RegularEMT

The only real importance to me is body language and voice tone.

I've been treated pretty rough before, but the simple awnser is this. As long as you are good at what you do, and know what your doing and WHY you are doing it, nobody will give you a rough time. I'm 20, I've been flat out told I'm too young, I don't know jack, but everyone I've ever worked with has come to respect me and look over me. To me, it's a matter of respect. Of course they aren't going to respect me, respect is earned. Proffesional respect is different, that is a REQUIRED to work together, and should be there at all times.

We don't use lights and sirens to look pretty. We rarely run hot, but when we do, please get out of the way. No, I don't love my job. I don't like seeing people get hurt. I hate hearing the tones drop. Yes, I have seen some weird stuff, no I won't tell you.

I wear boots because i have bad balance and need the support to keep me from falling Honestly, I wear boots because they are the most comfortable thing for me to wear. I've been wearing boots since I was 12-13, I wear redwings.

That's pretty much what I said, and was the easiest way. They were often quiet impressed when you know your greatest weakness is lack of knowledge.

Not really, work is a job. I prefer to dream about things that will never happen to me, instead of things that happen daily. I'm a bit of an optimist.

That's what everyone has been saying, I'm glad I picked the choice of careers I did, but man, I fear paramedics after reading this board sometimes.

Eek, run guys, run!

This is what I was taught, and what my book says as well. I'd go with it, especially because NICU's prefer to have something to work with!

Would love to hear some responses on this to help me better myself as an EMT-B working with medics.

I'll slowly further my education, when I feel ready to do so. I'm not sure I can provide ALS care yet. Until then, I can just read read read read anything I can get my hands on.

TTL and Rid, I completely agree, I feel absolutely uneducated from the moment I recieved a little card that said I was an EMT. I'll never ever be fully prepared for any situation, but the only way to get better prepared is clinical knowledge(actually working) and furthermore by further education. Sure, you can tack on whatever you want to make fun of me for being a basic, but in the end when the crap hits the fan, we all have EMT infront of our title, and we're all there for pre-hospital patient care. I wish I could have more education, and will eventually. I am not fully ready to become a paramedic myself, and you can't knock me for knowing my current limitations and fears, being 20 years old in this proffesion is scary, having people calling you the youngin', idiot, basic dweeb, whatever they want gets to ya. Either way, the moment something goes wrong, i'm going to co-operate with you, and I hope you have the same respect for patients as I do, and co-operate with me. :wink: I know you guys will, but there are others who won't fully do that. We are allowing for this standard of care to continue Rid, and if you hate the laws get em changed. I'd love to further my education as a basic emt because there is so much I don't know. I'm not ready for the next step yet, is that wrong of me? It can't be as long as I know my place in the EMS world, atleast to me. If I see my patient needs a paramedic, I'll do my best to supply such. BLS ain't the best, but it's something.

Craig, given the ammount of training we barely get, I'd say it's not my fault I'm under-educated, it's their fault. If you want me to feel better about my job, give me more education, and better pay. 8) Atleast that's what I think, sadly we are massively under-educated as EMT-Basics, and I feel as if most paramedics are under-educated as well. Given the fact that we are responsible for peoples lives, an associate should be a huge must have for a paramedic in my mind, but we all have our own opinions. I maybe the low man on the totem pole, but I still take my job as serious as I can given my line of work(which is to take it serious, but never take myself serious) Why are paramedics upset at basics and calling them the low man on the totem poll? Because basics are sitting there saying they save paramedics. It's a simple rule of thumb, once insulted, insult back.

Thanks, and ya, alot of EMT's do use that as a cop out for being the low man. Just be satisfied with who you are, EMT-B or EMT-P. I'm satsified being a basic atm, it's fun, the people change, it's challenging, and I enjoy it. Paramedic isn't even on my radar at the moment, I don't want to rush into something I ain't ready for, and sure as heck ain't gonna put people at risk to be able to do more.

Ultimately that's all that really matters. I'd rather speak up politely out of simple reasoning and logic for my patient than let something wrong happen to them. You can always be wrong, but you can never be right 100% of the time. I may speak up and say something in a good way, my job is ultimately caring for my patient, not respecting my partner. If my partner does something blatantly wrong, and I know from my knowledge that it is, you bet your booty I will speak up, but only out of respect for my patient. It's their emergency, not mine. Either way, I'm never going to go head to head with a paramedic on an ALS issue. I try to define my boundaries as solid, but sometimes it spills over, and I do have proffesional respect for my partner, but that doesn't mean I'll let that get in the way of proper pre-hospital care.