Search results

We've got a guy working F/T on a regular rotation that just turned 72 a few months back. He's been on the job since 1968. Started as an RN in the mid 60's but switched over to ambulance. He could have taken his full pension a long time ago, aged out of benefits and effectively makes less in take...

*groan* No, I wish. Lol

It took forever for my jurisdiction to get on board (our provincial bureaucracy has been notoriously slow to adapt in the past but it getting better). We're collars only and only for pt's that don't meet Canadian C-Spine rule, boards for extrication only and can be removed once on stretcher...

EMS break room? Snacks? We had a cubby of a write-up room with desk and chairs for report writing with some stock cabinets and not even at all the hospitals. Break room is back at the station and snacks are the little packets of arrowroot cookies and peanut butter pouches I can snag from the pt...

We have a three bag system (four counting the paediatric bag) with an O2 tank sleeve. Bag 1 is airway/respiratory Bag 2 is meds, IV, syringes, small pouch of dressing Bag 3 is trauma. The bags were custom jobs built by http://firetechmfg.com/ In the lead up to ordering they used a half dozen...

Nothing here but hiring is getting so competitive that a degree, second language or some varied experience is almost a prerequisite to hiring. Plus as more and more students enter the Paramedic program after completing a degree or in one of the concurrent programs it’s become almost the de facto...

My net per month fluctuates a bit w/ shift premiums ($0.90/hr extra for nights and weekend shifts) missed meals, shift overrun (not a lot maybe a couple hours per month). Average take home is about $4800 per month.

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary? $38.75/hr PCP $42.40/hr ACP 15% pay in lieu of benefits for PT. Provincial medical covers most, benefits cover 100% dental, pharm, chiro/massage, etc. No max on drugs or dental, generous max on everything else. (Save mental...

A chapter? I struggle to remember everything from 3 semesters of Anatomy and Physiology. The clinical relevance can be difficult to see sometimes but the idea is to develop as close to an intuitive understanding of how the body functions as possible to guide your decision making. It’s hard...

Dispatch Centers are with a few exceptions run directly by the province and cover large areas though there has been a big push to download operation to the service providers. All vehicles use the provincial FleetNet radio system (along w/ OPP) and have AVL. There are issues with seemlessness in...

Interestingly, provincial regulations governing Paramedic services in Ontario direct that the closest available Ambulance will service an emergency call regardless of municipal boundaries (Counties/Upper Tier Municipalities are response for EMS). This includes bordering areas and units passing...

One of our Rapid Response Unit guys stayed at a station so much during his shifts they started to call him the station pet.

This is not an infrequent occurrence at some of the northern services here that serve First Nations Reserves. They are often remote and extremely economically depressed with the hospitals being in the largest local urban centre. The patients don't get out part way, but they do leave the ED AMA...

I make every effort to treat the mental health condition as I would any other. I don't hesitate to ask them about their medications, symptoms, triggers etc they way I would a cardiac history or COPD. I find that is the key to a non-judgemental approach. Of course when patient's are in a major...

Well unless I've missed news from the US this is almost certainly Canada. By way of background, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) which previously accredited various non-physician education programs including Paramedic programs announced that they would no longer do so in the future. As a...

BINGO! I hadn't thought of that either in Ontario's case. Public College programs are over subscribed and competitive. For PCP school I had a Bachelors and high school marks in the 85-90% range (they look here) and didn't get in everywhere I applied. Approximately 4-500 ppl were applying when I...

Don't give us too much credit, I still work with a bunch of children. I see a huge parallel in the types of "characters" our jobs attract and the dark, twisted humour and the like. I just think our professional culture here was shaped by our own bad influences too, but from that has come this...

Funny in my service at least, the culture practically fetishizes "cool under pressure." No higher praise for an experienced medic where I work than unflappable. Experienced medics are patient with new people who get spun and dramatic, but outside that there's very little patience for drama on...

Our bags are made by FireTech Manufacturing. http://firetechmfg.com/category/medical-backpacks/ The exact bags we use aren't on their site because they're custom jobs. All of our bags are backpacks and break down to: - Circulation (red) IV/IO, all our meds - Airway (blue)...

I can see the need but only for a small number of situations on a small number of calls. Generally I have little need to talk to the medic driving on the vast majority of calls. During a high acuity, emergent transport, I try to talk to the medic driving as little as possible to limit their...