the 100% directionless thread

Seirende

Washed Up Paramedic/ EMT Dropout
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So at this point I doubt that I'll ever get back into EMS. Bipolar II is kicking my butt. :( Ended up in the hospital twice this last fall for bipolar depression... having been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder for years didn't help with the lead up to that. Now I'm back to working in grocery and just focusing on being stable. All my reading says that bipolar is something that I'll deal with for the rest of my life. Mental illness suck sometimes, ya know?
 

Carlos Danger

Forum Deputy Chief
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So at this point I doubt that I'll ever get back into EMS. Bipolar II is kicking my butt. :( Ended up in the hospital twice this last fall for bipolar depression... having been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder for years didn't help with the lead up to that. Now I'm back to working in grocery and just focusing on being stable. All my reading says that bipolar is something that I'll deal with for the rest of my life. Mental illness suck sometimes, ya know?
Very sorry to hear that. Good luck to you.
 

Carlos Danger

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I'm (almost) sympathetic to the idea of requiring retesting - the physician boards are (all?) coming around to the idea of mandatory retesting every 10 years, I believe.
My understanding was that the opposite was happening. I don't recall any details but I think there was recently a big lawsuit (or some other deal) against once of the certifying boards for physicians, based on the fact that preparing for these exams is a major and undue stress for busy working professionals, and that research has shown that passing these exams does nothing at all to prove actual clinical competence. This topic keeps getting brought up in APN circles since CRNA's just started a new credentialing system that requires examination every 8 years.

We keep being reassured that "these exams won't be that hard - nothing like your initial board certification exam" and "you'll have plenty of opportunities to pass, if you have a hard time with it". If it'll be that easy to pass, then what is the point of it at all?

The point, of course, is that someone will make quite a bit of money off of it.
 
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Qulevrius

Nationally Certified Wannabe
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**** that. I stop liking people way before that. I need my day off to decide I want to go back out.


Jokes aside, the seniority in this company is based off hrs worked. The last round of shift bids ended a week ago, I finally got a very good one. This week is brutal thought and I’m not doing it again.
 
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EpiEMS

Forum Deputy Chief
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My understanding was that the opposite was happening. I don't recall any details but I think there was recently a big lawsuit (or some other deal) against once of the certifying boards for physicians, based on the fact that preparing for these exams is a major and undue stress for busy working professionals, and that research has shown that passing these exams does nothing at all to prove actual clinical competence. This topic keeps getting brought up in APN circles since CRNA's just started a new credentialing system that requires examination every 8 years.

We keep being reassured that "these exams won't be that hard - nothing like your initial board certification exam" and "you'll have plenty of opportunities to pass, if you have a hard time with it". If it'll be that easy to pass, then what is the point of it at all?

The point, of course, is that someone will make quite a bit of money off of it.

If that's the case (purely financial), then it is certainly problematic, though it seems like part of a strategy to minimize regulatory risk. I do think there is a benefit in requiring retesting if it is actually a hurdle. ABEM seems to have some requirements along the lines of what I'd imagine would be helpful. I wasn't able to find any substantive research - any examples you found?
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Woot, last day of class of 2017, was day 100, only 52 more days of Academy to go!

And today was day 12 of EMT...our midterm is Tues (after New Years), first 24 chapters in the book (after only a week and a half, woof)
 

CALEMT

The Other Guy/ Paramaybe?
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Gurby

Forum Asst. Chief
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We made a feast. Just about to cut the prime rib and we get paged for abdominal pain very far away. Advised to stage as the party brandished a rifle at deputies last time and ended up getting tased. Party now states (directly as this county still doesn't EMD) that he has severe tearing pain that moves into his lower back. Put a helicopter up, have it land at the closest fire station. 35 minute response. 10 minutes to stage too as the deputies are even farther away. Deputies get in the house, find the patient in the fetal position and real drunk. Advise that the patient says he's been shot.

Get in the house, look at the deputies and ask if he's been shot...deputy says no way this dude got shot, he's just drunk. Pull his shirt up and shirt up and sure enough he totally took one to the gut. He looked awful but it must have been awhile as there was very minimal bleeding. Refused to answer any and all questions about what happened. So we stuffed him on a helicopter and went back to our prime rib....Merry Christmas indeed.

Classic.
 

CALEMT

The Other Guy/ Paramaybe?
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45cc chainsaw sure makes quick work on a Christmas tree.
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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Yey for another Lazy Saturday Off! Harry Potter movie marathon, Lego Ninjago movie later, dogs and home and then NFL tomorrow....yey for weekends!

I'm really hoping the Chargers can squeak into the wildcards, which means I need them to win tomorrow and the Ravens need to win. Tennessee needs to lose. Buffalo could go either way, but the Chargers hold that tiebreaker, so that's no biggie. Big thing though is beating the Raiders, and I'm hopeful there.
 

Old Tracker

Forum Asst. Chief
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What a relief, signed off to take the AEMT exam. As a ride-a-long on the ambulance clinicals patients can be few and far in between, when you are actually on shift it can be a deluge. I have a serious weight off now. Happy New Year to y'all.
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Headed down the street, local engine company going the opposite direction, lights and sirens, wait at the green light for them to pass, notice they're probably on a medical since no one is wearing turnouts as far as I can see inside, briefly wonder what the Ladder company out of that station is up to (since here the trucks are first up for non fire calls, while the engines are second up to non fire calls, the reverse of how LA is)....not even 2 min later, I'm watching a cop in my review mirror that pulled in behind me (he waited at the light when it changed as I was going thru...the cops are easy to spot here, whenever they're on duty, they're required to have a steady burning blue light on at all times while on patrol even if not responding to anything) when I spot a City&County EMS ambulance rolling up behind us also lights and sirens (though in the opposite direction that the engine was headed...and there's no hospital in the direction we're going)...just interesting to see the cop light up, and clear the intersection, then continue in front of EMS to clear the next couple intersections before I lost sight of them.

No real point to the story, just found it a bit interesting to see...makes me want to get back in the field lol (hey, March is closer than it appears!)
 
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