# You might work for public EMS if......



## spnjsquad (Jun 23, 2014)

Hey guys, just saw the "You might work for a private if......" thread and I had a few good laughs. I thought that we should start one for public township EMS too! I'll try to start off with some...

A lot of your calls go to mutual aid because the other guy assigned to the shift "slept through the tones".

Your captian treats you (s**tty) like you're getting paid.

You get a lot of letters saying "I thought your care was free!", they obviously don't know who paramedics are.

When something is broken, super glue, duct tape or fundraising is the way to fix it.

I can't wait to hear what you guys come up with!


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## johnrsemt (Jun 24, 2014)

You get more BS calls than real calls.

I can't reach my remote control,  can you give it to me?

I am lonely come talk to me.

My back hurts cause I got hit by a car:  A car that drove through my back door, hit me while I was sitting on the couch and drove out the front door.  (he ran out of pain meds and wanted to go to the hospital for more).

I am having chest pain:  He drinks, and his pancreatitis acts up; causing upper abd pain, which mimics chest pain.   200 calls to 911 in the first 6 months of 1 year.

I can't breathe, fairly legitimate: (sort of) He had been diagnosed with pneumonia at 0400 that morning, released from the ED at 0600; called us at 0700 since he wasn't better yet.  He hadn't even gotten his script filled:  "I was at the hospital, I wasn't better yet".


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## 46Young (Jun 24, 2014)

You might work in public EMS if you're complaining to your partner about running the BS nursing home call (G-tube replacement, abnormal labs, falls, etc.), instead of the privates, wondering why the NH didn't call them instead. These are the same calls you were probably happy to run as a private, since you were doing "911," bringing a patient to the ER instead of taking someone out, as usual.


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## 46Young (Jun 24, 2014)

You might work in public EMS if you try to come up with creative ways to get out of documenting lengthy refusals. For example, with a drunk, if they don't want to go to the hospital, we would tell them that if they simply walk away from us, we couldn't follow them. Documentation is now "Pt refused all tx/txp, refused to provide any information or demographics, and left the scene by foot. With the police call where the perp is scratched up, you clean them up and give the disposition of "no EMS needed," PD matter only.


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## Eliptic (Jun 24, 2014)

When you show up for your one day a week training and it
Is an hour of talking about how we should train
Followed by another hour of planning a Christmas fundraiser
When it's only April...

2 volunteers show up at the drop of the tones..... And no one else

The only runs for the month are from the same guy who just can't 
Mow his lawn without good ol jack and ending up in a tree, pond, or ditch 
Swearing to God the Charlie are in the treeline. Now that's a pd matter
Because they don't pay me enough to get my 125lb but kicked every other 
Week lol


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## spnjsquad (Jun 24, 2014)

Eliptic said:


> When you show up for your one day a week training and it
> Is an hour of talking about how we should train
> Followed by another hour of planning a Christmas fundraiser
> When it's only April...



This right here is so true haha.


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## OnceAnEMT (Jun 24, 2014)

You might work in public EMS if you argue the max capacity of your ambulance is 8 patients. (Welcome to Austin)

You might work in public EMS if your en-route radio report included the sound of the ED's doors opening.

You might work in public EMS if your scene is only unsafe while PD is there.


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## NomadicMedic (Jun 28, 2014)

How about "you might work for a county-based third service if…"

All of your continuing education and merit badge classes are paid for by the county.

You regularly receive cost-of-living increases and merit raises. 

The equipment is kept in good repair, and if the truck breaks you have a reserve unit to immediately step into.

Your department likes to spend money on silly things like quality improvement, education and research.

You miss that whole "posting on street corners thing" and instead have to spend your entire shift in a station, when you're not running calls.

The department actually pays for your uniform and has the audacity to buy you a new pair of boots when you ask for them.

They expect you to keep your education current and be able to test for promotional opportunities.

They actually pay more if you have a degree!


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## Medic Tim (Jun 28, 2014)

DEmedic said:


> How about "you might work for a county-based third service if…"
> 
> All of your continuing education and merit badge classes are paid for by the county.
> 
> ...




I will add 1 thing

A functioning AC is a requirement for your truck to be in service.


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## Chewy20 (Jun 28, 2014)

HA


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## exodus (Jun 29, 2014)

DEmedic said:


> How about "you might work for a county-based third service if…"
> 
> All of your continuing education and merit badge classes are paid for by the county.
> 
> ...



So basically, AMR Desert?


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## DesertMedic66 (Jun 29, 2014)

exodus said:


> So basically, AMR Desert?



That's pretty much what I thought also haha


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## WolfmanHarris (Jun 29, 2014)

If your fleet has no trucks with more than 200 000km and no truck more than four years old. 

Your equipment is new and top of the line. Includes power cots and power loads on all trucks. 

You have sufficient capacity for back-up when needed and for large calls including response cars and support units. 

You deploy out of stations. Granted the deployment plan means a lot of moving around but always to another station. 

You have a career path into supervision, management, special operations, community Paramedicine or education. 

Training to go ALS is paid and done entirely on paid time. 

Comfortable wage, no built in OT, full benefits, defined benefit pension plan. 

EMS is almost entirely public in Ontario and a good career. Similar issues as EMS everywhere else with BS calls and increasing workload but still a good career.


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## Medic Tim (Jun 29, 2014)

WolfmanHarris said:


> If your fleet has no trucks with more than 200 000km and no truck more than four years old.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




It's too bad ON is so restrictive on your scope and skills.... Considering you guys have some of the highest educational standards.

But I agree with most all else. The 3rd service or provincial service is much better than anything else I have seen .


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## 46Young (Jun 29, 2014)

You might work in public EMS if hospital based EMS gets paid more than you by the hour, but your pension and benefits more than make up for the difference.

You might work in public EMS if you've sat down three times to eat dinner, and still haven't taken a bite, or if you're eating breakfast at 1300 hrs.

You might work in public EMS if you've bought a pair of kevlar gloves because you're tired of bums pulling a knife on you when you wake them up.

You might work in public EMS if your 24/48 schedule resembles a 48/24 because of frequent mandatory holdovers, because of lack of staffing, because of people quitting because of burnout, because of the 24/48 schedule resembling a 48/24 because of frequent holdovers, etc. etc.

You might work in public EMS if you think a base salary of $40k/yr on a 56 hour schedule, with a 9% pension contribution, is a good deal ($12/hr when you work it out).


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