reference material

[Sluggo]

I just got my cert and I have not found a job yet. Can anyone recommend a good magazine or something to subscribe to, just to keep a pulse on the EMS field and keep up to date with current practices?

 

[TheGodfather]

www.boundtreeuniversity.com -- good free bls CE's
www.jems.com -- good resource for everything EMS (magazine/website)

 

[DrankTheKoolaid]

re

Podcasts are another way to keep up on EMS and changes.

Jems is meh... Just make sure you use other sources besides them.

 

[Arovetli]

Unfortunately you don't have many options.

JEMS is atrocious. So atrocious it is worth repeating: JEMS is atrocious.

But then only other choice you have is to step up to medical level texts/resources or nursing resources. The medical stuff will probably be over your head for a while and the nursing stuff has an odd slant to it if your not a nurse.

I am just assuming you are at the basic EMT level and there really is nothing out there for you. The best idea I have for you is just Google something that interests you and see what you can find. When you land that job Google your patients signs/symptoms/diseases/medicines and learn as you go. If you end up doing dialysis trips guess what...you have a great opportunity to learn renal. Even on boring transfers if they have a info packet read it. Google the parts of it you don't understand. Kinda create your own internship. Ask questions. This place is a good resource if you get stuck with something post about it. Take everything anyone tells you or you read with a grain of salt.

It is a giant EMS fail that we let our own flounder when it comes to solid ConEd/professional development/intellectual curiosity.

 

[325Medic]

E-Medicine is good. Run by M.D.'s and D.O.'s and gets deep into pathophysiology of illness / trauma. I agree that Jems and EMS world is blah anymore...

325.

 

[bstone]

MDs and DOs, not MD's and DO's. CEs, not CE's.

If we're to be taken seriously then our grammar needs to improve.

 

[DesertMedic66]

And here we go again with spelling and grammar :glare:

 

[medichopeful]

Unfortunately you don't have many options.

JEMS is atrocious. So atrocious it is worth repeating: JEMS is atrocious.

Depends on what it is. For pure medicine, not gonna argue that statement! :rofl: If you want to know what new equipment is coming out, I can't think of a better source.

I am just assuming you are at the basic EMT level and there really is nothing out there for you. The best idea I have for you is just Google something that interests you and see what you can find. When you land that job Google your patients signs/symptoms/diseases/medicines and learn as you go. If you end up doing dialysis trips guess what...you have a great opportunity to learn renal. Even on boring transfers if they have a info packet read it. Google the parts of it you don't understand. Kinda create your own internship. Ask questions. This place is a good resource if you get stuck with something post about it. Take everything anyone tells you or you read with a grain of salt.

Excellent points. OP, please please please, and I can't say this enough, check your sources and where they come from. Google is a GREAT resource, but not all sources are created equal. Don't just trust a source because it's online. For example, Yahoo! Answers isn't a good source for anything in the medicine field; NIH.gov, however, is.

 

[mycrofft]

Don't tread water, swim. Aim for the next step up. If you're with fire dept or aspire to disaster management, get the free FEMA courses online (some for credit):

http://www.frederick.edu/courses_and_programs/degree_emergency_management.aspx

Find out what your paramedic schools want and start that, but remember you are still practicing under the certificate you have hanging on the wsall, not the one you aspire for.

Put a copy of Merck Manual on the toilet tank.

 

[pghboy2011]

MDs and DOs, not MD's and DO's. CEs, not CE's.

If we're to be taken seriously then our grammar needs to improve.

When it boils down to it...if that's the biggest grammatical errors that are being made, who cares? I promise MDs, DOs, and RNs scribble right along with poor grammar, and horrific spelling. I can say that confidently, because I live in a medical family...2 MDs for parents, and an RN sister. Them, and their friends alike are VERY talented at what they do, but informal writing is not their forte.

As long as the post can be read anditsnotallabigrunonsentence, then what's the big deal?

 

[mycrofft]

I like my apostrophes.