Lone Star

Here in the U.S., it's not uncommon for the body to lay on the street, in the house, car (wherever) for an hour or more as the M/E and CSU people do their jobs. The only 'subdued' people around are those that are around for the 'ghoul factor' (rubberneckers). If you want 'respect for the dead', then go to a funeral home! If I'm not mistaken, the average funeral isn't a mourning of the death, but a celebration of that person's life, and life in general. If I'm supposed to be 'subdued' during celebrations, then party decorations would be sold in dark colors; instead of the happy festive colors currently on the market! If faced with that situation, I would offer a silent prayer for that person, their family and friends,... but I'm going to go on with my life - business as usual-.....

It wasn't bad enough having to deal with a splinter the size of my arm, but gettin stepped on by a dinosaur that just don't understand caveman is a real bitch!

The first call I had was while doing my clinical ride time for EMT-B school. First call of the night turned out to be a 26 car mva. (Gotta LOVE 'black ice'!)

I think that society in general has carried this 'you have to feel this, when ____________ happens'. While the deaths are tragic for the family, why should everyone else's world come to a screeching halt? This whole 'emotional display' shit is just that! A prime example of this 'overactive emotional displays' would be when Dale Earnhardt died from crashing into a concrete wall at 185 mph. A friend of mine called me up the next day (IN TEARS!), asking me if I had "heard the news". Since I knew his mother, I thought something had happened to her, by the way he was carrying on.... When I found out he was crying over Dale Earnhardt, I lost all semblance of 'cool' and proceeded to tell him that while that death was tragic for the Earnhardt family, it wasn't about to phase me...(I don't even watch NASCAR!) Three days later, same friend, (again in tears) called me up, wanting to know if I was watching the funeral on television. I can understand the tears, the melancholy attitude, etc if you knew them personally......but for the average person on the beach (in the case from the original post), or just another NASCAR freak in the stands (in the Earnhardt story), there doesn't need to be the wailing, sobbing, rending of clothing or shaking your fist at God, demanding to know why He took that person! Let's get a grip people! Not everything in life needs to be treated as an 'emotionally traumatic event'! To those that knew the girls, or were part of their families, My condolences for your loss. For everyone else at the beach, pass me a beer, and don't forget the sunscreen!

Unfortunately, it doesn't help matters when you have an employer that wants you to 'come up with a medical justification' for transport, so they can submit a bill to the state (Medicaid/Medicare) or to the insurance companies. If a patient has tripped over his own shoes left laying out in the middle of the floor, and twisted their ankle; we would have to write a 'chief complaint' of R/O (Rule Out) possible ankle fx.... There should be some sort of 'reforms' in the insurance world that if a person calls for an ambulance and it's for something extremely minor (as in the cut finger previously listed), the caller is responsible for the entire bill for services (including just 'show up pay'). You'd be surprized at how fast alot of these 'frequent fliers' and system abusers would quit!

With all these "No signs but......" stories, I guess it needs saying: If you don't like the way I drive, keep your ass off the sidewalks! I can't take credit for clipping signs, backing into immovable objects, dumpsters or anything like that, but I will take credit for shearing an antenna off the roof of a truck. I was backing into a 'sally port' type entrance (large carport maybe?) and my partner assured me that he had put a truck under it before. Well, as I started under, I heard this loud 'CRUNCH', and noticed the antenna was now hanging off the side of the truck. That was the LAST time I listened to a partner say 'Yeah, I've done that before'!

If it were actually to 'desensitize' themselves against the 'vicious and derogatory nature of the word', then why is it only 'derogatory' when one particular color of skin uses it? When Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Ray Nagin and Jeremiah Wright and their cronies CLAIM to want to reach 'racial unity', but continue spewing hatred, condemnation of the white people, and are constantly stirring up the the whole pot of emotions that they are supposedly trying to let die...they are no different than the 'racists' that they are rallying against. Why is it that only WHITES can be 'racists'? Not only that, but has anyone ever seen the 'papers' that confirm the 'Ordaination' of the venerable Revs Jackson, Sharpton and Farrakhan? When asked that very question, the Rev. Al Sharpton was quick to defend the use of the "N-word" by rappers as an 'art form'. His 'explaination' was that since it was recorded as part of a rap 'song', that it should be considered an 'expression of self' and therefore considered 'art' and shouldn't be frowned upon. This was uttered when Mr. Sharpton was calling for the head of Don Imus (the first time). When Don Imus tried to apologize, Mr. Sharpton wouldn't hear of it, but didn't let up on the political pressure until Mr. Imus lost his job. Then came Duane "Dog" Chapman.....again, when an apology was offered, Mr. Sharpton wouldn't hear of it, and Mr. Chapman lost his job for a while. Let's not forget about the whole Mel Gibson thing......yeah, Mr. Sharpton was right in the middle of that whole kettle of fish too! When the 'Reverand' Jesse Jackson is overheard dropping the "N-word" in public, and going further to say that he'd like to 'cut his nuts off', a simple apology was offered and it's all well and good, and no one lost their job, their position, or followers.

1. Whacker 2. Hemorrhoid 3. goober 4. PITA 5. Burger Kid 6. squirrel bait

Local bus service quits around midnight, besides treating a patient on the bus kind of violates patient confidentiality and makes it awful damn difficult to protect the patients modesty! I've noticed a major upsurge in the term 'bus' since it became a 'catch phrase' on Law & Order and the other 'prime time drama' shows.....

I'm not sure what 'EH Certified' stands for, but I highly reccomend the Third Watch Boots line. When I was in New Orleans after the hurricanes, I had to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it was pretty much always on my feet. These boots are lightweight and were very comfortable. They have a 6" steel toed boot for both men and women. They have the side zip that you're looking for in this model as well. The boots I have were discontinued, but from the time I spent in them, they're comfortable, durable and don't feel like a couple of bricks strapped to your feet at the end of the day!

When I got into an accident that was caused by a drunk driver, and I totalled my '84 Suburban (Look Here), I ended up shattering my nose and breaking 5 ribs. The first bystander that ran up to the vehicle (was the scene even safe at that time?), was hollering, "I know CPR! I know CPR!" It was all I could do to explain to her (kind of difficult with a shattered nose), that I was a licensed EMT, and I could GUARANTEE that I definately DIDN'T need CPR.... While I appreciate the the fact that someone acutally stopped, I'm thinking that this was one that definately needed to be told what to do!

Congratulations Chbare! =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> Thanks Ruffles, for another opportunity to think, and show 'creative solutions' to reach a common goal!

Their angles of attack are the sum of the base and heigth of their extensive training, along with a parabola of misinformation at the subtrahend level. Their numbers are multiplying, while they coordinate with other prime numbered units to achieve more and more divisor results. All members of the Al-Gebra fraction should be considered armed and dangerous, their methods compass many techniques to inflict terror, primarilly directed at our junior and senior high aged children. New theorums are being developed in the 'T-proof methods' of Pythagorean culture, and should help defeat these monsters before they can plant too many polynomial equasions in key areas of our society.

My suggestion would be to get ahold of whatever California State office handles EMS (usually in the capitol city), and see if your Canadian training would be recognized in that state. Better yet, I've done the work for you.... http://www.emsa.ca.gov/about/contacts.asp Took a whopping 5 seconds to locate this information....now repeat after me....."Google is my friend"

I disagree. Part of being taken seriously as a 'professional' is to LOOK like one. How many bank managers do you see in shorts and polo shirts, even on 'casual Friday'? Hell, most places that do allow 'casual dress' on occasion will not tolerate shorts (even if they're well pressed), so why as a professional health care provider, should we allow such attire to permeate our ranks? The only professions I've seen that includes shorts as part of their uniform is mailmen and bicycle cops.... We know that's not true....terri dont wear dresses, she said so herself!

"Paralysis always begins at the feet and ascends up the body causing nerve impulses to fade away, including the impulse to breath." The patient only gets one breath? Obviously the people responsible for typing up these questions don't believe in proofreading before they 'finalize' the question. If that were MY site, I would at least make sure that I used spell check and the proper tense of the word...in this case; the word should have obviously been 'breathe'.

Ruffles, I've already entered, and I'm not going to withdraw at this point... I spent several hours going over the course offerings and trying to satisfy not only english prerequisites, but math and science as well. Granted, I've recieved a couple comments about 'low-balling' the price of the course....but I think that with the class load that I've put together, would make a good medic as long as it wasn't taught in the format of simple regurgitation of fact on demand.... a good medic needs to be able to not only determine the best treatments for the patient, but must also be able to figure out what each treatment will accomplish and justify WHY that treatment was chosen....as well as to be able to react when the desired results aren't achieved. Be safe, LS

Since you've recieved "received one of the best submissions that I've ever seen."; and it's not visible to the rest of the contestants, it seems that some people either don't know how to follow directions...or aren't required to. You clearly stated that the submissions had to be posted to the thread, not PM'ed, emailed or any other form of transmission. Since there were only two people that seemed to have followed your rules so far, I believe those that didn't should be disqualified , regardless of how 'good' their submission was!

My condolences on your loss, and my prayers to the family.

I would have to agree here, utilize them as if they were untrained bystanders. Stay within your scope of practice and have the patient transported (if necessary) as soon as possible. I had a RN stop and offer to assist on an MVA, but kept the call as BLS. When asked by my Director of Operations why...I explained that neither my partner or myself had the time to check her 'credentials' while dealing with patient care and packaging. It seems quite apparent that the original poster included that he works security at a casino in Las Vegas. I'm sure that his range of calls would include psychogenic shock, simple trauma (trip and fall, twisted ankles, etc) and possibly cardiac. (maybe even exhaustion from either heat or sleep deprivation?)

So much for enough respect for the fibbing well........

High protein foods, such as: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk, dried beans, and peas are avoided. Instead, measured amounts of cereals, starches, fruits, and vegetables, along with a milk substitute are usually recommended. Phenylalanine free formulas are available for all ages.

You know, Mike...it's said that denial is the first 'symptom'! oh, snap!

Let us know when the coronation ceremony is!