DwayneEMTP

Good for you Asys. And congratulations on your upcoming marriage!! What are you going to be doing between now and 2011?? All the best to you and your ladies... Dwayne

Actually the only flaming I see happening are your responses to the posts that disagree with you. The often asked questions.... If experience is so good for medics prior to gaining experience, then why don't any of the respected professions do the same? Doctors, nurses, police...and on and on. If it's so good, why is the only truly disrespected medical profession the only one to do it? I brought 42 years of life experience to this job. I got my AAS, zero to hero, and went into the field with a lot of tools many experienced medics seemed to lack. I was good with people, good with pressure, able to organize and prioritize better than many of the younger, yet more experienced, medics I precepted and worked with. So when you claim that nearly all of the exp basics you worked with made great medics, and vise versa, you understand why I call bs. There are a gazillion and one things that determine why people become competent, intelligent, compassionate medics. To boil it down to experience alone makes you look silly. And to quote numbers, when all you really have is anecdotal "feelings" makes you look uneducated. I don't believe you to be either; I think you’re simply presenting your ideas poorly. Try not to be so thin skinned, respond to the posts of those that have shaped this industry from the beginning, instead of complain about them, and I truly believe you will have a lot to learn here. It's obvious you also have a lot to teach, but it's hard to find the lessons when you couch much of what you have to say in tantrums. Thanks for sharing your thoughts... Dwayne

Happy birthday ak... Love and best wishes from me and my family...Stay safe....And yeah...I will give you a birthday wedgie when I see you next! Dwayne

So, pt is administered 10 oz of Tequilla PO which seems to calm him momentarily... As he rests you finally take a minute to review his past medical records..... HELL! Tequilla is know to cause altered mentation and paradoxical priapism in this pt!! What do you do? What do...you...do?? Dwayne (Happy birthday Ol' man!)

PM, I as well don't see name calling so much as descriptions of your ideas. Why would you want people to accept your opinion and move on? Why would you choose to post if you didn't want the opinions of others? We attempt, though often in a very clumsy manner, to find the truth. It seems to me that you are offended that your opinion isn't getting more respect, but the problem is that the way you've chosen to practice your craft shows disrespect for EMS and all of those that have made this a career. I know it's hard to hear, and some of the posts were much more aggressive than necessary, but they are honest opinions based on decades of experience in this field. The reason that this thread has become unproductive is that you've chosen to reply with "Why can't you just be nice to me" instead of addressing specific points that have offended you or that you disagree with. We rarely agree to disagree here. It's not our goal to 'get along', our goal is to gut and fillet every reasonable idea, break it down until we can find out what parts of it are 'right', or productive, and which are 'wrong' or unproductive or destructive to EMS in general and each of us specifically. I for one like your posts, though very much disagree with you on this, and hope that you'll stay. But for you to find this to be a productive medium you'll have to start researching your ideas, be able to back your thoughts with, if not documentation, at least rock solid logical debate. Many of these folks took time out of their day to quote your posts and reply to your thoughts, I would hope you could find the respect for the time they've spent and reply in kind. Asking for people to be gentle, to ignore your wrong ideas thus allowing you to remain wrong, is not considered a kindness here. Helping you to be better, smarter, stronger, more logical....those are our goals, not to beat you down. I'd love to see what you have to say, so please stop asking for people to be nice, and couch your arguments in logic that forces people to take you seriously. Some of the questions you’ve continued to ignore maybe deserve answers, not only out of respect for those that asked, but to clarify this issue in your mind. 1. You stated that you have a job that allows you to make considerably more money than is available in EMS: a. I’m guessing you’ve worked hard to deserve that money and security. How would you feel if others started doing it for free? b. After losing 50% of your income, as your boss no longer needs to pay you well because he has all the help he needs for the cost of a few pizzas, would you welcome those people into the fold? Would you be comfortable listening to them tell you that you it’s ok that you can’t pay your mortgage because “they are giving back to their community?” Thanks for taking the time to share your ideas with us. Dwayne

Good on you Kaisu! In fact, I'm feeling a little short of breath...maybe a touch of chest pain....What is your response time? Be safe Lady...You're going to be way awesome! Dwayne

Yeah!! But I wanted to come over as a medic! Imagine my suprise to find I was sold as a sex slave to Bubba the war Lord of Naddamoneyhere Afg!! I want to renegotiate my contract!! Dwayne

I believe that is mostly on topic, though the removal option you mention is for adults. Can't you see the correlation between removing healthy breasts to avoid possible future illness and circumcision for the same reason? Why is one less valid than the other? I'll have to take another look at the evidence. 1% chance of avoidance of disease and I say no, 50% and I may feel differently. I just can't say for sure without seeing their evidence. But certainly if parents were making their choice based on solid scientific evidence for the future well being of their children, for instance getting a cancer inoculation, then I would not be opposed...I just don't see that happening here. Will do buddy...thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dwayne

Man Michael, I'm not sure. As usual you've made a great point of course, but I will have to think on it before I can give it the response it deserves. My thinking was not so much to champion the prohibition of the act, but to emasculate ( 8) ) the pseudoscience, superstition, mindless, vain, 'follow the leader' reasons that it seems to be done now. On the face of it, and I'm likely going to make an ass out of myself by once again speaking before thinking, I wouldn't mind if parents had to show proof of religious necessity before the procedure was allowed to be performed. I'm not comfortable stepping on religion, especially when I need to use the governments boots to do so. I believe there is room for mutilation is society. I wouldn't tell some societies they couldn't tattoo their children when to be tattooless could likely make them 'less' when they become adults. Would I do such a thing to Dylan? Yeah, I probably would if it would help him avoid almost certain hardship as an adult. It's simply the "Jesus, it's JUST a baby!" mentality that is making me a little insane here.. I will try and wrap both brain cells around your question tonight and give a more reasonable, considered opinion tomorrow.... As always Michael, thanks for making me think. Dwayne

I didn't read the entire thing, but if I got the gist of it, it would seem to be saying that because of the nature of foreskin that those men that retain it are at a somewhat heightened risk for some diseases, such as HIV/AIDS. Again, not having read it completely, I also believe it to have stated that they had not yet drawn any hard conclusions from the data but that is seemed to point in that direction. If in fact those two conclusions are near accurate then I would still feel as I do now. And even if they are inaccurate, and the article was stating that those assumptions were fact, aren't we still back to the "remove all breast tissue at birth to avoid the possibility of breast cancer" argument? If I've missed your point, please let me know and I'll commit some time specifically to read the entire entry I can discuss it more properly. Thanks for the question...Keep your head down over there, OK? Dwayne

You are absolutely right. The article is clear that they are doing ride alongs and didn't state that they were going to be on trucks full time. I got hung up on the preacher stating that the EMT on scene needed a councilor then and there. (As I read it.) I'm afraid I went running off at the mouth with bad, assumed information. If they are riding for the purpose of continuing their education to better provide requested services to those they minister to...then I stand corrected. I absolutely believe that ministers have tremendous value to those that approach them and request help. Anything beyond that I am opposed to. Thanks for taking the time to point out my laziness, and not allowing me to continue in that vein. Dwayne

You can somehow use the term 'yada yada' in reference to putting your future children through a painful, barbaric, needless procedure? Shame on you. With yourself and your wife being paramedics, then I would guess that you wouldn't mind posting the relevant facts from reputable sources that caused you to make such a decision. Please don't simply post a bunch of links to the first pro circumcision sight you come upon. I'd be interested to see the exact data, the pertinent paragraphs, that you used to make your decisions. God bless your wife, truly, but if what you say is accurate then she surely must be for mutilation of female genitalia as well, as that is what makes for 'beautiful' sexual organs in those countries. Is that your feeling as well? Hygienically speaking, there is no argument to be made for circumcision. And to say that being circumcised makes you unqualified to teach your sons proper hygiene is ridiculous. Make all the exscuses you want, but short of showing some evidence to the contrary, at this point all that you're really doing is taking a tiny being that comes to this world helpless, depending on your to protect it, and making one of your first acts as a parent to brutalize him for the purposes of making a pretty dick. That's just hard for me to wrap my brain around.... Dwayne

Ridiculous. To those of you that thought it was a good idea, or at least didn't see the harm... How many calls do you run in a day? Of those, how many even required a paramedic? In your normal year, how many vile, disgusting or just simply disturbing things are you going to see/treat? Of that tiny number, how many are going to affect you emotionally? Out of those that will touch you emotionally, how many will be beyond your ability to cope using the mental tools you already posses? I'm going to guess that the vast majority of us have answered 0-very few, all along. And if this is the case, why would we want to ride an amateur on the truck 24/7 when the only possible necessary short term skill they provide is to carry crap? The fact that the quoted preacher knew instantly that the basic needed a councilor shows perfectly that he has no idea what's needed in EMS. I've paused, had to think, had to overcome anger, or the fact that I was kneeling in blood and vomit, and I'm sure much of that may have shown on my face the same as it may have with this basic. But the last thing I needed was a preacher. These preachers are looking to justify their under appreciated education and skill sets. Good for them...Do it somewhere else. Successful preachers, of which I have two uncles, like other successful professional don't have the time to run around glory seeking. They have full lives to live. I don't have high expectations for those that do have the time to sit in an ambulance doing nothing full time. Sounds to me like there are some preachers, like many others, trying to work themselves a spot on the ambulance without having to bother with all that silly medical training. Let's let them get their jollies elsewhere. If you are so delicate that you need instant counciling, then you really need to get a different job. This is a silly, dangerous idea without even the semblance of thought put behind it....I'm gonna have to go with not only no, but hell no. Dwayne

Though I can see where you're going Mike, there is almost nothing but obvious comparison between the two. The reasons for doing both are mindless and archaic, they are brutal, and of course both involve the mutilation of reproductive/sexual organs. Barbara and I chose no with Dylan. Babs was originally for it, as she felt it had religious significance as well as health benefits. After those were each thoroughly debunked in the the context of a Christian living in a society that allows access to regular soap and water she felt differently. I believe we continue to do it for the same reason we do many things...Blind, often ignorant tradition and/or peer pressure. The same reason my little brain had to immediately say 'no' until I could find good cause to follow the crowd...I'm not a good follower, and I think Dylan is better for it... Dwayne

Sorry Chris....too many holes in that story...urban legend. Either you, or your buddy needs to take a reality check. First, anyone that says I got something up my butt because I was "Doing something mundane (Changing a lightbulf, making salad, etc) and 'slipped', had a sexual accident. Now, can you imagine a "slip of the knife" severing your penis? I can only speak for myself but I'd like to think it would take more than a paper cut or 'slip' of the knife to cut it off. Severed body part, think body modification first, though I've not heard of those pts saving the severed piece as the goal is to have it perminantly removed. Logic first...you end up looking a little silly when you report such stories as fact... Dwayne

Does he have one for Afghanistan? :wink: My uncle's kids went to a Christian school and they were constantly short of money...Seems like he got a good education though....

SM, it seems as though I saw in one of your posts that you're in Afg? Which base are you at? ( :wink: The multiple undisclosed locations only works on those not over here) I work directly with the country medical manager here, so have heard of most if not all of medics in country (Afg/Georgia) that work for our company...Would be great to hook up when you come through sometime! Stay safe. Dwayne

I feel a little differently about note taking than others it appears... I hate note taking in class, in fact refused to do it in one of my classes where they tried to make it mandatory. I simply can't take notes and pay attention at the same time...I'm like a big, dumb dog. I need time to digest and even the simplest tasks, like listening, take my full attention. So I would read the coming chapters before class, highlighting the points I found important, and then go back and make notes from my highlighted entries. Then I would condense my notes onto flash cards to study from. Of course this was a little bit time consuming, but if left my little brain well prepared for class as well as leaving it nothing to do but look and listen to my instructors.... Good luck! Dwayne

Prayers for strength and peace for those that loved him from the Womacks in CO/Afg. Dwayne

Wow, once again I'm shocked to recieve the dumbest possible answer from you.... Someone swat him with a newspaper, would you? Dwayne

Wow, this is interesting. I also was taught this in Medic school. I've also been involved with 3 PEs that I'm aware of, at least they were reported to me later as PEs by the ER Docs, but I didn't see the paperwork myself. Two in the ER and one I lost in the back of the ambulance. Each had the "classic" cyanosis from the nipple line up and it was reported to me as common knowledge that this is a common PE symptom. Looking back though I don’t remember seeing it with my own eyes until after they were pronounced. Not sure if that’s important or not. I have looked afterwards for some reason for the cyanosis from the nipple line, as each certainly had a clear line laterally, and I believe full circumference though didn't verify that it crossed the back, but can't find anything that would explain this. My apologies for reporting what I believed to be common knowledge as fact without making the effort to verify it first. I will look for some sources.... Have a great day all. Dwayne

Good questions that might have been asked before taking a shot in the dark. Good reason for that. Wasn't my scenario. Another good question to be asked before guessing. Me either, but it’s the only direction I could think of to go. I didn’t want to go further than that until others had a chance to come of up intelligent ideas, as opposed to my lame idea. It’s kind of how these things work…You’ve been here long enough to know that. Sure, but we weren't there in the scenario. When I see a throat full of crap, my first effort isn't to stick a blade into it. I would have been ok with your answer had you claimed to have moved the "hamburger" before going to varacies or eppiglottitis. I have to believe you're smart enough to know there was no way to get to those those diagnosis without visualizing the airway. Can or tell me how many of those swollen epigltti were visible in the oralpharynx? I'm guessing zero. Again, we didn't know it was cancer, so now you're simply grasping at straws and making excuses. I didn't call you out. I made clear statements stating I had issues with your answer and your post in general. You decided to be offended and continue to spout silliness instead of simply addressing it as an adult. This is a learning forum. People may have learned from my opinion of your post and your anger with mine. If you need to be pampered in PM then perhaps you should consider your posts a little longer before posting. And if there are many of you resolving these issues in PM, you should be ashamed of yourselves. It makes you weak, and we come her to become stronger. Keep your issues out in the open where others can learn from them! That’s why we’re here, right? Your post was weak because you chose to guess instead of asking for the information you needed to make an educated assessment. Don't blame me for your hurt feelings when I point that out. Dwayne

I'll tell you what I like about this scenario....I took us all out of our comfort zone. Not one of us considered a chronic pathology as opposed to acute. Good scenario man...thanks. Dwayne