yakc130

Yeah, that's the downside. These are all single-status contracts.

I know that this is not the International forum, but that one seems a bit restricted to three countries. My new Chief asked me to come onto the EMS forums I'm a member of and put this out there. We are looking for Western trained medics with a minimum of three years of experience to come and work in Saudi Arabia. It's definitely not a highspeed/low drag job, but it is interesting. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll get back to you with details

So, for those of us who are getting up there, what are you looking into doing after life in the back of the box? Right now, I've been promoted to a "Shift Supervisor" so that they could keep me here a while longer while our new ambulances are inbound. It just so happens that now I am the most senior and experienced medic here, and the only one who had ever done anything with designing specs for new vehicles. (It's actually a hobby/time killer for me.) Our new western trained medical director has me doing all kinds of stuff for new vehicles and equipment. They are so happy with the results that they had me make a new position for myself that is awaiting approval from the CEO. Unfortunately, I may have other plans for back in the states come spring, and may not take this position that I wrote up to fit me to a "T." Even though I'm now a big fish in a little pond, I'm getting tired of the desert, no beer, and no green grass and fishing. All of this has gotten me to thinking that maybe I could sell ambulances or other gear. Or maybe look for a job doing consulting. Downside is that everything is experience based, and does not have a degree or diploma involved. Anyone else in the same position with their career/life right now? Of course, I could always retire to the Philippines with the wife, but she can make more money in the US than back there.

I used to watch this gardening show years ago, and the host would say that his father would tell him, "A cheap tool is an expensive tool." That said, you can find a variety of inexpensive lights almost anywhere that actually do have a good reputation. It doesn't have to be a Surefire or a Maglight. Try going to Candlepowerforums and see what they are talking about there. They are the ultimate flashlight geeks. Google is your friend, followed by Ebay. You can also check out the EDC forum. http://edcforums.com/

Agreed that some places have unwritten hiring ages, but age discrimination is still against the law if it can be proven. Having said that, I know that in Ohio, the last that I had heard, the suburban PD's and FD's were allowed to limit the age of new hires to a maximum of 35, but really a lot of them wouldn't hire you after the age of 32. The major cities (Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, etc) still did hire people that were older if they passed the agility tests. But this was a few years ago, and it may have changed. I haven't seen a stateside agency restricting hiring on age, only on passing the agility test. There's one agency in Qatar that has a max age of 49. If you are physically fit and can do the job, you really should have no problem getting hired except for how you score during your interview. Concentrate on that, and you should be fine. Good luck.

This is nothing new with them. It was the same way when I worked in No VA in the late 80's/early 90's. You would think with the Nation's Capital it would be better than this. They can't even be bothered to walk across the street for a report of a "male down."

Yeah. I remember EOA's. And I remember cleaning equipment for reuse. Not like all of the disposable equipment nowadays. The hospital here still has Thomas Half rings hanging on the walls for use in Peds.

I think that you can get away with touching the forward end of the slide by the barrel. After all, you will be pulling the slide back from the rear above the grip in order to chamber a round. That's how I do it with mine. Look at the way you would hold a pistol. Your fingerprints will be on the grips and the trigger mostly. But I will disagree slightly in having a police officer always pick it up. For some, the only time that they touch a weapon is when they have to go qualify. Not all of them are weapons experts.

Let's just say that my overall impression is not too high and leave it at that.

This!

We have daily check sheets for each shift. We also had our compartments sealed so that should have meant that everything was there. On the weekend, we would pop the seals and inventory the whole truck. Now, they took off all of the seals, and cut down the sheet. Of course, it doesn't help when everyone is just drawing a line down the length of the sheet and signing off on it. What's the point of even bothering to check if that's all you're going to do?

I just tell them I need it for the report and ask. After that, instead of the usual "Mr" or "Ms," I'll resort to using their first name. And yeah, there are haters out there who will be pissed regardless of what you say. I like what Ricky Nelson sang. "You can't please everyone, so, you've got to please yourself."

1. Whenever you feel the need to go to the bathroom, get off your ass and GO NOW. If you wait even one more minute, that call is going to come in where you will be "holding it" for at least an hour. Next.

Maybe you need to switch to a vest. We had some mysteriously arrive a few months ago, and all the cool kids are wearing them now. Even the logistics guys that never run a call. Seriously though. Take an inventory of what you are carrying. Keep track of how often you use it, and dump the stuff you don't. I just keep a small butt pack in the squad with the stuff that I "may" need on rare occasions.

At my old urban job, we had the option of clearing C-spine in the field if certain criteria were met. If there was any doubt, put them on the board. If all services had access to vacuum matresses, it might be different. I think that they have a bit more padding.

Had one who told me she was allergic to Benedryl. It made her sleepy.

Here I was told that we don't stop. Everything out of our AOR is handled by Saudi Red Crescent. If we did pick up a patient, we can't "technically" take them back to our hospital because they don't "belong" to our hospital. If we tried to take them to a MOH (Ministry of Health) hospital, there is the chance they wouldn't accept them from us, and that would leave us with a patient in the back and no place to go. This has happened before I got here. It's pretty F'd up, if you ask me. This is a country of universal health care where everyone has some form of coverage. I've already seen docs triage people away from our place because they "members."

Not glancing into the back of the truck when responding on another call from the ER to make sure your partner put the cot back in.

Where I am now, we had one who thought he was Allah. Same thing. My favorite was one night when it was snowing, we were heading to another call as an extra because we were in the area. We get to a stoplight, and I see a cop car across from us. Instead of looking at us, there cops are staring off to their right. I follow their direction and see this guy walking naked in the snow. I yell at my partner to stop, and he started yelling at me wondering why. I told him to look to his left, and all he says is "Holy shit!" We all walk over to this guy and I ask him, "How you doing, buddy?" He has that thousand yard stare and just keeps looking straight ahead and says, "Jesus is calling me home." He told us that Jesus had appeared in his computer and told him it was time to "go home." I found out about a week later that this guy was a computer programmer or something like that. He had just gotten up and walked away from work. He walked from the downtown area to where we found him at about the 72nd block of the west side. He had been gradually taking off his clothes as he walked because he was told he wouldn't need them anymore. Usually they all seem to think that they are Jesus, or Jesus and the CIA are involved somehow.

Every situation will be different, and that's how they need to be evaluated. You have to look at the risks vs. benefits each time. A school will be different from a theater which will be different from a big grocery store which will be different from a convenient store or truck stop. Quality information will be the biggest factor in deciding if it will be a go/no go situation.

Nice pics. I love the green and the mountains. Nicer than the desert that I'm in, but I don't get any snow.

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Everyone of them here wants/needs an office that they can sit in to entertain their friends, and have tea and dates. Then they can place their stamp and signature on all of the paperwork they make us generate. This place truly thrives on bureacracy and paperwork. The more paperwork you generate, the harder you must be working, I guess. Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.

I agree 100% with all of you. Unfortunately, that's not the way they operate here. I just saw an email today for a protocol on the proper boxing up and storage of paperwork. Believe it or not, the guy that is the "facilities executive director" (they just love fancy important sounding titles here) asked why we couldn't extend the life out to FOURTEEN YEARS!!! He didn't understand why if he could do it with his car, we couldn't do it with the ambulances. I'm really at a loss here. We gave them information about how to do a lot of this. But the way they do things here is by copying examples from other places. They won't be happy unless they see someone elses protocol, or policy procedure manual with their own eyes.

So, as an update to this old thread, http://www.emtcity.com/topic/22275-ambulance-designs-and-specifications/, I now have a new request after our meeting today. The hospital now wants to make a protocol to guide them, step by step, on how and why to replace ambulances in order to purchase new ones. They are looking for international information that will tell them how often to buy new trucks and why some should be relegated to back up status, and others get scrapped. Also, mileage and time frame examples. They have no info, or experience about any of this. This will be used by NON EMS PEOPLE (i.e. beareaucrats ) to make the decisions. Hence, the reason that it needs to be a hand-holding, step by step protocol. Almost like a check off list. They aren't satisfied with what I gave them last time. They want it from actual protocols from other organizations. I guess copying is the highest form of flattery over here. Any help will be appreciated. Oh, and after sitting for months doing nothing, they now want it right after Eid Al Adha (Hajj) ends on 20 Oct. Thanks.

There are no drugs, alcohol, pork, or porn here in KSA. No abuse, psych problems, homosexuality, or HIV/AIDS, either. No worries, Cap. No offense taken. It's all good in da hood. I'll bring the beer from here.