MikeEMT Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 Thanks for the info, Mike. All in all I know it's competitive but I think I can get in. It's cool you work in Seattle, I'd like to work there someday if the cost of living wasn't over the roof. It is thru the roof. I drive 60 miles to go to work because of cost of living. I have been an EMT for a little over a year and have seen and done more than most veteran EMTs in other areas. I remember I brought in a patient to HMC in severe overdose and was bagging the patient. A crew from another ambulance company was there and they were awestruck by what I had. They followed me to the bed and after dropping off the patient they approached me and said they had never seen anything like that in there years of EMS. My reply to them was welcome to Seattle. Contrary to what others think, we aren't the best in the world. That said, if you want to get experience and set yourself apart for acceptance into Medic One or any paramedic program, spend a couple years in Seattle. You will get a lot of experience.
island emt Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 A little bit of vitamin "N" would have most likely kept them breathing on their own. Narcan can be given I N , so it should be a med that any inner city transfer truck should carry. But then the empire would never spend 6 bucks it doesn't have to.
MikeEMT Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 A little bit of vitamin "N" would have most likely kept them breathing on their own. Narcan can be given I N , so it should be a med that any inner city transfer truck should carry. But then the empire would never spend 6 bucks it doesn't have to. This wasn't an Overdose where Narcan would have worked. It was an Ecstasy OD combined with Sherm.
Caduceus Posted December 16, 2013 Author Posted December 16, 2013 Thanks for the advice Mike. I'm considering majoring in paramedicine w/ a minor in biology rather than just going through a certificate program to help me get in.
mobey Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 It is thru the roof. I drive 60 miles to go to work because of cost of living. I have been an EMT for a little over a year and have seen and done more than most veteran EMTs in other areas. I remember I brought in a patient to HMC in severe overdose and was bagging the patient. A crew from another ambulance company was there and they were awestruck by what I had. They followed me to the bed and after dropping off the patient they approached me and said they had never seen anything like that in there years of EMS. My reply to them was welcome to Seattle. Oh puulease!! Bagging an OD.... that's the 'big one'? These practitioners have never seen that in all their years in EMS? Where do they work, under a rock?? That said, if you want to get experience and set yourself apart for acceptance into Medic One or any paramedic program, spend a couple years in Seattle. You will get a lot of experience. Or spend a couple years in ANY OTHER CITY.... or Canadian native reserve...... or major industrial clinic........ or in the sandbox........ must I go on? Contrary to what others noobs think, we aren't the best in the world. Fixed that for ya.... Ya, there is some cool stuff going on in Seattle, but please Mike, you gotta check your ego.
ERDoc Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 It is thru the roof. I drive 60 miles to go to work because of cost of living. I have been an EMT for a little over a year and have seen and done more than most veteran EMTs in other areas. I remember I brought in a patient to HMC in severe overdose and was bagging the patient. A crew from another ambulance company was there and they were awestruck by what I had. They followed me to the bed and after dropping off the patient they approached me and said they had never seen anything like that in there years of EMS. My reply to them was welcome to Seattle. Contrary to what others think, we aren't the best in the world. That said, if you want to get experience and set yourself apart for acceptance into Medic One or any paramedic program, spend a couple years in Seattle. You will get a lot of experience. Wow. Just wow. I was a volley in suburbia who rode 6 hours a week and we saw stuff like that and worse all the time. I'm surprised a crew from a large city was so awestruck by something so routine. I guess it could have been the golden glow given off by you and your crew that got their attention. 1
Just Plain Ruff Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 Wow. Just wow. I was a volley in suburbia who rode 6 hours a week and we saw stuff like that and worse all the time. I'm surprised a crew from a large city was so awestruck by something so routine. I guess it could have been the golden glow given off by you and your crew that got their attention. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN It is thru the roof. I drive 60 miles to go to work because of cost of living. I have been an EMT for a little over a year and have seen and done more than most veteran EMTs in other areas. I remember I brought in a patient to HMC in severe overdose and was bagging the patient. A crew from another ambulance company was there and they were awestruck by what I had. They followed me to the bed and after dropping off the patient they approached me and said they had never seen anything like that in there years of EMS. My reply to them was welcome to Seattle. Contrary to what others think, we aren't the best in the world. That said, if you want to get experience and set yourself apart for acceptance into Medic One or any paramedic program, spend a couple years in Seattle. You will get a lot of experience. Holy crap, that's a pretty vacuous and egotistical statement you put out there Mike. I have worked all over the state of missouri and kansas and I think my experience would stack up against the exprience you get in Seattle. I'd put my skills and experience up against one of those pristine medics from seattle any day and I think I'd probably do pretty damn good. My crews quarters when I worked rural consisted of my 3 bedroom house, 2 baths, a 60 inch flat screen TV with all the fixins, and a fully equipped kitchen. I could respond from said home and get to the ambulance bay in 5 minutes and we'd be out the door. I'll bet that the crew that you had drooling over your crews quarters would also drool over mine. My crew quarters in my Urban system consisted of fully equipped kitchens, a bedroom for each crew member, high speed internet and all the cable channels. We even had a bbq grill outised. They probably would be jealous of our stuff too.l It's amazing what some places will do to keep good employees, right? But I digress..........
ERDoc Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 The vollies on Long Island have buildings comparable to the Taj Mahal that would pretty much make any other service jealous (I win!!). I'm sure medics from Baltimore, NYC, Chicago, Miami, or any other city would do just fine when compared to a Seattle medic. And if we are comparing buildings, I did a few ride-alongs with NYC EMS in the mid 90s. They had the most amazing places. They were about 10 foot by 10 foot and had wheels. Once in a while, they would have these big shiny lights and loud sirens that would come on and be able to relocated their building to where the pt was. Fine dining included McDonalds, Burger King or whatever you brought with you. Things may be different now with the merger with FDNY.
Just Plain Ruff Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 The vollies on Long Island have buildings comparable to the Taj Mahal that would pretty much make any other service jealous (I win!!). I'm sure medics from Baltimore, NYC, Chicago, Miami, or any other city would do just fine when compared to a Seattle medic. And if we are comparing buildings, I did a few ride-alongs with NYC EMS in the mid 90s. They had the most amazing places. They were about 10 foot by 10 foot and had wheels. Once in a while, they would have these big shiny lights and loud sirens that would come on and be able to relocated their building to where the pt was. Fine dining included McDonalds, Burger King or whatever you brought with you. Things may be different now with the merger with FDNY. That sounds like MAST in KC back in the days Pre-KCFD merger. OR any place in God Green Earth that AMR runs.
paramedicmike Posted December 17, 2013 Posted December 17, 2013 Well, to be fair to Mike, I think it depends on where you are. For example, one place (mixed suburban/major metro area) I worked hired a guy who had no previous 911 experience. He had only worked on IFT ambulances. Not even a critical care ambulance... Just routine, run of the mill transports. We were dropping off a patient once while he was still orienting and we ran into his former transport cronies who did the same thing Mike described previously for an otherwise run of the mill patient: <all with stars in their eyes> "You're working 911? How'd you land that? Will they hire me? Did you start that line? Did you have to bag the patient? What's it like running lights and sirens?... That must be *awesome*!" The new guy was eating it up. My partner and I were beside ourselves laughing. Yes, my n=1 doesn't do much to support or detract from Mike's argument. However, perhaps it's a system mindset where you get a lot of transport guys who see nothing but dialysis transfers and routine ambulance transfers. At that point anything out of the ordinary could elicit the type of response Mike reported. Most of us don't see it as anything unusual because we've either done it before or do it with enough routine that it's just another day at work. But to the new guy stuck in IFT hell who had dreams of glory working on an ambulance and saving lives it could be a big deal. Of course, I have limited knowledge of the transport logistics of the greater Seattle area so I don't know for sure if what I've experienced in a different area actually exists in Mike's area. So he legitimately might be trying to blow smoke up our collective asses.
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