# Most useless equipment you carry



## atticrat (Dec 5, 2010)

Been looking into thigh rigs for carrying some of the items I use most often.

As I asked the people I see with them about what they carry, I'm shocked at some of the items I hear listed. Expecting things like, IV starts, gauze pads, scope.......

Hearing things like, a sandwich, pack of smokes, energy drink.....and the super usefull, phone charger. More of a man purse type of deal I guess.


What would you think is the most useless item to carry? Something there is no possible use for on your person.


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## lampnyter (Dec 5, 2010)

On my person? As a basic, a stethoscope, penlight


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## JJR512 (Dec 5, 2010)

The most useless thing I carry with me is an expired credit card I've never taken out of my wallet.


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## reaper (Dec 5, 2010)

Useless would be iv start kits and gauze pads!  Why would I need those? They are on the truck. I carry things I need personally. Yes, phone charger is a must have. Snacks, Tylenol and extra cash are just some of the most needed things.


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## AnthonyTheEmt (Dec 5, 2010)

most useless thing ever is the bite block aka the choking stick


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## Fox800 (Dec 5, 2010)

Carrying a stethoscope is useless? Let me know how you get a manual blood pressure or assess your respiratory patients without it.

Get back to me on that one.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Dec 5, 2010)

A wing-backed chair.


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## Fox800 (Dec 5, 2010)

For us? Lasix, probably.

Not going to benefit you in the field, and can do a lot of harm if given when not indicated.


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## MMiz (Dec 5, 2010)

I never used a tall cervical collar.


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## Pittsburgh77 (Dec 5, 2010)

Fox800 said:


> For us? Lasix, probably.
> 
> Not going to benefit you in the field, and can do a lot of harm if given when not indicated.



Well stated.


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## EMSLaw (Dec 6, 2010)

MMiz said:


> I never used a tall cervical collar.



This is totally anecdotal, but I have been told that in excess of 90% of patients are short or no-neck collars, and my experience has borne that out.  The outliers I've had have been "what's shorter than no-neck" rather than "what did we do with that one tall collar that's been in the rig for three years."  

I've never used a traction splint, either, even though a disproportionate amount of time in EMT school was spent practicing with one.


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## MS Medic (Dec 6, 2010)

I've heard a few basics who will tell you the most useless thing on an ambulance is a paramedic.


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## Bullets (Dec 6, 2010)

FROP-VD

Don't use it

2x2 gauze, 4 inch tape, 4 inch roller, 1/2 inch tape, sharps container


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## Akulahawk (Dec 6, 2010)

Most useless thing I carried with me (at least in the ambulance) was one of those little camp pillows. I pretty much rarely (if ever) got to actually use it to snooze... 

Next most useless thing I had was a partner that was so incompetent that dispatch generally kept us from answering calls... They'd just send us to post somewhere out of the way. Anyone else with me and we'd be running all day. Anyone with him? Well... not so much. Only if they had to... but he wasn't so incompetent that they'd want to fire him.


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## MS Medic (Dec 6, 2010)

Akulahawk said:


> Next most useless thing I had was a partner that was so incompetent that dispatch generally kept us from answering calls... They'd just send us to post somewhere out of the way. Anyone else with me and we'd be running all day. Anyone with him? Well... not so much. Only if they had to... but he wasn't so incompetent that they'd want to fire him.



Sounds like a pretty useful thing to have on the boolance to me.


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## MS Medic (Dec 6, 2010)

Seriously, the most useless thing I ever carried on the truck was Decadron. We had it on the truck at my last service but our protocols did not allow it to be used at all. Then there is the syrup of ipecac. No one can use it but the state EMS office has not taken it off the mandatory stock items list.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Dec 6, 2010)

MS Medic said:


> Then there is the syrup of ipecac. No one can use it but the state EMS office has not taken it off the mandatory stock items list.



You all have that problem too, eh? Apparently my state isn't the only one with a DOH that doesn't even know which direction is up. 

--------------

Now just so the rest of you know, since the OP seemed to be referring to useless personal equipment, I'm sticking with a wing-backed chair.


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## Pittsburgh77 (Dec 6, 2010)

Akulahawk said:


> Next most useless thing I had was a partner.



Beat me to it, damn <_<


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## Pittsburgh77 (Dec 6, 2010)

The most useless thing I carry on the ambulance would have to be; activated charcoal.

Nothing grinds my gears more, then when it's expired on the trucks and I go to the supply room AND THE BOTTLES ARE EVEN OLDER THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN THE TRUCKS!


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## Aidey (Dec 6, 2010)

I would go with lasix also. Or maybe 8 of the 10 NRBs we ar required to carry (waaay too man).

I find it interesting you find charcoal useless, I've used in 4-5 times in the last year or so. Which is 4-5 times more than I've used lasix.


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## exodus (Dec 6, 2010)

Nebulized DiHydroOxide....


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## citizensoldierny (Dec 6, 2010)

JJR512 said:


> The most useless thing I carry with me is an expired credit card I've never taken out of my wallet.




Not totally useless can be used to make entry if the lock isn't shielded or makes a great ice scraper if you forgot to put one in your car.


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## lampnyter (Dec 6, 2010)

Fox800 said:


> Carrying a stethoscope is useless? Let me know how you get a manual blood pressure or assess your respiratory patients without it.
> 
> Get back to me on that one.



we have like 50 of them on a truck so i never have one on my person.


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## wyoskibum (Dec 6, 2010)

*one size fits all...*



MMiz said:


> I never used a tall cervical collar.



LOL!  One of the services I work for will not buy the adjustable c-collars. I guess they think we aren't smart enough to use them.  Anyway, the result is that every patient gets a SHORT c-collar!


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## Melclin (Dec 6, 2010)

We carry ceftriaxone for meningococcal meningitis. If you ever needed it, you really do need it. But they tend to gather dust otherwise.

The second indication is for misc severe sepsis and thanks to (until recently) a lack of emphasis on early sepsis management, this rarely happened. Its getting pushed a bit more now.

What gets used even less is lidocaine. We carry it as a local in the event that you cant get IV access and need to give ceftriaxone IM. Imagine how much that gets used...


Air splints. Used relatively frequently but I hate them. Never seen them do anything but causes more pain and obscure you neurovascular obs. 

The anchor points for the ePCR computers...no one ever uses them, which is a shame.


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## Akulahawk (Dec 6, 2010)

Melclin said:


> We carry ceftriaxone for meningococcal meningitis. If you ever needed it, you really do need it. But they tend to gather dust otherwise.
> 
> The second indication is for misc severe sepsis and thanks to (until recently) a lack of emphasis on early sepsis management, this rarely happened. Its getting pushed a bit more now.
> 
> ...


They're all fine, well, and good... until you deflate them. I'm a fan of vacuum splints, actually. Those don't cause pain when you remove them and they don't put circumferential pressure on a limb. I might choose an air splint if I need to maintain pressure on a larger wound though...

And there's that ceftriaxone thing again... 

Lidocaine for local pain management? Who would have thunk? :wacko:


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## LucidResq (Dec 6, 2010)

On my person?

Used to have to carry a CPR mask pouch on my belt. Way more useful for stuffing lots of gloves and bandaids in than the mask. 

Trauma shears seemed to come in handy often for me - but almost never for anything related to patient care. 

As far as useful stuff... I always bring my own personal pharmacy to work. Ibuprofen, Excedrin, Tums, cough drops, and a wide variety of other useful OTCs. I hate feeling like crap at work.


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## Fox800 (Dec 6, 2010)

I smirk whenever I see someone carrying hemostats. Because it's usually an EMT-B, and they are usually carrying several.

I saw a legit zip-tie set attached to my coworker's ballistic vests...part of me chuckled, and the other part thought it wasn't a horribly bad idea, since we typically wear those vests on shootings and stabbings.


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## Melclin (Dec 6, 2010)

Akulahawk said:


> They're all fine, well, and good... until you deflate them. I'm a fan of vacuum splints, actually. Those don't cause pain when you remove them and they don't put circumferential pressure on a limb. I might choose an air splint if I need to maintain pressure on a larger wound though...
> 
> And there's that ceftriaxone thing again...
> 
> Lidocaine for local pain management? Who would have thunk? :wacko:



Vacuum splints are great. Too expensive though. At some rural branches where they have community social clubs or auxiliaries that raise money, they have much better toys. Like vacuum mattresses for spinal immobilisation. 

Even the state's volly first aid organization has those moldable sam splints which are nice.


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## brentoli (Dec 6, 2010)

Melclin said:


> Vacuum splints are great. Too expensive though. At some rural branches where they have community social clubs or auxiliaries that raise money, they have much better toys. Like vacuum mattresses for spinal immobilisation.
> 
> Even the state's volly first aid organization has those moldable sam splints which are nice.



I enjoy the VC's. Never used a mattress. I was taught on using SAMS though, so I can't complain.


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## JJR512 (Dec 6, 2010)

Fox800 said:


> I smirk whenever I see someone carrying hemostats. Because it's usually an EMT-B, and they are usually carrying several.



I have one hemostat (Kelly clamp).

I originally got it for two reasons: 1. I thought my EMS pants looked stupid with those slots left empty. I'm talking about the slots on one cargo pocket that are clearly designed to hold things like that. 2. I'd seen lots of other EMS providers with them, so I figured they must be useful for something, so I got them, figuring maybe I'd find a use for them some day. (The other slot I occupied with trauma shears.)

When I started working for a critical care transport company, I got those smirks you were talking about. I got them pretty much everyday, in fact, but nobody ever said anything. Then one day, we had a lot of IV bags to hang, a couple of the hang tabs on the IV pump had broken off, and nobody had any carabiners. My hemostat came in quite handy that day. I never noticed any more smirks after that day.


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## KD78 (Dec 7, 2010)

my most usefull thing is a scissor! I wear it on my belt with a snap hook in one of the eyes.
I cut everthing with that scissor... Jeans, motorcycle dress made from leather and once i cut a wedding ring and all the other stuff ....  and not only cutting I use it as a ultimate universal tool 

with the snap hook u can hang ur infusion in every drapery or use it in 100 other cases.

Like my scissor! I feel naked when i dont have it :-D

Grettings from germany
KD


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## Fox800 (Dec 7, 2010)

JJR512 said:


> I have one hemostat (Kelly clamp).
> 
> I originally got it for two reasons: 1. I thought my EMS pants looked stupid with those slots left empty. I'm talking about the slots on one cargo pocket that are clearly designed to hold things like that. 2. I'd seen lots of other EMS providers with them, so I figured they must be useful for something, so I got them, figuring maybe I'd find a use for them some day. (The other slot I occupied with trauma shears.)
> 
> When I started working for a critical care transport company, I got those smirks you were talking about. I got them pretty much everyday, in fact, but nobody ever said anything. Then one day, we had a lot of IV bags to hang, a couple of the hang tabs on the IV pump had broken off, and nobody had any carabiners. My hemostat came in quite handy that day. I never noticed any more smirks after that day.


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## Pittma (Dec 7, 2010)

^^^Lol.

Right now, the most useless thing I have is apparently my EMT-B card....:unsure::sad:


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## Bosco836 (Dec 7, 2010)

Spare pads for defibrillators that we have since upgraded.


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## the_negro_puppy (Dec 7, 2010)

Ceftriaxone for sure.


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## JJR512 (Dec 7, 2010)

I think the SIXTH O2 bottle stuffed under the bench seat, in a well-covered county where every point in it is no more than 20 minutes away from the nearest hospital, is a bit of overkill.


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## Silver_Star (Dec 9, 2010)

I work for a transport company. Pretty much all of our pts are seniors. 
So the most useless thing on here would be an OB kit. I don't think any bed bound 80 yr old ladies are going to be needing it.


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## MrBrown (Dec 9, 2010)

2% lignocaine SC for IV


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## usalsfyre (Dec 9, 2010)

The two(!) open top bed pans we carry. I'm cool with helping someone use a urinal, male or female. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna help someone climb onto a bedpan, drop a deuce, wipe for them and then have that sucker riding around uncovered...


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## JPINFV (Dec 9, 2010)

usalsfyre said:


> The two(!) open top bed pans we carry. I'm cool with helping someone use a urinal, male or female. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna help someone climb onto a bedpan, drop a deuce, wipe for them and then have that sucker riding around uncovered...



Do you not have red bags?


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## Cohn (Dec 9, 2010)

stair chair.... there is no buildings except our station with a second floor.


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## TransportJockey (Dec 9, 2010)

They are useful for much more than just multi story buildings.





Cohn said:


> stair chair.... there is no buildings except our station with a second floor.


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## Cohn (Dec 9, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> They are useful for much more than just multi story buildings.



Ours has a good inch of dust on it...

We manage to always get the pt. out.


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## usalsfyre (Dec 9, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Do you not have red bags?



We do, but unfortunatly hospital central supply sometimes has a hard time deciding whether to send poncho sized bags or sandwich size bags.


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## usalsfyre (Dec 9, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> They are useful for much more than just multi story buildings.



If they're the newer style with four wheels it's one of the most useful movement devices in the truck (and if it's got the tracks, it's the bees knees). If it's the older style with two wheels it's still useful, but somewhat more limited in utility.


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## Bullets (Dec 10, 2010)

Cohn said:


> stair chair.... there is no buildings except our station with a second floor.



That's interesting, the stair chair is far and away the most commonly used people mover on our truck. 

you let people drop a deuce in your ambulance?

We had a while thread on carrying hemostats, I always have one, and I use them often


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## Cohn (Dec 10, 2010)

Bullets said:


> That's interesting, the stair chair is far and away the most commonly used people mover on our truck.
> 
> you let people drop a deuce in your ambulance?
> 
> We had a while thread on carrying hemostats, I always have one, and I use them often



Never ran into someone that had to drop a #2

One time a lady with n,v,d we hit a bump (dirt road) on our way back to the station (to meet up with the medic) and all I hear from the box is "oh im sorry" she apparently crapped herself. Luckily it stayed in her pants and the medic was there waiting for us


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## reaper (Dec 10, 2010)

Are we 2 year olds?

 You can not show a pt dignity. You would rather let them crap their pants and sit in it?

Come on people. Everyone wants to be health professionals, start acting like it.


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## Cohn (Dec 10, 2010)

reaper said:


> Are we 2 year olds?
> 
> You can not show a pt dignity. You would rather let them crap their pants and sit in it?
> 
> Come on people. Everyone wants to be health professionals, start acting like it.




I'm sorry next time ill let you drive so you can avoid the bumps in the dirt road.


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## reaper (Dec 10, 2010)

Cohn said:


> I'm sorry next time ill let you drive so you can avoid the bumps in the dirt road.



That was not directed at accidents.


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## Bullets (Dec 10, 2010)

reaper said:


> That was not directed at accidents.



I've never had a patient express the desire to evacuate whole transporting


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## JPINFV (Dec 10, 2010)

Cohn said:


> Never ran into someone that had to drop a #2



Neither have I, but if I had I'd rather haven them do so in a bed pan than in their pants.


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## Cohn (Dec 10, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Neither have I, but if I had I'd rather haven them do so in a bed pan than in their pants.



Yeah well duh lol

My comment was about stair chairs in a town with no 2 story buildings


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## rescue1 (Dec 10, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> Neither have I, but if I had I'd rather haven them do so in a bed pan than in their pants.



Still, sometimes they're boarded/collared or otherwise unable to be bedpan-ed.
Sometimes they don't even mention it until you notice the smell.
So, while a bedpan is the best thing to do, sometimes people are going to poop their pants and there's nothing you can do until you get to the hospital. Do I like it? No, and I'm sure the pt doesn't either. But I can't really see what else we're supposed to do.


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## usalsfyre (Dec 10, 2010)

*(sigh...)*

This is why I should know better than to post coming off of a long, incredibly frustrating shift, in a month where I've spent more time at work than home.

Reaper, your right. It is important to treat the patients with dignity and worst come to worst, yeah, I would help an old lady onto the bed pan. I just don't like the *IDEA* of it. 

I appologize. My borderline burnout additude has been starting to show on here recently. Looking forward to the new year and new employees coming on shift.


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## JPINFV (Dec 10, 2010)

rescue1 said:


> Still, sometimes they're boarded/collared or otherwise unable to be bedpan-ed.
> Sometimes they don't even mention it until you notice the smell.
> So, while a bedpan is the best thing to do, sometimes people are going to poop their pants and there's nothing you can do until you get to the hospital. Do I like it? No, and I'm sure the pt doesn't either. But I can't really see what else we're supposed to do.




If the bed pan is available, and usable (however relatively few of my patients were ever backboarded), and they mention it, I'd sue the bed pan. Anything else and I'm not going to sweat it. Just because some patients can't use it because of the medical devices applied and other patients would rather mess themselves doesn't mean we ignore those that can use it and are willing to.


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## rescue1 (Dec 10, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> If the bed pan is available, and usable (however relatively few of my patients were ever backboarded), and they mention it, I'd sue the bed pan. Anything else and I'm not going to sweat it. Just because some patients can't use it because of the medical devices applied and other patients would rather mess themselves doesn't mean we ignore those that can use it and are willing to.



I wasn't suggesting never using it--if it's possible a bedpan should be used, especially for low priority pts that can handle the moving around that it requires.
I was just saying it's unfeasible to use a bedpan on every pt in the ambulance.


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## EMSLaw (Dec 11, 2010)

usalsfyre said:


> If they're the newer style with four wheels it's one of the most useful movement devices in the truck (and if it's got the tracks, it's the bees knees). If it's the older style with two wheels it's still useful, but somewhat more limited in utility.



I have to agree here.  The tracked stair chair is perhaps the greatest EMS invention since the non-rebreather mask and the Hare traction splint (okay, that's a joke, but it's really, really great).  

Even if a house is single storey, there are plenty of times I've had to stairchair a patient out because the hallway was too narrow for the cot, or because there were rickety, icy, narrow (or all three) front stairs.


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## Phlipper (Dec 11, 2010)

The majority of time during my volunteer shifts the most useless thing I carry is an EMT-B cert, because all I do is drive the truck and stretcher.  The non-Certs get to work in the back with the medics and learn while I get to clean up behind them and restock while the NCs smoke, watch TV, play on the computer, flirt, etc.


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## Melclin (Dec 11, 2010)

Phlipper said:


> The majority of time during my volunteer shifts the most useless thing I carry is an EMT-B cert, because all I do is drive the truck and stretcher.  The non-Certs get to work in the back with the medics and learn while I get to clean up behind them and restock while the NCs smoke, watch TV, play on the computer, flirt, etc.



What's a non-cert?

What qualification do they have?


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## Phlipper (Dec 11, 2010)

They have no cert within EMS, and are either CNAs or EMT-B students.  Non certs cannot drive the truck nor QRV in our world.


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## Melclin (Dec 11, 2010)

Woah.

American EMS just gets better and better.


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## TransportJockey (Dec 11, 2010)

Phlipper said:


> They have no cert within EMS, and are either CNAs or EMT-B students.  Non certs cannot drive the truck nor QRV in our world.



Sounds like a useless person to have on an ambulance. I don't understand the point of that kind of person on a rig


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## Foxbat (Dec 11, 2010)

jtpaintball70 said:


> Sounds like a useless person to have on an ambulance. I don't understand the point of that kind of person on a rig


You never did a ride-along before getting your basic cert?


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## TransportJockey (Dec 11, 2010)

Foxbat said:


> You never did a ride-along before getting your basic cert?



Not allowed by any of the services in the city I did my basic in.


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## rescue1 (Dec 11, 2010)

Ride along/training is one thing, people who consistantly jump in the back without even a EMT-b is another. We have a couple in one of the places I volunteer. Some are drivers only, which is one thing, but others cannot drive and simply don't have an EMT cert or let it expire. Some can help lift, others are good for maybe passing you something on the other side of the ambulance and generally taking up space.


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## JPINFV (Dec 11, 2010)

rescue1 said:


> Ride along/training is one thing, people who consistantly jump in the back without even a EMT-b is another. We have a couple in one of the places I volunteer. Some are drivers only, which is one thing, but others cannot drive and simply don't have an EMT cert or let it expire. Some can help lift, others are good for maybe passing you something on the other side of the ambulance and generally taking up space.



Occasionally having someone who only drives is understandable as its important for them to see what's going on and how the quality of driving can affect care in the back. However, someone who isn't currently certified, is not a student on a clinical, and is not a driver has no business in the back. If a person's only use is to take up space, then they can go take up space somewhere else.


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## rescue1 (Dec 11, 2010)

Oh trust me, I believe you. But if you tried telling some of the folks at the station here that, they'd probably :censored::censored::censored::censored: a brick. They subscribe to the more is better philosophy when it comes to getting on the ambulance.
So I guess my most useless piece of equipment is more then two providers (/pretend providers) in the back of the ambulance on anything but an arrest.


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## TransportJockey (Dec 11, 2010)

rescue1 said:


> Oh trust me, I believe you. But if you tried telling some of the folks at the station here that, they'd probably :censored::censored::censored::censored: a brick. They subscribe to the more is better philosophy when it comes to getting on the ambulance.
> So I guess my most useless piece of equipment is more then two providers (/pretend providers) in the back of the ambulance on anything but an arrest.



One of the vollie agencies that we do ALS intercept for has that mentality. We tend to  call their rigs clown cars. And I'm not above kicking some of them out to ride in my empty bus if there are too many for my liking in the back of their bus.


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## Phlipper (Dec 12, 2010)

rescue1 said:


> Ride along/training is one thing, people who consistantly jump in the back without even a EMT-b is another. We have a couple in one of the places I volunteer. Some are drivers only, which is one thing, but others cannot drive and simply don't have an EMT cert or let it expire. Some can help lift, others are good for maybe passing you something on the other side of the ambulance and *generally taking up space*.



We have a couple that fit that definition.  The rest are squared away and are here to learn and to give back.  I shouldn't have painted with that BIG brush I carry around.  Just don't like managing stretchers and playing truck driver while everyone else is in the back learning.  I'll get over it, though.  

Most of the volley services around my AO, which are few and far between nowadays, use non-certs.  They are hard up for folks anyway and will take whatever they can get (I'm still shaking my head at how hard it was to find a volley slot right after I cert'd).  Luckily, most of them are working fire already or are in an EMT-B class, and they are motivated team players.  Some ... well, now we're back to taking up space and getting in the way.  Not many, thank God.


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