Soon to be an Indianapolis EMT

[JeniF371]

Ill need a bare minimum of general biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics to be more than an EMS taxi driver.

IM OFFENDED! Im in IUPUI for Medic and yes, we do get the stupid runs to the ER for what ever, but I AM MORE than a TAXI Driver. I am educated. This reminds me of the nurse the other night that was pissed when I asked her for patient information, face sheet, history, meds, etc.. and demanded to know why I needed all that information. I in return said "YOU ARE A NURSE CORRECT? YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PATIENT CORRECT? YOU HAVE A STATE CERTIFICATION CORRECT? AS WELL DO I, AND I AM TAKING OVER PATIENT CARE, SO I NEED TO KNOW ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IN CASE THIS GUY CRASHES ON ME!!"

So for everyone that has done this job or will do this job, DON'T EVER minimize what we do, no matter how small it is or how lame the run is! ANYTHING could happen and will when you least expect it!

Just my two cents!

And I also agree with dust and brent, these guys are pretty damn smart, listen to them and learn! Dust is who led me to IUPUI's program for medic and he was right!

Good luck, maybe I will see you around, I am also in Indy.

PS, please don't be offended by why I say, it just upsets me when what we do is minimized to a taxi driver. Its a running joke that I wish didn't exist, it also gives people less confidence in what we do and thats the last thing they need when they call for our help!

[Arizonaffcep]

IM OFFENDED! Im in IUPUI for Medic and yes, we do get the stupid runs to the ER for what ever, but I AM MORE than a TAXI Driver. I am educated. This reminds me of the nurse the other night that was pissed when I asked her for patient information, face sheet, history, meds, etc.. and demanded to know why I needed all that information. I in return said "YOU ARE A NURSE CORRECT? YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PATIENT CORRECT? YOU HAVE A STATE CERTIFICATION CORRECT? AS WELL DO I, AND I AM TAKING OVER PATIENT CARE, SO I NEED TO KNOW ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IN CASE THIS GUY CRASHES ON ME!!"

So for everyone that has done this job or will do this job, DON'T EVER minimize what we do, no matter how small it is or how lame the run is! ANYTHING could happen and will when you least expect it!

Just my two cents!

And I also agree with dust and brent, these guys are pretty damn smart, listen to them and learn! Dust is who led me to IUPUI's program for medic and he was right!

Good luck, maybe I will see you around, I am also in Indy.

PS, please don't be offended by why I say, it just upsets me when what we do is minimized to a taxi driver. Its a running joke that I wish didn't exist, it also gives people less confidence in what we do and thats the last thing they need when they call for our help!

I agree in that the whole Taxi Driver thing shouldn't exist in the first place...but, the sad truth is, many patients view us as just that...expensive taxi's with extra crap. I've had patients tell me, "I'm Fine! Just take me to the hospital" and refuse to let me to an assessment on them. Once at the hospital...they spill the beans about the crushing CP they've had for several hours, etc, etc,etc. Not much we can do as a "profession" to correct that until we significantly boost our educational requirements. The classes listed are TRULY a MINIMUM to have a foundation in any aspect of medicine, including prehospital. With those classes "under your belt" allows one to better understand what and why things happen with a patient, moving us away from a "see this, push this" mentality.

[tgransbury]

JeniF371: I got ya, dont get me wrong, Im going into the same profession hell the same curriculum if you havent noticed The only thing I meant by taxi driver is that some may never get the outside or extended education, may never do anything other than grab some vitals and get behind the wheel. The EMS system out here is still strongly linked to FD's and alot of PTs only see the brute force of a FF and wonder how they can expect a fire-smelling big burly dude to help them. Ive got nothing against the calls we recieve, if you were to ask the PTs when they finally hunker down and admit to needing EMS its ALWAYS an emergency... doesnt matter what for.

The nurses around here (Indy) are the same as the PTs, they dont expect us to be able to do anything more than deliver the wounded, they still see FF's driving the ambulances more often than not (which isnt a bad deal so long as the FF is trained and proficient in his/her EMT skills) which is why they dont 'need' us getting all the extended research and information nessessary. They double back and get their own stats anyway and think what we did was a waste of time.

Yea, dust helped me understand a bit more of the perceptions of EMS, he and brentoli have good advice to give and its been taken into account. Ill let you know when I get to IUPUI, I dont know how far in you are right now but when I get there you ought be about half a year ahead.

Good luck, have fun, be safe.