DFIB

I think this is at least the second time you have had confrontation in the chats that I know of. I avoid the chat room most of the time because it is a much more flippant and informal environment than the forums. Probably because the post are not permanently posted on a forum and will not be judged by everyone. So folks get drunk and say mean, stupid things in the chartroom, I don't care. It is not like you "know" these people and have a vested interest in what they say, The ones I do get to know have always treated me with the respect and courtesy I give them. Others have become friends. Maybe if you treat people with respect and courtesy they would reciprocate that attitude as well. Glad you decided to stay around.

You paint with a pretty wide brush amigo. Sorry you feel you have to go.

It is good to see fellow Texicans in the forum. For a while I thought the Candians and Aussies were going to take over! Welcome again. Edited for spelling

Since I am taking the NREMT tomorrow I checked in on the mechanics and no matter what people’s experience was before, the new format seems like a beast. Since this has been discussed before I will clarify here. The computer adapted test is different than the old linear test. In a linear test every person gets the same sampling of questions from a given subject under the assumption that if they know the sampling they know the rest as well. This is the old NREMT testing method even after it was computerized. Well prepared candidates thought it was easy, others thought it has hard. The NREMT now uses a Computer Adapted Testing combined with the Item Response Theory. This combination test tailor makes a test for each person according to their competency level. Essentially every NREMT test now seems to be the hardest test for every person because the more you know the harder your questions will be until the computer can define your level of competency. Every time the candidate answers a question, the computer re-estimates his or her ability. The way it works is that the more correct answers you get the harder the questions become until you reach the limit of your knowledge. After that it will give you an easier question and then a harder one at the same competency level, With every additional answer, the ability estimate gets more precise. Based upon the most recent, revised ability estimate, the computer selects the next item to be presented, such that the candidate will find it challenging. By doing this they challenge each candidate to limit of his/her ability. So everyone thinks the test is difficult. There is no minimum percentage of questions required to pass of Technically every candidate only gets 50% of the questions right but since each person is tested at a different ability level the computer determines if a person is above or below the passing standard. It is intimidating and I am spooked by this method of testing as I am totally unfamiliar with it.

I am going to call you Mr. Ruff after your last post. You mounted a good defense although you have to admit that we all come off as buttheads in some of our post. I applaud you for helping this guy out. One of the things that I think we forget or overlook after being in the medical field for some time is that if the EMT course is the first contact a person has with the medical field they are assimilating a world of information. They are learning a new vocabulary. If the new vocabulary isn't enough every other word or procedure has an abbreviation. They are learning only the basics of very complex biological systems and expected to understand how they work and interact with other very complex biological systems. They are learning how the environment and medications affect all of those very complex systems and are expected to recognize and know what to do in each scenario. They are learning system operations, rescue operations, legal issues, safety, and how they as EMTs fit into the grand scheme of things. They are learning sheet after sheet of skills that only really make sense after they have had some experience that is almost impossible to get unless their service allows third party ride alongs before certification. They learn all of these things in a very short time with the probability that they will end up driving a truck and carrying bags for their medic. For a total non medical layman it is a world of information in a very short time. That said we need to learn our curriculum and learn it well enough to pass the NREMT. The scenarios that the test present as questions and the multiple correct answers they provide are confusing. Looking for the "best answer" is difficult even for experienced EMTs. Once again I applaud you for helping out a friend. If he works hard he will do fine. I have been helped many times in my life and it has made the difference between success and failure on many occasions.

Goodness, I am appalled that this would happen in an American city. The video sounds like Mexico.

Doctors make more money thatn us because they go to school for 12 + years to learn to do their job very technical, complicated and scientific job.

My family an I will pray for your family. God bless you buddy.

Lemons from his tree .... he appreciates your concern, time and free advice. It probably is the most attention he has had in a long time. Weither you know it or not you made his day and might have saved his life. Lemons from his tree ... wow. There is no doubt you have made a new friend.

Hey Dirte Medic, I hate to hear about your leg but am impressed by your attitude and determination to stay in the profession. Best of wishes to you and a speedy recovery.

Hello BlueBell, It is good to have fellow Texans EMT-Bs in the forum so we can give the rest of the world a shout out from God's Country. I am taking the NREMT on Thursday in Spring. Luck and good fortune to us both!

Howdy Ed, Welcome to the City!

Very well said.

Fireman1037 Why don't you ask your driver to stop right before making the stick? This is a real question.

I approach my clinical as if I were proving my worth to a potential employer and do what I think they would expect if I were working for them. Clinicals are OUR time to learn under supervision I I try to take full advantage of every second. So I know that I have been trained, studied hard, and are going to perform as many skills as my preceptor will allow. I mean I would do their inventories, wash the truck, get them coffee, carry their bags, change bed linings, take out the trash, show up for the shift with doughnuts and constantly be hovering over them offering to help. I was always concerned that I was coming off as a whacker and probably would if my personality were not so calm. Most times if I were any calmer I would fall into a coma. It probably helps that I am a "little" older than your average EMS student as well. In exchange I get to perform a lot of skills. I got to run assessments and learned a lot from each of my preceptors both in the ER and on the streets. I am constantly in their way and asking questions. I ask them for at least a verbal operational debrief and take my medicine when they did not like or disagreed with something I tried or wanted to do. I always felt that I was pestering them and was surprised at the great reviews I always received at the end. So from my experience clinical is a place for learning and doing. The best practitioners don’t sign on to watch, they sign on to do. I think preceptors like for their students to be involved and learning. Any preceptor who thinks that students are a bother or inconvenience should probably not precept. Back to your original question. I love the idea posted by Dwayne, Mongo and others that we are training to lead. One of the hardest things for me is getting over the idea of iatrogenic failure. I constantly worry about doing the best for my patient. This gives me a huge burden when I try to lead. Frankly it scares me every time I take lead. If you walk into clinicals with the humble, servant leader mentality you will do great. Context not changed in edit.

Hey B, I have to tell you your enthusiasm and youth is enviable. You have the entire world and future in front of you. You have plenty of time to get experience and education. You seem like a pretty well centered guy but at your age every decision is important, which girl or guy to date, what friends to have, what parties to go to, different behaviors and activities to engage in, so many things that will sidetrack us if we let them. Given the opportunity to keep my eyes on the prize all over again I probably would have made a lot of different choices that would keep my eyes on the goal. I guess I am trying to say; don’t stop in your advancement but don’t worry when it seems to be slow or real time experience seems just out of reach. It will come in time. Welcome to the City!

I don't see the rift and really didn’t perceive hostility, just some no frills comments. I hope you are not offended. Sometimes a post hits a nerve and seems harsher than it was intended. Assessment shouldn't change that much. Everyone at all levels begins their initial assessment the same way. BSI, Scene Safety, MOI, Number of patients, additional resources, consider c-spine immobilization and so on and so forth. We all start at the same place and work towards the limits of our scope of practice. Some treatments will be more advanced and outside our scope of practice. As basics we may even know how to do them correctly but cannot because we are only basics. As medics many use their judgment of the situation and perform advanced skills before others would normally do it, but in the end we all are dependent on our basic training as a foundation to build on. This is evidenced by the fact that EMT-B can participate in a forum like this and keep up just fine until the case moves into cardio and pharma. I think Medics understand the reasons and repercussions of basic skills better than us basics and they should as they are more schooled than we are. In Texas before you take the Paramedic Skills test we have to retake and pass all basic skills. If you are actively working EMS I think you will use your basic skills intermittently with advanced skills on every call. They do not run parallel to each other but are both intertwined in patient care.

Fake seizures are just about the only thing that drives me absolutely crazy. I can kind of get it when a mom or a grandmother does it to get some semblance of control and respect from their butthead families, I can even give some chick that has been dumped on by her butthead boyfriend, but I have no sympathy or tolerance for an adult male that is pitching a childish fit. We transport but I hate every second. In my backwards location the ER Docs often inject the fakers with distilled water or alcohol just so they remember their trip under false pretentions is not something they want to do again. Maybe we are not that backwards after all.

I have not seen HLPP for some time now but she mysteriously reappeared and posted right after Flaming’s post was edited. Is this a coincidence or are these two posters the same chick? Hmmmmmm.

We are so blessed. We flip a switch and have lights, heat in the winter, air-conditioning in the heat. We eat more in one meal than many have in days, we shower inside our homes with hot water and gripe if the pressure falls below 60 lbs/in, we get to go to the bathroom without going outside and have paper to wipe with, our waste is piped underground and treated, not running in the street or dropping into a pit. Our streets are paved and well lighted. Our livestock lives on farms and does not sleep in our living room, Our children have vaccinations and the first five years of their life has not been declared “the valley of death”. We get to sleep without hearing automatic gunfire or wondering if we will be killed because of our cast, religion or ethnicity. We are blessed indeed and yes we get to smell like soap, in fact we have our choice of soaps the ones that disinfect and the ones that make you soft. Soap that exfoliates and soap that are humectants. Designer soaps for men and for women. We have baby soap and adult soap. Hypoallergenic soap and skin clearing soap. Soap for dry, normal and oily skin. Many, many choices of soaps, almost as many as our blessings. Dwayne, thank you for the reminder and your good wishes. May we all always be privileged enough to smell like soap.

It is easy to become jaded in EMS. It is a good thing to be reminded of the "personal side" of the profession. This is a subject that is touched on from time to time. Here is a very recent thread where a similar situation is discussed. http://www.emtcity.com/topic/21171-remember-two-things-saying-goodbye/page__view__findpost__p__272567

Hey Scotty. My best wishes to you buddy and a good recoveery. Here is an idea. You might could get some of your Medic friends to let her watch a training drill of possibly some of the skills practice at one of the schools. She could get an idea of what to expect. I hope I am not showing ignorance but, why are you having to wait for the angiogram?

Welcome to the forums. Good points. I am still stumped about what you talked to the Dr. about and what reference it has to the rest of your post, or did I miss it?

I would be inclined to believe (without a definitive study) that the reflection of better EMS education woulld translate into the saving of more life but more importantly I think it increases a better quality of life after the incident. I would have to wonder what would happen to EMS if we lowered the educational requirements or simply ceased to improve.

Do they have to drink barium with a hot apendix?