Search results

Yeah, you'll have the Californians freezing to death. ;)

Oh, and to answer the question, it didn't take too long. I was in the right place at the right time. And no, I don't work for AMR. :-)

I see you're in San Jose. Go down to the County EMS Agency on Bascom (attached to VMC) and give them some cash. Get your county certification. Then go get yet another Live Scan, go to DMV, give them more cash, and get your California Ambulance Drivers License. THEN you can apply with...

Oh yeah, and read everything Ridryder911 says twice. He isn't jumping on anyone. Well, usually he's not, but that all depends on whether or not he's taken the candy dish of meds for the day. :D ok, just kidding. Keep in mind that this text-based medium that we communicate with lacks...

That's mostly the experience that I had with RockMed.. they were a mix of 'stagedoor johnnys' and 'ricky rescues' - and failed at both.

We have some really nice map books that are updated yearly, made by Thomas Guide. Easy to use, and the dispatchers will give map grids with the call information. a couple employees use their own GPS units, but I've noticed that they tend to rely on them a little too much. If it's just a basic...

For a 911 provider, it's probably in the contract somewhere. I think that I read AMR has to rotate rigs out of 911 service here when they hit 100,000 miles, but I could be wrong. We have some rigs that have 270,000 miles on them. It just depends on how maintenance is performed.

I carry my laptop in the rig with me. MacBook Pro. It's also my work laptop for my day job. We know where to get free wireless internet, so we'll post in such a location and surf the web between calls. :) A couple of our hospitals offer free wifi too.

I always wear steel toed boots. It's great when something gets dropped on your feet, or your rig won't start and you want to kick the tires. :) Mine don't hurt. Got some magnum II boots with zippers on the side a year ago. Comfy!

Sometimes it's just because swing shift forgot to call anybody! :) But you're right, even at 0300, you'll occasionally find some patients that have some pretty darn funny stories to tell you. Some of my most memorable patients have been the 0100-0600 ones.

I dunno. I had a 'sweet, loving' pit bull that was in a nice upscale neighborhood simply flip out and attack me when i was 10 years old. The dog got out of the yard and bit 3 kids. I still have the scars on my neck & chin from where its teeth dug into me. Not trying to start an argument...

I believe that they require everyone to do the same training so The People In Charge know that all of the CERT folks in their area were trained the same way, and to the same standards. Honestly, I can see their point. It may seem silly, but it has its reasons. :)

In our county, they *are* the 911 dispatchers. Err, the dispatchers are county employees, and are simply dispatching the AMR rigs (and occasionally, us)

Don't forget that everyone in EMS must possess an uncanny ability to shovel down peculiar looking piles of junk food in record time. :D

It depends.. There's an R&B/Soul concert that my other service does on-site EMS for and we actually stay pretty busy. 4 of us on staff. We've had: * bee stings * drunks * diabetic issues * seizures * burns * ankle eating potholes * heat related issues * anaphylactic reactions *...

New system! if you act up, I plant my foot in your ***. Problem solved! :P

We hired him to be a comedian, not a proofreader! ;-)

me! I'm a long haired white guy. It's never been a problem for me. And like others have said, women (at least here) are *never* asked to alter their hair in any way. It hasn't been a problem for me, and I've seen the occasional AMR employee (note: i don't work for AMR) with longer hair than...

We've been told that if we see something happen, to go ahead and stop as long as our patient is stable. But nobody leaves the current patient. We're to hop on the radio and contact county communications and at the very least relay some information to them so they can dispatch another rig.