Recent content by VentMonkey

I fully expected you to be chief by now.

100%. My (1st) back injury was not on the job, but because of it.

Fair enough, but you have to admit, intentional or not, there is a bit of connotative baiting in the air with the OP.

No. I can instruct just about any layperson to press 1.5-2” in depth while humming “Staying Alive” or similar to a 100-120 beat/ minute cadence. And I am not, nor have I ever been a CPR instructor. I would argue, that this is the easy part. Your thread is chocked full of seasoned providers...

Elmer’s or Gorilla?

Have swept numerous objects (mostly foods) out of our four kids mouths over the years then smacked them on the backs. Ended buying the Missus a LifeVac for when I’m not home, but yes, if it’s serious enough we’d call 911. Minor burn care is another one in our household. Plus three on the soft...

Good intel. I was told different by an educator. I’ll do that next cycle.

Whoa, this got super deep, super quick. Again, I don’t “hate” NR. It serves its purposes, but it does leave a lot to be desired. @Rubicon Bob to your point, yes, there is no other better organization, or one really that we have, in a position to advocate for EMS in general. But that is a...

Clarifying: NR helped me lop off the paramedic part of my degree pathway. The degree itself is helping with the rest. The organization itself, IMO after being “nationally certified” for this long leaves much to be desired in the way of a professional organization. I do believe it can and...

By honoring the most amount of college credits for my NR. That coupled with the small amount of college transcripts I was able to transfer even after a long layoff allowed me to cut my program in half. Otherwise, I may have gone with a program closer to my home state that had a wider range of...

And, they would mandate a 2-year degree program for “entry-level” paramedics, and a 4-year degree for advanced providers (flight/ crit. care/ community/ administrative paramedics). Yes, i know…a broken record. That said, I’ve kept my NREMTP for nearly 20 years. It helped, a lot, with choosing...

@MMiz I think this what is often meant by being more of a practitioner than simply a technician.

Surprised @Jim37F didn’t beat me to this. Still the most admirable generation in our Country. Resilience and endurance were not optional.

Very good advice.

Perhaps a bit off topic, but i do think more and more paramedicine is largely an individual sport in the sense that the type of provider is less likely a reflection of their service, but instead of their own ethics and beliefs. These providers are truly outliers in the workforce, like any job...