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  1. W

    Do you have to follow your Agency's clinical protocols exactly as written?

    That's what I call my written standing orders - "Patient Care Guidelines." I have a section called "Administrative Protocols" and those pretty much have to be followed to the letter, but they are for administrative things and there is very little (if any) patient care in there. Things like...
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    Need some guidance plz! Recently been arrested, but yet convicted. EMT an option anymore???

    Why such an accelerated timeline? 6 months is not a lot of time to get any meaningful experience anywhere in anything, at least when it comes to medicine.
  3. W

    Need some guidance plz! Recently been arrested, but yet convicted. EMT an option anymore???

    Around here, it would be exceedingly hard to get hired on anywhere (EMT on the street or ED Tech in the hospital) with a recent DUI. Maybe a bit more luck with a smaller hospital. I can't speak to what's what where you are from, but not even volunteer fire departments will take volunteers who...
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    Stopping at Still Alarms with Patient On Board?

    Sigh... we seem to have this happen every few years or so. When I was out in St. Louis and once more in a small industrial town, a "Still Alarm" just meant an EMS call that needed no fire response. It means different things to different people. Where I am now, that term is not used and has...
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    Question: Revoked EMT License

    Recently graduated resident here! Reading all of the replies here, what I gather happened is this, please correct me if I am wrong: 1. You had an EMT license 2. You started working at a hospital as an ER Tech. A requirement for employment is holding a valid EMT certificate. However, you were...
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    Transferring Drugs from one Agency to Another

    So, unfortunately, my first VFD where I got my start in emergency medicine, will be shutting its doors for good at the end of the year. Over the years, throughout my medical school and residency, there would be tons of supplies the hospital would discard. Sometimes it was a change of contract...
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    Is Smoking Part of Medical History?

    Smoking is ALWAYS a part of social history. It CAN BE a part of medical history. If they are acutely short of breath, do they smoke? Have they smoked more than in the past? Are they smoking more? If my Rad 57 starts yelling at me, then Smoking Hx also turns into part of the Pertinent PMHx...
  8. W

    DO you video? Emergence of video assisted laryngoscopy in the field.

    I think the arguments that one is better than another is just silly. The best one is the one that YOU PERSONALLY are most comfortable with and that YOU PERSONALLY have the best success with. If you can hit 99/100 with DL but only 80/100 with VL, and I'm the opposite, then it doesn't matter...
  9. W

    Sleep Schedule?

    Urban Department: if I'm on a 24, we usually have a light morning and relatively light afternoon. An afternoon nap is a must when possible as at night (especially on Friday/Sat) we could run all night. Usually we pick up around 4 pm or so and run our butts off until 11. Somewhere in there we...
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    First Ever Shift?

    As far as what to carry on you, less is more. For me: Right hip pocket: Wallet and pocket knife Left pocket: Cell phone, ID Right cargo pocket: small maglite, 2 pens Left rear pocket: Keys Right rear pocket: an extra set of gloves Belt: Pager and radio. You don't need every tool imaginable on...
  11. W

    Hearing Protection

    Thanks! I'm sure it's something that is done often with the trucks, I just have my doubts that our department will pay for them. I'm thinking of heading to an outdoors/sporting goods store to see if they have any suggestion on ear protection?
  12. W

    Hearing Protection

    I'm interested to hear more about those active headsets. The shooting headsets you were talking about sound interesting, but my partner today mentioned that they are not useful because ANYTIME the sound level is above a certain dB, they become ear protection and they can't register conversation...
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    Hearing Protection

    So apparently there was some story in the new about sirens on fire/EMS apparatus and hearing protection from the sirens. I was wondering if any members on here use hearing protection when on the job. Previously, the only time I've ever thought about it is on extrication scenes with the really...
  14. W

    Motorola Minitor Pagers For Sale

    I have one more left for sale. If you can give me the frequency you require, I can see if it will work for what you need when I get home!
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    Summer Boots for EMS

    I love my 5.11 8" Taclite boots, but for the price, they aren't really built to last. This is the second pair I have been through in 3 years and they just seem to fall apart after the 1-1.5 year mark. Anyone got good recommendations for a good, lightweight duty boot for summer use?
  16. W

    Driving Record

    My departments are both very similar: You get one freebie a year for a minor violation. A second one and you're on probation and can't get any more for 24 months. We'll take a look at anyone, but if there's one spot and all else being equal, one guy has 0 moving violations and one guy has...
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    Strategies for Dealing with Nuisance Calls/Frequent Fliers

    Hey guys, I was out of town on a well-deserved break, but thank you all for your replies! I will try to address everything you guys brought up here: I'm guessing this has been looking into, but, at least how I'm reading it, the "misuse" has to mean that the person is knowingly lying to us...
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    Strategies for Dealing with Nuisance Calls/Frequent Fliers

    This is definitely above my pay grade, but we were doing a thought experiment the other day. Details of the story have been changed, but the general feel has not. A patient of ours is a known frequent flier. This person calls about 3-4 times per month. Now I know that doesn't seem like a lot...
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    Code-3 911 Post move-ups

    In my area, we have 2 "move up" assignments, and emergency and a non-emergency. As you can imagine, most are of the non-emergency type--another department knows they are going to be out at a scene for a while, they're so busy that all units are tied up doing transports to somewhere half an hour...
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