Timmy Posted September 28, 2006 Posted September 28, 2006 Well lets all come to the conclusion that people under 18 or 21 or whatever shouldn’t be allowed to ride EMS. My advice is to get over this post and move on with our lives.
KIWI Posted September 28, 2006 Posted September 28, 2006 Well lets all come to the conclusion that people under 18 or 21 or whatever shouldn’t be allowed to ride EMS. My advice is to get over this post and move on with our lives. Funny Tim this seems to be a line of yours. Nope I won't edit it or anything ... but anyone who has followed these discussions will know exactly what I mean. I too was a St John cadet ... I achieved my grand prior award before you was a twinkle in ya daddy's eye (over 20 yrs ago). And back then and now I do not agree with a lot of what you say, I can understand your enthusiasm but mate you only got a few more yrs to be a kid .... after that ya don't get a second chance at it. You boost up yourself (the jobs events you've covered) but run down the on the road guys/paramedics (try hards) .... your words not mine .... those things just stick out as immaturity. Your 16 ... ok nearly 17 but pull ya head in YOU might not like some of these guys or what they try to tell you but they have been there done that .... i real life too. Why do you sometimes feel picked on??? ... go back n read some of what you have had to say on different things n see if that answers that question.
Michael Posted September 28, 2006 Posted September 28, 2006 patients with injury’s you would never see in civilian life Looking at the next 50 years or so, I wish I could be as confident as you about that.
UMSTUDENT Posted September 28, 2006 Posted September 28, 2006 I think there is a huge difference between Iraq and the streets of America. Those of you who keep uttering the comparison are showing significant ignorance, especially when most of America's youth will never experience the horrible thing which is combat. Also, before you start chatting the army up as some wonderful organization out for the better of humanity, lets not forget that they accept young "18 year-old kids" into their ranks, promise them a non-existent job skill (blowing crap up), and unfortunately sometimes a fruitless future filled with PTSD. Sending young kids to die in an unpopular, questionable war bares no resemblance to letting them participate in the life and death events which is domestic life. Now, let me clarify that I have the utmost respect for our veterans and support their cause, but I'm sure most of them would laugh at you if you tried to compare their hell with American EMS. As a provider in the United States I have felt that I was in danger maybe 3 times while on the job, and trust me the erector pili muscles on the back of my neck took care of getting me the fu*K out of that situation. See, in the real world of EMS there is generally a door between yourself and a bad situation. In Iraq, you have an entire country full of sectarian violence and a culture who generally hates us. HUGE difference! Stop putting the profession on this bad-boy, hyper-dangerous plateau. On most days, our job is no more dangerous than that of a UPS driver or pizza delivery "boy." When it is dangerous, 95% of the time police are there kicking the sh*t out of some idiot anyway. There is some acceptable risk in our profession. If a 16 y/o kid wants to do a ride along, let him. And if you're worried about psychological trauma let me say this: I started when I was 16 and lead a functional life and so has everyone else I know who started young. People who have respect and empathy for the human condition are generally able to accept that death, sometimes violent, is just part of life. No one is immune to it. We all fall under the category of mortal. I think if anything, seeing "real" humanity is an amazing thing.
Timmy Posted September 29, 2006 Posted September 29, 2006 I agree with everyone when they say that kids shouldn't be allowed to ride emergency calls on the ambulance. I had never heard of kids going out on the emergency ambulance before I came to this site. I my self have never worked on an ambulance. Just event coverage or standbys. I have never been on a run to a hospital or anything like that. I've done clinical placement with a private patient transport company but that’s about all. They don't do call outs just transport from hospital to hospital. I understand that you are just trying to protect the young kids from seeing stuff they shouldn’t see and all that. I'm fully aware of what can happen out there but trust me I wouldn’t be doing this unless I can handle it. I know it sounds really arrogant but I have had opportunities to attend some really horrific type events and have knocked the offer back. I always think about what I'm getting my self into before I go. I know I'm not ready to see really traumatic patient that’s why I choose not to do that sort of stuff. When things do get a bit stressful or we've had a bad day we always have a debrief session and they seem to help. I know I've made myself appear to be the little hell raiser, but I'm not. If someone is with me that has more experience or is more qualified I always let them treat the patient. I even let the less experienced or new people treat them before I will. I know when to back off and let the professionals in. It also depends on the individual. I would agree that the majority of EMS cadets shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a patient, it just depends on how they can handle it, training, experiences ect. ect. ect. I am probably missing out on my teenage hood, but that’s my choice, I like doing first aid and helping people.
Ridryder 911 Posted September 29, 2006 Posted September 29, 2006 Well lets all come to the conclusion that people under 18 or 21 or whatever shouldn’t be allowed to ride EMS. My advice is to get over this post and move on with our lives. Can you take your own advice ? You continue to post in this thread... R/r 911
Katee Posted September 30, 2006 Posted September 30, 2006 Ah, the neverending "I'm right, you're all WRONG!" thread. Awesome. Kudos. Bah humbug. Just face it, other places do it differently. Accept that it might be screwed up. Unless you're going to change it, don't open your pie holes. Have a good night everyone.
akroeze Posted September 30, 2006 Posted September 30, 2006 Ah, the neverending "I'm right, you're all WRONG!" thread. Awesome. Kudos. Bah humbug. Just face it, other places do it differently. Accept that it might be screwed up. Unless you're going to change it, don't open your pie holes. Have a good night everyone. Well that settles it... if she says it, we must all listen because she is the authority on what is worthy to discuss :roll:
Katee Posted September 30, 2006 Posted September 30, 2006 Sweeeeeeet! I, am awesome. Ask the general population. They'll tell you.
blueangelfightr Posted September 30, 2006 Posted September 30, 2006 After reading this thread I have a few things to say. First of all I'm 17, and not an EMT yet. I'm doing my classes but I have yet to finish and take the test. Furthermore, I actually have some experiance (I have 50 calls so far) so I'm not an idiot, but I don't know anything even close to everything. I've seen some descent tramas, bad medicals, and alot of simple everyday calls. I DO work with the patients, even with the paramedics (they don't seem to care about my age or certifications) I know how to do vitals, administer oxygen safely, CPR, and all that good stuff. My goal is to become a flight nurse, so I have long term goals in health care. I have to say, myself and my mother (RN, working on her BSN) have a discussion all the time on the way doctors/nurses/ and even nurses aids act to EMS in general. At most times, it's horrible! Neither of us can understand why. Also, I'd say a good 1/3+/- people on my squad are at or under the age of 21. Many EMT's and many are pretty good ones with descent experiance and knowledge. Why does it have to be a fight about who can and can not touch patients. As long as you and the next person are trained the same then you can both do the same job... even if one is 18 and one is 40. The one thats 40 will probaly know more, but the onw thats 18 will still know what hes doing. And so what if someone is only an EMT, around here being an EMT is mostly voulnteer and we give up OUR time to help people. So a 120 hour class is alot. Especially with Senior year, looking for college, work, etc. I work my butt off to try and do this, I don't expect B.S. from people who can not accept that fact that I don't have a PhD and work with patients. I treat patients to the best of my ability, you can treat yours to the best of your ability. If I need help, I ask! I'm not afraid to ask another EMT for help or a paramedic. We are BLS (BASIC life support) if I was getting paid for this, you might have a case. But I donate my time to help people and if a 120 hour class and a test can give me the proper knowledge to do that then as far as I'm concerned, I'm good.
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