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AK, Trust me, you'll be missed. Good luck. Jon

I'm sad to hear this as well. I enjoyed having discussions with him, both here and on other media. He will be missed. Here's a podcast I found: http://ems-safety.co...avissession.htm Anyone have anything else? Jon @JonEMTP

I think this looks bad... but I really want to hear the full story down the road. I try to avoid wearing EMS uniforms when off duty... but it happens sometimes that I'll stop briefly on my way to/from work. If I plan on running errands after a shift, I bring a change of clothes.

Hi All, I was recently "volunteered" for a spot on a wildland Fire Crew, as one of the team's medical folks. In PA, wildland fire is run by the state's Dept. of Conservation of National Resources... All crews are volunteer, but when deployed by the state to fires, can become part-paid contractors. It's a confusing system. And the local Boy Scout camp I'm involved with has put together a crew... there's a lot of complicated reasons why... I think it's a good idea. The plan is that those of us with medical training would be functioning as part of the crew, and would have limited gear to provide immediate care for our own folks. I imagine some of this will be emergent, and some for comfort issues (Gold Bond and Moleskin ). There is really limited info from the PA DCNR as to having medical folks on the team. Anyone on the forum function as an EMT or Medic in a wildland setting somewhere else? the West Coast? Other countries? I'd appreciate any help you can provide - Pack/gear inventories, protocols, etc. Also - Have no fear - I'm not crossing over to the dark side . This is an occasional and somewhat seasonal, volunteer thing. I'm doing it to help serve the Camp and doing it with a bunch of folks I consider friends. Jon

Neb.EMT: I've never been in your situation. I've been in a similar situation where I didn't respond, it ended up being a friend. I knew the folks that did respond, and I know they did everything they could. Therefore I was happy to NOT have to carry the burden of seeing a friend in arrest. Anyway... If there were mistakes made by your agencies crews - perhaps you can turn this into a positive and address the mistakes in a positive way, though training to prevent the same mistakes in the future? Richard: You are in NYC. I don't know how close you really were... but unless you'll beat the first in units... I don't see how you are gonna really help. Further, You'd be bringing non-trained folks to the party, and you might be putting a loved one in danger. I can't see how you would have done anything different.

Likewise... the article is unclear if it is a fracture or a sprain. If he didn't LIFT... might he not have caused a comp question? Further - I'm sure we've all done 1-handed compressions somehow, some way.

Reciprocity is supposed to be very simple. Some EMS regions (Philadelphia, for example), like to drag it out and be difficult, though. Best of luck... and welcome to the club of PA EMS.

In fact, the one hospital I used to work at did meals for all 3 shifts on Thanksgiving and X-mas.... and hospital management came in to SERVE the meals and thank the employees for spending time away from their families helping others. Jon

At first, I wondered where the video was. Then someone else emailed me the video. As much as I dislike the Nazi imagery... if you look past the fact that it's Hitler doing the screaming, and just pay attention to the subtitles, and how they match the voice tones and body language... it is epic!

Field termination is a great thing... but there are also some situations where it might be less than appropriate or not be practical. bigger thing - non-emergent transport of cardiac arrests. Really... I can't think of many situations where an average medic can't do everything ACLS needed.

Third Watch was never great.... but it and ER both made an effort to be plausible and medically correct to a degree in the beginning. As the years passed, they got bad. Oh... and Third Watch's first 2 seasons are out in DVD. I'm slowly watching them though NetFlix as I have free time. Jon

So... My name is Jon. I've not been that active here, but I just got an "EMTCity misses you" email... so I figured I'd come back and post a little and try it out again. I'm a new medic in PA, looking for job(s) and going though the process of obtaining Medical Command at a part-time job right now. It's a fun ride so far. Jon

I guess I don't get the idea... but isn't Transport Ambulance Service all about making money? How can you be a non-profit transport service??? I've worked for the small Mom&Pop companies, and the giant in the field (AMR). With the Mom&Pop companies... Policies changed week to week, and in BOTH cases, the Ops Manager and Owner seemed to always be in a pissing match. Uniforms? Hah... Issued uniforms? Funny Joke. Buy an "EMT" T-Shirt and wear blue pants. "Policy" was verbally issued from the Ops Manager or Owner... and occasionally conflicted with State Protocols or Scope of Practice. I'm a big fan of the national operations... I work for 2 separate national companies (1 full time, 1 part time). Uniforms are all issued and of good quality... there is a nice, thick employee manual handed out during orientation that plainly explains what will get you fired, and there is someone else you can complain to if you have a problem with your boss. In addition... AMR's Disaster Vacation Package is nice... where else could you win an all-expense paid trip for 2 weeks in Louisiana last year? Welcome to the Family!

I use the same 'scope.... I love it. I bought it on close-out at a local bookstore 2 years ago as a spare scope, and it is the only one I use... I didn't know about the coil inside, though... that sounds cool. I also own a Littmann Master Classic and a Litmann Select... they both work great. One was a gift recently, and Master Classic I've had for several years. A year ago, on a lark, I bought a $15 "cardiology" knockoff scope on eBay... I put a pair of good, comfortable eartips on it, and a DRG "SafeSeal" diaghpram on it, and as far as I can tell, it works about as good as my Littmanns do... and it is "one of a kind" I guess I collect stethoscopes... the advantage of this is that I can keep 1 in my bag of stuff for work, 1 with the stuff I carry at the vollie squad, etc. I prefer my personal stethoscope(s) over the communal ones in the ambulances... Why? .Less noise from the 2 tubes of a cheap sprague rubbing against each other .Better fit in my ears than the hard plastic tips of a sprague or "dual head scope" .Cleaner... I KNOW where my stethoscope has been.

To reply to the original topic - as far as I know, AMR in that area does transport services only. I didn't think AMR had any 911 contracts in their Philadelphia area (Salem, NJ, and AC County NJ included). If anyone knows different, I'd be interested to know, too. The nearest I could figure is running "emergencies" from their contracted nursing homes.

I currently wear an all-leather boot or a waterproof nylon/leather boot, both from Altama. I am looking for a side-zip boot in a size 16 wide or 17... anyone know of anyone? Altama, Corcoran, and others have generic military styles that go up to a 16 or 17, but nothing with a side zipper. Any ideas?

My County uses EF Johnson "Bricks" - I wear a New York strap so the radio dosen't: a) Fall off my belt Pull my pants down It works for me... I also leave it in the rig until we leave station. And yes... you NEED the stabilizer strap... it keeps you from smacking folks in the face when you are putting them on the backboard :oops:

My understanding is that EVERY AMR operation / division has the equipment to do Bariatric transport... as I recall, it is the Stryker 1000+ lbs stretcher, a winch, the big yellow ramps, transfer plate, etc... There have been some articles posted online about their equipment. My local AMR operation doesn't keep the bariatric equipment in service 24x7 - the stretcher/winch/ramps are kept at base, and several units are capable of being paired with the equipment to do bariatric transfers.

I agree that porn isn't appropriate... however, in the "vollie fire" community, both my EMS co's / FD's have digital cable with almost all the channels... Lots of odd things come on after midnight, and in my 7 years around the firehouse, I've not seen porn or other "adult" programming more than a handful of times... I see NOTHING wrong with adults watching an R-rated movie in station. Now, of course we have minors in the station until about midnight, so can we watch a r-rated movie with a 16 y/o EMT Student present? I'm not sure... this is a bridge my company hasn't stepped off of yet. As for the Internet? lots of stuff is blocked off... heck - MySpace is blocked off right now, because the management is concerned about "minors doing things online without parental permission" Maybe the solution is parental waivers - have mom/dad say it is OK for their son/daughter to "generally" watch any R-Rated movie. Same goes for the Internet... for the youth to have ANY access to the Internet, mom/dad must sign a waiver recognizing that the squad cannot control what their child will access online.

"The best decision for the most people?" I don't care if it was a BS "BLS taxi" run.... they called 911 and deserve the same care as any other citizen... And the only call that matters is the one you are on now... not the one you may get in 20 minutes, 2 hours, or the next day. "Not against protocol?" Gee.... I didn't think this needed to be covered in protocol... this is SO out of line. Didn't a paramedic get fired in Philadelphia a few years back for dropping off groceries at the fire station, while headed to a call?