JakeEMTP

This line made me laugh Good article. I happen to agree with the good Doctor. Education is paramount to the future of EMS and it has been stressed on this very site many, many times. More education isn't the whole answer, better education is.

Fixed.

Ok, lets say you start working a patient and you do something that further aggravates their injuries. Whether they are oriented or not, it doesn't matter. If your actions makes things worse for the patient, through negligence, wreckless wonton or intentional wrongdoing, you could be sued. I believe there is something about working over your scope of practise also. Here is what NC says about it. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2001/...TML/S160v6.html

Do not think for one minute, that the Good Samaritan Law will protect you from being sued. The Good Samaritan Act was put in place to encourage the lay public to stop and render aid without fear of being sued. We as professional's are supposed to know WTF were doing and will hopefully cause no harm to the injured. http://pa.essortment.com/goodsamaritanl_redg.htm When you go running up to a scene and yell " I'm a EMT!", you exempt yourself from the Good Samaritan Law. As always, there will be exceptions and some States will protect you from prosecution. There will however, always be the law firm of Dewey, Screwem and Howe that will be out to get you. Be careful.

I believe I can add to this thread, since I are a older kollege stoodunt. I graduated for University in 1983 with a BS in Biology. After that, my father who was a long haul truck driver took ill and lost his class A license. To help out, I started driving his truck for him and found myself attracted to the money and the freedom. I spent almost 20 years doing that, however I truly wasn't satisfied. In 2004, my wife and I immigrated to the USA. She is a RN working in the OR on the trauma team. I however, wasn't aloud to work as I didn't have a green card, yet. So being bored I took the EMT-B class for something to do. Beleive me, playing golf everyday gets tiresome. Anyway, EMT-B didn't do it for me. So I enrolled in a Paramedic programme which completed in Dec. '07. I loved every minute of it! I belieive this is what I needed. I love trying to find out what is going on. It's like being a detective sometimes. I also feel, that being older gave me a different perspective. Now, at the ripe old age of 47 I'm a certified paramedic in the State of NC. I encourage anyone who has considered changing careers and can afford it, to go back to school. Hanging with the younger students was refreshing to say the least. 8)

Yeah, I'm with spenac on this one. I'll just have to take someone's word as gospel.

Oh, I thought you meant everyone :wink:. My bad.

Not exactly everyone. Just the people attending "High School and EMT-B class".

When we received our last ambulance, it had the stretcher mounted closer to the left. I personally prefer a centre mounted stretcher as it allows me easier access to the right side of the patient. With the new unit, there isn't a CPR seat. People bitched about that, even though the monitor sits on the seat in the older ambulances. Go figure :roll:. Instead of spending $800.00 per light on LED's, take that money and get a Zico O2 cylinder lift. Yeah, it doesn't have the "cool" factor of the LED's, but your back and that of your fellow employees will thank you. http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/link.php?url...om/3000-ots.HTM Other than those two things, I can't think of much. We have a '97 Braun that is our spare unit. I really like working in it, and can't think of anything I would really change. Good luck with your remount!

LOL! ^^^^ I was afraid to ask. I knew it had to be something like that :shock:.

ITLS ( or PHTLS) was an excellent 2 days and I highly recommend it. The class was well presented and the hands on was great. I especially found the ETT intubation with the patient's head up against the windshield challenging. Tubing upside down was a trip! Frankly, I don't understand why it isn't a pre-requisite for certification :? . It is a requirement for my employer and that's ok with me.

OMG! I used to have hair like that lead singer! :laughing8:

Unfortunately Captain, Eastern NC is home to the " Bojangles 3 x daily" crowd. [-X

Yeah, that's what I thought you were doing. Good tip to allow for additional classes though, as well as study time.

How, exactly, are we going to check for the smell of ETOH? I know how spenac is going to do it, but what about the rest of you? Fortunately, this has yet to hit here. I think I'll treat for AMS and ride routine to the ED. :wink: Wait, isn't checking for ETOH a Basic skill? j/k

In Jake666's second post he mentions " occasional Saturday classes". Depending on the number of occasional classes, it would cut down on that 50 hr's significantly.

I agree. I remember that story and I think that's what Dustdevil was alluding to. All we need is a bunch of :jerk: with MORE electricity. :roll:

That is exactly the way we do it here. Forgive my ignorance, but I thought it was the standard everywhere. then I thought, " this is EMS, there isn't a standard" :oops:. Over the radio we give V/S, C/C, age and sex as well as ETA. I always ask if they require further information, you know, just in case, but the usual answer is " See you in 10".

Not if you have one of these on your ambulance 8)! We have one on our newest unit. Well worth the money and the County gets a break on their Workers Comp because of it. http://www.ziamatic.com/3000-ots.HTM Yeah, CPAP use quite a bit of O2. As others have stated, carrying extra cylinders with you is the way to go for long transports.

Apparently, Pres. Bush thinks it's a good idea to cut funding to Medicare/Medicaid. Cutting funding to hospitals, ambulance services etc, hurting the very people it was designed to help. At the same time, payment to insurance companies will remain unchanged which really didn't surprise me :roll: . http://www.ems1.com/products/consultingand...rticles/349463/ At least he isn't going to ask for more money for the war in Iraq. How out of touch is this Government with reality? Small services that rely solely on Medicare payment to cover 60% of the actual costs will close. Local Governments will have to tax the citizens or have know EMS service at all, a good thing to come out of this proposal. Maybe if some of the money paid to Fire Dept's could be transferred to EMS to help keep it afloat. I don't know. This just pissed me off and I thought I'd share with you all.

I glanced over the file and will look at it indepth when I have some more time. Trying to read that and work is sometimes a difficult chore. Perhaps I missed it, or haven't reached that part yet, but is there a timeline for the implementation of the new scope or is it already in place? How is it possible to have 39 different levels of certifications between EMT-B and Paramedic? :? The information I have read so far in the guidelines seems reasonable enough. The scope of practice for paramedics is real close to what ours is here. I also read about increasing skills without the proper education. I believe it went "Care must be taken to consider the level of cognition necessary to perform a skill safely. For instance, some skills may appear simple to perform, but require considerable clinical judgment to know when they should, and should not, be performed" It's an interesting read. One that requires more time than I can devote to it now.

I thought so too :? . You know what they say about assuming :roll:. I guess I'm guilty as well.

I had a friend who was a 2 pack a day smoker (no, not me). He went to his primary physician and was given Chantex to help him quit. The premise is, it weens you off nicotine instead of trying to quit cold turkey, which seldom works. I too am an ex-smoker and know how hard it is to quit. Give it a try, it worked for him. He hasn't had a cigarette in almost 9 mths. 8)

"Hot for Teacher" - Van Halen :headbang:

Mobey, All I can find is a site that confirms your thoughts. The thought that by slowing down the chemical reaction perhaps reducing the possibility of permanent muscle damage seems logical though. http://www.spservices.co.uk/product_info.p...roducts_id/2619