Ride Along

[AndyJames87]

I hope this is the right place to post this sorry if its not. So I just passed my national for EMT-B back in June and i was looking around for where i could apply. While looking around i found a small private Ambulance company no more than 5 min form my home. They only do Mostly IFT transports but i feel it will be a good way to get my feet wet. I spoke with the person in charge on Friday and was schedule For my ride along on Tuesday. Long story short i hope this will open up doors for me and i wanted to ask you all for any recommendations? or feed back. Thanks for reading

[letmesleep]

I'm going to answer this post with my own "Personal Opinion", and no true facts that can be researched necessarily. I think it is a great idea for you to get your feet wet with this company. To often you see people coming out of EMT schooling and jumping right on in to medic class with NO prior experience. I am not going to sit here and say that it CAN'T be done, but getting your feet a little wet, I feel, is going to elevate you and your education. Education and experience together works because you can actually see how things work as you learn. The thing is tho, don't be one of those loosers that start off there shift by "pre-writting" PCRs. If you want, date them, put your truck number in them, but I can't stand those who write out a PCR before they have even seen a Pt just because they "only" do transfers, and you'll find them out there!

Take this job serious, yes it is only transfers, but this type of job for a newbie can really help you hone your basic skills if you let it. Learn how to question your Pts by doing it, Learn how to take complete VS both sitting still and rolling down the road by doing it, Learn to comfort a Pt in the back of your truck by holding a hand or talking to them by doing it. Don't be one of those lazy people who are just putting in time for a check until something better comes along. Do the job 100%, and look for that "glam" job! The bad habits you develop at this company will follow you throughout the rest of your career..............

[Just Plain Ruff]

I'm going to answer this post with my own "Personal Opinion", and no true facts that can be researched necessarily. I think it is a great idea for you to get your feet wet with this company. To often you see people coming out of EMT schooling and jumping right on in to medic class with NO prior experience. I am not going to sit here and say that it CAN'T be done, but getting your feet a little wet, I feel, is going to elevate you and your education. Education and experience together works because you can actually see how things work as you learn. The thing is tho, don't be one of those loosers that start off there shift by "pre-writting" PCRs. If you want, date them, put your truck number in them, but I can't stand those who write out a PCR before they have even seen a Pt just because they "only" do transfers, and you'll find them out there!

Take this job serious, yes it is only transfers, but this type of job for a newbie can really help you hone your basic skills if you let it. Learn how to question your Pts by doing it, Learn how to take complete VS both sitting still and rolling down the road by doing it, Learn to comfort a Pt in the back of your truck by holding a hand or talking to them by doing it. Don't be one of those lazy people who are just putting in time for a check until something better comes along. Do the job 100%, and look for that "glam" job! The bad habits you develop at this company will follow you throughout the rest of your career..............

The bad habits that you develop at this company will definately follow you. I agree.

But.....

how much experience can you get doing IFT's as an EMT? I mean really, Sure you can get vital signs and other stuff like putting on oxygen and holding a hand but I take exception to the get your feet wet and then go to medic school. If medic school is your ultimate goal why gather bad habits that will follow you into your paramedic class when you can forego those bad habits and get medic experience in class.

EMT is not rocket science, there is a limited scope that you can do and if you begin to do things half assed, which most emt's at transfer services I've seen in the past actually do then you shoot yourself in the foot.

If you have the means to go to medic school then by all means do it. Don't waste your time getting your feet wet in a non-emergency transfer service. The experience you gain in this system will oft be wasted for your medic school..

[noo]

Although I come from a bit of a different world I often see Paramedic students (those who are still at University and undertake clinical placements with our service) who are still young and have no clinical and little life experience! The biggest problem with these folk when they do finally hit the road is a lack of basic communication skills, which translates into poor history taking, scene control etc. Working in roles such as non-emergency transport can give you a fantastic opportunity to develop good basic communication skills, as we probably spend more time actually talking to those who require less clinical intervention. You may also gain valuable experience in stretcher and other manual handling, documentation and giving and recieving hand-overs. All of this will be experience that you can build upon as you develop your knowledge and skills through further education. Any experience is good if you take the opportunity to learn from it!

[Just Plain Ruff]

Although I come from a bit of a different world I often see Paramedic students (those who are still at University and undertake clinical placements with our service) who are still young and have no clinical and little life experience! The biggest problem with these folk when they do finally hit the road is a lack of basic communication skills, which translates into poor history taking, scene control etc. Working in roles such as non-emergency transport can give you a fantastic opportunity to develop good basic communication skills, as we probably spend more time actually talking to those who require less clinical intervention. You may also gain valuable experience in stretcher and other manual handling, documentation and giving and recieving hand-overs. All of this will be experience that you can build upon as you develop your knowledge and skills through further education. Any experience is good if you take the opportunity to learn from it!

good points one and all.

but if the paramedic program is structured right then interpersonal skills should be part of the program.

What I'm trying to say is that any bad habits that you get from working at this service will be very very difficult to retrain, not saying that it is impossible but when you get in a rut and who can not say that doing transfers every single day of your work life will put you in a rut. IT will.

I'm saying is that if you have the resources to go to paramedic school then use those resources and get your medic which is where you really want to be anyway right?

I've worked a transfer service, I know what it's like to run transfer after transfer day after day. Of the hundreds of transfers I did in my one year of transfer work I think I used my skills that I was taught in emt school 10-15 times. The rest of the time it was take one set of vitals, sit back and enjoy the ride to Grandma's nursing home. So to say you are going to get experience when doing transfers I don't buy it. Unless you are transferring really sick people from hospital to hospital which should require a medic anyway the only thing that an EMT is really going to be doing is driving. What kind of experience is that.

If you are truly transferring sick people bls then yes you can get experience but I'd bet that this service the person is talking about is one that does transfers from the hospital to the nursing home and back etc etc. There is no real experience to gain from this type of work.

If you are working at this service and all you are doing is driving then you can get real life experience driving a big van thru the streets of the city. Not much experience there.

Now before those who do this type of job chastise me, I'm speaking from personal experience and also experience from several of my close friends doing this type of work. If you have a different level of experience in this type of work then kudos for you.

I still think that you are better served by going to medic school directly after emt school. There are those who disagree but I'd be surprised if there are many who disagree with me.

[letmesleep]

Ruff, first of all where is the damn dog?

Secondly, let me agree with the statements that Ruff threw out there. If your planning on going to medic school, then by all means get off your a** and go. Working in the field at the same time is going to be a benefit to you, and help you put those basic skills to work for you. Is it rocket science? NO, but you do need to practice those skills at some time and somewhat master them before using those oh so important advanced skills. "when in doubt refer back to your basics"

Don't stop your education to "get your feet wet", but working on a basic transfer truck could be a nice learning tool for any "newbie" out there if they USE it so they can get a feel for how those basic skills actually work instead of just reading about them. I think I wrote this once already today, but EDUCATE, TRAIN, EDUCATE, EDUCATE, TRAIN, EDUCATE. Just so I'm clear to all that education is the most important thing here....... Thanks for calling me out on this Ruff.

[AndyJames87]

Awesome Advice from everyone thank you i truly appreciate it. I will take into consideration all your recommendations and if i were to get this job i will take it serious. I'm sure there's only so much you can learn like some mentioned but its a start! :-) and much better than sitting here doing nothing lol. ill use it as a tool for a bigger goal. Thank you all again !

[fireflymedic]

I'm gonna go against the grain here a bit, but this is due to what I've personally seen and granted I came from a university based program that pushed you straight from basic to medic. In the experience I've seen and worked with, the medics which worked the street for a year or so prior to coming into medic school and continuing to work through had a better clinical experience during class and seemed to be more comfortable on a truck than those who came through with just the minimum ride time as a basic and working little bit during class until they started clinicals/ride time. However, that being said, I think the ones (IN GENERAL - no hard and fast rules here) that went straight through seemed to have a better grasp on concepts and book related knowledge as they were probably trying to grasp that to compensate for their lack of street experience. Either way, you definitely need some time on a truck before entering medic school - I personally did two years 1 with a transfer service, and 1 with a 911 only service best experience I got. Both were good solid services to work in and I learned good assessment skills, dealing with chronic diseases, and how to write a great PCR in the first, and the second let me get my feet wet in the trauma drama and the major medicals emergencies. Yes, I did have some bad habits follow me, as does everyone. Though I believe you develop some during your ride time no matter how great your preceptor. Minimum, I'd say get about 6 months experience prior to applying, Max I'd say two years. That's a pretty good time frame. More than two years, and you're really just burning time if medic is your final goal. That being said, there is nothing wrong with wanting to remain a basic, but understand that is a dying breed and soon I expect more to be demanded of them education wise or get out of the field. Though I've said before and I'll say again, I'd rather have a great basic than a mediocre medic as a partner anyday. Just go into it with a wide open mind and enjoy it ! Be safe and good luck !

[Arizonaffcep]

good points one and all.

but if the paramedic program is structured right then interpersonal skills should be part of the program.

What I'm trying to say is that any bad habits that you get from working at this service will be very very difficult to retrain, not saying that it is impossible but when you get in a rut and who can not say that doing transfers every single day of your work life will put you in a rut. IT will.

I'm saying is that if you have the resources to go to paramedic school then use those resources and get your medic which is where you really want to be anyway right?

I've worked a transfer service, I know what it's like to run transfer after transfer day after day. Of the hundreds of transfers I did in my one year of transfer work I think I used my skills that I was taught in emt school 10-15 times. The rest of the time it was take one set of vitals, sit back and enjoy the ride to Grandma's nursing home. So to say you are going to get experience when doing transfers I don't buy it. Unless you are transferring really sick people from hospital to hospital which should require a medic anyway the only thing that an EMT is really going to be doing is driving. What kind of experience is that.

If you are truly transferring sick people bls then yes you can get experience but I'd bet that this service the person is talking about is one that does transfers from the hospital to the nursing home and back etc etc. There is no real experience to gain from this type of work.

If you are working at this service and all you are doing is driving then you can get real life experience driving a big van thru the streets of the city. Not much experience there.

Now before those who do this type of job chastise me, I'm speaking from personal experience and also experience from several of my close friends doing this type of work. If you have a different level of experience in this type of work then kudos for you.

I still think that you are better served by going to medic school directly after emt school. There are those who disagree but I'd be surprised if there are many who disagree with me.

I absolutely disagree with the last sentence. I have been teaching EMS for several years, and precepting for more years that that, and there is a night and day difference between a person who goes to medic class straight from EMT class, vs. one that has at least a year under their belt. The new EMT turned medic has no foundation for their als skill set to build upon. This is why the program that my wife and I have set up will not even look at people without at LEAST a years worth of experience before enrollment.

[dougd]

The thing is tho, don't be one of those loosers that start off there shift by "pre-writting" PCRs. If you want, date them, put your truck number in them, but I can't stand those who write out a PCR before they have even seen a Pt just because they "only" do transfers, and you'll find them out there!

Heh, I do this to a very limited degree. I'll pre-write date/time/truck number/pt. name enroute. I'll also start the first line of my narrative in a fill-in-the-blank format. For example: "Dispatched to (address or facility name) for a (x) y.o (race) (gender), A&OX (X)." But I won't go beyond that first sentence. Honestly, I doubt it saves me any time, but I seem to have gotten in to the habit of doing it. Yes, there are people out there who will write an entire run report before ever assessing a patient. Steer clear of them since it will bite them in the backside someday when a pt. goes south. After all, this is a team sport - even if you're driving, that doesn't mean you can't have some uncomfortable Q&A sessions after with your employer, some lawyers, your state EMS board, etc.