# Routine, but not for me



## steveshurtleff (Apr 9, 2011)

I did the first of my 3 clinical rotations yesterday, a 12-hour shift aboard an AMR ambulance (the other 2 will be ER shifts).  Hearing the siren come on was really no big deal. The rush hit when I first made contact with the patients. We had 6 or 7 calls, the last of which was a significant trauma (car vs. motorcycle).  I was w/ 2 paramedics who mostly stood back and let me handle things if they were things EMT's could do.

Power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Trauma calls rock absolutely. 

Am going to see if there any open shifts remaining, would like to do that again.


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## rescue99 (Apr 9, 2011)

steveshurtleff said:


> I did the first of my 3 clinical rotations yesterday, a 12-hour shift aboard an AMR ambulance (the other 2 will be ER shifts).  Hearing the siren come on was really no big deal. The rush hit when I first made contact with the patients. We had 6 or 7 calls, the last of which was a significant trauma (car vs. motorcycle).  I was w/ 2 paramedics who mostly stood back and let me handle things if they were things EMT's could do.
> 
> Power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Trauma calls rock absolutely.
> 
> Am going to see if there any open shifts remaining, would like to do that again.



Good job? ONLY 3 rotations? Ouch...that's rough.


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## Asimurk (Apr 9, 2011)

Adrenaline junkie.


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## katgrl2003 (Apr 9, 2011)

rescue99 said:


> Good job? ONLY 3 rotations? Ouch...that's rough.



I was only required to do a 12 hr shift on the ambo, and an 8 in the ER


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## steveshurtleff (Apr 9, 2011)

katgrl2003 said:


> I was only required to do a 12 hr shift on the ambo, and an 8 in the ER



Same here, but that's just a minimum.


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## steveshurtleff (Apr 9, 2011)

Asimurk said:


> Adrenaline junkie.



The funny part of that is that I couldn't be any less of a thrill-seeker.


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## EMTCLM (Apr 9, 2011)

steveshurtleff said:


> The funny part of that is that I couldn't be any less of a thrill-seeker.



Not for long!...


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## EMTinNEPA (Apr 10, 2011)

emtclm said:


> not for long!...



qft


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## Sasha (Apr 10, 2011)

> Hearing the siren come on was really no big deal.



Really it isn't. The novelty wears off quickly and then they're just annoying and hurt your ears.

And there is no power in EMS. If that's what you're looking for, bail now. Anyone who thinks of being an EMT/Paramedic as a powerful position is not the kind of person who should be in healthcare.


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## steveshurtleff (Apr 10, 2011)

Sasha said:


> Really it isn't. The novelty wears off quickly and then they're just annoying and hurt your ears.
> 
> And there is no power in EMS. If that's what you're looking for, bail now. Anyone who thinks of being an EMT/Paramedic as a powerful position is not the kind of person who should be in healthcare.



Got to give Leader credit, they did a great job of sound insulation.  Inside the stretcher bay, the siren was audible, but very far from loud.

As for power, I have no interest in that anyway.


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## wadford (Apr 10, 2011)

Wow, here in South Carolina, or at least in Berkeley county we only have to do ride alongs, not ER hours. I'm starting to feel jipped lol. I'd love to do a rotation in the ER.


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## jmc519 (Apr 19, 2011)

We did 5 clinicals, 12 hours each, 3 with EMS and 2 in the ER. All of my clinicals were fairly normal (we're a small town in Northern Michigan)... but we had one good snowmobile accident, and I responded with my fire department. One of the paramedics dragged me on board for extra hands... and our PT was pretty messed up. He ended up dying later that night... but for a basic student, it was a hell of a ride!


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## johnrsemt (Apr 19, 2011)

When I went through EMT-B class we HAD to do 5 12 hour shifts on the ambulances (one at each station)  and 2 12 hour shifts in the ED.  we could do as many ambulance shifts as we wanted:  I did 300 hours in 5 months:  and I was third in my class.

   Now for the same program is 2 12 hour shifts in the ED,  and 4 12 hour shifts on the ambulances.  and you can NOT do any more than that.


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## lil'red (Apr 20, 2011)

In EMT-B school we had to do 5  12-hour shifts in the ER and then we did 2 24-hour shifts and a 12-hour shift on the truck.  I like the 24s better than the 12s.


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## XxGAMBLExX (Apr 20, 2011)

Are you kidding!?!?! I had to do 64 hrs ambulance and 48 hrs ER clinicals. For Basic EMT.


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## bigbaldguy (Apr 20, 2011)

We did 12 in ER 12 in L and D and 72 hours ride time. The ER was so much fun I went back and did an extra 12, we did ours at a level one trauma center.


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## Anjel (Apr 20, 2011)

XxGAMBLExX said:


> Are you kidding!?!?! I had to do 64 hrs ambulance and 48 hrs ER clinicals. For Basic EMT.



Where the heck did you go to school? That is definitely not required for MI.


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## MassEMT-B (Apr 20, 2011)

You should see MA, 0 ride time and 0 ER time. I tried to get some ride time through my class. The owner said he would get back to me after I brought the documentation in. Never heard about it again...


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## lil'red (Apr 21, 2011)

I hated doing the ER hours.  The EMT students got stuck doing the stuff that the nurses didnt want to do like....bed pans, vitals, and cleaning the rooms after the pts we discharged. :wacko: I do not want to work for a hospital based ambulance service.


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## jmc519 (Apr 21, 2011)

A couple of the nurses I worked with in the ER clinicals seemed begrudged to be stuck with a lowly EMT student, but most of them were really cool about it. I shouldn't have, but I  sort of picked and chose who I was the most helpful to. If someone said "Hey... you want to help me splint this broken leg?" then later I'd help them clean beds and assist with PTs who were incontinent, etc. You can tell usually pretty quickly the ones that walk in front of you rolling their eyes because they're stuck with a shadow.


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## kiwizoid (Apr 21, 2011)

*Not me*

This  is something


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## harryb714 (Apr 21, 2011)

MassEMT-B said:


> You should see MA, 0 ride time and 0 ER time. I tried to get some ride time through my class. The owner said he would get back to me after I brought the documentation in. Never heard about it again...



My class required 4 hours ER and 8 hours Ambulance.  Unfortunately the ambulance ride-along waiver stated "no direct patient contact" so not much opportunity for learning other than asking lots of questions between calls.


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## MrBrown (Apr 21, 2011)

Technician ("EMT") requires maybe ~120 hours of operational exposure (or enough to get ~20 clinical journal entries which is usually ~10 shifts)

Paramedic requires 1,200 hours of integrated clinical exposure in addition to 2,400 hours of theory/lab

Intensive Care Paramedic requires an additional 700 hours as well as at least two years experience as a Paramedic


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## Gecko24 (Apr 22, 2011)

MrBrown said:


> Technician ("EMT") requires maybe ~120 hours of operational exposure (or enough to get ~20 clinical journal entries which is usually ~10 shifts)
> 
> Paramedic requires 1,200 hours of integrated clinical exposure in addition to 2,400 hours of theory/lab
> 
> Intensive Care Paramedic requires an additional 700 hours as well as at least two years experience as a Paramedic



That's about what my Paramedic training involved too, plus I had to buy lunch.  Clinical was OB, Med Surg, OR, ER, and ride time.  Christ I even had to learn to cath patients, that is urinary not cardiac.


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