the 100% directionless thread

[SandpitMedic]

Some places got hit worse than others. Shutting down schools and restaurants and business and agriculture and manufacturing in areas that didn’t is what I am referring to when I say it was an over reaction.

I come from a very very busy system during any given flu season, tourist season, or plain old weekend. Hospitals overwhelmed, patients on insulin drips or transfusions in hallway beds, ICU holds for72+ hours, EMS level zero all day every day...

I’m not saying that COVID didn’t catch some agencies, systems, hospitals, or departments with their pants down... I’m just saying it wasn’t worth suiciding the economy and who knows what else.

As far as who was right- we will never really know and it will be awfully hard to prove either way. My fear of crying wolf holds true to me. Although, sheep may fall in line next time a gnarly flu season hits... sadly.

 

[SandpitMedic]

Also- this is coming from a guy who is actively trying to jump into the frying pan of NYC... for being such a drastic disaster it sure is hard to get a gig there.

 

[DragonClaw]

The fact that you posted this is insane. This is not admirable. This makes you a liability, and the kind of liability that hurts coworkers and patients. Some introspection would go a long way. Reply if you want, I think I am done here.

Sure. I'll reply.

The thought I'd had in mind was in between two choices of either doing my job ot not. I tongue in cheek mentioned half cocked, because based on prior conversations here, y'all have mentioned that I take things too personally like I think I'm attacked. So I decided to not assume that and act a little more casual.

In actuality I'm definitely one of the more cautious people out there. Especially after the incident with my leg.

I'm not satisfied with "Eh, I'm sure it will be fine" and hope nothing goes wrong when we can make sure it doesn't by doing small things or being prepared.

I could go on but again I'm wondering if I'm wasting my breath.

 

[VentMonkey]

I could go on but again I'm wondering if I'm wasting my breath.

Yeh. Some things are better left unsaid.

@Tigger sounds like he’s one of the people on here who’s area has suffered the worst from this, yet you felt the need to comment.

Remember a bit ago when someone suggested the word of the day be tact?

This isn’t an attack on you personally, per se, I just can’t help but wonder how many co-workers in the “hot zones” won’t end up psychologically impaired, long-term.

Count your blessings. I do.

 

[DragonClaw]

Yeh. Some things are better left unsaid.

@Tigger sounds like he’s one of the people on here who’s area has suffered the worst from this, yet you felt the need to comment.

Remember a bit ago when someone suggested the word of the day be tact?

This isn’t an attack on you personally, per se, I just can’t help but wonder how many co-workers in the “hot zones” won’t end up psychologically impaired, long-term.

Count your blessings. I do.

Suffered the worst from COVID, careless partners or me? Legitimately asking.

I feel as if it doesn't matter what I say anymore, it's wrong.

 

[Aprz]

Suffered the worst from COVID, careless partners or me? Legitimately asking.

I feel as if it doesn't matter what I say anymore, it's wrong.

You guys are all still bickering after pages and pages of this.

@DragonClaw We've all been in your shoes before. Personally, I've seen you say some stupid things on here, but it's not anything I wouldn't expect out of a new and inexperienced EMT. Most of us have been in your shoes before. Some of us are trying to warn you not to embarrass yourself or make the same mistake as we have, but I do feel like some people here are going overboard with it as well. You're fine.

 

[PotatoMedic]

I hate school. So ready to be done. Not sure how I'm going to pull everything off in 4 weeks. But it will happen. I just care to pass.

 

[VentMonkey]

Lol, bickering? @Aprz you’re the one still complaining about being a “fake paramedic”.

I’m just hoping one day people like @DragonClaw really do wake up.

I think that’s the sediment generally shared by people wanting to see the “good” in the next generations to be. Not pushing them aside in spite of what they perceive as such.

@PotatoMedic you got this.

 

[Tigger]

Most of the issues that EPCO had were due to poor hospital resource management and a lack of adequate mutual aid structure. There were many similarly populated counties that took th he same hit but didn't struggle nearly as much. It's the land of refusing to pay for any taxes, and in return having limited services.

Which is of approximately zero recourse to those of us on the trucks. I’m not sure what mutual aid has to do with it, we keep up but at significant cost to other functions. Not to mention several sets of awful weather to compound it. I’m exhausted. The department is exhausted. We have an old community that has the financial means to move about. I doubt we are done dealing with it here, even if it is a tiny microcosm of the whole situation, it is still sucky. And I know there are plenty of places much like us, feeling the same.
We are acutely aware of the obvious lackings of the local system, we get to live them every shift.

 

[VentMonkey]

Which is of approximately zero recourse to those of us on the trucks. I’m not sure what mutual aid has to do with it, we keep up but at significant cost to other functions. Not to mention several sets of awful weather to compound it. I’m exhausted. The department is exhausted. We have an old community that has the financial means to move about. I doubt we are done dealing with it here, even if it is a tiny microcosm of the whole situation, it is still sucky. And I know there are plenty of places much like us, feeling the same.
We are acutely aware of the obvious lackings of the local system, we get to live them every shift.

As I’d previously mentioned. A very smart and knowledgeable individual. Perhaps even a good prehospital provider, maybe in the past more so?

But prehospital and in-hospital face different priorities perhaps? There’s no doubt all providers are being challenged though.

I’m sure @Peak and many other in-hospital providers both on this forum and not are suffering the same level of exhaustion, brother.

Hang in there, be safe, do what you do. It is not unnoticed or in vein.

 

[Qulevrius]

I hate school. So ready to be done. Not sure how I'm going to pull everything off in 4 weeks. But it will happen. I just care to pass.

Same here. Having statistics in my last semester is like adding an insult to an injury, especially with this transition to e-studies. Don’t care for a high grade, just care to pass.

 

[Peak]

Which is of approximately zero recourse to those of us on the trucks. I’m not sure what mutual aid has to do with it, we keep up but at significant cost to other functions. Not to mention several sets of awful weather to compound it. I’m exhausted. The department is exhausted. We have an old community that has the financial means to move about. I doubt we are done dealing with it here, even if it is a tiny microcosm of the whole situation, it is still sucky. And I know there are plenty of places much like us, feeling the same.
We are acutely aware of the obvious lackings of the local system, we get to live them every shift.

Has your department reached out to any other departments to deploy an ambulance in district? Is CSFD running their ambulances? What about EACH? Is anyone staffing all of the extra ambulances in black forest, fountain, hanover, et cetera? Has AMR brought in extra staff or ambulances?

I'm sure that ya'll are running more calls, but that doesn't mean that it is a result of simply seeing more patients.

@VentMonkey I have the joy of helping to organize much of our response at a hospital and system level. FYI no hospital in EPCO is on any kind of ICU or ED capacity advisory or divert, nor have they had any signficiant amount of advisory in the past few weeks. The stress on EMS has been strictly based on EMS preparedness.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Our system is both preparing for it and at the same time not. Due to the current lower call volume the county ambulance provider has cut 4 shifts per division so a total of 12 shifts cut from the schedule. The local hospitals have been calling nurses off for low census.

At the same time the county health department/feds have set up 1 field hospital and is currently in the process of converting an old Sears building into a 125 bed field hospital.

The craziest thing to happen so far was a SNF with 88 patients (some positive for COVID along with a couple of staff members also positive) where the nursing staff stopped going to work and taking care of the patients. So all 88 patients had to be transferred by ambulances to other SNFs/Hospitals/etc.

Our date for when we are supposed to hit our “peak” keeps getting changed. It was supposed to be this week and then it was pushed to next week. The latest update is mid-may. At least a lot of our agencies are now finding and obtaining additional PPE.

 

[Aprz]

Lol, bickering? @Aprz you’re the one still complaining about being a “fake paramedic”.

Want to know something hilarious about that? I think I brought it up once this year, once two years ago, and then several times four years ago just after being called fake. I really don't bring it up all the time. It's hilarious the reaction I get every time I do bring it up. When I do bring it up, I'm just joking and trolling. Probably the same people who chant about needing thick skin to be in this field are the people who get worked up over it, haha. There's probably a dozen of you that know me in real life, have worked with me, and one of you guys even interviewed me. In the middle of the interview, they asked "Are you Aprz from EMTLife?" Pretty surreal. It's actually not hard to figure out who I am, and I believe I am a very well known paramedic in the Bay Area unfortunately. I don't care if the rest of you think I am fake.

 

[DragonClaw]

Want to know something hilarious about that? I think I brought it up once this year, once two years ago, and then several times four years ago just after being called fake. I really don't bring it up all the time. It's hilarious the reaction I get every time I do bring it up. When I do bring it up, I'm just joking and trolling. Probably the same people who chant about needing thick skin to be in this field are the people who get worked up over it, haha. There's probably a dozen of you that know me in real life, have worked with me, and one of you guys even interviewed me. In the middle of the interview, they asked "Are you Aprz from EMTLife?" Pretty surreal. It's actually not hard to figure out who I am, and I believe I am a very well known paramedic in the Bay Area unfortunately. I don't care if the rest of you think I am fake.

Fake? Why would anyone think that? (Legit asking, no sarcasm)

 

[Aprz]

Fake? Why would anyone think that? (Legot asking, no sarcasm)

We were talking about atrial tachyarrhythmias. One of the treatment is a drug called Diltiazem, which is in the paramedic national scope. It's not a common paramedic drug in California (I'm a California paramedic). I asked about giving it and it's bolus dose, and that's when people thought something was fishy with me. One other member did point out that it is not a common drug in California, but it was enough to make people think I was the next meth head Rob, I mean... medicRob, Sasha, or MrBrown (I guess never blatantly said he was a paramedic, but people felt like he was faking by allowing people to believe that, or something like that?). We had a string of people who were very vocal about science, advancing EMS, and a lot of them turned out to be fake. There used to be a lot more drama here, haha. It's honestly toned down a lot here, and I kind of feel like a lot of members who post here are more stereotypical of Fire/EMS arguing about the basics like having thick skin and boots probably because we are mostly made up of real EMTs and paramedics now, lol!

 

[DragonClaw]

but it was enough to make people think I was the next meth head Rob, I mean... medicRob, Sasha, or MrBrown (I guess never blatantly said he was a paramedic, but people felt like he was faking by allowing people to believe that, or something like that?).

What is this referencing?

We had a string of people who were very vocal about science, advancing EMS, and a lot of them turned out to be fake.

On this website or in your area?

 

[SandpitMedic]

Are you talking about HandsomeRob? I haven’t heard of him in a while...

 

[Aprz]

What is this referencing?

Those are the names of people here who turned out not to be paramedics. Two of them blatantly lied while one just never told people he wasn't a paramedic.

On this website or in your area?

All here on EMTLife.

 

[Aprz]

Are you talking about HandsomeRob? I haven’t heard of him in a while...

HandsomeRob/NVRob wasn't a fake paramedic. There is a post that talks about why he doesn't post here anymore, but I think some of us agreed it was personal and let the post die. I never met him real life, but I think he was a good paramedic. I asked him questions about getting hired at his agency when I was considering leaving California.

medicRob pretended to be a flight nurse/paramedic. He had a lot of knowledge in chemistry. I think he even had a dedicated part of EMTLife like a podcast or something if I recall right. He was discovered when someone tried to visit where he claimed he worked, such a position didn't exist, and nobody knew him. Turned out he was just an EMT and got some **** working at a music festival thing I think?