Newbie to the forums

[emsfool]

I know I am new here and you guys have made me feel welcome thanks alot. But I have to disagree right off the bat that EMS does not get boring it is all in how you precieve things. If you precieve granny totes as boring they will be. But if you use that as a chance to talk to your patient and get insight into their life its not boring at all. Even in you transport them 1000 times you can choose to make all 1000 trips interesting and not boring. Its all about the attitude and how you choose to handle the calls. I personally love Trauma but not every call can be trauma. You have to take the good with the bad but its really up to you on how you choose to see it. No I am not a newbie to EMS at all just to this board. I have been doing this for many many years.

[HERBIE1]

I know I am new here and you guys have made me feel welcome thanks alot. But I have to disagree right off the bat that EMS does not get boring it is all in how you precieve things. If you precieve granny totes as boring they will be. But if you use that as a chance to talk to your patient and get insight into their life its not boring at all. Even in you transport them 1000 times you can choose to make all 1000 trips interesting and not boring. Its all about the attitude and how you choose to handle the calls. I personally love Trauma but not every call can be trauma. You have to take the good with the bad but its really up to you on how you choose to see it. No I am not a newbie to EMS at all just to this board. I have been doing this for many many years.

Sounds like you have the right attitude. Good luck.

[spenac]

EMS is always exciting. Blood guts, lights, sirens, non stop adrenaline. Oh I'm sorry that was the TV version.

Glad you have the proper attitude. Let us know if we can point you in the right direction.

[DwayneEMTP]

I am from North Carolina, I chose EMS as my career because I love to help people. I also love the fact that no matter what call you go on they are never the same. Ems does not get boring.

I'll disagree with most here, though my experience may be different than theirs. EMS doesn't get boring unless you forget about the zebras. What does that mean? Most here know, as I've harped on it endlessly, but the quote that defines my silly EMS career is, "if you hear the sounds of hoofbeats, you're better served looking for horses than zebras." What this means, to me at least, is that your going to run what appear to be mundane calls over and over. "Nothing to see here folks!" But you know what? The vast majority of those calls will offer you the opportunity to learn. If your goal is to improve the condition of every pt that you have contact with you will find that EMS is interesting mostly and exciting sometimes. Anyone can run mundane calls, it's out job to spot the zebras. And I just hope to make the grade of an average medic. If you should decide to be really, really good, it gets better than that.

It is what you make of it. Come to learn, and it will give you that opportunity on every call. Decide that your baseline success is to get pts to the ER alive and you'll be bored stiff. I promise.

Spend a gazillion hours in class and clinicals and you can run a taxi, or you can explore each and every pt, find the answers they were keeping hidden from you, find something pathologic in them that they weren't aware of, and then you can be challenged and interested every day.

And you know what? We can see where you'll go by the way you respond on these forums. Are you scared to ask your questions? Then I recommend you do something else. Take a chance, put yourself out there to learn? You can be a rockstar.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Dwayne.

[Richard B the EMT]

Ems does not get boring.

As noted, "boring" happens between calls, or with large numbers of Inter Facility Transfer (IFT) calls of similarity.

I have heard EMS as being similar to the military: Long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of sheer terror!

Wanna bet?

That's an even money bet!

last call of the week, call on a chest pain. Get there, work her up for chest pain, no ekg changes, nothing big or anything like that right? walked her downstairs to the cot, put her in the ambulance and when we were backing out of the driveway she coded.

RUFF! Walking a chest pain patient?

Sorry, buddy, FAIL!

[Just Plain Ruff]

RUFF! Walking a chest pain patient?

Sorry, buddy, FAIL!

I's good that you can be so perfect Richard.

Unfortunately that was a true learning experience. That also happened about 15 years ago. What I did not mention was that the patient refused to be carried. She nearly refused to go to the hospital with us but I did my best to convince her. She did go.

Was walking her the right thing to do? NOPE, I admit it but would she have gone to the hospital with us if I insisted on carrying her, NOPE not at all.

Unfortunately I did not give the entire story because I didn't think that I was going to be critiqued over that call. But do I walk chest pain patients to the ambulance or to the cot? Yes if they refuse to be carried. What are you gonna do when the patient refuses to let you carry them, are you gonna say, "if you don't let us carry you then we won't take you"

It's amazing at the attitudes on this forum. I believe Richard that you have come on this forum in the past and said that you've done some stupid or not so great things yet have I ever once come out and said FAIL to you? nope never.

Well I'm off my soapbox because it's a moot point at this time to argue over what happened 15 years ago and several thousand calls later.

All I can say is that I learned a great deal from that call like Dwayne says we need to do.

But seriously, what if we walk a chest pain patient to the cot. What if the patient refuses to be carried? What then?

Edited July 16, 2010 by Ruffems

[spenac]

I's good that you can be so perfect Richard.

Unfortunately that was a true learning experience. That also happened about 15 years ago. What I did not mention was that the patient refused to be carried. She nearly refused to go to the hospital with us but I did my best to convince her. She did go.

Was walking her the right thing to do? NOPE, I admit it but would she have gone to the hospital with us if I insisted on carrying her, NOPE not at all.

Unfortunately I did not give the entire story because I didn't think that I was going to be critiqued over that call. But do I walk chest pain patients to the ambulance or to the cot? Yes if they refuse to be carried. What are you gonna do when the patient refuses to let you carry them, are you gonna say, "if you don't let us carry you then we won't take you"

It's amazing at the attitudes on this forum. I believe Richard that you have come on this forum in the past and said that you've done some stupid or not so great things yet have I ever once come out and said FAIL to you? nope never.

Well I'm off my soapbox because it's a moot point at this time to argue over what happened 15 years ago and several thousand calls later.

All I can say is that I learned a great deal from that call like Dwayne says we need to do.

But seriously, what if we walk a chest pain patient to the cot. What if the patient refuses to be carried? What then?

LOL. I have gotten dinged on qa/qi because I walked a patient or did not back board. I even documented patient refused certain care but they dinged me. I responded what I should force unwanted care on patient? or refuse all care?

[+medic]

Just wanted to say hello. I am hopefully starting the paramedic program this fall or next spring. From just browsing around I hope if I have questions you guys and gals can help me answer them.

Hello and welcome to the circus

[Richard B the EMT]

I now put a "Fail" on myself, for not asking if RuffEMS' patient had signed a "Refused Medical Assistance" for a transport device to move said patient to the ambulance. In a PM,before I came back to this string, he advised me he had.

In private, and now in public, I apologize to RuffEMS for jumping the gun with my complaint.