akflightmedic

Here is one important thing I ALWAYS do prior to an interview. Drive the route a few days BEFORE you are scheduled and drive it at the same time you would be on interview day. This way, you are familiar with the location, the traffic and can prepare for any potential detours or backups. Also, time yourself. Once you know how long it takes to get there with average traffic, you can now add extra time to that and give yourself a window. I rather sit in a parking lot for a half hour as opposed to explaining why I am late for an interview. Plus, I always have to use the bathroom before an interview, so I seek out one of those as well. By doing these steps, you will be relaxed, you will not appear as you just rushed in, cause you will have been sitting in your car listening to music or reading a book and just relaxing....

WOW!!! Teri is sooo old when she farted, dust came out! Happy Birthday!

Does terrorism exist only in designated "zones", do terrorists respect and curtail activities when not in these "zones", and do you think someone has not already devised the plan to scoot around in one of these burqas as a refugee in hiding outside of Afghanistan OR they are waiting for right time/place to see how far they can get inside certain places as recon so the next time they can do what they desire to do...all if it is within The Zone of course.

Yeh but the Amish do not hide their faces from view, thereby removing one of the main reasons of burqa paranoia which we have encountered multiple times here in Afghanistan...which is the men have no issue hiding in a burqa to move about town or get in and out of certain places to cause harm because no Islamic guard is going to force the woman to show her face. We also had a similar case in FL a few years back, a woman wanted her driver's license picture taken with her burqa in place...hmmmm.

First, congrats on your light bulb moment. You have received some excellent responses so there is no need for me to parrot them other than saying I agree with them. It is an entirely different world outside of the big state. What I do wish to address is the statement quoted below. This is a very irritating thought you still posses and it is nothing but full of inaccurate preconceived notions. Sentence #1: Maybe they like the county they live in and do not mind having a "meaningless ticket" for the sole satisfaction of being gainfully employed in the area they choose. Furthermore, maybe they do not crave the adrenaline rushes, like the non rushed pace of day to day work interacting with people on non emergent inter facility calls or the occasional emergency when one decompensates in their presence. There is a lot to be said for job satisfaction and just because you prefer a different element does not mean they do. Some one has to do the job and believe it or not, there are bus drivers, janitors, fast food workers who truly enjoy their job and perform it because they like it not because they have to. So my point is you may want to do some inner reflection, open your mind a bit and realize everyone is different and not everyone has same goals or aspirations as you and that is ok. Sentence #2 and #3: Partly covered above, but why do you automatically assume that they COULDN'T go fire? Why do you even bother asking them why they are not fire? Why not say, "good for you, you seem happy". When you go in the dentist office, do you ask the techs why they are not dentists? Do you ask medical techs why they are not doctors? No, because you realize they have chosen their career, their profession and they are happy with it. So why do you assume a paramedic is not happy or is not up to the challenge of being fire. It really is as simple as they did not WANT to. Sentence #4: Why is it sad? They are employed and doing what they like. Where is the sad part? Again this is your perception of what they should be doing which is totally unfair, closed minded and immature. I wish you well, you seem to be on the right path but please give some thought to what I have stated and see if there are any tweaks in your thought process that can change the way you think about non fire medics.

14-15 per hour...not enough to live on especially if you have family. Most work this job as a second part time gig mostly for the low stress and park benefits or while attending fire standards waiting on their chance to get on the FD. Overtime is not in Reedy Creek's (Disney's) dictionary...

The information is internal, so I do not see how it is a HIPAA concern. I see it no differently than the office assistant getting all my info and the doctor providing the care. Same same to me... FYI, when I did a contract for Acadian after Rita, everything was called in to dispatch. We even dictated our calls to dispatch and they wrote the report.

Actually, NO ONE stopped him. The ignition device failed due to ignorance on the bomber's part or sheer luck on every passenger on the plane. The man who tackled him, did so after the failed ignition..had it ignited as intended, this would be an entirely different thread.

Meh, you never really answered my question. What would appease you? Video of him getting on a plane to fly to an office where he can do the exact same thing from his current location and not disrupt the family?? In this day and age, his physical location is irrelevant...

No pill, juice, or gadget will ever compensate for this simple formula: Energy in > Energy out = weight gain Energy in < Energy Out = weight loss Jake summed it up real nice and it is up to the individual. Do not make the mistake thinking that because you are on the go for an entire shift that it is "exercise" or enough to burn excess energy...it isn't. You need to stay physically active on your days off and if you have the opportunity while on duty, then take advantage of it. I used to walk around my station with a weight vest several times a day. Yes it was boring but it was brisk pace exercise spread throughout the day. You can very easily do sit ups, push ups and squats all in the station, They build muscle and you burn energy, there is no need to push yourself and get all sweaty and stinky for the next patient, just disperse them throughout your day. Avoid plopping on the couch and waiting for the next call and avoid stuffing your face because you are bored at the station or posted on the road somewhere. When you get gas or stage in the parking lot, avoid the slushies, frappachinos, chips, candy or soda. Keep water bottles with you and use those little flavor packs if you need to. Keep healthy, filling snacks available such as trail mix, nuts etc.

I am all for valid complaints but you Sir are reaching and reaching hard. He has the experts on the case, he gave a press conference. What is it you would like to see him do? What would placate you? As for his fun time cut short, he returned to the course to finish his game after learning the child was ok. If you had invited guests and one of them was injured, wouldn't YOU as the HOST stop whatever fun thing you were doing and see what you could do, if nothing but moral support? He has done all he can do in both cases, neither of which should be compared to the other.

Come on Dusty, there is a huge difference between seeing them walk by in the hall way, pop their head in the door in between meetings as opposed to having the bulk of your day clear with no constant impeding visitors and that time allotted for the family unit to bond. Has it come to the level where we argue whether or not a family man (or any father/husband) deserves time off to enjoy them???

I never said it was wrong. It was just so different and "radical" to me. Such a simple concept and I knew nothing of it, I do see the benefit of it and am using the idea here on out. That was my "something new learned every day" for that day...

Because I was being PC.

Even after immigrating, most will go home sooner or later for a visit. Plus, round trip tickets are historically cheaper than one way tickets (internationally speaking). Maybe we should be Non-PC and actually profile one way ticket purchasers out of predominantly terrorist areas ( I didn't say Muslim). While this was a weak attempt, maybe that was all it was supposed to be...to see how far one could get with certain chemicals, what the result would be with that amount, what the status of passengers is (complacent or not), reaction of airline staff, reaction of US government, small scare to reduce or slow holiday traffic.

What I noticed it yet again, we have a NON citizen entering the country on a 1 way ticket. In my many travels, I have been in several different countries which required me to show a round trip ticket or at least a valid ticket that showed I had plans or the ability to leave their country if and when they tell me to get out. So why do WE allow people to enter our country on 1 way tickets?

Nom Nom Nom...

To all who were interested...CAP Lab was awesome! A HUGE THANK YOU to Doczilla for making this happen and extending the invite to us!! It was great to hang out with Mateo again and finally able to meet AussieAid, Fireflymedic and BEorP...we had a lot of fun and enjoyed it greatly!! I never knew Aussie could tell such tales with a straight face...you know what I am talking about...LOL. The Lab was great, we were exposed to many things not available to most people in their areas of operation. We got a lot of great hands on time and were treated to some lectures by many different knowledgeable people. It is impossible to attend this event and not learn something new. The airway gauntlet was a lot of fun and challenging, the lunches and snacks were good, overall it was a very well thought out and organized event. My only complaint is the weather...next time could you guys hold off on that bone chilling wind and snow please? Doczilla is actually funny too...who knew? Seriously, it was great meeting up with you guys, getting to know you and thank you very much to Doc for all the hard work. It was well worth it. I have lots of pics...will get them up soon after some editing.

I wouldn't know, I am at the Holiday Inn.

Day 1 begins in a few hours (I am an early riser). I am going to take a picture of Mateo sleeping (he snores by the way)and then we will go pick up AussieAid at her hotel and go to the lab. Firefly will be here around noonish...

Yes, I researched it myself several years ago. Insurance companies and private pay mostly. You may be able to get a department, city or county to pay sometimes as well but do not count on it. So minus the already difficult part of floating your business while waiting for payments there are lots of start up costs and regulations which must be abided. You are dealing with BIO HAZARDS, so you will need special training, special suits, respirators and special disposal techniques. You also need the ability to transport these things after properly containing them. You have to pay another company well to receive all your cleanup material. Record keeping is also very important. You need the ability to tear up entire carpets, cut out walls, pull up flooring. This means you leave the house in disarray for the survivors as well so you may wish to liaise with a general construction company. If you can not clean it, it must be removed. All in all, this career has morphed into one of those "earn money reading books at home" type jobs because the internet can reach mass audiences and create a demand for this field. When in reality this business has massive start up costs, stringent OSHA regulations and compensation is a pain in the butt to receive. This would be why most private owned places simply do it themselves and the less said the better. Notice I said private owned which means houses, buildings, apartments,etc. There is no law or requirement that they have to hire anyone who follows these rules in order to make the place available for lease again. The other option is simply going to work for someone who already does it, there are also several larger companies that will allow you to franchise out from under them. This is a great way to save money but in the end, are you working for yourself?

To add more to the words of Dust, TC is known for hiring almost exclusively ex military (SF types), so unless you already fit in the category and just lack the medical aspect, you will have a difficult time being recruited. And to seriously reiterate what Dust said...who would want to be on your team with you as the medic who got it the quickest and easiest way? This is no place to cut your teeth and get practice, this is the place where when it needs to be done, it needs to be done with no hesitation, guess work or inexperience. Good Luck!

I arrive in Dayton on Dec 8th at 349pm. I depart Dayton on Dec 11th at 0800. Attending both days.

While I do agree with you Crotchity...I think one point being argued is what do you do when YOUR doctor who was happy to see you for several years decides to switch to this business model. Now to see him, you have to pay premium price, so essentially if you want to stay with him (and we know how humans are creatures of habit and resistant to change) you have to pay his new fee OR see a NP or PA who we have established are just as equally capable, but you still want value for your dollar. This forces you to get "lesser" care or to go out doc shopping and starting anew. Is this right, wrong...I do not know, just pointing out another side of it.