JPINFV

Just to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was just a lame attempt at sarcasm

I think that you should only be able to transfer between urban and rural (and vice versa) after a suitable time in the suburbs. Kinda along the lines of B before I before P thing. /IBTL

^ I think you're missing the part about the use of drive stun setting. No darts were used in the situation in question. Is it not better to use a weapon that protects the officer and public that has a possibility of death instead of a moderate to high probability of death?

I see several laughable things about the entire urban vs rural BLS debate. 1st. Skills. Congrats, you can put on a splint. Personally, I'm much more concerned about making sure I understand what my medical assessments are telling me about the patient then my ability to stabilize a possible fx. 2nd. Time. So you can do what as a basic. Put the patient on O2, put in an appropraite position, and... drive or "assist" with meds? Let's be honest with ourselves here. BLS is not rocket science. You actually have to try to hurt the patient. 90% of the drugs we "administer" have to be prescribed by the PMD and supplied by the patient. 3. Call volume/call makeup. Rural=longer transport times=more chance to see changes in the patient. Urban/suburban=generally shorter transport times with more calls=wider exposure to different diseases and patient presentations Overall, I'd call this a wash. It's almost as sad as trying to compare IFT basics (taxi for nursing homes) to 911 basics (taxi for anyone with a cell phone).

People died in the back of squad cars before tasers came around anyways. To be honest, this kid is lucky that he didn't pull this stunt (I believe I saw that his lawsuit is falling apart) before tasers came around where he would have earned a nightstick or a can of mace. I think the biggest fault in the police for this action was using a smaller amount of force multiple times instead of a larger amount of forc once. I am concerned about what you consider "certain classes of people?" Who determins those classes? Preexisting medical conditions? Even if the PD can't see it? Country of origin? The amount of melatonin in their skin? Their stereotyped religion (because not everyone who looks a certain way believes the same religion)? I think that the major issue that police should face is "what level of force should I apply when a person is not complying with a legal order," not "will I be the unlucky bastard to kill someone." If tasers are heavily restricted in the police force then you end up with a situation like the one earlier this year in a nearby city (Huntington Beach, for the record since you're up in LA). The police were called out to handle an 18 y/o female with unstable pscyh problems and a knife. While waiting for a taser to be brought to the scene (they don't carry one in every unit), she apparently made a lunge at the police forcing the police to shoot her. She ended up dying causing a minor uproar from the family. There needs to be a middle ground between no force, minor force (physical holds, etc) and lethal force. The police should not be afraid that selecting the appropraite level of force will result in a lawsuit.

It's not quite as helpful because it lumps all levels of EMTs (B, I, P) in as on group, but here is the Bureau of Labor Statistic's page on EMS linked to the section on earnings. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos101.htm#earnings

Personally, I'm too lazy to put on my uniform just for a discount, but I've never understood the glamor or fun of getting drunk either. The only place that I will ask for a discount out of uniform is the local movie theater, but they give a discount to off-duty fire or police on weekdays anyways (I know, I used to work there).

Federal Law: Commerce Clause method: EMS operates on the interstate highway system -> Interstate highway system is involved with interstate trade -> EMS can be regulated by the federal government. Power of the Purse (AKA the reason why drinking age is 21) method: Paramedics must have a degree or no federal highway funds for you. Good luck trying to get it to pass congress though.

Sounds like he was off duty at the time. Thus he responded as a private citizen and, to the best of my knowledge, does not fall under the control of HIPAA

^ Is the ALS some sort of super secret and selective cult or something now? Strange, I never got that memo, just like that memo about the TPS reports.

If traffic on the freeways is bad, what difference would using your L/S make? Wouldn't not forcing the cars to merge allow traffic to flow at a faster rate, thus you traveling more safely at a faster rate?

Ways a higher education helps. 1. 2. Degree=higher social standing=smarter people considering being paramedics=see point 1. 3. Degree=better ability to negotiate for a higher wage=more people considering becoming a paramedic. 4. Degree should=more toys=more people considering being a paramedic which used to = wackers, but college filters them out. finally 5. Degree = where EMS needs to go, even if it's a painful road to get there.

Just ignore AK, he's in fantasy land again. Next thing he's going to be telling us is that we should have both nasal cannulas and non-rebreathers so that we can choose how much oxygen to give...

We have a $1/hr differental pay if you are scheduled for 4 12 hour shifts a week or more. If you work 3 shifts or more a week, then you also get a $50 shift pickup bonus for select shifts (several a day at normal start times anyways if you are on the insurance to drive). Every so often (company motto: Don't like a policy, then wait a week and it'll change) people are allowed to work back to back shifts. The second 12 hours is straight double time. We also have a recruitment program where you can get raises and bonsuses for recruiting people.

The question of course is, does the traffic ahead of you have enough time to see you and pull over while you approach them at upwards of 20 mph, and is traffic dense and slow enough where you actually need to use the lights.

^ At least they have an ambulance to transport and they're already on backboards...

:twisted: :?: So, what exactly is all of that white stuff on the ground anyways? :?: :twisted: 8)

The only time I'll use lights on the freeway is if I'm on the shoulder making my way through traffic or can actually see the accident (i.e. trying to merge lanes to get around it so that I can get in the traffic shadow behind it. Otherwise lights are useless, especially in Southern California. The last thing I want is people trying to get out of my way with traffic going 70-80 mph (more so in LA county where they think that the 5 freeway should be 3 lanes.... :roll: You can always tell when you leave Orange county and enter LA, the freeway drops 2 lanes and you hit traffic. ) When traveling on the shoulder, I normally have the secondaries on. It's more of a "Don't follow me" then anything else because I have had cars try to merge in front of me when everything was on trying to get out of my way.

http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/emergmed/Student/mainmenu.swf

A patient with multiple personality disorder where one of the personalities is suicidial.

The question then is whose license are we working under. Is it the base hospital physicians or the system's medical director's license. If it is the medical director's license then why can't he delagate online medical control, in whole or in part, to a PA, NP, or MICN?

You learn by becoming educated while in high school. Take college prep courses (even better, go to college after you graduate). Getting good grades and developing a basic understanding of the sciences will help you out a lot more in the long run then an years experience as a basic. Remember, EMS is the only healthcare field where experience as a provider is needed to move up to the standard level. MDs aren't PAs first, RNs aren't LVNs or CNAs first, ophthalmologists (MD eye doctors) aren't optometrist first and optometrist aren't opticians, first and the list goes on. Second, are you old enough to sign you're own permission slips for high school? Are you old enough to enter into legal contracts by yourself? As I said in my earlier post, mature teenagers get screwed because they are the exception, not the rule. It might suck, but I'm sure that there are a few of your fellow classmates that you'd rather sign AMA then have them transport you to the hospital in an ambulance (that said, there are some adults whom I'd rather sign AMA then let them transport me). Third, please pick an argument. Either he is responsible for his actions or he is not. The fact that a more senior basic was with him means nothing. I've been working for about year and a half and I have noticed more then once that "more senior" does not equate to "more able" (nor does being a crew chief or an FTO for that matter). To claim that you are not responsible for a call that you are on because: 1. You're not 18. 2. You're not the "senior EMT" (as you're argueing) 3. You're on a single driver unit and you're the driver 4. Religion 5. The patient smells 6-xxx any other reason you can think of. is stupid and doesn't work. As far as the test being "far from easy," that test is also 'far from hard' too. Furthermore, he never actually stated that he was working with a "senior EMT," just that he got feedback after the call. That's nice, but those are the protocols for a trauma. That said, I agree that a CVA is not enough reason to call for paramedics (Since I've had this argument with Ace a while ago, I'll state this here. Stroke=not a reason to call medics, not Stroke=don't call medics if your medics don't have anything to give a stroke patient. Remember that there are other problems that can cause stroke like symptoms that need to be ruled out that may require something that a paramedic can do that basics can't. Also remember that stroke patients have a good chance on presenting with other problems that can use a medic). Keep that attitude and don't lose it when you become old and experienced.

I'm sure the smog makes it lower then that. I say 21.4 %...

I'll second the question about family history of cancer. What is the condition and age of his house and school (lead paint)? When was the last time the heating system in his house was cleaned? What's the family's economic level (lower, middle, upper class)? Long shot: The kid's a freak, is lieing about EtOH use (no drugs) and has the beginings of Korsakoff's syndrome... /Damn you Dr. Sacks, damn you...

Herein lies the problem. It's like calling every single non-arrest medical call easy for a basic. Let's see here, put patient on 15 liters O2 and, umm, what else can I do? Umm, transport? We shouldn't be content on calling it easy because we can't do anything. Are we going to be able to make major breakthroughs with the patient? Nope, but it seems that are treatment is either observe peacefully or observe with the patient in restraints. We need to be trained and educated on ways to calm patients down that is based on how the patient is being presented. That might be a good thing. Non-psychotic suicide patients are a different brand then, for example, your patient with schizophrenia. I wounder if we are doing any harm when we group the non-psychotic patients with the psychotic patients in a hospital. The problem is how many of these patients are suffering from a psychological problem (poor coping skills, destructive relationships, etc) and how many patients are suffering from a psychiatric disorder (disorder with how the brain works). One needs psychoactive drugs, the other doesn't. Most of these patients suffer from both psychological and psychiatric problems.