scubanurse

I think those should be in the paramedic program, thus eliminating the need for second rate training centers and leaving paramedic training to colleges... why not say instead, that the paramedic should consistently need to be at least an AAS which would take two years to complete?

Try using the helpful search feature as this topic has been debated and torn apart numerous times... one of the most recent ones here for you to look through http://www.emtcity.com/index.php?showtopic...p;hl=experience Hope this helps, but please remember the search feature is really helpful in cases like this!

I love blackboard! I hate Web CT! WebCt does not like mac users at all while on blackboard i have never had a problem with logging on from my mac so that is something to consider. If your students don't have a PC then they'll find it difficult to log onto webct to get the information. I also think that blackboard is a much more user friendly platform for both the student and the instructor. Not sure about prices but I think balckboard is about $500 for a course? I would go with blackboard but that's just my opinion Good luck!

I know you said you didn't like the idea of standard ems jewelry, but the guy i was seeing when I passed my class gave me a 24k gold necklace of a star of life with my id number engraved on the back... another nice idea is a good sturdy practical but nice looking watch. http://www.citizenwatch.com/COA/English/de...mber=EW0620-52E that's the watch that I have and is a good price, never needs batteries, and has really been durable with hospital and ems use.. and it's easy to decon if i get blood on it! Good luck!

That's funny! I'm just proud of myself cause I learned yesterday what the actual Texas Rangers do! Gotta love Texas!

I know right?!?! Maybe we should all just get blackberry's and iphones so we can google a patients symptoms and that would just make all our lives easier! And let's just go ahead and put protocols on phones too so we can look up how to then fix the patient

I believe this topic has been raised time and again, but here is my opinion but I have grown up in a very different system than you. In my state (Maryland) you can become an EMT-Basic at 16. Full basic and all, except you can not have sole patient care in the back, someone >18 has to be with you. Also, we don't have the ability to pick and chose calls. If I had a junior member (16-18 and still in High School) riding with me, they would go on every call I did, no exceptions. Did that mean I always let them out of the unit right away? No. I was ultimately responsible for their safety and well being, and on occasion, I saw it fit to have them remain in the unit, and then en route to the hospital (<10 minute transport time) they would sit up front with my driver. I did not like doing that though as I believe, when you sign up for this job, you sign up for it entirely, not just for the fun calls or the easy calls. Good, bad, happy, ugly, you get to do and experience it all when you're with me. I have had a member, though, who started out on my night crew at 16. Truly "green" and amazingly wonderful kid. Helped him progress through the requirements (he had some learning disabilities) and really felt like I took him under my wing. Essentially, I felt like a big sister to him and he felt the same way. I looked after him, and even helped him out with his regular school work when he fell behind. Mentor, preceptor, friend whatever you choose to label it, that was how it was. Never under any circumstance though, would I shelter him or protect him from a call. That look of horror/shock/uneasyness will not get you far in EMS. They will only be hindering you by protecting you from the rougher calls. What do they expect to happen when you turn 18? To just suddenly be mature enough to handle them? Once you're 18 and you're off on your own in the back of that ambulance... will you still be shocked and scared... or will you continue to select and choose the types of calls you run? Just my thoughts, but consider them? By protecting you as you say they are doing... is that really going to be a benefit to you in the future?

do we really need a bashing thread about politics??

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/us_world...-Manhattan.html Check facts and information before you go blaming our President for what happened. He was unaware of the plan, and once he found out he acted swiftly and decisively.... In my opinion that's what makes him a great President.

That's great news! Congrats and Good luck!

That's awesome!!! BIG CONGRATS!

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/MA...-Rockville.html ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A pregnant woman was hospitalized after her car was struck by a MARC train in Rockville Friday evening. Pregnant Woman Injured When MARC Train Strikes Her Car Watch Video A pregnant woman was taken to a trauma center after her car was struck by a MARC train in Rockville Friday evening. Apparently, the 25-year-old woman tried to get out of the crossing, even bumping a car ahead of her, but she was unable to before the train struck her and pushed her car into a crossing barrier, which went through the car from the back to the front and barely missed her head, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer. A side airbag may have saved her life. The woman was taken to a trauma center with serious injuries, but her vital signs were good, Piringer said. No injuries were reported on the Bunswick Line train, which was carrying more than 500 passengers, who were offloaded and put on two other trains to take them to their destinations. MARC trains heading northbound out of Washington experienced major delays because of the crash. Piringer recommended drivers avoid the area.

Congrats!!!! ... and good luck!

That is truly funny! Thank you for sharing!

I completely understand the situation you are in. The advice I can offer you, is similar to the others. You need to figure out why you aren't passing Chemistry. I'm in Maryland as well and can offer advice on some community colleges in the area who have strong science departments, and maybe taking it over the summer you may have more luck passing. Howard Community College has an A.A.S. program which I have recently looked into. You will need chemistry for that program though. Frederick also has a program but I am unaware of their programs. Montgomery College is working on getting a Paramedic program, but from my understanding, it won't happen by this fall. I can give you some contact numbers of people to call if you would like. UMBC's program, I can not speak to as I have my own opinion which I am sure is uniquely different, but it is worth checking them out. Let me know if I can help out at all. K

I think what they're saying and what I am going to reiterate here is that speeding is against the law. Just as underaged drinking, driving while intoxicated, shooting up heroine... When you speed, you are putting other lives in danger. In my eyes that is just plain selfish and stupid. I don't care if people go out and do whatever they want to themselves, but the moment they put someone elses life or safety at risk, that's when I take issue with it. If I am driving down the road being a law abiding citizen and going the posted speed, and some ass wipe hits me while going over the speed limit, I still have to suffer because of his recklessness. In an ambulance it is a completely different story. Having been in an ambulance when we were hit by another driver, I take special interest in ambulance safety. At no point, should a driver break the law while driving the unit. No patient is that sick or hurt that they need balls to the wall driving. It won't do anyone good if you crash en route to the ED because you decided to go in excess of what the law states. Ambulance drivers have more responsibility than civilian drivers to obey the traffic laws because we are the face of public safety. I can't stand it when I see Police cruisers barreling down the highway in the left lane clearly going well over the speed limit, with out their lights and sirens on just because they can. What does the public then think? Well the cops are speeding so why can't I... That kind of mentality is dangerous to any society as a whole. There is no excuse for driving dangerously period. I don't care if you've been driving ambulances your entire life and could do the EVOC cone course blindfolded... you don't break the law. Simple as that.

Congrats Ruff! That's fantastic news As a daughter myself... I can tell you she will have you wrapped around her little finger in no time and yes... get a shot gun and clean it when her dates come to the door

With regard to the DC full paramedics I know there are a few in the I to P bridge course held at the Montgomery County FR Training Academy in Maryland but do not know if it is a contract or not I do not know the details just that I have seen a few in DCFD uniform at the academy. I will look I to it though... I will say this though.... Do t get seriously hurt in DC and if you do... Either drive to the ED or go across to MD or over the river to VA...

More info from my local nbc... http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Fi...ed-Scandal.html After both News4 and the Washington Times quoted experts saying the performance of D.C. paramedics was substandard during simulated incidents, the fire chief spoke out not only about the reports, but about the alleged cheating scandal that he said could involve between 70 and 200 emergency medical technicians who took national certification tests.

yeah it was all that I could find from the reporting station though ... it's FL ... and the south.... Not gunna say more than that

http://www.newschief.com/article/20090423/...g-wasn-t-staged Article related to landing... I'll try and look for some more information regarding it...

Thanks! I knew them as J-waves...

How new do you think EMS is exactly crispy???

Aviation Experts See ‘Appalling’ Spike in Helicopter Ambulance Crashes By Jane Norman, CQ HealthBeat Associate Editor Aviation safety experts at a House hearing on Wednesday slammed an “appalling” spike in crashes of helicopters delivering emergency medical services, and said the number of air ambulances has increased during the past few years due in part to higher reimbursement rates from Medicare for independent operators. Between December 2007 and October 2008, there were 13 accidents involving medical helicopters resulting in 35 fatalities, according to a report by the aviation subcommittee staff of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. It was the greatest number of accidents in any 11-month period. Between 1998 and 2008, there were 146 accidents and 131 fatalities. Air ambulances provide urgent care for victims of serious accidents or life-threatening events such as cardiac arrest or stroke, and also carry patients between hospitals. Often they fly at night and in difficult territory. While air ambulances can be fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters, about 74 percent are helicopters, according to a report presented at the hearing by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Gerald L. Dillingham, director of physical infrastructure issues for the GAO, said at the aviation subcommittee hearing that the air ambulance operations generally are either hospital-based or stand-alone commercial operations, but the big growth has been in the latter. In 2003, the first year data was available, the Association of Air Medical Services reported 545 helicopters in use, but that number grew to 840 by 2008, he said. Dillingham said the growth in the number of stand-alone providers has spurred competition in some areas, and interviews by the GAO determined that the increase is linked to the development of a Medicare fee schedule for ambulance transports, “which has increased the potential for profit-making.” The fee schedule, mandated by Congress, was implemented gradually beginning in 2002. Since January 2006, 100 percent of payments for air ambulance services have been made under the fee schedule, he said, in contrast to partial payments in the past. Reimbursement is provided only if a patient is actually transported. Robert Bass, testifying on behalf of the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials, also linked the rise in the number of for-profit medical helicopters to the increase in Medicare reimbursements. “We began to see a shift from mostly nonprofit, hospital-based or government providers to for-profit operators of independently based helicopters, which then consolidated into large national or regional companies,” said Bass, who directs the emergency medical services system in Maryland. He said Texas now has 90 medical helicopters, while Pennsylvania has 62 and Florida has 61. More helicopters is not always good — “in many cases it simply meant more helicopters on top of each other in an unregulated, competitive and potentially dangerous environment,” said Bass, posing a “significant” challenge to state EMS systems trying to integrate helicopter emergency services. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held four days of hearings on medical helicopter safety earlier this year and board member Robert L. Sumwalt III told subcommittee members there have been an “alarming” and “appalling” number of fatalities. He said that “as a result of the lack of timely and appropriate action by the FAA,” the NTSB made four recommendations for action and added them to its “Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements” in October. John M. Allen, director of flight standards service for the FAA, told subcommittee members that the agency has just initiated rulemaking to improve standards for operations of emergency medical helicopters, a process that likely won’t be concluded until 2011. The agency will seek to include a requirement that helicopters carry technology that alerts pilots to potential collisions with the ground or an obstacle, deemed an important development. Allen said the agency has been successful with voluntary compliance as well. But witnesses at the subcommittee hearing disagreed over whether federal legislation also is needed to curb crashes, injuries and deaths. The situation is complicated by the layers of regulation governing the operation of the medical helicopters, with the FAA overseeing air safety and states regulating provision of medical care, including the medical training and qualifications of the health professionals aboard medical helicopters. States cannot regulate air carrier routes, rates or services under airline deregulation laws. Some states want a greater hand in helicopter regulation, arguing that states regulate ambulances on the ground and should in the air as well, said Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello, D-Ill. “I have concerns about allowing states to separately regulate helicopter EMS services,” he said. Legislation has been introduced by Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., (HR 978) that would allow state regulation beyond what’s currently permitted, including coordination of helicopter medical services as part of the state emergency medical services system and requirements for medically necessary equipment on board. “Patients are being harmed and put at risk every day by a broken air medical system that is supposed to protect them,” said Altmire, a member of the subcommittee. But the bill met with resistance from the Air Medical Operators Association, which represents those who operate medical helicopters. Craig Yale, vice president of corporate development for Air Methods Corporation, said the bill would undermine federal aviation law without justification, and could limit access to air medical services. Yale said operators are committed to safety and members of his association must agree to meet safety standards under development by the association. The most significant change in the air medical industry in the last three years has been an increase in the use of night-vision goggles, he said, and that developed outside of any regulatory pressure. Allen of the FAA and Christa Fornarotto, acting assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs at the Department of Transportation, also said in a joint statement that “the FAA does not believe that new safety legislation is needed at this time” because of the voluntary compliance and ongoing rulemaking. A second bill, HR 1201, introduced by Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., would place additional requirements on operators and the FAA. I don't have a link as this was sent to me in an e-mail sorry...