore revenge. But hey, I recognize that sometimes people deserve that kind of thing. But let's not call it a prank.

Especially if you are dressed the same as the team. :?

Who specifically is "they?" TDH or the medics?

They did! The dispatcher was pretty sharp and understood exactly what I was asking for. In fact, it became the standard phrase for that county afterwards.

Been thinking the very same thing myself. It's beyond immature and sophomoric. It's malicious and criminal on local, state, and federal levels. It's on level with the lowest of frat initiation hazing. These are most certainly not "pranks," much less "classic pranks." I wouldn't fault or fire anybody who beat the hell out of anybody perpetrating such crimes on them either.