emtannie

All creatures affect their environment, but not like we do. We are destroying the biodiversity of this planet while we continue to devolve. *Getting off soapbox.*

I disagree with this... I do not think we are destroying the planet to the extent that people like to blame humankind for. I do not believe in global warming. I believe that there is a God-planned circle of life. I have watched pine beetles destroy trees as far as the eye can see. I have seen cattle trample the ground so that nothing grows. I have seen grasshoppers destroy miles of crops. They destroy, and make no attempt to change or fix, unlike humans.

Now, back to the original question. I am seconding Ruff's answer. I am here to do the best I can, to make the lives of people that I come into contact with better than they were before they met or came into contact with me.

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, adieu……

Part of the problem with Trauma (oh, and where do I start) was besides the fact that the plots made my brain start to liquefy, there weren’t enough truly eye candy characters.

I will give Dust his Aimee…..

But they need to look back at Third Watch….

Girls, remember Bobby?

And Bosco?

C’mon Dust…. Write a series for us… except I want to be the casting director for the male characters… I am sure you will get lots of volunteers to help you pick the female cast…

I am wondering if the topic shouldn’t be “Pathophysiology of a Rhythm” instead.

10 Pages isn’t so bad… double space, 1 inch margins…

I would choose 1 dysrhythmia… for example, atrial fibrillation.

In order to explain why that is an abnormal rhythm, first I would explain a bit on what a normal sinus rhythm is and the phases of a cardiac contraction. (good site: http://www.cvphysiology.com/Heart%20Disease/HD002.htm).

Then I would explain the abnormal rhythm I have chosen:

- how the rhythm is different from normal sinus, explaining the pathophysiology

- what causes it and risk factors

- why it is possibly life-threatening

- treatments for it

Remember your intro and conclusion, list all your references, and you should easily have 10 pages.

It's not hard to drive an ambulance, not hard at all. Being an EMT doesn't make you a better driver. Being a medic doesn't make you a better driver.

I just think you people need to find something more interesting to bitch about.

I think you are missing the point on this thread. This thread isn't about being a better driver... it is that a service is getting volunteer drivers with no EMS training rather than staffing units with more educated providers. When many of us are working hard to not only educate new providers to be qualified and more than competent, and are also working to educate the public that we can do more than just drive, departments that staff like the one in the original post are doing nothing to advance the profession. Yes I realize you had commented that having a driver with 2 providers is a good idea, but I truly suspect that isn't the case with this service.

So, instead of posting "you people need to find something more interesting to bitch about" maybe you could research this service a little more for those of us who are "just bitching" and provide us with confirmation that they are actually running 3 to a car. And, maybe you could explain to us how this service is improving care and improving EMS with this move.

If you don't like the thread, or don't like the posting, you can ignore the thread, or you can provide valid arguments against the other posts, other than "you people need to find something more interesting to bitch about."

Edited to add: I can hardly wait to see the negatives I get on this post.....

I hate to complain, since the intent was obviously sincere, but how about a little something for us ass men?

Don't ever say I didn't try to help.....

I was a little surprised to see that the article was dated 2005. This is a topic that should be reviewed regularly! I get so tired of seeing shoddy reports.

Our service does internal audits - every member has to do a minimum number of audits of other people's reports each month. The author of the reports is kept anonymous and the supervisor assigns them to each crew member. (The supervisor can tell who wrote each report, so can ensure that you aren't auditing your partner, or someone you are close to, to maintain objectivity). There is a criteria for audit, which isn't very hard to follow. One of the advantages of this, is it forces people to see others' reports, and they can see reports that are awful, and those that are really well done. They can see errors where they go "oops, I know I do that too" and can self-correct, or help guide someone else to write better reports.

One of the things we noticed when we started this type of audit system, was the number of times we reviewed a report where we questioned interventions. For example: "the patient had chest pain, and it wasn't an inferior MI based on monitoring, so why weren't they given ASA and nitro?" The system allows the auditor to ask the question (again, anonymously) and the person who wrote the report can respond to it. It is scary how many times it comes back "I did give nitro and ASA, but it isn't in the report.."

With this in place, some of our staff are taking more time and being more diligent in their reporting. Having had to attend my first court case where both my report and I were subpoena'ed, I am glad that my report for that call was very detailed, and I know I review my reports more carefully since that experience.

Good link, tsk - thanks for posting it.

....What will the title be for the non medical undertrained driver be? ....

PETE = Personnel and Equipment Transportation Engineer

(sounds so much better than "ambulance driver")

There are volly crews who do very good work, maintain their skills, and whose abilities are second to none.

There are also volly crews where members are lucky to have had a CPR recert in the past 10 years.

One serious problem I see with volly crews is that there tends to be a limited ability to discipline those who refuse to maintain or improve their skills and who don't keep up with on-going training. Having worked both volly and paid, and having seen staff who were incredibly deficient in both education and skills in both, in my experience, dealing with the paid employee who is not performing is much easier than dealing with the volly. Too often I have seen the volly mentality of "I don't have to maintain my skills - I am just a volunteer" and for management "I can't discipline or fire them, because having a warm body is better than having no body." This puts a volly service into a very risky situation.

Now, back to the OP... this is exactly the risky situation that this service is heading for. It appears that they would rather have a warm body, that is unskilled and uneducated, than nobody. There are times, when it is better to have nobody. At least then your community is not under the mistaken impression that they will get quality care when they call 911.

As EMS moves forward, and struggles for respect both from within, and from other professions, one of the titles we have been trying so hard to get away from is the term "ambulance driver." That term infers that all we do is pick up a patient, and drive L&S to the hospital, with no care given. We need to educate people that we have both the education and skills to perform life-saving interventions when required, and provide medications to treat illnesses and minimize pain. The article in the original post just shows us how much farther we have to go to educate the community.

Often overlooked... slow down!!!! Make sure there is distance between you and the other traffic and ALWAYS anticipate other drivers doing something dumb.

AGREED! Too many times, the person driving the ambulance forgets that the 10 seconds it takes to slow down and make sure the other drivers see you will not kill your patient, but going too fast, and not being defensive enough will possibly get your patient, your medic, and you killed.

A very sad situation, and heartbreaking for the family, friends, and co-workers of those killed. This could have been so easily avoided, and hopefully, someone else can learn from this tragedy.

At least they saved the chimney.

They saved the chimney? That's pretty good - usually they just save the basement...

Firefighters.... not too bright, sure can lift things.

The fireman climbs the ladder to the bedroom of a burning house, and there he finds a curvaceous brunette, "Ah", he says, "you are the third pregnant girl I've rescued this month".

"But, I'm not pregnant!"

"You're not rescued yet!"

I will base some of this on my own experience, having lived on the street at one time.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? Human

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? No

4. How old are poor people? All ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? Both

6. Are more poor people male or female? I don't know - my guess is male, because people seem more willing to help women for some reason.

7. Are poor people lazy? Some are. Some are caught in a circumstance that they are trying to get out of.

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? No, some have no children.

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? No. Circumstances are a big reason for being poor. Loss of a job, mental health issues, recessionary times all contribute.

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? Not really, although it is very hard to make ends meet on minimum wage. Minimum wage works if several people get together and share housing and other expenses, but for one person to provide food, shelter, clothing and utilities on that wage is not possible.

11. Are all poor people unkept? No

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? No it is not.

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Yes it is possible; difficult, but possible. I lived on the street at one time, and now I own my own home and vehicles.

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Some do. The working poor pay taxes. I know when I worked minimum wage, my weekly earnings weren't enough to have a lot of taxes taken off, but working more thn one job meant that at year end, I had made enough that I had to pay taxes.

15. Do all poor people steal? I don't think so; however, when I lived on the street, I stole money from the fountains at the mall to buy food.

Had this been a school in Mexico, I could see the potential for a problem, but since this was a school in the USA, this should never have been an issue. The administration who made this an issue need to take a good hard look at the line between rights and freedoms.

I find it interesting when people immigrate into a country, because they want to live in that country to get better education, better healthcare, better paying jobs, security from corrupt/terrorist government, and safety away from war, but then want that same new homeland to bend to their wishes. There are certain obligations a citizen has to the country that provides them a place to live, be educated, and work, and one of those is respect for that country, flag, and customs.

I am not saying that people who move from another country into the USA or any other country should have to give up their culture completely. As the child of Russian immigrants into Canada, we had many family celebrations that were based on our Russian background, but my parents never expected the school, the community, or the Canadian government to make any special concessions regarding celebrating these events. In fact, my parents were very careful not to speak Russian or German outside the home, and we were not taught those languages, as we were told to be Canadian. (this was due in part to the backlash during WWII to Russian and German immigrants, and the suspicion that all were spies).

At some point, the government of a country has to decide where to draw the line, or eventually we will all become like Babel.

I agree with Ruffem's and Richard's comments on wearing the flag appropriately. I am all for being patriotic to one's country, and for flying the flag, but several years ago, I was in Las Vegas on July 4, and I saw a woman who must have weighed at least 400 pounds, and who had the most amazingly large breasts, wearing a sequined American Flag tube top. I couldn't help but think that the founding fathers of the USA probably didn't think that showing respect to one's country and flag meant that...

Thanks for posting the article, Lone - that school administration should be ashamed... and for the students who wore the American Flag... apologise? NO WAY!

I also stated U.S. in my earlier comments…

You also stated “anywhere” which, this being a global site, I wanted to comment on.

I am also not being argumentative but merely stating facts.

You are being argumentative in that in earlier posts, you made gross generalizations, and accused others of doing the same.

You are twisting my words… I did not say “EMS was not around 40 years ago.”

Again, let’s take a look at what I DID say: If you would look back on your previous post, you said “"EMS hasn't raised its education standards in over 40 years so there is little for those here to compare to understand the process, the gains and even a few losses that may go with increased responsibility or liability"; my argument is that we HAVE raised education standards. There was no paramedic designation then, there were no advanced procedures done in the field, and there were no associates or bachelors degree programs as there are now. Again, you choose to be argumentative rather than read my post clearly, and try to have a discussion rather than an argument.

I will stand corrected on my statement “there was no paramedic designation then, there were no advanced procedures done in the field, and there were no associates or bachelors degree programs as there are now” and appreciate the links and references you posted; however, you completely discounted the rest of my statement that we have increased standards, and have chosen to twist my words. And, I will repeat my last sentence from the previous post “you choose to be argumentative rather than read my post clearly, and try to have a discussion rather than an argument.”

I will post this question to you: Do you feel that the associate degrees of the 1970’s are the equivalent to the associate degrees offered today? Do they cover the same material to the same depth as today? Are those who graduated from the program in 1970 as educated and skilled as those today?

My answer to those questions is no. With improvements in equipment, monitoring procedures, and medication administration, and increased knowledge in the effect of our interventions, I think that students today are more educated and more skilled than those who graduated 40 years ago. This then goes back to my comment that we DO have increased standards.

… comments which you took personally…

I requested clarification, and apologized if I misunderstood. I don’t see great emotion in that, and I do not worry about my perceived image on this forum. I present myself as I see fit, and if you or someone else doesn’t agree, I do not lose sleep over it. My personal self-worth is not tied to this website. Do not talk down to me – you are not greater than I am. I will treat you as an equal if you treat me as one. I will disagree with people on this site at times, and have, even with those whom I have developed friendships with, both on and off this site. Do not lower yourself to trying to belittle me and my opinion of myself as part of your attempt at argument. By personally attacking me with the comment “So how can I even provide a reasonable argument to you without your emotional response to protect your perceived image on this forum?” I refuse to respect your opinions. I have not attacked you personally, but specifically discussed points of your posts.

I have asked you to read more of the posts on this site, and to look at some of the well-thought-out, educated posts that have been made, but you appear to want to focus on the lower quality posts. Again, all I ask is that you do not generalize all posters in that category. Please review the categories “Instructors” and “Students” in the forums to begin with, and I suspect they will lead you to some posters that you can follow from there.

You are deliberately being argumentative, and refusing to read my post clearly.

This person is an EMT-B who is thinking about becoming an NP but doesn't like what the profession is about because of the word doctor for someone who has obtained a doctorate degree.

My quote from my previous post: If you would read the posts carefully, no one was bashing nurses in general, or NP's in general, but were questioning why certain individuals want to work outside medical direction and think they should have a larger scope of practice. Other posters pointed out that there are those practitioners who love their title, but do not have the common sense that should go with it.

NOTE: my statement was not a gross generalization – yours was. You are attacking an individual without looking clearly at what they said. Their post specifically referred to a certain individual, not a profession in general.

I didn't call anyone a Firemonkey. I didn't have anything bad to say about NPs and I didn't praise EMTs as the only important level in EMS.

You appear to have directed this at me. Please show me where I have done the above. If I have misunderstood this as being directed at me, my apologies. If this is again a gross generalization, then I would recommend you specify who you are directing your comment to.

My response is offensive because it is different than what has been posted here

No, your response is offensive because it is a gross generalization, and shows that you have chosen to blatantly ignore posts in this site that argue for further education.

Now for a little education to you about your own profession.

If you would look back on your previous post, you said “"EMS hasn't raised its education standards in over 40 years so there is little for those here to compare to understand the process, the gains and even a few losses that may go with increased responsibility or liability"; my argument is that we HAVE raised education standards. There was no paramedic designation then, there were no advanced procedures done in the field, and there were no associates or bachelors degree programs as there are now. Again, you choose to be argumentative rather than read my post clearly, and try to have a discussion rather than an argument.

You need to back up your statement that the Bachelors is going to be made the minimal standard for EMS anywhere in the near future.

Oh yes, I should have informed you (since I suspect you haven’t done your research and looked at my profile, where I have provided my demographics - I notice you haven't), I am not in the USA, but in Canada. As you may have noticed, many here on this site feel that the American standards are inadequate and need to be improved and advanced. In the province of Alberta, several colleges are working with our provincial regulating body in making changes to increase minimum education standards. You are correct – many places in the USA do not feel that higher education is required; please give respect to those in your own country who are trying very hard to change that. A number of those are active members on this site. You may want to look at some of the Canadian standards, and those in NZ and Australia as well.

The doctorate is a form of higher education. Accept it and don't fight higher education for other professions that you probably have no idea of what their title and job description actually includes.

My quote from my previous post: There are NP's, and those who use the term DNP's, who wish to be called doctor as though they work with the same scope of practice as a medical doctor, not referring to whether they have a Ph.D. or not.

Once again, you have chosen to misinterpret my statement. I did not say that the doctorate is not a higher form of education. I also did not say that I am fighting higher education; in fact, I am always fighting FOR higher education. My argument is that there are SOME practitioners that feel that they should have the same scope of practice as a medical doctor, without the same (read equivalent) education. A doctorate and an MD are not the same education. Both are higher education, but not the same.

You are making assumptions about NPs that they just want to be called doctor to imply they are just like doctors.

My quote from my previous post: If you would read the posts carefully, no one was bashing nurses in general, or NP's in general, but were questioning why certain individuals want to work outside medical direction and think they should have a larger scope of practice. Other posters pointed out that there are those practitioners who love their title, but do not have the common sense that should go with it.

They gave specific examples about specific individuals, not generalizing an entire profession. My statement was not a gross generalization – yours was.

Granted, many Paramedics and even EMTs believe they are just like a doctor and will even say that when telling people what they do but that doesn't mean a whole profession should be crucified because of the "assumptions" made by a few on this EMS forum.

Ahh, on this we agree. There are medics who think they are gods, just as there are doctors and nurses and NP's, and LPN's, and DNP's who think they are gods. Every profession has those who think they are. Again, I ask that you go back, and look at the comments made. The references were regarding the FEW individuals who believe they are just like a doctor, not an entire profession.

This is a typical and expected response from an EMS forum.

You can't see past what has always been said or done and that is the way EMS will always be. No sight for the future.

Those who bash education and nurses will always be placed on a higher pedestal on these forums.

Wow - I am happy to see that this topic has veered to something worth discussing, however, JayEMTP, I do agree with paramedicmike. You have 3 posts on this site, 2 in the last 24 hours, and have only been a member here for 2 weeks. You have already chosen to make gross generalizations and be insulting to members who have had well-educated and thought out posts.

If you would read the posts carefully, no one was bashing nurses in general, or NP's in general, but were questioning why certain individuals want to work outside medical direction and think they should have a larger scope of practice. Other posters pointed out that there are those practitioners who love their title, but do not have the common sense that should go with it.

No one singled out your wife, and yes, she should be called Doctor as she holds a Ph.D.; however, she should not be called "doctor" in the setting of medical doctor with the scope of practice allowed for doctors. That is what the discussion was about. There are NP's, and those who use the term DNP's, who wish to be called doctor as though they work with the same scope of practice as a medical doctor, not referring to whether they have a Ph.D. or not.

Your knee-jerk responses to the posts here show that you haven't truly read the posts. Your comment "typical and expected response from an EMS forum" is offensive, as you have chosen to insult those who post here, without truly reading and understanding the thread.

"You can't see past what has always been said or done and that is the way EMS will always be. No sight for the future." Again, if you would spend more time in the forums, you will find many threads, and thousands of posts where EMS practitioners are fighting for more education and higher standards, both locally and nationally. Your gross generalization is a slap in the face to those of us who are trying to make positive changes in this profession, and as a member of this profession, your comment shows that you are the uneducated one, as you think we have not advanced from the "ambulance drivers" of the 1970's.

"Those who bash education and nurses will always be placed on a higher pedestal on these forums." Please provide proof of this other than posts which are posted in the Funny Stuff section. People bash SPECIFIC nurses who deserve to be bashed due to their actions and lack of knowledge. As a whole, we DO NOT bash the nursing profession, and again, you have made a gross generalization.

In a previous post, you said "EMS does differentiate their female medics and usually divides them into two categories but I seriously doubt if you would like to hear either one.' I would be interested, and yes, I would like to hear, and if you prefer not to post publicly, you can use the pm option. I was a commercial bank manager for many years, and the only female in a very large region - from what I have seen in 14 years in EMS, EMS certainly does not have a monopoly on derogatory comments towards women who can do the job as well as men. So feel free to enlighten me.

And, before you make comments about "EMS hasn't raised its education standards in over 40 years so there is little for those here to compare to understand the process, the gains and even a few losses that may go with increased responsibility or liability" please review the credentials of many who post here. Since I know you will want to know my background, I have both a B.Sc. and a B.Econ, and am currently working on my BHS (Bachelor of Health Sciences). I am an instructor at 2 colleges, and work on curriculum development. We are working to make the minimum standard NOT just an Associates degree, but a bachelor's degree. Within the next two years, I plan on starting my M.Sc, all while working full time on car, instructing, and running my own business. Please don't confuse me with someone who isn't spending time in this field or someone who is not trying to improve education standards.

Your boss is right... don't let it bug you.

The woman in the car is proof that people are idiots... she will be the same person who will complain that the ambulance didn't get there fast enough when she needs one.

A long long time ago, I was driving L&S with a critical patient in the back, and had a car pass me. At the time, I was angry, and called in to dispatch with the vehicle make, model, and license plate information. About 10 miles down the road, the police had this vehicle pulled over. Although I was glad that he got stopped by the police, I was angry about that driver's stupidity for a while. Now I just laugh, and remind myself that EMS is just standing in the way of darwinism, and these are the people who keep us employed.

Don't let it bug you too long...

Were you coming back from a call, or did you have a patient in the back? Were you driving L&S?

What did your director say?

Unfortunately, ther will always be members of the public who will complain, regardless of if we were in the right or not.

Gottaq love your comment on "the wave." She is probably the same driver who makes a left turn and cuts across three lanes of traffic, forcing others to slam on their brakes, and then smiles and waves, as though that makes it all better....

(I talked to Babs the other day about coming to visit, and she's up for it. But I'll need to go to school her for a bit as she I can be hard to get along with and socially inappropriate, so I don't want her to embarrass me myself...Just sayin')

Dwayne

Sorry Dwayne, I had to edit your post to make it more correct.

Welcome to the city, Jason. This is a great place - great people, great resources, great laughs.... and just like any family, some branches have their share of fruits and nuts.... hope to see you post more soon!

Guys... I didn't mean it as an official title, but as a term we use when discussing co-workers or someone we have been dealing with. Sorry I wasn't more clear....

I was wandering through the threads tonight, and some thoughts came to mind.

Why is a female nurse called a nurse, but a male nurse is called a murse or male nurse? Why do we differentiate for nursing, but you don’t see “female doctor” and “male doctor” or “female medic” and “male medic”?

If we say it is because nursing has always been a predominantly female career choice, why don't we use that same reasoning for doctors and medics?

Just thinkin.....

From original article:

“The advanced life support program was suspended last year for the district when the medical director for Collier County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) pulled certification for firefighter-paramedics. The program had allowed certified fire district paramedics to provide advanced life support techniques….”

“North Naples officials cited "logistical" problems in scheduling its almost 50 paramedics in the required number of shifts.”

So, if they are “firefighter-paramedics,” what is the problem? I suspect that part of the problem is that they are FIREFIGHTERS… they only got their medic designation so they could work for that service, but they don’t really want to be medics… they want to be FIREFIGHTERS… they want to respond in the big shiny truck, not the ambulance. They don’t really want to deal with medical or trauma emergencies, but want to deal with cutting apart cars and spraying foam and water on fire.

Logistical problems – nice excuse. If they truly wanted to provide quality care, they would have made it happen.

46Young, I agree with your dollars and cents approach – many services only want to deal with the bottom line, and I think this is one of them – they obviously don’t want to meet the criteria for quality care, so arguing the financial aspect may work.

CrapMagnet – I LOVE your response. You hit the nail on the head!

It seems like more and more I am seeing articles about fire departments wanting to provide EMS services, but aren’t willing to meet the requirements. They want to be able to say they provide EMS services, but want to shortcut on training and service. To me, that just proves that fire departments aren’t in EMS in order to provide patient care. If the tables were turned, and an EMS service wanted to provide fire services, but didn’t want to meet all the training requirements or skills requirements, I suspect that the IAFF would have an awful lot to say about it.

Quote from Kbiz: “..offer to underbid whoever is currently doing it- I'll bet you could find work. Worst thing that could happen is they don't hire you, but they'll have your name and contact information for any future tournaments or needs. “

1. Underbidding to get jobs is not a good idea. You get what you pay for, and there is usually a reason you get what you pay for – in this case, 0 experience.

2. As a business owner myself, I don’t want to work to lose money – I want to work to make money, and underbidding is not the way to do it.

Quote from Dust: “No. The worst that could happen is that you screw up (because you have a whole 120 hours of monkey training and no practical experience) and are found liable for civil damages and criminal negligence, as well as being sued by the state for income tax evasion, who takes what is left of what you own after the victim takes his share. Oh, and of course, you'll lose your EMT cert too, and have a criminal record for a lifetime, but that's the least of your worries.”

Absolutely, Dust!

I am curious as to what their protocol of "no signs of life" is.

If they ran a 1 minute strip and it was confirmed asystole, the patient was not breathing, and there was no pulse, and lividty was present, then the patient is dead.

Maybe although those medics performed all actions required by their service, it wasn't enough - who knows.

One thing caught my eye in the original article: "Swanson stressed that while the ambulance service takes responsibility for its employees' actions, it would be inappropriate for it to take responsibility for Harper's death because her cause of death has not been determined."

If I understand correctly, 2 crews went to the scene, and 2 crews pronounced this patient dead. I am curious what the factors were - I agree with Ruff that it may have been cold weather related, and that was part of the error in pronouncing. I think they have to take some responsibility in the woman's death; yes she may have died of her medical condition anyways, but the "do no more harm" comes into effect here.

These medics and EMT's have to live with the consequences of this - I hope that it is a learning experience for all.

Well, I am not from Michigan, but I hope I can answer some of your questions.

Check with your state regulations regarding occupational health and safety (I think in the US it is referred to as OSHA, or maybe that is federal).

If you work on your own, you will need insurance of some kind, to cover liability issues. Some insurance companies specialize in this kind of thing. Not only will you need liability insurance, but you will probably need some kind of workers compensation insurance, in the event that you get injured on the job.

Some companies do this kind of thing, where they specialize in providing EMS staff for special events. I know of a company close to me that specializes in hiring EMS staff for movie sets.

If you are on your own, you will probably be expected to provide all your own equipment. This could be very expensive, so keep that in mind.

As you would be getting paid to provide a service, you would not be covered by the Good Samaritan laws.

If this is truly the route you are considering taking, you will have to do a lot of homework. Essentially, you are starting your own business, so you should do a business plan, research on line sites on starting your own business, and talk to organizations that work with people who are entrepreneurs. If you are going to be doing this yourself, you also will need to ask yourself:

- am I going to work as a self-employed business, or am I going to incorporate?

- am I going to work under a trade name, or will I have an incorporated name (there are different taxation and legal implications of each)

- how much insurance do I need

- where will I get the money to pay for my start-up costs - incorporation, buying my equipment and supplies, advertising, bookkeeping....

- how am I going to advertise and how much is that going to cost

There is a lot of planning involved in going out on your own.

My suggestion is to try to gain experience somewhere else first. I know that jobs are not plentiful as you said, but keep looking. The reason I suggest this is: if you were running a large public event, and needed EMS staff, would you hire someone who has staff who are experienced, or someone with no experience? It will be a tough sell to get business with no experience.

Now that I have probably rained on your parade, do keep your chin up, and do keep looking... you need the experience.

I think we should let it run & go with the flow.....

Or we could just put a plug in it so it doesn't seep out into other areas...

*Growls at Annie

I was being sargasmic, duh

Good to see you missed mine.....