DwayneEMTP

What? There was some doubt? Not from me there wasn't... Good on you Brother...take a break, get sideways with your friends and get nasty, and then with the business of teaching your attitude and spirit to everyone else in EMS, ok?

Man, good questions. There's possibly other variables, though I'm not sure. If we're dealing strictly with medical ethics, (No legally state mandated drug screen following accidents suspicious accidents, or some such.) then there is no way to justify this behavior. It's impossible to know what the outcome would be, but my guess would be that the cops would have driven him to the ER. A hell of a lot cheaper than an ambulance, for me, but terribly expensive for the police after they're done legally defending their violation of my civil rights. Again, assuming that the call has no hidden worm holes, there is no way that this was acceptable. Unfortunately, the person did go voluntarily, and it's unlikely that the police or the ambulance crew will ever 'remember' that conversation taking place... Would they have backed down? It probably has more to do with the backbone and education of the person they're trying to intimidate...someone timid, it's unlikely, someone more, respectfully, aggressive with an intelligent argument, probably...

Heh...yeah, sometimes when I'm posting I get a blank screen with the little thingy that shows that it's still loading, before it goes to the post, after it's posted? Does that make sense? So it looks to me like it failed (I give it ten or fifteen mins) and then try again...I guess it posted this time... :-)

Say, if anyone finds any really good GPS, I'd appreciate a heads up. We try and let Dylan lead as much as possible. I spent around $400 or so? I can't remember, on one of the super duper hiker, mountaineer GPS. It's supposed to rock, but the readout isn't intuitive...my phone does ok, but doesn't seem to get us closer often than 10-15 yards...for some, that's not nearly close enough... So anyway, if anyone finds something that is easy, maybe even fun to read and more accurate, I'd love to hear about it...

Aspiring, I've been trying to reply to this post since you posted it, but where I work the internet is so terribly slow that I couldn't get this page to load... First, what a friggin' cool post. In a world where so many are looking for a reason to say, "What?! You're going to discriminate against me?!!" you instead chose to create a really productive, mature post. Thanks for that. I think that most of the responses come from the title of the post using the world, "deaf", which to most of us means, "without an ability to hear." After reading your post it occurred to me that I may have heard before that there are levels of deaf? I'm not sure, and I can't search from here. I believe that if there are adjuncts that will allow you to hear as well as another person, that you should not at all be discouraged from entering EMS. In fact, I would love to see someone with your maturity level while still in highschool be part of the family. But again, most of the replies come from a common idea that "If I can pass the test then I should be allowed to ride in an ambulance." You should be allowed to ride in an ambulance, you just shouldn't be allowed to work in an ambulance if you're unable to do the job, for any reason. Safety is a huge issue for us. If on a call can you hear if a fight starts to develop? Can you hear someone speaking angrily so that you can watch my back while I'm working? Can you hear other traffic, or sirens? And actual patient care, instead of just a bunch of 'feel good' stuff. Can you hear a person wheezing, or coughing, or can you hear that they're voice is strangely hoarse despite their saying that they're fine? Know what I mean? I'm not familiar with the cochlear implants beyond having heard the name in association with really good things. If you won't lose them, or they won't get stolen, and you can hear as well as needed (which is pretty well) then I have not a single issue with a physically hearing impaired person that's no longer impaired when a mechanical/chemical intervention sufficiently mitigates the problem, being part of EMS. The bottom line is pretty much this. If my wife or son is in need of emergency care, and you show up with any issues that cause you to provide care that is anything less than 100%, then I'm going to fight you on being allowed to participate. Everyone is someone's wife, son, mother, daughter, etc. If you show up to my families emergency for any reason other than to bring every tool in your toolbox to mitigate that emergency and create the best possible outcome, then I'm going to fight you. Let me give you another example. We had a member here a long time ago that's ultimately been banned (something nearly impossible to make happen here) that was angry that he was discriminated against for being openly, flamboyantly gay. He was very proud of using an exaggerated, what he defined as "gay accent", as well as making every effort to push the companies dress code policies to further his 'cause.' He got complaints because he made his coworkers as well as patients uncomfortable. Not because he was gay, but because he chose to display his 'gayness' in the most socially uncomfortable ways possible. He chose to be an asshole, and then blamed discrimination for his issues. I was completely onboard with his being terminated. He is no more, or not by much, able to do the job than someone that's hearing impaired. If you can't get people to be honest with you, if you can't get them to relax and tell you their issues, if you are there to promote your cause instead of help..then you shouldn't be allowed to participate...know what I mean? Thanks again for such a productive and mature post..I look forward to your thoughts...

It sounds as if you've done everything necessary to recert except pass the test. My advice, and please take this as an honest reply and not a snipe... Stop making the test harder than it is. Go back, take it again, but forget your paramedic knowledge and take it with the mindset of an EMT B. Us your paramedic knowledge only of absolutely forced into it. I think that you'll find that the medic test is not so far removed from the basic test. Scene safe, BSI, ABC. Always those first. And only if you can't solve the problem there, go to more advanced thinking. I promise you that this is true. You've got this Brother...no worries. It sounds as if you've done everything necessary to recert except pass the test. My advice, and please take this as an honest reply and not a snipe... Stop making the test harder than it is. Go back, take it again, but forget your paramedic knowledge and take it with the mindset of an EMT B. Us your paramedic knowledge only of absolutely forced into it. I think that you'll find that the medic test is not so far removed from the basic test. Scene safe, BSI, ABC. Always those first. And only if you can't solve the problem there, go to more advanced thinking. I promise you that this is true. You've got this Brother...no worries.

Actually, I'd be willing to bet that I can figure out several ways to cheat with a coffee cup with coffee in it that I couldn't pull off with a transparent water bottle... They are pretty hardcore, but you know what? When I took the old, paper NR, you could see people cheating all over the place. I worked hard to know my stuff, those that didn't work hard enough, I want them gone, not sharing my ambulance.. Just pour your god damned coffee into the bottle Island...friggin' hardass... Besides, I'm with Mari, you already paid, I've got your money, I'd have thrown your old ass out... :-)

Yeah! Me, Babs and Dylan go sometimes...it's harder than it sounds!! What kind of a GPS do you use? I need to find something that's easier for Dylan, so that he can lead instead of having to follow all the time.. But yeah, it's pretty fun! Also, there's a ton of them around Colorado Springs Doc, should you ever want to come visiting. You and yours are always welcome. Christopher and his wife just came for a few nights and they got out without a scratch. I'm thinking that the odds are pretty good for you too, should you mind your manners...

Man, what great posts... Right you are Harry... Kat, one thing that you said that resonated, or maybe I implied some of it, is that we're all going to get caught sometimes, but we need to do the best we can then, and after, not let it effect the next call....If we're going to be emotionally open providers then I just don't see any way that, every now and then, we're not going to step on our weenies... I do believe the easiest thing is to say, "I'm here to diagnose and apply physical/chemical interventions. Then you'll never get angry, because you shouldn't really care enough to get riled in that situation.... I don't believe my way is easier, but I do believe that it helps "me" to do better medicine. I don't believe, if there was a new 'no compassion' law passed tomorrow, that I would know how to separate it out from my medicine.... Do I believe that others can do medicine just as good as mine or better without all of the warm and fuzzies? Man, I don't know. I only know my way and haven't worked with someone like that for comparison. I've worked with those that don't care, but they weren't making an effort to do their best medicine anyway, they were just douchebags...I'm not talking about them, but the people that can stay detached, treat patients, and go home, more or less like fixing a car... Interesting points I think...see what you did Matty? Sheesh...

Man, Matty, on your first point. What an excellent, and overlooked, at least by me, point. I'd once had to be pushed out of the ambulance by my partner before beating the shit out of a drunk. Upon examining a man in jail who'd sverely beaten his wife (I'd also treated her), who'd also been beaten by the police, I declared him sound to stay in jail despite his being pretty banged up and screaming of a headache. My post certainly did imply that if the less desireable human elements seep into your care that you are less than a professional provider. That was terribly hypocritical of me and I'm grateful for your pointing it out. Or perhaps if those things do seep into your care then you're not yet a complete professional? But can you open yourself up to giving love and compassion to your patients without also opening yourself up to anger and frustration? Intuitively I'd think no...but I don't know. Being that unprofessional person for me is rare, a couple of times that I'm ashamed of in my career, but man, how I hate him when he shows up. My post more should have reflected a professional's constant desire to reach that ideal, without implying that they do so always... I'll have to give that some thought and make some changes...Thanks Brother.

I love that they are opposite sides of the same coin... Nice Kat..thanks for sharing...

Hi all, I wrote the below post in my blog and was curious about your thoughts. The idea from it actually came from a discussion of FB. Some saying that compassion, and/or "hand holding" is part of EMS, like me, and others saying that it can be, but that it's not necessary to do good medicine. Anyway, the below isn't directly regarding that, but it's what got the ball rolling in my head.. From, www.chasing-my-life.com Let’s talk about the spirit of EMS for a minute… June 4, 2013by Dwayne Let’s talk about wankers first. (wackers, wannabes, Ricky Rescues, whatever). I’ll start. They hurt my heart. Truly. And they also, without knowing it, hurt their own hearts as well. And probably worse, they hurt the spirit of EMS very much. I believe that there is an amazing spirit that lives at the very heart of EMS. If we listen to it, it can make EMS the most amazingly rewarding career that I can imagine. If we don’t, then we can sometimes end up being just another wanker that’s been given a truck with lights and a siren. And I’m not a big fan of the wankers. They just don’t ‘get it.’ We’ve worked hard for the privilege of being “the” person that people call when they are terrified. The person called when they, or someone that they love, are hurt, or ill, or sometimes just mentally or emotionally lost. Yet somehow there seems to be a huge segment of the EMS population that has decided to whine about that. To complain about the fact that they’ve been asked to actually perform in the role that they’ve worked towards and applied for. They’ve decided that to be cool you have to show how detached you are from compassion and simple human decency. Fortunately, I believe that most of us don’t fit into that category. And most that do don’t want to, they are just not strong enough yet to go against their buddies that choose to act cool instead of being competent. Let me lay out a few guidelines regarding our EMS spirit, yours and mine. If you’ve transported an old person and later referred to them as a ‘lizard’ or ‘gomer’, you’re a wanker. If you’ve bragged about how much you love the sound of breaking ribs during CPR, you’re a wanker. If you’ve ever explained to someone how you’d love to give your most recent suicide attempt (real or pretended) better instructions so that they can be successful in the future, you’re a wanker. If you’ve ever chosen to leave a patient’s spirit in worse shape than when you found it, in any way, you’re a wanker. Those gomers and lizards have lived a long time, and have accomplished things that you can’t possibly imagine. They’ve lived through a world war, some of them more than one, and multiple depressions, including the Great One. They’ve watched their friends, brothers, sisters, and too often, their children die. They’ve been humiliated as their driver’s licenses have been taken from them, again as their bladders and bowels began to betray them, and in many, many cases they were forcefully removed from their homes and placed in terrible institutions against their will, by the children that they raised. They now live in a world that many of them don’t understand, are afraid, feel unwell, and are powerless. They deserve, and have unquestionably earned more than our county gives them, but at the very least they deserve our respect and very best care. Those breaking ribs belong to a human being that is almost certainly in the last seconds of their life. Trillions and trillions of memories, loves, tears, laughter, all ending at that moment. The cracking sound that you’re so proud of will be heard, very often, by their families and loved ones. It’s that sound that they will involuntarily associate with the last memory of their mom, dad, or child, for the rest of their lives. Sometimes these worn, tired, amazing people need help. They need a hero. So they call for an ambulance. If you’re a wanker, unfortunately they sometimes get you instead. You laugh about the smell of their rooms, make jokes about their diapers, the way they talk, the way they chew, draw pictures of their sagging breasts. You drop them off at the hospital and then go to the bar later, strutting, wearing your EMS or firefighter t-shirt, accepting accolades for all of the amazingly heroic things that you did with your day, though no heroic things were done. Accept free drinks for being willing to put your life on the line during every shift!! Wanker bullshit at it’s finest. If you’re a wanker, you have the opportunity on these calls to be a hero. But as there were no burning buildings, or bullets to dodge, no cameras around to put your face in the paper, you couldn’t be bothered. You had the ability to ‘see’ this tired old person. To get them to tell you their stories, and truly listen to them. To get them an extra blanket even if they didn’t need one, simply to show them that they were still important. More important, you had the opportunity to stand up for them after the call. To choose to promote their dignity instead of joining your buddies in crowing about their uselessness. During each call we have a chance to make a difference in someone’s spirit, and therefore their life. After each call we have a chance to make a difference in EMS. And please, if you’re a wanker, spare me the argument of, “I may say those things after a call, but that doesn’t effect my patient care!” Bullshit again. In fact, if I even have to explain this to you then you’ve likely deluded yourself so completely that I’m not sure that you’re reachable at this point. Do our attempts to make a difference always work? No, almost never. Do they sometimes create drastic change? Yes. Do they ALWAYS make some positive difference in our patient, and just as important, in us? Yes, they do. Every, single, time. Is there ever a good reason NOT to try? One. If you’ve got a dozen plates spinning, trying to save a life, then perhaps you don’t have time for this type of compassion. But as soon as one of those plates is taken down? You’re out of excuses again. Besides, despite what you allow your family and girlfriend/boyfriend to believe, those are what? 1/10 of 1% of your calls? Maybe your attempt at some positive thing does something, or maybe it doesn’t, or maybe it does but you won’t be there to see it at some later date. Any way you slice it, succeed or fail, making the attempt is just simply good medicine. Language is powerful. Each time we use, or hear such terms as those above it should make us feel a bit ill. You know that feeling. When you’ve discovered that you pushed the wrong drug, or the wrong dose? Or delivered a medication before finding that you forgot to consider interactions with the other drugs they’re already taking? That ill feeling that you get when you know that you’ve done bad. That you were called to help, but hurt instead. Wanker or not, I’m confident that you know what I mean. I certainly know that feeling well. I know that you went into this wanting to be a champion for those that can’t champion for themselves. I know, I truly believe, that you went into this to make a difference. I know that at the end of the day that you want to lay your head down knowing that someone’s life is better because you were a part of it when they were in trouble. Please. Listen to your EMS spirit. Take a minute on every call and actually see your patients beyond their pathologies. Treat their bodies, but heal their minds and spirits. If you’re not doing so then you’re missing a vital part of the medical arts. It costs nothing but an additional bit of your focus. It takes no additional time. But the rewards are monumental. Leave the wankers to do what wankers will do. But today, choose not to participate. Will the world change because you’ve made a different decision? Yes, for this one person, their families, and friends, the world will be different. It should feel like a privilege to hold such power as to be able to be part of a stranger's memories for the rest of their lives. Those memories will be good or bad, either way those that carry them will be changed. To the professionals in EMS that get the reason, and the need for such posts…I salute you. Thank you for watching out for my family and myself. For bringing the best of EMS to every home, and to every patient. I promise to continue to do, every day, the best I can to be considered your peer and to live up to your example. To those of you that think that this is just a bunch of feel good rah, rah, bullshit. I thank you to, for the work that you do, though I’ll likely never consider you a professional. My wish for you is that you to take a minute to think, and go back to the days when you could be proud of the job that you do every day. When you do? Man, nothing would make me happier than to welcome you to the ranks of the brotherhood of professional EMS providers and scratch another name off of the wanker list. To those of you that really don’t know what the hell this is all about? That’s ok… You will. And as you move forward maybe this will give you a bit of a compass to help guide your way. I hope so. I’ll keep an eye out for you down the road… Have a great day all…

I absolutely think that sex is a good barometer for a happy marriage. And that comes from someone that's been happily married for 25 years this year. What happens during good sex? (Other than orgasm of course) Trust, intimacy, vulnerability, curiosity, kindess, communication, bravery, openess...all of the things that make a great relationship great, right? Only compressed...When one of them is broken, the relationship is broken, and that can often be quickly seen through the lack of a happy sex life. If you're spending more time working on your relationship than you're spending getting naked, then you need to stop and see which of those things are broken, figure out how to fix it, and then get back to the business of 'getting busy' again... Money? When you're getting laid on a regular basis, who cares about money? But truly, when the rest of your life is firing on all cylinders, as shown by a healthy sex life, then talking, and planning to solve the money issues really aren't that big of a deal... When you hear "Sex isn't that big of a deal, you need a relationship built on more than a roll in the hay..." that's partially true, but when you hear sex described as "just a roll in the hay" then I guarantee you that they're doing it wrong..it's truly much, much more than that.. If your sex life is boring, then you need to figure out why you're uninterested in spicing it up for your wife? Heh, yeah..you're pissed because she won't spice it up for you, right? This is a 'you get what you give game', it doesn't work the other way around. If your wife feels loved, sexy, appreciated, desired, then she's gonna wanna rock your world...if she doesn't want to rock your world, figure out why she doesn't feel sexy and fix it... See, all of this is easy!! Ok, not so much..but it is doable. And the good news? The steps that you need to take to fix your sex life are exactly the same steps that you should be taking every day anyway, just to have a happy life. They're just more easily seen when viewed through sex...but isn't everything?

Good to see you back her LS! Let us know how things go for you this time around in class, and how you do on your test...

Dust exposure has been tied to colon cancer? Thoughts to his family, and all that loved him for peace and healing...

Shhhh...what happens in Vagus, stays in Vagus....

[Edit: Was posting at the same time as Ugly.] Not sure how I gave the impression that I believe that you should have stayed...Man, I don't believe that at all... We had an difficulty breathing at the service that I worked at. The vollies had shown up. When I got there the NRB was on upside down, the O2 not turned on, patients house was full of people, (maybe 8-10) some laughing and visiting, others smoking on the porch. I quietly turned the mask over, turned on the O2, etc...got help getting her loaded...not emergent, though I don't remember the issue. Before taking off I called everyone together, asked about the call. They named the errors, though no one could 'remember' who put the mask on, and all swore that the O2 had been turned on...that the patient must have turned it off. I wrote it off to insecurities..something that can be fixed if humiliation is left off of the table. They seemed really excited to have someone take the time to talk to them. I kind of made a joke out of it, explained that we all make mistakes, and that we do the best we can...blah, blah, blah. We all laughed, they thanked me for doing the call review and for my advice, I explained that I was excited to work with them, etc. Just a bunch of good ol' boy buddies. Got back to quarters and was called into the Grand Pubah's office where two of the vollies sat, sad faced and angry. It was explained that after the call I'd simply walked out of the house, said, "You're all a bunch of idiots", got into the back of the ambulance and drove off. That's when I knew that this wasn't going to be a good fit. I tried a few more times to be a team player, with like results, and then simply, with a couple of exceptions, viewed the on scene vollies as I would any other spectator. I was disliked, but liking me or improving, or even being part of the team wasn't their goal, so it didn't really ping on my radar. I'm confident from your posting history and our personal messages that you did the best that you could. In no way would I prioritize my health and family's happiness under my duties to a service, neither paid nor volly.

The humidity is insane, right?? Good to have you! Remember...the majority of the benefit that you'll find here comes from having the courage to post, and to comment on the posts of others, so don't be shy. I look forward to your thoughts! Edit: When you say 'preparing for your EMT Basic', do you mean preparing to start your education, or to do your testing? Dwayne

Welcome back Sister.. No worries on the post. It's just good to see you back. But people do come to understand you, and your intellect through your postings...just a heads up. Why have you been gone so long?

What the hell? We loved you when you were here, we've missed you for being gone. But the, "If I'm not wanted, I'll leave?" has got to go. What evil new whiny bullshit is this? When you posted regularly you were one of the strongest members here...enough with that crap, ok? If I'd left every time I wasn't wanted I'd have missed out on being the medic that I'm becoming. And I've actually come to respect that medic pretty well. When I tried to work with the vollies (Not volly bashing, I know of some that are amazing) I was sumarily hated by nearly everyone despite my best effort to be supremely positive and gentle. ( And by normal standards I mean, not just mine.) But man, I couldn't make it work. I believe that the service is much diminished with me gone, but the service is much happier that way. Stop focusing on the ass kicking you may have taken and be grateful for the experience that you gained. You now know much better where you don't want to be, what you don't want to do, and the places that you actually do have the power to make positive change. You know of some approaches that won't work, and others that will...And that's no small thing. Good to have you back Brother. I'm excited for you to be here. But straighten your friggin' knees, stop looking at your shoes, take a deep breath and get back to the business of being who we've always known, ok? Because that guy friggin' rocked and was a force to be reconned with.

Man, it's hard to say really. It appears that it would work fine on the type of straight lac that they demonstrate on in the pic, but the injuries that I've seen that present life threatening hemorrhage rarely come in such a configuration. I can see this working ok on the 4" inch lacs, but not so much on ragged wounds, larger lacs, gunshot exit wounds, etc. I also wonder about margin damage from it being applied with too much pressure, as well, it looks like it has several needles on each face, creating a VERY significant sharps issue when misapplied, applied with multiple attempts (after being contaminated), etc. Ultimately the success or failure of this device will depend on how many military contacts the creators have in their pockets. Also, it seems, and I might be off in the ditch here, that many of these significant wounds benefit from packing inside of the wound instead of simply on top of it? At least that's been my belief and practice to date. If I can pull the wound margins together, then I do so and dress outside of the skin, if not, then, often, I've packed inside and then applied pressure dressing outside. I don't see this making a visit to street medicine any time soon..

Good on you Bushy... I've missed you posting here. I'm glad that you're back! I'm excited, as we'll have a lot to learn from you while you walk your new path...don't cheat us out of it, ok?

I too think that this is a farce, but a great public relations strategy. I do believe that most of what we do, and the most important, is touching people's hearts and spirits, and in this he may be superior to many. If so, then that's a really good thing. But there will be times, no matter what kind of EMS service that you provide, that you will need to hear. It's just simply a vital part of providing medical care sometimes. And to say that it's ok because he only does non emergent transports just isn't right. I've had two non emergent Hospice patients code in the back of my ambulance. A non emergent start doesn't mean a non emergent conclusion. Of course the flip side of this argument is that I've worked with many paramedics that couldn't be bothered to do a manual BP, listen to bowel sounds, or have any idea what to do with any but the most obvious of lung sounds if they listened...so I guess there's that. I wouldn't have hired him to attend to patients in a vehicle. Perhaps as part of a crew in the ER, or other facility where his aparent people skills could be utilized would have been better?

Good to have you Chris...

Man...I'm so proud of you. Disappointed thought that I didn't make the time to see you when you were near here..I'd just had it in my head that you'd be here for a long time.. Good on you Brother...please don't disappear...