Equivalentrade Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Wish me luck :X Ill come back with stories later. Ciao!
spec_rogers2002 Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Good luck on getting calls. It seems the ambulance with the ride-along usually gets no calls for some reasons(curse of the ride-along)Just kidding ,I'm sure you will get plenty,Good luck!
NREMT-Basic Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Equivalent- the first ride i took, i had no idea what they would expect of me so I planned to use what i knew to help without getting in the way. We got to a post-ictal seizure call and as I got out, planning on taking the cot to the house, the medic hollard back, what are you doin? Get the jump kit. Dont be afraid to jump in and do what you know how to do, even it is only baseline vitals at this point. Worse thing that can happen is the medic tells you to get out of the way and this will change from crew to crew. Best of luck and let me know how your first ride went. Steven KinCannon, EMT-B
DanieB Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 I had my first ride along about a month ago and it was sooo busy. We had 6 calls in 7 hours. Made for a very interesting night! Hope you got some good calls!
DwayneEMTP Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 I agree with NREMT-Basic 100%... My first right along I was focused on staying out of the way. The paramedic was under the impression I was there to learn and made me to jump in and get busy! That's one of those "man, I wish I could take back those two hours" times. A different medic might have let me waste my whole day doing nothing....from other threads here it seems the majority of the people you'll ride with are on board with making you better than you were when you arrived...don't waste their time being timid...withing limits of course. Take everything you can get out of your hospital time and ride alongs...your time is very limited...make it pay! Good luck... Dwayne
nsmedic393 Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 I remember when I was a student, each new preceptor was a nightmare in itself. Not to say they were bad guys just each had different expectations of me and the process of working out exactly what they wanted was confusing and difficult. Each new student I get I like to sit them down at the start of the shift and explain things. The bags are theirs to organise as they wish as long as they have the required stock. They are expected to take a leadership role in patient care although I will be right behind them to make sure they don't kill someone. They should always be the first through the door to introduce themselves to the patient. Also my partner and I will do all the mindless grunt work ie. lugging bags and stretchers. The students should be focusing on patient care.
Mastabattas Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Each new student I get I like to sit them down at the start of the shift and explain things. The bags are theirs to organise as they wish as long as they have the required stock. They are expected to take a leadership role in patient care although I will be right behind them to make sure they don't kill someone. They should always be the first through the door to introduce themselves to the patient. Also my partner and I will do all the mindless grunt work ie. lugging bags and stretchers. The students should be focusing on patient care. nsmedic393 Thank YOU for taking that approach. I wish everyone would be so purposeful...I'll bet your students are that much better at what they do because you didn't treat the situation in the same way it was handled for you. KUDOS.
medic001918 Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Good luck in your ride time. My approach to students is that will give them whatever time it is that they want from me. If they want me to spend all day going over drugs, scenarios, etc...I'll do it. But if they appear disinterested in being there and taking advantage of the learning environment that has been presented to them, I'm not going to push too hard and go out of my way to help someone that doesn't want it. If you want to learn, I'll do anything to help you to do so. If you're there just to do your "ride time," I have other things that I can do with my time. I've already gone through school and the precepting process to obtain medical control. You're just beginning. Take advantage of your opportunities as they arise. Don't come to ride time with the intent of getting something else done that you need to do. It's a bad idea to wait until the day a paper is due for class and to be writing it while you're at ride time. Planning is essential as a paramedic and if you're doing this then you didn't plan properly. Hoping to get a paper done while you're riding with a service is a huge roll of the dice at best. We could be busy doing calls. We could be going over drugs or other areas that you want to work on. Ride time is for riding. This includes doing calls and taking advantage of your resources. Also remember that there is a fine line between being cocky and being confident. You want to be confident. If you show up to ride time prepared and you feel like you are ready to be there, you will find that preceptors let you do more than someone that is not being decisive and is too afraid to be interactive with the patient. If I ask you why you want to do something, it's not because what you want to do is wrong. It's to make sure that you have the knowledge behind the intervention. I won't let you do something that is wrong. If you're going to be giving medication or performing any intervention, as your preceptor I have the obligation to make sure that your thought process behind it is correct. Ask questions if you're not sure. Don't make up answers. Be confident and the sky is the limit. I'll just hang back and 100% let you be the medic. I'll just be there for oversight or if you need an extra set of hands. Be prepared. Wear a watch with a second hand for taking pulses and other vital signs. Bring a stethoschope. One of the worst things a student can do is to show up unprepared expecting to use my personal gear. The same student showed up at my service three times without a stethoscope. It finally got to the point that any call that he needed a stethoschope for other than a blood pressure he was pushed back to observing. The first time I might give you. The second and third time is unacceptable. I make it a point to show up at work on time and prepared. You can show up for ride time prepared. Be on time. Showing up late is a bad way to start the day. You don't have to bring us donuts or anything else to start the day off well (althought it can be a nice gesture). Be active. If you see us cleaning around the station or detailing an ambulance, come help us out. Treat your time at the services you ride with as a job interview. Make a positive impression and you just might get a position there someday out of it. Most of all...have fun at ride them. You'll most likely get to work with a variety of great providers that are more interested in helping you and seeing you succeed than they are about watching you fail. Ask questions. Get answers. Be motivated. Be active. Be confident. Shane NREMT-P
NREMT-Basic Posted September 13, 2006 Posted September 13, 2006 Shane- I wish I had had you for all my ride alongs. The first medic I had was fantastic. We would get out of the right and I wold automatically grab the jump kit, which made him smile, he said I was the first student of his to automatically do that with being told a hundred times. We ran more calls then than he said he had seen in a long time and it went well...him,me and an emt. I had bought Propper uniform pants, a white unform shirts and showed up squared away and ready to go. Now there were some from my class who showed up im black jeans and tennis shoes and a white t-shirts and by thte end of it he got so sick of some them that he sent them home. Which is how it should be. I didnt bring my text book along to study. These guys in the rig I knew could teach me more than 20 books. So I watched, listened and jumped in when the time was write. I got a great recommendation from this guy for medic school. Just goes to show ya, keep your mouth shut and your eyes open when its appropriate and dont wait to be told what to do. Usually ride time, at least in my system comes toward the end of the cycle, so you should know your skills...nobody should have to tell you that a AMS patient not on alcohol and denying drug use gets a BGL and your preceptor shouldnt have to tell you how to do it either. When I finished a 24 hours clinical tour, ny preceptor gave me a shirt that says "Good EMTs Kick Ass and Take Names.' Good for you for being such an awesome preceptor and I hope all the Noobs that ride with ya get to know just how lucky they are. You are what makes EMS learning great. Thanks a million!!! PS- My second ride along was with a Noob medic who was more interested in keeping his badge shiny and his shirt white than patient care or teaching. The way you precept is the way it is supposed to be dont and I hope to have to opportunity one day to add to the system just as you have. Thanks from all of us rookies out here!
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