Eydawn

NUA 101 CERTIFIED NURSE AIDE HEALTH CARE SKILLS (4) Prepares the student to perform the fundamental skills of the nurse aide. Basic nursing skills, restorative services, personal care skills; safety and emergency care issues are covered in theory and lab. The student will learn skills that address the mental health needs as well as patient/resident/client rights. Corequisite: NUA 170. 68 Contact Hours NUA 170 NURSE ASSISTANT CLINICAL EXPERIENCE (1) Applies knowledge gained from NUA 101 in a clinical setting. 23 Contact Hours. Prerequisite: NUA 101 and Immunizations to meet current O.S.H.A. guidelines; (current TB test) Corequisite: NUA 101 FRCC Course Catalog That's all a CNA course is here. It's a 1 semester deal with a clinical experience tacked onto it. My mom took the course... so I got a chance to learn all about it. Wendy CO EMT-B

I've been trying to find a new job recently, and I've really been looking at the hospital setting. See, the thing is, almost every ED tech or patient care tech position I've looked at has either had CNA licensure required or highly preferred. I don't get it! Someone help me out here. CNA's don't get more in depth medical training than we do... if anything, it's equivalent or less. The physical skill difference is pretty minimal... you have to know how to use a gait belt, Hoyer lift, personal hygiene care for your clients/patients, how to feed people etc. So my question is, why does a CNA rate and I don't? I have care experience and skill proficiency in the areas that a CNA does, and yet, because the letters after my name spell EMT-B, I can't apply for many of these jobs. It's so frustrating it's not even funny. Wendy CO EMT-B

I'm just so frustrated right now. I really enjoy my job in the DD field... well, everything about the clients, paperwork, physical work, trainings, etc. I'm fine with. It's the scheduling that's killing me. Everything's so unpredictable and I either end up with no shifts or everything at once. That and having to beg for handsoap and paper towels for WEEKS... and very few people actually giving enough of a damn to do the smaller parts of our job, like calling the supervisor and really taking the time to document client info in our communication book. I feel trapped by this job. I don't want to be a strange overglorified medication passing non-licenced CNA anymore. I want to work in the hospital or prehospital environment as a tech- what I've been trained to do. It's really starting to get to me. Trapped is never a good thing, is it? ( Sorry, didn't mean to hijack a thread. Back to wanting CNA's to be in international distress orange... ) Wendy CO EMT-B

And yet a CNA can get multiple jobs in the hospital setting that I cannot, even though I have the same physical skills experience from working in the DD field and from my EMT experience and education. I've been rejected for several jobs that were listed recently, most of which said "CNA licensure preferred". What the heck for?! How do we differ that much from CNA's? If you're an EMT and you know how to use gait belts, hoyer lifts, give baths and change diapers... you pretty much ARE a CNA. Wendy CO EMT-B

Has anyone else noticed how really USELESS our search function is? I never use it. You get nothing productive from it. I am not for locking the threads. Until it reaches the same people arguing over and over. Every time, we learn something from new voices, and you can either get slammed for posting a new thread on it or resurrecting an old one... either way, you get it here. New Medic/basic thread? Simple solution. No likee topic? No readee topic! NO POSTEE on said topic. Ignoree topic! Nuff said? Wendy CO EMT-B

You bring up some good points. Many of them have been discussed ad nauseum before on this site; be ready for the vociferous "go all the way NOW" folks to pick your post apart and roast you slightly. They mean no harm... they actually have some good points about furthering the American EMS educational system. Hope you have a good time debating! Just a warning for what's coming! Wendy CO EMT-B

Oh my god, he speaks the truth, people. This is disturbing! Wendy CO EMT-B

It's a search tag function. Since it's listed on the front page, when folks search Google for stuff, they can get a hit on the City (I think!) Wendy CO EMT-B

What happened in the chat room, PM's, IM's, or phone calls is not for discussion in the forum without prior OK from all parties involved. Speaking from personal experience. Keep what happens in one area there- that includes beefs you have in other threads with people. Don't bring an argument from one thread to another- bad form. Honey, haven't you figured out he likes to tweak religious folks yet? Do a search of posts he's done, and look at the go-rounds I had with him a few months ago. He's not a nasty, evil, stupid guy, he's just a very outspoken atheist who is trying to spread his views to the world. He feels that it is a morally better and less complicated position, and enjoys living his beliefs. He also feels that many of us would be better off if we could only see his point... Sound familiar? Ask anyone who actively works at converting people to any faith... and their reasoning will be very similar. Hence why I said earlier to each his own. Let it go. If you have a beef with VS, keep it in the PM/IM world. We've all had arguments with him at some point, and he isn't dragging it into the forums (anymore). He's not a bad guy, I swear, and I'm fairly sure he's a good medical provider who shows compassion to his patients. *end sidetrack about VS* Now, let it go, and if you want to continue to debate theology with him and argue with him, take it to PM land. Just my 2 cents from having been nearly *exactly* where you are in arguing with him. Wendy CO EMT-B

Then why are you highlighting his name in bold, and failing to do so for any other member that you are addressing in your post? I hope YOU and all of us have something we've learned or are about to learn from these forums... isn't that the *point*? No need to state the obvious, right? I hope everyone learns something from this discussion. It's a valuable one to have! Now, if you want to duke it out with Inf, take it to PM's! Not what you were going for? Then reconsider how you're putting things... because it looked like a bait to me as well. Not saying you were intentionally doing that, just saying how it came across. :)Wendy CO EMT-B

Let's not start calling anyone idiots. VS had his position well stated and clearly set out for everyone to see. Ruff, you didn't insult anyone's intelligence.. it just gave us the other side of the coin and reminded some of us not to take what any "professor" says at face value! A lesson many would be well minded to observe. Whether you have faith or not, your life is your own to live. To each his own, and don't call anyone stupid for believing or not believing something. That's really not a good idea, and makes you look petty. Wendy CO EMT-B

If you don't want to go straight to paramedic, as many are advocating, do yourself a favor and begin furthering your education on your own. Check out a few A and P textbooks and really study them. Start studying cardiology and pharmacology. If you aren't sure whether or not you really want to do this as a career (as many of us at age 18 weren't) it might be beneficial for you to get your feet wet while still continuing your education. Once you're sure you want to go for it, then enroll in a college level A and P course and perhaps some basic chemistry and algebra classes (snip: stole the algebra idea from Dust and think it's a great one). Then apply to medic school. Not all of us are fortunate enough to not be able to work while continuing our education. As I'm learning the hard way, it's much easier to do a job you actually like and are actually interested in... I'm starting to burn out from my job, and it isn't EMS, which is what I'd really rather be doing. I guess my ending point is, you are the only one who can decide what is right for you. If you feel very strongly that you need more field time before you learn in-depth medicine, then that is what you need to do. If, after taking the basic class, you feel like you want more in depth understanding before you really start working with these patients, then take the college courses and head off to medic school. Wendy CO EMT-B

Searching through the pages is your friend. This has been addressed multiple times. It varies, based on how you're doing because it's an aptitude adjusted exam. 70 questions is what a lot of people get; but you can get more or less and still pass. Good luck. Wendy CO EMT-B

Appropriate Crocs And So On.... And So Forth... The ones with holes? No way. These? Sure! Why not? Easier to clean than nice leather or cloth shoes. Wendy CO EMT-B

You are amazing. I'm taking Human Gross Anatomy in the fall, and this is going to be a lifesaver! Thanks JPINFV! Wendy CO EMT-B

Hey, y'all? Did you notice the question of JW doctors participating in blood transfusions for their patients has already been addressed? They're professionals just like the rest of us- they suspend their personal opinions to do what's best for the patient. How is that any different than a doctor who personally abhors the idea of abortion referring their patient to Planned Parenthood, knowing full well that patient may avail themselves of a procedure the doctor feels is wrong? The doc's gonna do what they need to professionally. If a JW doctor is very strict, they're going to do what any professional would do when confronted with a situation in which they feel they would be compromising their moral/ethical standing; they're going to allow a colleague to take over that particular case. Incog, yes, in your *personal* life your faith must come first. In your professional life, you act in the best interests of your patient. You don't force any belief system, treatment limits or not, on your patient simply because that's what YOU believe. It's like the difference between forcing a mother to let you baptize her stillborn in the back of the ambulance and doing it at her request. Option #1 is very wrong, regardless of how you feel about unbaptized babies, and option #2 is at your discretion if you are comfortable providing that emotional/spiritual supportive care for your patient. If you can't bring yourself to do a certain procedure for a patient, you transfer them to a doctor who will. You serve THEIR interests- not yours. We've all sworn some form of the Hippocratic Oath. It doesn't say do the best possible for your patients unless your church says otherwise. We all know that. And the question of teaching a child religion is one that is still up to the parents. I don't notice anyone up in arms about the Islamic militaristic branches that are teaching 10 year olds to die for the glory of Allah with a bomb-belt around their waists. I'd argue that's a helluva lot more dangerous than teaching them that you don't accept blood transfusions. I'm frankly a lot more concerned with it, too. Read the articles Zilla posted. They're very informative on the whole when to supercede the parents deal, concerning JW's. Wendy CO EMT-B

So you let 3-4 whiners get to you to the point where you totally call off a contest that was a City wide announcement? I don't get it, Ruff! Did you NOT expect some to be like "this is work"? I did... but that's me. Did they harass you by PM so much you didn't want to deal with it anymore? If so, that sucks for those of us who actually were working on the contest. I'm really bummed. And surprised, to be honest. Not bitching at you, just an off day and yet another thing that sucks. Wendy CO EMT-B

Hey, to each his own faith. And yes, yet again, it is the right of the parent to raise the child in whatever faith they practice. It's up to the parent to listen to what the Higher Power is telling them, to decide how and when and what to teach their children. It's up to the kid to choose for themselves when they have the mental ability to do so. And believe it or not... I've met 9 year olds that could clearly articulate their faith, why they believed it, and what it meant to them. Surprise! It happens... Hell, I belong to the religion that thinks crackers and wine turn into Jesus Himself... (I actually prefer the Episcopalian thought on it, that Jesus is present spiritually but the cracker is still a cracker... but it doesn't really make that much difference in the end!) There's weirder things to believe than abstaining from blood transfusions. You could, for example, refuse any and all medical care... now there's a weird one. Or you could believe that women need to have their clitoris excised in order to satisfy some requirement... or that your ancestors influence your career path and if you piss them off, you're in huge trouble... or that the arrangement of your room dictates the path your life will take... (no offense to those mentioned, they're just the ones that strike ME as weird!) While we're on the subject of respecting others' beliefs, if you were to go to Africa or Asia, where many believe ills are caused by spiritual maladies, would you deny them a spiritual practitioner to help heal them? Would you insist on forcing antibiotics on them? I certainly wouldn't... I'd try to work WITH their belief system as much as possible. You get a lot further by explaining how you see it, listening to how they see it, and heading for the middle ground. Forcing your methods on someone is just going to create friction, and perhaps make them want to have nothing to do with you. Spenac, PM me wouldja? (So's I don't make you liar) I was under the impression that JW could have organ donations... true or not true? Wendy CO EMT-B

A 12 year old knows not to *KILL* a baby. This wasn't like a case of shaken baby syndrome, parent/caretaker gets frustrated, shakes baby, brain damage/death result. Schizophrenics don't "randomly act out"... they usually display many behavior patterns and warning signs previous to violent episodes. It's the hearing voices and delusional thinking that comes on suddenly. It generally takes a while to get to the violent point. Bad comparison. I do agree that the 12 year old needs to undergo serious psychological evaluation, but it doesn't change the fact that what he did was wrong. If they unearth that pattern of animal/small creature cruelty or not, the fact remains that he beat a baby to death. Let's not forget that point, shall we? Regardless of whether parental upbringing, societal circumstances, or mental illness or disability factored into the act, the act was still committed. You know, just because people have mental illnesses or developmental disabilities, we don't excuse them from their behavior. Take DD sex offenders for example... they are still charged and punished for their acts of sexual aggression. The fact that they were DD doesn't excuse the fact that they raped someone or tried to molest someone... as a matter of fact, many DD sex offenders and non DD sex offenders exhibit the same personality characteristics and behaviors. Regardless of functionality level. If they determine that the origin of the behavior was strictly psychological in nature, then the 12 year old will spend the rest of his life in a locked psych ward. It takes a lot to overcome that barrier and bludgeon someone to death. Perhaps some measure of reconditioning can take place... but a lot of who you are is fairly developed at that age. Factor in that he'll probably be at least 14 before all this is said and done... If they determine that he has sociopathic tendencies, then he will remain in a locked environment, possibly jail depending on what level of behavior he seems to have internalized. Either way, there's no way this kid is going free. I am not for automatically condemning him, but I am for a trial that takes into account psychological and adolescent mental development concerns. But you know what? A 12 year old knows better than to kill a baby, and if this was any other century than ours, the city would have just killed him outright. Let's keep in mind that regardless of what level he's being tried at, he has a much better chance than he would otherwise, or historically. Wendy CO EMT-B

So wait, the contest is canceled? Great. Albeit slowly, I have been working on it! Whatever. Wendy CO EMT-B

This is not a second amendment issue. This is a personal privacy and parent's rights issue. I would be in full support of the action taken by the SWAT team if the system had worked correctly and the threat to the child properly assessed, AND the responder had not stepped outside their bounds. Yes, if the child was unresponsive and needed urgent medical care, then a police intervention would have been appropriate. This turned out to be an over zealous provider, an uneducated caseworker, and a bored arse small town SWAT team. Children are not chattel of their parents, but parents DO have legal control over them and for good reason. If it is not a life threatening issue, or an incident of direct negligence or abuse, then you have no business interfering with a parent. It isn't your affair, as much as you may disagree with the parenting style. Hillary Clinton says it takes a village to raise a child... if our national village decides to raise mine, they're going to meet strong resistance- possibly armed. I agree with Spenac there! Wendy CO EMT-B

Uh, spenac... reread the articles. The paramedics saw the kiddo on day zero, when the injury happened. Then social services got contacted, and SWAT invaded a day after the injury had occurred based on both the report from the medical responder and social services. Sounds like it's the judge here and the SWAT boys that need smacking. Not to mention the medic who forced entry. And, Zippy, with a competent adult in the house, they have no legal bounds for forcing entry. Forced entry is for unconscious or whacko patients. Usually best left to the police so there's no doubt as to your (the medic's) intentions. Some paramedic tries to barge into my house, I'm going to be ticked off! And they have no grounds to do so. Wendy CO EMT-B

Ok so the medics in this situation were NUTS. But it still doesn't change the fact that if you are behaving in a manner that will cause harm to your children your parental rights will be taken away. Unfortunately, this has gone way too far in this country, but where adequate medical care is concerned, I'm ok with it. I'm not ok with it in cases of normal discipline, etc. Thank God for the Home School Legal Defense Association... so many people would be screwed without these people helping to back them and their parenting decisions! Wendy CO EMT-B

If you have an ignorant parent who is refusing care for an injury that is potentially or obviously life-threatening for their child, yes, THAT SUCKS. Because they have the legal right to refuse care that could mean the difference between a permanently damaged or dead child and a healthy one. Not everyone is intelligent enough to be a good parent or make good medical decisions for those under their care. Also, you must bear in mind the legal definitions of abuse and neglect, especially as it pertains to children. * Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or * An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm. Federal definition of child abuse No one has the right to force unwanted medical care on anyone, I completely agree with you. The safeguards and reporting procedures are in place to protect those children with incompetent or abusive parents. Reporting a refusal of appropriate medical treatment, as documented by the medics, was appropriate. The caseworker visiting was appropriate- better safe than sorry. Sending SWAT was absolutely retarded. Look at the MOI on this one too... kid grabs moving car, falls, strikes head. Someone calls medics. Medics feel child needs treatment, and follow reporting procedures. Also bear in mind that you don't need multiple incidences of abuse or suspected abuse to activate social services. Social services tends to be hyper-reactive and way too eager to push the panic button. I dislike them myself. They *really* screwed with part of my family in Florida a few years back. But, I will not hesitate to report something that doesn't sit well with me. If I think your child might have a brain bleed or the high potential for it and you refuse to have them seen, I will be reporting potential neglect. If a parent appropriately wishes to refuse care then I have no problem with it. If I feel the refusal jeopardizes a child's well being, I will have issues with it. Wendy CO EMT-B

My fiancee just passed his NREMT-B! Just got the card in the mail, ink not even dry. My brother wants to go to EMT school next year. My aunt is an ER nurse in Indiana. My cousin is an RN. Yeah... I think there's a few of us lol! Most of my close friends are EMT's of some sort... yep... Wendy CO EMT-B