Neesie

I have used it twice on car now.

This took me by such suprise. We had some great conversations throughout the years. I always liked reading his posts because you always knew where you stood with him...There was no BS!! EMS is a better place because of him. RIP Dust. You will be greatly missed. My condolences go out to all who knew him. Denise

lol sorry, Jasper Alberta

Hello everyone. Just wondering if there is anyone from Jasper on here? I am a paramedic student and am looking at doing my practicum (intermediate) there.

Thanks everyone for your input and confirming that A&P is hard! LOL Annie, I did download the vango notes that you suggested. It has helped somewhat. Like you said it is nice to listen rather than have to read all the time. Nice change. Right now I am just having a struggle/fight with cells and chemistry. I think once I get onto the rest of the stuff it will be better. I will actually be able to see what I am talking about. It is much easier imagining and arm than a cell. I think the memorizing will be hard - too much diet coke consumption over the years. My brain is in exit only mode!!! Things leave and it is very hard to get anything to go in and stay.

I started the paramedic program a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to fight through the required reading of A&P....I seriously am thinking I am stupid! Is it just me or is this really hard? I am doing the chemistry and cells part and not sure how to dumb it down. Any suggestions? Is there a website with A&P for dummies? lol Neesie

We wear white button shirts with crests on each shoulder, navy ems pants and black boots for our regular shifts. However, some of us do wear a navy T-shirt at night after 2300 hrs (service protocol for the time). I for one hate sleeping in the button shirts. It's bad enough having my pants twist around never mind my shirt too. If we get called in for a short time, we can also wear our t-shirts. I would much rather see an attendant in a nicely kept t-shirt rather than a wrinkled, dirty button shirt. We work very long hours. For example, I worked 22 hours last night and there was no way I was going to stay in that button shirt for longer than I absolutely had to. Yes, the "uniform" is definately more professional looking, but comfort aned neatness is important too. IMHO I would say looking professional, goes far beyond a button up shirt!

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in this horrible accident and to all the family and friends of these people. To all my friends on here and who I work with, safe wishes go out your way. Neesie

My son is 13 now and I was very fortunate that I was able to be a stay at home mom until he started kindergarten. I think I would have done anything possible to make that happen. This of course was my decision and thankfully, financially we were able to make it work. I understand that for some people, that is not an option because of money, etc. I started EMS when my son was 6ish. I was so greatful to be able to spend the first 5 years at home with him and see all his firsts. I feel though, over the past 7 years, I have missed out on so much. He is not near as exciting as he was when he was learning to walk, talk, get his first tooth, etc, etc, etc but now I am missing out on his hockey games, school dances, and helping him study for exams. My husband missed out on so much when our son was a baby because of work, and now I can understand how he felt. I hate missing anything in his life, but thankfully he is a very understanding and forgiving kid. He is proud of me and what I do, but if he felt I wasn't around enough or if he was suffering because of the hours I work, I would quit my job today if it meant it would make a difference in the outcome of his life. Being a mother (or father) is the MOST IMPORTANT job you will ever have. Take the time to enjoy your kids while they are young. This is the time that matters most. Work will always be there....your babies wont be! Neesie

One thing I tell my patients is that it is ok to tense up their whole body if they want to, but they have to leave the arm I am working on nice and loose. Have them look away and tell them not to pull away. Patients who jerk/pull away or tense up are way harder to get a successful start on and it hurts a lot more. Tell them on the count of 3 you are going to poke. Remember to hold good tension on the skin because that can make all the difference in some starts. Most importantly, as many others have said, you must be relaxed (or atelast look it). There is nothing worse than someone holding a needle in their hand looking terrified! lol Hope that helps a little. Neesie

After reading this, I agree with most of what has been said...if nothing else, I can see both sides. My opinion....discuss the treatment with your patiet (maybe I am just assuming they are conscious and alert), let them know the consequences of the treatment then ask if they want it. Ultimatley, if they are alert and oriented, they have the final say what treatment they get regardless if a DNR is present or not. We still need to get consent from the patient. I recently went to an elderly female who was hypoglycemic and had a DNR. The daughter was pushing this DNR on us stating that her mother did not want ANY treatment. I had been to this residence (daughter lives with the patient) a few times and each time I honored the DNR...pt said she was dying and did not want us to do anything - just called so the daughter wouldn't get in trouble if she actually did die. Pt refused to come with us even though she was in severe resp distress. Turns out, those 2 times pt was suffering from pnuemonia and thankfully the daughter took my advice and too the patient to her family doc the next day.....back to the hypoglycemic incident with this pt - daughter is pushing the DNR. I explained to the patient that I wanted to give her some D50. Pt was alert enough to say no IV. However, when asked if she would be able to take oral glucose, she said she would take it. The daughter was not happy with us because we "breached" the DNR. I explained to her (as it was written on the paper) that she did not want us to recusitate her if her heart stopped...I still have to treat while she is still alive AND the pt agreed to the treatment.

Trust me you don't need to tell me how hard it is to go from one province into Alberta. I was working as an EMR - trained in Alberta. I then decided to take the PCP course in Saskatchewan (as I live on the border of the 2 provinces). Because of the border issue, we have to be registered in both provinces to be able to work at our service. After I completed the PCP course, I had such a hard time getting registered in Alberta even though I already held a valid EMR license. They told me I would have to complete a course in Alberta. I fought them hard and finally was granted a restricted license allowing me to work only at my service. I guess I fought hard enough because people coming from other provinces are now having a much easier time getting an AB license. And, I am happy to say that after 7 years, my restriction has finally been lifted!!

Rock shoes, how come you are taking the course in AB if you are from BC? Is there quite a difference in quality or are you planning on moving to AB?

Thanks for the input. Nice to hear from someone that is in the program now. Were you at the MCI this year Annie? I thought it went quite well. Nice to sit on the sidelines and watch...quite different from actually "doing" the call yourself. We have had a lot of EMT students from Portage and that is why I have decided on going there. For the most part, they seem like they got a very good education. I did my PCP through distance learning and it worked well for me. I just hope I still have the same level of discipline now as I did then. Mobey, becareful what you say....I just might call you up! LOL Where are you again? Wainwright? I actually got accepted into the Camrose program as well, but when I went for the orientation, a couple of the instructors really turned me off and that is the biggest reason for me deciding to decline my acceptance. I am sure it is a really good course as well. A guy I worked with is in his 2nd year and loves it. Each to their own right? Denise