Asysin2leads

Ha ha ha... bodily fluids. You try any preversions in there and I'll blow yer head off!

I was 19 when I did my first ride alongs for EMT class, and in retrospect I was too young and immature to be doing it then. People aren't calling you immature because they think you are joking about wanting to serve in Iraq, they are calling you immature because you think that working in Iraq would be an "awesome experience." Now explain to me again how you have the rationality and maturity to be a benefit to crews an patients on an EMS call.

Baghdad ER, I saw one episode, and it is an amazingly powerful show. It is one of the few shows I have ever watched that I almost had to turn off because it was too emotional. The one scene where the doctors and Army staff were pretty much giving last rites to a young Marine who was internally exsanguinating, it was almost too much for me.

Well, in the mean time, you can talk to my friend Ryan who has never been quite the same after having to shoot a 12 year old in Iraq who was setting up a roadside bomb. I bet he's got some great experiences for you. The other guy, a police officer I used to know, you can't talk to him because he was killed by a sniper after going back for his second tour. How about instead you just rent a game from the video store, it will have all sorts of fun explosions and blood and shooting and you won't have to end any human beings life and no one will have to hand your mother a folded flag. Sounds better to me!

My grandmother already knows how to suck eggs, thank you very much.

From my days working at a grocery store, if I remeber correctly, vanilla extract is 70% alcohol, while peppemint extract is something insane like 95% alcohol. Lets go make some cookies and get buzzed.

I have an idea, lets ship them to Iraq so they can get a taste of what the world is about. I mean, that should give them some good experience in prehospital emergency care, right? Couldn't hurt.

Today, I found the answer to a puzzle I had been trying to figure out for quite sometime now. Much of my job consists of dealing with skel, er I mean, street tra.., I mean, ummmm, let's see, we'll call them undomiciled urban outdoorspeople. The puzzle was when I would find them meditating on the sidewalk next to a bottle of half drunk mouthwash, such as Scope, or god help me, Listerine, and it always made me scratch my head. A quick trip to the pharmacy and then to the liquor store (purely for scientific reasons) confirmed my suspicion, a bottle of mouthwash is in fact more expensive than a cheap bottle of booze. So why in the wide, wide world of sports would you drink mouth wash if real booze is cheaper? These aren't stupid highschool kids who can't afford fake ID's, its not like you get more alcohol per dollar spent with the mouthwash, and its not like they have to sneak it past their wife and kids who are trying to get them to stop drinking and make their dumpster a happy home again. I was at a loss, though honestly I didn't mind them drinking mouthwash so much because it made them smell kind of minty, rather than that god awful smell of cheap booze that's prevelant with the vodka/paint thinner they drink. Today while dealing with one of the said urban outdoorspeople, and their bottle of mouthwash, I shot my query over to one of the officers of the law on scene, and he finally solved this for me. If you go into most liquor stores in urban areas, you'll notice the small pint sized bottles of liquor are kept behind the clerk behind the counter. There's a reason for this, so people don't treat themselves to a five fingered (or less, depending on the state of the urban outdoorsperson) discount with the easily pocketed bottles of booze, the larger bottles being much harder to rip off. However, your local CVS usually doesn't have a problem with mouthwash theft, and its kept out in the open next to the Colgate and mentho-rub. The answer to the question to why you would drink mouthwash if booze is cheaper is because while its almost impossible to STEAL a bottle of booze, its a lot easier to rip off a bottle of Scope. If I'm the only person who has ever dealt with this situation and wondered what the heck is going on, then oh well, I know now and you just wasted 2 minutes of your life reading this that you can never get back, ever, but if you're an EMSer working the urban wasteland and you've come across a similar situation, now you know. However, there are two minor mysteries that now arise. The aforementioned urban dweller had with her a bottle of generic mouthwash. I get it now, if you have the money from panhandling (yes, despite the claims on their signs and what they tell you, they spend it on booze), you can get your pint of booze, if you don't, you can rip off a bottle of mouthwash. However, the question is, if you are going to steal mouthwash, why steal a generic one? I mean, if its all the same, live it up a little and go for the name brand. The second mystery is while I have a good comprehension of the physiology and psychology of chemical addiction, how desperate are you to drink half a bottle of Listerine? I mean, good old fashioned, kill the germs, flush your radiator and polish coins Listerine? And again, if you are going to steal mouthwash, why not steal something good tasting? At least better than Listerine. Yeeeeesh I get the shakes.

How come this stuff isn't cross posted into the cadet thread? Over in that one its all peace and love and holding hands. How come these same youngsters aren't allowed to shadow firefighters in the course of their duties. Oh, I forgot, our job is perfectly safe and nothing bad ever happens. Ever. I have enough trouble babysitting my partner, for crying out loud. Its one thing when a teen doesn't quite understand why its a not a good idea to do ride alongs, thats why teenagers are teenagers, they are in the midst of developing adult comprehension skills but still retain a lot of child hood traits, naivety chief among them. Its another when (supposedly) rational, level minded adults think its a good idea. Its almost a Catch-22 situation, the person who would be best suited to work in EMS would be the one who, at age 16, would say "I have no business being anywhere near an ambulance right now, but I'm going to sit tight, wait, be patient, and work hard so one day I will be."

Look man, was I drinking, or was this the same site that was having a knock down, drag out fight over young cadets in a different thread... http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...&highlight= What gives, yo? Look, I appreciate young people wanting to get into this field, and I wish there was some sort of professional career counseling and such for interested parties, but when I was fourteen years old, my main interests were video games and getting to first base. Why don't we just keep it that way? If you want learn first aid, CPR, God bless, go for it, learn it, use it, may peace be upon you. But HIPPA? I don't even want to learn HIPPA! There's a word for setting up medical equipment for others. Its called work! Work sucks! Go out and play football, or go on dates, or just be a teen. For the love of god its a short period in your life. If not, I have an idea. I will trade any willing cadet a week in my life, with all the rights and priveleges of being a certified paramedic, if I get to go be a teenager for that week. Seriously, here's my narcotics, here's my uniform, here's the keys, I'm going to go try and get a date with that cute girl in homeroom. Laters!

Wow, a doctor on scene who actually did something that benefited the situation? What is this, crazy day? I feel like I'm losing my mind! Next thing you'll tell me someone introduced themselves as a nurse on scene and then offered real, helpful advice! Stop the room, I wanna get off! Good job, doc.

70% I think is a great figure. Ask them if they give the police and fire department a hard time for a 0% return.

Fiznat, I ask you, if one can't get experience without working, but can't work until they get experience, what is a new EMSer supposed to do besides work at Waffle House? Honestly. Okay, so you've jumped in head first and you feel a little overwhelmed. That's called starting a new career, but we only really learn how to swim once we are in over our heads. Patient history and physical exam are a lot more challenging at the EMT level, because at the medic level you know what you are looking for. If you have to rely on a little note card, do so, no one is going to fault you for it. I say if your coworkers are tolerating you, then congratulations, you have a really excellent environment to learn in. It sure as hell ain't working the transport bus or pal-ing around at the vollie squad where unfortunately most members of the EMS profession start off, so consider yourself lucky.

Look, under 18 year olds on the bus is just a dumb idea. If you are a working crew, you can't really pick and choose the calls you can go on with the teen in the back, and even if you could, 99.9% of the times the really bad calls never come through with the gory details until you are well enroute. There are things this world can throw us that will make the most experienced, mature, seasoned paramedic and push him or her to the emotional and mental breaking point. How would you expect the teen to react?

I can't say what I would have done in this situation, because in my neck of the woods, this situation wouldn't have happened. Once you are intox you pretty much lose all of your rights for refusal, and you'd be going to the hospital. I can't speak for your telemetry doc or your PD, but it smells like if they continue with their actions, they will have a lawsuit on their hands. Lets say this guy had a fracture of the neck, and you left him, and oooops, he's paralyzed. Any semi-decent lawyer could make a decent case that this patient could not make an informed decision regarding their healthcare. I'd say document, document, document. Document your concerns, verbalize them to the doc, give them enough rope and stay clear of the fan when the stuff hits it.

I'm going to have one printed up that says "I'm a dork with no social skills and serious psychological problems." Not worth beating around the bush, I always say.

Well, Becksdad and medic pretty much said what I was going to say. If the patient was really that critical, you should have rendevoused with an ALS unit, but from the sound of it, your partner is a moron. Tell him to knock it off before someone slaps the shit out of him. Just curious, is this an isolated asshole, or is your entire service like that? If its the latter, I'd say run Forrest, run away.

Despite the fact that compared to the IAFF and the PBA our little union is a 98 pound weakling, they have done some remarkable things for its members and for EMS as a whole. This has included: Fighting to get a member his promotion denied by the department because he happened to be fighting in Iraq when his name came up on the promotion list Working to get benefits for members sick and dying from inhaled dust and chemicals at the WTC site Getting a new contract with an 8% raise for its members Getting protective equipment based on quality, rather than lowest bidder, for its members And a whole host of other stuff. So far my experience with my union has been very positive.

becksdad, I never said EMT's were useless. What I was getting at was the misconception that someone needs X hours of work at the EMT-Basic level before they should be allowed to move on. Working as an EMT, beyond a certain point, does not make you better suited to become a paramedic in my opinion. The misconception comes from the fact that people think that learning to work in the field is some kind of mystical power that only a select few people hand picked by God can achieve after years of practice. The truth of the matter is that learning to work in the field is indeed challenging, but its not as hard as some people make it out to be. Advanced Calculus, Organic Chemistry, Quantum Physics, those are hard things to learn. Working in the prehospital care setting? Challenging, but not impossible. This has been an ongoing sticking point with me, the whole kind of firewall that has been placed around this profession by people with their own personal agendas, denying people entry into their chosen field by overexaggerating the day to day challenges of EMS, and going overboard with the 'weeding out the weak'. There are, I believe, a lot of people out there who would make excellent paramedics but have either gotten scared off, given the brush off, or just plain thrown in the towel and said "I've had enough" because of this attitude, and dammit, we need to end this crap once and for all. Medical school, nursing, even Physician's Assistant, they like to see a little background in the field in medicine, and a lot of prospective students volunteer at hospitals to fulfill the demand. So be it with EMS. But I ask you, how long is someone who has the intelligence, drive, and determination to become a paramedic, supposed to work at the BLS level before they are allowed to move on? 5 years? 5 years of near minimum wage salary? 5 years of splinting and taking blood pressures? How many good people would you lose in those 5 years? How many losers who somehow can afford to live on minimum wage would make it through those 5 years? EMS needs to wake up, and start recruiting from the field of professional minded invididuals, not people who spend their time watching videos in their parents basement and answering pager calls. :protest:

Okay, playing devil's advocate here, what is the worse that could happen if you gave a patient who had rales from pneumatic sepsis rather than CHF?

EMT Shock Trauma Tech??? You're making that one up right? Ohhhhh, you know there's some young guy with spiked up hair who chews his gum with his mouth open who has a special patch for that one. Actually, I kinda want to be a shock trauma tech now...

Am I the only one on Gods green earth that believes the thing that best prepared me for paramedic class was my Anatomy and Physiology course? Look, I hate to break it to anyone, but none of the skills we do are that hard to learn. Sure, it takes practice, but so does juggling. Working at the EMT Basic or EMT Intermediate level only proves you have the ability to make it to work, get to a call, and not get fire by the powers that be. Passing a college level science course means you have the mental ability to handle complex tasks, break down information, and also, get to class on time and turn your work in diligently. Now, I ask you, who is better suited for paramedic class, the guy who got a 4.0 in biology, or the guy who has been tear assing around town with lights and sirens for the past 10 years? Unfortunately, for most people in the profession, the latter is the answer. EXPERIENCE IS GOOD. TRAINING IS GOOD. KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION IS BETTER.

So long as we are talking about funny non-EMS t-shirts, my dad got me one that is all black, and in microscopic print over the left breast, so small you have to lean in very close to read it, it says "Nosey little f---er aren't you?"

This reflects the new philosophy of CPR, that good circulation of poorly oxygenated blood is preferable to the poor circulation of oxygenated blood. I'm just curious, do they ask to check for a pulse? I guess not if its lay person CPR.

Not sure what you're getting at, windsong. If your mean the EMS profession in general, well, thanks, if you mean the whackers I was referring to in my other post, please don't encourage them.