Recent content by J B

You should make sure that you are technically a MA resident in the eyes of the school. Otherwise NECC probably doesn't make sense. Just looking at account activity, I paid them $13,100 over the course of the 2 years I was there. That number includes 2 years of health insurance which I bought...

I work in MA. I went to NECC recently and have met a good number of people who went to Pro. NECC was having some major issues when I went there, and only a handful of people from my class actually became paramedics. They ended up basically gutting the department and starting over with new...

Another cool thing to think about is why can't sodium fit through potassium channels? Both have a +1 charge, and the sodium ion is smaller. It has to do with arrangement of atoms/molecules on the outside of the channel, and also the fact that ions are hydrated in the aqueous environment of the...

I think the fact that the patient is altered makes this a bit less straightforward. He obviously has head trauma, and you have no way of knowing what's the alcohol talking and what's a concussion or something. In this situation I call for ALS mostly as a formality to CYA. 90% of the time...

Trying to convince a violent geri psych to come to the hospital with us. She's not having any of it. Partner: "You have two options, and both of them involve going to the hospital: either you can hop on the stretcher and come politely, or we can tie you to the stretcher." Patient: "Hah...

I get the feeling that this problem is higher up than the OP. Probably his partner and/or FTOs told him "this is how we do things", and the cops are doing it and they're supposed to know the laws... Easy to not question something if everyone is doing it. Amazing that they haven't had the pants...

So.....?

Flash cards for everything. Keep reviewing the old ones in addition to the new ones. Go through all of them once per day, every single day, and you'll be golden. Try to learn what different types of drugs do as well. Beta blockers all pretty much do similar things. If you know that...

Jeez wow, I've never even heard of this. I'm in the northeast and probably 2/3's of EMTs I know smoke.

Hello SDN guy!

I started medic school before I got my first EMT-b job. Worked throughout school, and I expect to do just fine. I think the knowledge you gain during medic school helps you take more away from your experience as a basic. I do think it's fairly important to get SOME experience at some point...

Holy ****, there is no way this is legal. You can't force someone to sign something - the fact that it's a legal document makes it even worse that you're trying to force them to sign it. "It can be considered an offense to the police"? F*** you and f*** the police - I want to talk to a...

Epi has no impact in a VF/VT arrest. We just give it so we can bill for more things, and so it looks like we're doing something to make pt families feel better. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23196774 Did PD have an AED hooked up? If not, it seems to me that your partner botched this...

Doh.

+1. We have to wear shoes/boots that can be shined, though. I've had a lot of trouble finding a shoe that can take a shine yet has a decently aggressive tread on the bottom for snow/ice.