emtannie

I know some schools here require a criminal record check before you do your practicum portion of your classes. Even if they don't, one is required before you write your provincial registry (Alberta College of Paramedics) exam. Passing this exam is required to work in EMS in Alberta, so at least you are checked then.

I am not sure what the changes are for new hires now that Alberta Health Services has taken over ambulance services in the province, but I know I was required to have another criminal record check when I was hired.

On a personal, non-professional note, I think if this guy in the original article gets convicted, part of his sentence should be that the families of the victims get to spend 10 minutes "out behind the barn" with him before he does any jail time. If he survives his time with the families, then he can do his jail time.

I did do my google-fu research and I did not find anything independent of this organization stating who they are or what they are. All I saw was several of his own postings and a web page made by them.

None of this explains WHY they are doing this. There has to be a reason and I suppose once you submit a LOT of personal info for this free ride in China, you may discover why.

I have to admit, I din't look very far.... when I didn't see anything in the first couple paragraphs of those sites that would tell me why this is the chance of a lifetime for ME, and that it would do wonderful things for ME, and open lots of doors for ME, I didn't look any farther. I am perfectly capable of wasting my time and money at home, rather than halfway across the world.

Google is your friend…..

http://www.ghmllc.net/executives.html

- provides a biography of the OP

http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f136/international-nursing-scholarships-93047/

- provides more detailed information on scholarships available.

If you want to relocate to China, here is your chance.......

What reassurance do the "women" of EMT City have that representation is in the best Interest of our Profession as a group.

TRAUMA sure the hell wasn't !

That said there are many single or divorced Fathers in EMS that do the exact same thing (wear 3 hats) ... What about Them ?

Equal rights and representation would only be a fair in my humble opinion.

cheers

Ahh Turnip,

I agree with your concerns about representation being in the best interest of our Profession. I also agree that there are many single or divorced fathers who are wearing multiple hats as well. I would like to see some focus in this documentary on the acceptance of women into EMS in the last 25 years. (ok, I am showing my age). When I wanted to be a medic 25 years ago, I was told "go be a nurse - women don't become medics." Now, it is a perfectly acceptable career choice.

Tniuqs, like you, I wonder why the focus tends to be on those women who are mothers. The vast majority of women who are mothers chose to be (and also had the choice not to be), and I am always wondering why media tends to put moms who work outside the home on such a pedestal, when there are so many people out there who do just as much - the single dads who are raising kids... the parent who is not only raising children but is taking care of elderly parents themselves... the person working their way through school while working 2 jobs and taking care of family members.

Just my 2 cents...

As a Canadian who travels into the US regularly, I read this thread with interest.

Although I think Herbie hit the nail on the head with the "attitude" explanation, I think the youth sense of entitlement is not limited to US citizens. I see it here as well. I very much agree with the "blame" comments too. I know too many times when talking with my peers, when the discussion turns to someone suing someone else, it is referred to as "being American."

One of my biggest frustrations when I travel to the US, is the lack of knowledge about their neighbor to the North. I live about 30 miles north of the 49th, and people just south of that line think I live in an igloo and trade in my dogsled for a car at the border. Another frustration is when I hear Canada blamed for everything from the weather (funny, my weather tends to come up from Great Falls) to terrorist attacks to the price of oil.. most Americans I talk to don't know that Canada is the US's largest trading partner, and the US tends to run a trade deficit (the US imports more from Canada than exports to Canada).

I think the biggest thing that the USA can do to change their world is to become more educated about their own history, and about the world. I also feel that too many Americans have the attitude of "the world wants us to save them from (fill in the blank here... natural disaster, civil unrest, economic failure..)" when that is not in fact true. The US has an international obligation just like other countries, to provide assistance, but for some reason, citizens in the USA don't see the contributions, sacrifices, or work of other countries, and it goes back to the lack of education.

I think I watch too much Billy the Exterminator...

I LOVE Billy the Exterminator! Maybe FireMedic should give him a call, and then he could be on one of the episodes!

As fiznat quoted in a related thread, and Lone quoted above:

“Now, I know this is taboo and everything, but for the sake of discussion who here doesn't know someone who has had a friend "get him/her a card" for their CPR refresher? It happens all of the time in professional EMS, because a lot of people feel that it is a waste of time to re re-learn how to pump and blow when we do it so often. A lot of people also feel like CPR refresher is more about $$ for the AHA than actual education or proficiency.

...Even for those who attend the class, can you honestly say it is conducted in a serious and rigorous manner? Most of the CPR classes I've been are nothing more than rubber stamp conventions. How is that practice any better than just having a friend/instructor refresh your card for you?”

Actually, there are instructors who do conduct their classes in a serious manner, and I would like to think I am one of them. If an instructor doesn’t follow the standards set for materials covered in class, the time frame minimums, and the testing standards, they can (and should!) have their instructor certification revoked.

Yes, there are those who hand out cards, and rubber stamp classes, and that is not just unfortunate, but unethical, and defeats the point of the refresher or recertification.

I will echo croaker’s comments, that just because it is a refresher, does not mean that it has to be coma-inducing. There are lots of ways to make a refresher course interesting, and enjoyable for the students. Instructors that do not try to make it enjoyable as well as educational for their students should not be in front of a class.

We have all sat through recerts and courses that have been boring. This does not make it an excuse not to attend, and to falsify documents to maintain your certification, which is what the people in the original article did.

There is still not excuse for their actions, and they should not just be suspended, they should lose their jobs. A slap on the wrist is not enough.

Would you accept a doctor saying “I didn’t take the refresher, even though it is a requirement, because I believe the refresher course has no bearing on competence and knowledge, and I falsified my documents to maintain my license”? Would you be comfortable with him treating your loved one? There is no difference.

My thoughts and prayers go to his family, friends, and coworkers, and I also hope that those responsible are found, arrested, and convicted.

If y9ou don't want to use pesticides, you may find that the glass cleaner Windex works on some hard shell bugs. Every falk, we get an infestation of box elder beetles (also called maple bugs), and spraying Windex around my doors and windows does help keep them out, and kills those that it hits. It is also a little better for your pets too..

Vinny,

Do you know which renal clinic this patient goes to for dialysis? I wonder if the dialysis clinic is aware of how many times he is picked up by you guys for falls after dialysis. I suspect his nephrologist would be interested to know that.

I have had a lot of dealings with dialysis clinics in 2 hospitals in my region, and both have incredibly dedicated staff who go the extra mile for their patients. If you don't get any help anywhere else, this may be an option....

I have been in a few situations where I would have loved to use the pit maneuver....

Maybe we could turn it into a revenue situation - have cameras in the ambulance, and when there is a vehicle that won't get out of the way, the driver can touch a button that will take a picture of the offending vehicle's license plate. Then the registered owner of the vehicle will receive a ticket in the mail, much like the photo radar tickets issued now. If the fine $$ amount was high enough, it could encourage people to pay more attention. It could also be like photo radar tickets in this area, where you can't renew your license or insurance without paying the ticket in full.

Of course, then we woul.d have to change the front decal to "Move your Ass or Get a Ticket"

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=13846&siteSection=1

A quote from the article:

"Beginning July 1, more than 200 emergency medical technicians will not be making emergency calls. They've been suspended for anywhere from 45 days to nine months for falsely claiming they took certification refresher courses.

The state said it came down hard to send a message and protect public safety, but two EMTs said the move is unfair and dangerous.

Kim is a state emergency technician. She's been suspended for nine months for allegedly falsifying certification class attendance. She says if she broke the law, she should be punished.

"But a nine-month suspension? I've lost my job and my health insurance. I don't now what I am going to do," said Kim.

She said the harsh punishment of EMTs is unfair, especially because she believes the refresher courses they're required to take have no bearing on competence and knowledge."

OK, if I understand this right, those EMT's FALSELY claimed they took the required refresher courses, but even though they did not complete their competencies, and they LIED, the don't feel they should be punished????? Wow.. that is a little scary - I suspect the EMT's who feel that way were raised with the "oh it's ok, honey, everyone does bad things, and it isn't really your fault" generation.

What ever happened to there being consequences for your actions?

And the part about the refresher courses having no bearing on competence or knowledge? Yeah, taking your CPR every year is a PITA, but there is a valid reason for refreshers. I don't care what competencies they missed, there is a reason we take refreshers.

It appears that the EMT's involved in this knew that they were not following the rules, and yet they want the state to turn a blind eye to it. Regardless of whether they think those classes are relevant or not, this is not the route to take to make changes. Since it appears they truly knew that they were outside of the rules, I have no problem with the consequences.

I spent several hours with a very nice mentally ill patient last night, as we flew her to another city to be admitted to a higher level psychiatric care centre than what our hospital could handle.

She was a very easy patient, was ambulatory, cooperative, and talked all the way to the airport, on the flight, and to the other hospital. She was quite entertaining to listen to, as she spoke about terrorist plots she had information on, the parties she had attended with Yoko Ono, and that she was currently dating Lyndsay Lohan.

According to the documentation we received, she was prone to unprovoked attacks of staff and others, and could be quite dangerous to herself and others.

There were several times on the flight where she was very agitated and fidgety, and we were able to calm her with just talking to her. While we were with this patient, I began to think of our protocols when it comes to transporting patients with a history of violence.

When do we sedate, for our safety rather than theirs? When should we? When do we? Should we ever sedate without the patient's knowledge of what we are giving them?

In this case, I think that if the staff at the hospital had told the patient that she was going to be sedated prior to transport, she would have become more aggressive. Because she was informed throughout the process, she was calm and cooperative. My opinon probably would be different had she tried to assault either my partner or me while in flight though...

At what point do we override the patient's rights in order to protect our own safety?

These thoughts were rolling around in my head as I watched her fidget and listened to her talk, so I am now wondering - what do others think? When do we/should we sedate a mentally ill patient during or for transport?

Holy **** you are still alive!!!!

And big congrats - it sounds like your time away has been very well spent.

The only advice I can really give is remember, the wedding day is only one day... if anything goes wrong, big deal (ok, other than her not showing up, or something like that)... little things might go wrong, don't sweat them. As long as you and your bride-to-be are positive this is the right move, all will be perfect no matter what happens. You have the rest of your life to have perfect moments, so if there is one not so perfect moment during the wedding, it is not that big a deal. Those little things that go wrong will be something you can laugh about later.

As for after the wedding, the only advice I can give is make sure you talk to each other, and make sure you schedule time for each other. It is so easy for life to get in the way, and then you start to take each other for granted, and that is when things start to fall apart - you don't communicate because you just assume the other one knows... so keep those lines of communication open, and spend time for just the two of you.

When I got married, my great uncle gave a blessing at our wedding.. "May God grant you all the sunshine you can stand." I wish that for the two of you.

Again, congrats!

Ok, after my little rant, I noticed that ACP has, in fact, posted the financials on their website.

Your rant is still justified.... last year when I wanted to see the financials, I was informed that the only way I could get them was if I had attended the AGM.... Enough people must have complained that this year they are finally posting them.

With all of the questions that the members have, I don't think you have to feel badly about your rant.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you, your family, and friends. No one can say "I know how you feel" because we truly can never know how another feels in this time of loss. Please just know that there are many here in your emtcity family that will have you in their thoughts and prayers, and that you know that there are friends here who will be there when you need to vent, or just talk, or just share some silence with you.

Take care of yourself,

Annie

Doc, I agree with your comments - AHS will not change protocols for one municipality.

And Jonas, you make a very valid point. Where I work, the fire department responds to all calls L&S the entire way, day or night.

I notice that this councillor did not mention the fire department, which would be under municipal regulations, but only ambulance... maybe that should be mentioned as well. I think I should email Edmonton city council and mention that...

This councillor obviously needs to be educated on when and why ambulances run with sirens....

I love the comment "the wee hours between midnight and six a.m."... obviously has never had to respond to the multi-vihicle mvc caused by the drunk after the bars close, after the playoff hockey game, when the streets are packed.

I hope that whoever the PR people are for Edmonton EMS are, that they take this councillor for a day, so that the councillor can be educated about what we do. Part of that ride-along should be a night shift on Whyte Avenue, in the area of Cook County Saloon (is that still ther, or am I dating myself?)

Sometimes you just wanna say "Here, I will hold out my hand, and you slam your forehead against it, so I don't have to hit you.."

"... a paramedic discovered the outage and restarted the system. But Hall had died."

Like others have questioned, was this medic not monitoring this patient at all? No SpO2? No EtCO2? It sounds like the medic only noticed AFTER the patient was dead...

If this is in fact true, I hope the investigation proves negligence.

How did they explain this to the family of the deceased? "I'm sorry, the vent quit, we didn't notice, she died... "

Ashes, did they7 hand out a package which includes the year end financial statements? I asked for a copy last year, and was told that financial statements are only provided to members who show up at the AGM. Personally, I think that the financial statements should be available on the website - we should be able to see where our funds are going. I am assuming that the statements have to be audited, based on the dollar values alone.

That whole CBT thing makes me mad... what a waste of money - they could have subcontracted it out to organizations who already use CBT, paid them, altered some of the questions to meet our scopes, and been done, rather than take the route they did.

Was there any discussion on why there has been so much staff turnover at ACP?

It isn't rocket science to add email addresses to a website.... I have it for my business... it took 10 minutes, cost me almost nothing, and I can have up to 200 email addresses, with 5 main emails having 5G storage, and the rest smaller amounts (when the day comes that I have 200 employees, I will be laying on a beach somewhere..) so if ACP says it can't be done or costs too much, I will call their bluff.

I wish I could have gone, but I was working, and already covering for someone who had a family emergency, so I couldn't have made it.

I do wish ACP would provide more information to those of us who can't make it to AGM. It isn't like we can just shut the province down for the day so we can all attend.

It is when we make ourselves "better than" others when the issues begin...make sense?

As one of my favorite medics says ... "abso-frickin-lutely!" (ok, he doesn't say it quite like that, but the site censor would just **** it out anyways..)

So, then I wonder... the majority of posts on this thread follow the "we are here to try to make the world a better place." Are people in EMS alone in this, or does the general population think the same way? And, if the general population thinks the same way, why do we get into these "I am better than you" situations? What is it about us that always makes us want to be better than someone else, even though that contradicts the part of us that wants to make the world a better place?

Then it makes my brain hurt, and then I like chbare's post, because then I don't have to think...

LOL AK, you are right - we will have to agree to disagree... sort of...

I guess I was lucky - I was never threatened with damnation, as a child or otherwise.

When I decided I wasn't going to go to church, my dad said that was my decision. He didn't pressure me, he didn't tell me I was going to hell, he said I was free to choose, he never banned me from his house or judged me.

I guess where I have problems is the generalizations that get made... there is a danger in generalizing an entire group. For example, saying that religious people threaten their children with damnation is as general as saying that non-religious people don't raise their children to have values. Neither generalization is true. Although there are some in both groups that the comment applies to, you cannot blanket the entire group with the statement.

I agree that the fundamentalist or extremist groups do themselves and their families a HUGE disservice by not exposing them to other people, other religions, and other cultures. I have always been interested in their version of theology - how can you know that your beliefs are right, when you don't even know what else is out there?

I am also interested in your comment "time wasted in rituals, meetings, groups..." is it truly wasted? How is that more wasted than time sitting in a bar drinking with friends, or playing ball with some buddies? Different venue, but still a social gathering.. If that is what they want to do with their time, so be it... Now, if that time is spent and they don't get out during the rest of their day/week (life), and experience the rest of the world, then absolutely, I agree with you. They are not experiencing the rest of the world, and they are sheltering themselves too much.

I think that there are two things that cause problems between religious and non-religious people... Each group thinking that they are somehow "better" than the other, and each group thinking in generalizations about the other. Instead of lumping people into "I have a problem with religious people" or "I have a problem with non-religious people" I think we all need to look at others as individuals. If they are religious, so what? If they aren't, so what? If they have a tattoo of goth barbie on their ass, so what? (I had to put that in, just for Dwayne) Do they treat you and others the way they want to be treated? Isn't that all that matters?

We are here to exist and are now smart enough to make the place better than the way we found it, through design, invention, or its people. It is when we start to tag ourselves as being more supreme than others, when we tag our "evolved" brains into something mighty, that we lose focus on family, community (globally speaking), and simply co existing and enjoying life. It is when we introduce all these other superfluous ideas of existence that the world actually becomes a darker, less enjoyable, more unfulfilling life. When you live for today, you enjoy every minute of it and appreciate and respect all it has to offer you. When you spend too much time planning your "next life" you are only missing out on all the great and wonderful things right here, right now in this life. A very sad state indeed...

I like your post, AK...

The last couple lines caught my eye.

Although I think that most who believe in a form of religion spend time considering "the next life," I think most do not spend "too much time" planning it. I absolutely agree that you are right, in that those that do spend too much time planning for the next life, miss out on the here and now.

I do think that those who believe in a next life are looking at our existance on a bigger scale than those who don't. Is it right? I dunno... Is it wrong? I dunno. If it makes them behave in a way where they are trying their best to do good, and make the world a better place, I am ok with it. If their religion makes them behave in a way where they do harm to others, and where they do not make the world a better place, then they should be ashamed of themselves, not just through the eyes of their religion, but through the eyes of the human race.

Good for you for being able to raise your children to see the consequences of their actions, and teaching them that they can control the way they feel and act towards others - many parents, both religius and not religious, have been unable to do it. I do not think the fact that you have been able to do it has so much to do with your religious beliefs or lack thereof, but of a desire to raise your children to be useful members of society, and that you and your wife have spend uncountable hours working toward that goal.

My dad was a very religious man. He used to say "if you spend your days counting your blessings, you won't have time to complain about your problems." He spent his life doing his best to raise his family to become useful members of society. He worked very hard to provide for us, and to show us that life is what you make of it, and that helping others is one of the greatest things you can do. If people see his actions as tarnished because he was religious, so be it - I prefer to think that he lived every day to its fullest, knowing that life is always too short, and that the kindness he showed others still has a positive benefit even now, after he has been dead for many years. I would also like to think that he taught me to try to do my best and make the world a better place.

I would hope that people do good things because it makes them feel good, and makes others feel good, rather than out of a sense of duty where they get no joy from it. AK, you are teaching your children that selflessness brings more joy - that by coming back out of the bedroom with a more positive outlook is not only good for them, but for those around them. Too many parents, both religious and non, allow their kids to grow into selfish "me me me" people.

Dwayne, rather than derail this thread further, I will respond to you in PM. I think we are misinterpreting the others' position.

Having watched the argument/debate/stone-throwing between Dwayne and Ruffems, I am reminded why I sometimes get frustrated with some of the threads.

Dwayne, I don’t always disagree with you, but in this case, I will. OK, Ruff’s post didn’t provide ALL the details; however, he did quote his source, and if we disagree, or have more questions, maybe we should look it up, and build a case as to why we disagree. You shot down his post as being crap without truly arguing the other side based on more than opinion. I expected you to come back with “the statistics you gave were inaccurate because on website _____ the federal/state/municipal statistics show that there is racial profiling,” not “offer my passionate, and contrary point of view.” (yes, this last quote was directed at Herbie, but it shows your focus throughout this thread so far). A point of view does not prove another’s wrong.

I expect that when someone argues against my posts, that they do it with facts that show my post was in the wrong, not just in a “...lets not spew statistics that seem to make your point but we all know don't actually do so.”

Actually, contrary to your statement “of posting irrelevant shit and pretending that it supports your argument,” the site Ruffems quoted has a pretty significant breakdown of the figures, which actually does support his argument.

So, let’s take a look at the statistics provided on the Raymore police department:

Statewide population over the age of 16 (based on 2007 census) :

Whites 83.95%

Blacks 10.72%

Local population over the age of 16:

Whites 90.79%

Blacks 4.25%

Now, we also have to take into account that Raymore is a trade centre for a large area, and a suburb of Kansas City, and that police stops will include those that don’t live within the limits of Raymore.

If we turn the number of stops, searches, and arrests into percentages, we find the following:

Percentage of stops:

White 88.047%

Blacks 9.85%

- does this prove racial profiling? Based on the total population percentages, it appears that the police department is not targeting a specific group

Percentage of Searches:

White 80.94%

Black 14.38%

- does this prove racial profiling? Maybe – we have to consider if the search was based on plain sight evidence, which is also in the document provided by Ruff..

Percentage of Arrests:

White 77.29%

Black 17.13%

- does this prove racial profiling? Maybe – we have to consider if the search was based on plain sight evidence, and if the arrest was based on scene findings or on a previous warrant, which is also in the document provided by Ruff..

I could go into more and more detail, which could take pages and pages….

The point I am trying to make is that too often I see someone’s post get shot down based on opinion more than fact, and when statistics and links are provided, rather than looking at them and studying them, they use the “stats can say anything” line. It is a shortcut, and a copout, rather than doing the research to effectively argue against the other poster.

OK, I am done derailing this thread.