paramedicmike

Hate to burst your bubble but you don't need a new ambulance simply because you're upgrading to an ALS level service. All you need is new equipment. It'll work on the same truck regardless if it was a BLS truck yesterday or last shift. And your organization will save a boat load of money, to boot! Money that could be spent on salaries, benefits, bonuses, station upgrades, even ALS equipment (*gasp*). And yeah...overdone exclamation points do nothing other than turn people off. Basic elementary school grammar dictates otherwise. Save your money. Don't buy a new ambulance simply because you're upgrading your service. There are better things on which to spend your money. -be safe.

You guys were being much too nice in providing a link to the NR website...especially given how lazy this guy states he is. Hey Fats...a little exertion may slim that screen name for you. Do some research before you post, please. Especially for something as easy to find as this. -be safe.

Have you looked at your local protocols? What does it say? Have you talked to your supervisor? What does s/he say? Have you called your regional/State EMS office? What does your contact there have to say? There are many places where you can find the answer to your question. Many of them are more authoritative than an anonymous response on an internet forum. While there is a lot of info here from some very smart people, there are things that you should do before asking a question. Do your research (have you met my friend www.google.com yet?). Then ask about things you don't understand. It'll help you more in the long run. -be safe.

This is just the opposite from places I've seen. In my experience, people start at the busier stations and bid, based on seniority, to get to the slower stations. Not that it matters much...just different. As for sitting around for 12 hours, bring some books. Split your reading to cover some EMS related topics and some fun reading. Any exercise equipment in the station? Can you rig up something for some isometrics? Bring some movies. Taking classes? Great time to do homework. Not taking classes? Why not? You have some great time to do homework! How into the job is your partner? Would that person be willing to work with you on skills review and practice? I'm with Dust, too. I get bored at work pretty quickly if we don't have many runs. I feel rusty and unuseful as a provider. My coworkers give me plenty of crap because during down time I've usually got my nose in a book. However, rural stations at which I've worked have generally had a couple runs over the course of the day. Those that you get tend to present patients who are just a little more sick than the citiots out there. They generally don't call until they *really* need you. Then your longer transport times, as Dust noted, give you the opportunity to provide patient care for much longer periods of time. There are ways to keep yourself busy. But it does make time drag when you're slow. Hope this helps. -be safe.

Have you tried talking with this individual directly? Ask her where the problem lies? Is it that she doesn't trust you? Or just flat out not like you? Or, as could be argued with one particular coworker, is she just trying to get out of doing any kind of work and bullying you around? From a management point of you, you should talk with this individual and try to work things out with her first. If you go straight to management this is what they'll tell you to do anyway. At the same time they'll wonder if you have a problem working with others there which could then look bad for you. If talking to her doesn't work and she's still creating a hostile environment for you at work, then you talk to the boss. Make sure, when you talk to this occasional partner, you make notes of the conversation, what was said, how it was taken, results coming from the interaction. That way if you have to go to the boss you have documentation in hand. This will help back your side of the story. Talk to her first. See if you can reach some sort of understanding with regards to the work environment. If that fails, take your notes with you when you talk to the boss. Maintain professionalism at all times (even if she doesn't). That can only help you in the long run. Good luck. -be safe.

Now DAMN! That's pretty funny! A joke! With cows even! Now do you see why it was so easy for the church to subjugate so many people for so long? I bet they didn't even really need to print the bible in latin. If they realized people were so gullible... oh well. -be safe.

Portable neon sign? Marker flags? Collapsible tent? In bright hunter orange? With marker flags? Under a portable neon sign? I've seen the flags used. I've seen the tent used (not in orange but other similarly bright, sometimes obnoxiously so, colors). This, in conjunction with a fire officer who is genuinely concerned about the ffs on scene directing them to rehab also does some good (much to my surprise). Despite the poor attempt at humour...hope it helps. -be safe.

Interesting. Please don't think I'm against this. Remember, you asked for questions. Explain again the incentives for municipalities to contract out through you. With the exception of the municipal services, these private (mostly volunteer based) services don't cost the local governments much in monetary terms. What would be your selling point to have services contracted through you? Or.... were you looking at leaving these ineffectual, whacker filled volunteer organizations (I can say this as I'm somewhat familiar with this particular area) intact and contracting through them for ALS providers to staff trucks that you don't own in facilities you can't manage? Let them provide BLS level providers? Would this, could this, become a de facto county based system? (What a novel concept!) Who would own the trucks? Supplies would come from where? Or are you dealing strictly with people and not with the incidentals? (I guess that's what an agency would do...personnel only.) How would you convince the medics of the county to work through you? How would you handle billing? And do you really think any of these little chiefdoms would go for this? How would you convince them? Not that I think this is a bad idea. I don't think it's a bad idea. And it's crazy enough that it just might work! It would just take an awful lot of convincing of some pretty self important people. -be safe.

Might that be "Office Space"? What a great movie. -be safe.

While the sentiment is not completely lost, it reminds me of something my great grandmother used to tell me. Being a young kid we all wish for things from time to time. This was the reply I got: "Wish in one hand, $hit in the other. See which one fills up first." Sometimes you do what you can. Other times it's best to speak your mind. And other times yet it's best to keep your mouth shut. -be safe.

Please read all the posts in this thread. The answer has been made available to all just above your post. Reading = good -be safe.

I'm partial to the Maryland paramedic patch myself. It certainly beats others that I've seen. http://www.glasgowfirstaid.org/patches/Sta...d-paramedic.jpg Of course, you always remember your first. -be safe.

You may know the difference between patches. But how about the general public? They're the ones who aren't going to know. It doesn't matter where you are. All they'll see is an official looking person with patches on his/her shirt and think "Hey! EMT!" They aren't going to know that RI or MA have different patches. They most likely aren't even going to know what to look for. Think it would be difficult to impersonate an EMT in between these two urban centers? Try again. There are people who post in these forums who impersonate EMTs all the time. There have been several stories in the news recently about people impersonating an EMT. And how could you not know you could order patches from NREMT? They send you an order form with the envelope saying you passed! Unless, of course, you didn't pass and are just trying to play it off here like you did. In what size envelope did they send your notice? Kids these days. Sheesh! -be safe.

For the same reason Rid mentioned. Selling this stuff on e-bay isn't the brightest thing in the world as there are people out there who can and will use it for impersonation. In fact, there have been a couple stories in the news lately regarding people who have been arrested for impersonating EMS and police with equipment, uniforms and patches all bought on ebay. Further, buying from NREMT is, if you're Registry certified, the right thing to do. And sometimes doing things the right way is a little more expensive whether it be in dollars, time or effort. Oh! Wait! I'm sorry. This is EMS. This is the same industry where it seems most people try to get the most out of the least amount of effort! Don't know what I was thinking. My bad.:roll: -be safe.

So if you're Registered, why do you want to buy them on Ebay? They're $2 a piece from NREMT. You can't get much better than that. I'm with Rid on this one. Not Registered? Don't wear it. If you are, then support the organization and buy from them. This sounds fishy. :?: :shock:

It's part of the proposed changes to Act 45. If the changes pass it'll mirror (for the most part) the proposed National Scope of Practice model. I think they're even calling it an "Advanced EMT" or "AEMT". It will also add a pre-hospital PA level. I've read the proposed changes to the act. I'm not overly impressed. I've never been a big fan of the intermediate level so I may be a little biased in this respect. We'll see what happens. -be safe.

Come on Rid. Didn't you see The Incredibles? Capes on your superhero outfit are bad. They get you sucked into jet engines and the like. And that would be bad. -be safe.

We had this discussion at work recently. The boss said that nationwide there seem to be an increase in the lawsuits filed against RNs. While the hospital will initially cover the employee for the suit, any loss incurred by the hospital will then be recouped in a counter suit against the RN (the employee). Rid and Dust, have you guys seen this in your experiences? I asked the boss how this applied to us. Would the municipality would cover us in a suit? Yes. Would they then counter sue to get their money back...no answer. Has anyone seen this in the EMS field? It would not surprise me to see something like that happen. And the boss seems to be the vindictive type who'd do such a thing just to screw someone. -be safe.

First off, congratulations! Now you get to really start learning. And don't ever stop learning, by the way. From just a little below your original post you'll find this thread: http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3640 This should have some tips that could be beneficial to you in your quest to join the ranks of the underpaid and overworked. The questions you have regarding the company would be good to save until your interview (although it is generally interview taboo to ask questions re: salary on the first interview). Do you know anyone who works there currently? Ask around to people you do know, people from class etc.... You're still new, and I'm sure you had no way of knowing this. But the search feature can be your friend. We have a variety of people here both new and grizzled vets. There have been many many pages worth of discussion held over more topics than you could possibly imagine. A quick search before you post questions could help you answer questions prior to re-posting something that has been raked over the coals. No criticism. Just some friendly advice. Welcome to EMS. Low pay and tons of work and all, I love this job. I can't imagine doing anything else. Any other questions you have think of posting here. This is a great resource with a variety of very knowledgeable people. -be safe.

Amen, brother!

The hours and pay suck but yet you're willing to sit through class and (presumably) waste your time in order to get a job you obviously don't want? Tell us again why you're in class? Maybe it's time to reevaluate your priorities. Find something else to do. Go to plumbing school or something. The hours and pay are probably better. And you'll relieve the rest of us who really enjoy and love what we do of your whining. Ditto what the others above me have said as well. -be safe

You mean there *are* great paying 911 jobs out there? Actually, Rid stole my thunder on the thank you note thing. Every job for which I have ever interviewed and wrote a thank you note has resulted in a job offer. That's over my whole life from bagging groceries in high school to my current job. It has never failed, if I didn't write a thank you note, I didn't get an offer. One man's experience but take it for what it's worth. Also, when dressing, shower, shave etc as noted. Please wear a suit with a tie for men or a business suit for women. Make sure it fits you, is clean, pressed with appropriate footwear. A ratty or obviously worn or ill fitting suit will do you absolutely no good. Turn off your cellphone, pagers or other electronic devices. Better yet, leave them at home. A sure fire way to remove yourself from further consideration is to have a cellphone/pager go off during the interview. "Thank you. Better luck next time." (I would end the interview immediately and send you packing.) Good idea for a thread PRPG. -be safe.

We've got the Stryker stair chairs with the tank treads. Can I just say that this device is one of the greatest inventions ever? I won't go back to using the old ones. Fortunately, all the places I work have the new ones so I've got that covered. My current FT employer doesn't do much by way of keeping their employees happy...but they did an awful lot by listening to us and agreeing to buy this chair. -be safe.

Try that spell check again, Jake. -be safe.

I've seen exit wounds smaller than entry. I've seen entry wounds smaller than exit. Unless you are trained to identify such injuries, you should not, under ANY circumstances, make any effort to identify what is an entry or exit wound. As was noted, if you misidentify what type of wound it is, you could throw an entire case against a suspect off. What's worse, you could be responsible for letting the guilty party get away with murder. Please do not make any attempt to identify or document which is the entry or exit wound in a patient with a GSW. You're not trained to do it. As such, you don't know how to do it. In other words, don't do it! ERDoc presents a good way to document the noted injuries. Yeah...don't do it. -be safe.