TNBusDriver

I really gatta stay off the net when Im overtired. Thanks for the feedback all. Anyways, yea I know I deffinatley need to wait it out its just kind of a pain because I have always been one to try and address problems as they come along. Its just weird going from being an EMT to not. Sorry for the rant.

I feel that some education (even if your in medicine for the long haul) is always important. Growing up I took mine for granted. Through middle school I often took advantage of my irresponsible mother and ditched school. Between elementry school and then I stayed back twice. Though I finally (for the most part) buckled down in high school I did not graduate until I was 20. I stuck it out though and got up in front of my class and many others at graduation, I was proud to have finally made it, regardless of the fact that I was certified as a firefighter and EMT before I even had a diploma. I am not one to stroke my own ego but I am confident in what I have done for a living, my skills and ability to interact with others and I hardly ever receive anything but posative feedback from peers, patients and supervisors. However, I am terrible at spelling as well as grammar and though I have great interpersonal skills I occasionaly studder if I am frustrated. I would greatly bennefit from college level english classes, public speaking and DEFFINATLEY MATH. I am terrible at math. Yes, I think some education is important but it should be relavant to your career to be deemed as such. Basics like english and math will bennefit in resumes, documentation and grant writing as well as making calculations for medications and other pertinent tasks. Unfortunatley, here in the United States, foreign language skills can be greatly beneficial as well. There are many classes not directly related to medicine that can bennefit the healthcare provider but they should never trump the actual education and experience required to do the job. I once worked with this guy who had been in EMS for, "a while" as he said on his first day. His deffinition of a while was six months. When he was asked by his FTO to empty the trash in their ambulance he came back with the sharps container. He didnt know crap about the job but he would often boast that he has a college education. If I recall it was in something like graphic design, not to down play any computer geeks (as I am computer illiterate and appreciate anyone who knows what they are doing). My point is, he has a degree but when it came to the job he was a completley incompitent and a beyond usless waste of space. In the near future, once all of my reciprocity paperwork is complete I hope to obtain my associates degree as a paramedic. While would never think it will make me better than a paramedic with a certificate, I hope that it will help me better myself.

First off just want to say hi to all my past friends from here in the city, its Chris Collins. If y'all dont remember me I was in Connecticut, then moved to Tennessee after some personal issues. Anyways, Ive been doing great and am back in TN perminently. I hope that all is well with you guys too. A brief side note for anyone who dosnt know me (so as my topic does not seem like its coming from some cocky new guy who dosnt know jack about EMS) I have been in EMS for a little over eight years now with experience in commercial, municipal and volunteer services. Recently, I began employment as a driver for a commercial service in my area. I am currently working on reciproity to become a TN certified EMTIV but regardless of my not being one now I have made several observations about the operations within the company that have me concerned. Regardless of being an EMT or a driver you have three "Third Party" ride along days, then you are cut loose to work on a two person crew. Short story is we would bennefit greatly from a well implimented FTO program. My dilema is that I would like to run the idea by my supervisors but I am the new guy and regardless of my experience I am not even trained to the higher standards of care that TN EMTs are. To give a brief example, my last shift I worked with an EMT who, at the begining of our shift, expressed to me that he has been with the company since October (2010) and is not very confident in some of their skills. Now, I dont mind helping my partners if they get stuck, even though technically here I can not do patient care, and I have always enjoyed training and working with new people. But I think that someone who has been around for seven months and is telling people they dont have much confidence is a bit of a red light. We go on a call for low O2 sats, when we get there he spends more time with the family getting info than at the patients side. I wouldnt be surprised if our on scene time was more than 30 minutes. So we finaly load the patient but the pulse ox isnt working so he dosnt take ANY vitals, I can see that the patient is having labored breathing and since he never bothered to switch out the cannula for a nonrebreather I suggested it then did it myself (again Im just a "driver"). We get to the hospital and all that time spent on the paperwork goes out the window as he suddenly has no info to offer on turnover... the nurse and family are irritated, Im trying to give turnover even though I shouldnt, and he dosnt even have vitals to offer untill he uses the hospitals equipment. We all have had our days when we were new and cocky and make mistakes. Of course there are others who just dont belong in an ambulance at all. But I really think from this experience and others Ive had that the company and new EMTs would bennefit from a well implimented FTO program led by confident personel who like to teach and work well with others. Perhaps it wouldnt have helped my freind but who knows without trying? Three days on the road, just watching the crew do their job isnt enough, there is no paperwork to track new employees progress. Its three days and your free. I want to suggest many of my ideas to my supervisors, but I am the new guy and just a driver. So what should I do? How can I approach the situation so I dont just sound like some arrogant a$$? Is there a fine line between my job and the greater good?

Hey all its Chris... formerly Christopher.Collins in here, I think that was my old user name. Im back, new and improved and better than ever! Its been a while since Ive been in the city and I look forward to catching up with everyone. Im back in Tennessee again, Im currently working as an ambulance driver (I didnt even know there was still such a thing in modern EMS) until I complete a skills upgrade class and all of my reciprocity paperwork. Damn stupid of me to let my national registry go. Advice to new EMTs that take the national registry exam: DONT LET IT GO!!!