akflightmedic

This is NOT something you "will save up for" even in a few years. This is a project you build on paper with data, statistics, design...and then seek investors. If you are able to save up a few million over the next few years...I want your job.

Bieber touched on it a little bit but no one else focused on this aspect. BILLING I am a business owner in the medical field. The money you spend on equipment is pennies compared to ongoing overhead. However billing is essential. I have 3 full time billing coordinators and 1 lead. This is an entirely separate division which costs a lot of money in addition to all the other costs already mentioned. Finance, billing and HR needs to be factored in. Additionally, you need to have enough funding AFTER buying all your equipment to fully operate the business for a minimum of 6 months with NO additional revenue. It takes on average 90 days to get paid for a claim and that claim will often be rejected or not paid in full. I have had claims outstanding up to 6 months with insurance companies and then after hours and hours of justifying my charges I get a partial payment. I actually LOST money on the deal when you consider my overhead and man hours exerted trying to collect. So your small building idea is not going to suffice as you will need a billing office as well. Employee turnover...I have had my fair share of employee turnover...in a big business, no big deal...in a small size like what you are suggesting...it hurts and it costs a lot. I seriously suggest you keep digging and do a lot more research and homework in business development alone and then pick a business model to go after....ambulance is a tough one especially when no one really knows where healthcare services are going to lead over the next few years and with the trends of reduced medicare/medicaid payments over the past few years. You truly are coming in on this one a little too late.

Any contract you get, ask for a copy of their DBA policy. Make sure they have one, make sure it is in effect. Defense Base Act (DBA)...the thing that pays when you are injured or pays out when killed.

I do not fear the world is going to end, I fear the world is going to continue and not change.

I have already read several survivor stories and it does sound like chaos in the sense that first in units were being loaded and sent to ER with victims. Even had a unit stop, drive back shift the patient from gurney to the bench seat and add more people.

A great inspiration to all, sadly her life partner of 27 years will not get any survivor benefits due to the repressive nature of our country; regardless not only did she exemplify excellence in her chosen career, she demonstrated it well by remaining committed for 27 years to the woman she loved--far longer than most average relationships last these days.

Afghanistan is officially South West Asia (SWA)

To all interested and qualified parties, I am currently seeking one candidate for the open position of Flight Nurse/Medic and Medevac Coordinator. This is two job duties in one. The job is in Afghanistan and entails performing in theater and out of theater medevacs or medical escorts. The missions are typically fixed wing with occasional rotor wing or on a commercial carrier. Aside from the flight duties, the Medevac Coordinator duties are of extreme importance as we have a network of coordinators in different time zones who hand off duties. This job is very detail oriented and requires patience. You need to be computer literate and capable of professional email and telephone communications. You will have shifts where your duty consists of monitoring email traffic. You must be able to think logically and independently often. If not on a mission or on coordinator duty, you are more than welcome to assist in our medical facilities and get clinical patient care time. I will stress this position is currently more coordinating than flying. Please note, you will not be in the air every day. Past missions have included USA, Canada, South America, Turkey, Ireland, UK, Philippines, parts of Africa and UAE. Job requirements: Previous working experience as a flight crew member Current license Current passport Current ACLS and BLS (PALs not required) FP-C and CCEMT-P desired Computer literate Self Motivated Previous International Travel experience highly desired Salary is competitive, will be discussed in private interview. Rotation is 3 months on duty 30 days off duty. If qualified and interested, you may start by sending me a PM here and then we will progress from there.

While John may have had those experiences, I assure you as an OHS medic on Kandahar you will not. Be prepared to deal with a lot of whiney people wanting the day off, sniffles, diarrhea and the occasional real medical emergency and some trauma such as lacerations or minor crushings. You will not see any limbs missing, shrapnel or bullet wounds. You will not be dealing with locals. You will quickly become a Fobbit who hangs on the boardwalk eating at KFC or TGI Fridays then getting an ice cream after. Hard drives not needed you can buy every movie you want for 2 dollars. Anyways, I do not have much time to expand on this right now...but email Dwayne. He can brief you in depth or if you have specific questions I can answer them when I am free. Do not overpack, you can buy what you need at the PX or order online. Easy cheesy...

There is no standard greeting for me, it changes depending on situation, position, nature of call, age, how they look when I first see them...so many factors are considered in a nanosecond in regards to what I will say first. There are times where I have said nothing until after I started working on them...or it happens concurrently. I have opened with jokes, I have opened with my name and crew...just way too many variables.

There is a thread dedicated to Rob where everyone may leave their condolences.

Leave the 80s behind and upgrade to a more effective system which accommodates the work environment you are in.

And while this topic is winding down, I would like to offer a tangent. This discussion has been about "that woman" being exposed...subjected to film against her will and possibly 'internetly' violated later on. I pose this question to all of you....how many of you will go out of your way to cover a woman but do not give a second thought to ripping a shirt off of a man? I have no factual data, only what I have seen, but there is this huge double standard. How many have asked a man to unbutton his shirt or remove his shirt in a semi public place to do an ECG or to perform a more thorough exam? Admit it or not, every person has some body image issue, be it minor or major...yet men seem to never be included in that demographic for consideration when it comes to clothes removal. I have even seen a male patient "bullied or peer pressured" into removing his shirt when it was obvious he was uncomfortable doing so. It happens...and before you say you would never, think long and hard over every past patient you have treated either personally or as a second/third crew member and see if it has not been done at least once. I do not understand why breasts suddenly make it this magical moment, much like I cannot understand why the medically correct word vagina is offensive especially to our educated, elected leaders...but the double standards piss me off. So, what say you?

That dangling strap is going to get caught under the wheel causing the stretcher to jerk to a halt thus allowing the FF to accidentally dislodge the tube in which all blame will later be placed on the paramedic for improperly placing a tube.

Ridiculous considering the common element which precipitated his complains was BASKETBALL!! He just needed to stop 'ballin. Reminds me of a scene from The Jerk with Steve Martin AKA Navin Johnson...."Its these cans...he hates these cans!...More cans...!"

An asterisk? Congrats!

Not really, but everyone has a camera phone these days....

How does anyone claim the ambulance is in private function? It is de facto government organization if it has been retained, hired, authorized or certified to provide service within that tax base area. The only private ambo scenario I can conceive is one in which the ambulance has a contract with a long term facility or a hospital, is called by them directly, responds and transports either to or from their business. Then, they may have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Other than that, if you are 911 and in the open...there is no expectation of privacy and you are a government agency.

That may be, but in the meantime what is your opinion of where to draw the line? For all those raging medics who encounter this situation BEFORE the court makes a ruling...

Does no one care to engage in extreme tangents and the psyche of the fellow man? Seriously...the question is...How far would YOU go to protect your patient's privacy knowing that while working in Florida (assume you work in this state), you could be shot and killed if someone felt threatened after you touch them. Your touch could be perceived as a shove or a real threat... Where is the line drawn? How much violence is enough to protect your patient?

I gave my opinion as everyone else has, nothing to do with being the "popular or correct choice"...in this case this is how I feel and that is what I did. I do not understand the confusion on your part. There is nothing to explore because even in your worst case scenario, my feelings or management of the topic does not change...as I stated. You could make it my daughters, my grandmother, my dog...nothing you say changes my interpretation of how I perceive or manage the event. It is a shame you think my honest opinion is not good enough and feel I should explore some wild tangent (which I did when you threw in the caveats)...but even then it didn't change. Please note where I indicated the discussion was stupid. If I thought that, I would not even waste a second of my limited time responding in the first place. Is there some guideline I have not been issued on how to respond with my opinion to these hypothetical scenarios? Edit: ***And actually Dwayne, me discussing the Castle Doctrine was an attempt at exploring outside the "correct answer". How far do you (the EMS worker) take this camera issue...especially those of you who advocate violence? In Florida, I can legally shoot anyone/anywhere IF I feel my life is threatened. So with that in mind, how far are you willing to go to protect patient privacy?

Little late into this one but definitely a good read. I simply cannot understand half the actions indicated which were to be imposed if this occurred on some of your scenes. Several tangents/"what ifs" were thrown in, including personalizing it, but at the end of the day...it is violating no laws and is not impeding care in any way, shape or form. There have been exceptionally few cases in my long career of where I HAD to strip someone right there in the public. It simply does not occur that often for any of this to be a concern and quite frankly with better judgement and professionalism on behalf of the medic, this is a moot issue. Did we forget we have an office on wheels? The one with two big rear doors? If I need to disrobe someone, I can put them in the truck and control their privacy issues way better than playing on the side of a road or in whatever public place you wish to insert here. I can also sheet a patient and disrobe/cut their clothes under the sheet if that visual exam is so important it needs to be done right there on the spot. Baring of skin is very often site/body part specific, the full disrobings occur on those multiple system, unconscious trauma patients and again that can take place in the transport unit. I do garner a sense of self righteousness thinly veiled under "doing what is best for the patient". I am there to provide urgent or emergent medical care according to the best of my ability. I do not have time to overly concern myself with that guy or multiple guys on scene taking pictures...within the professional realm, I have already thwarted their best shots by simply doing what I stated above. Yes it sucks, yes it would suck if it were my family, but at the end of the day (since Dwayne always likes to personalize it and emotionalize it)...they have violated no laws and not restricted their care. Ruff...had you pocketed my camera, we would have been rolling in the dirt because the only way you would have gotten the camera out of my hand is if you touched me first (which constitutes battery). I could of also felt threatened and shot you--even killed you, because here in Florida I have the Castle Doctrine supporting my action. Think on that one folks...

Paramedic Firefighter Flight Medic Remote Medic EMS Instructor All the alphabet soup courses Instructor Have worked 3rd Service 911 Private 911 Interfacility ALS non-transport FD Flight both RW and FW Amusement Park/Water Park Hyperbaric Chamber Private Events Military Contracts (Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan) After all those years of working for others, I am now self employed business owner. I own 3 medical/dental clinics in Afghanistan, have just begun construction on a hospital in Afghanistan and own/operate a medevac service in conjunction with those facilities. I also obtained some government contracts on the side providing staff or services for their medical needs inside Afghanistan. Sorry Bieber, I didn't see the boxes for me.

Good point...we shall lock this thread as well to cease the attention giving and wait and see what productive conversations she contributes to. No more threads as the case has been busted and the apology given.Nothing remains to be said about those two things.

So these cases of false positives are more of a statistical outlier as opposed to a common occurrence...in the absence of cancer, autoimmune disease( which ones?) and someone receiving treatment in order to conceive then it is darn near impossible to have a false positive?