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There's not really as much of a difference as you'd think, other than availability of extra manpower and medications/treatments/imaging.

I think we have a fairly long way to go before we can consider prehospital abx in sepsis a good idea, and certainly a long way before it's "standard of care", like the JEMS article suggested. I think the jump to getting medics to rapidly and aggressively fluid resuscitate septic patients is more...

Sick, sure, but I'm asking how many patients benefit from a well funded, well educated ambulance service vs being thrown in Uncle Bob's truck or the back of a squad car and driven down to the ER, that's what I'm asking. As for fire vs EMS, while medical calls far outstrip fire calls, a building...

Perhaps it's better to ask, rather than debating the semantics of "essential", how many patients who call for an ambulance show benefit from it? In other words, is EMS important just because we can take people to the hospital safely (so that panicking relatives don't have to), or is it because...

Twelve hour shifts, 3 one week, 4 the next (with 8 hours of overtime built in). You could also work 4 10's if you wanted the daytime weekday extra truck. Overtime is plentiful, I probably only grab an extra shift once or twice a month though. I get paid enough as a basic to live comfortably...

Regardless of people's personal opinions on gays/transgendered people, harassment at work over that is really unacceptable. I realize you're new and if management won't do anything you're pretty powerless, but that's still not cool. It could also be a legal liability for the company in regards...

My experience has been similar to COMedic's, though I say this as a guy who works with women, not a woman myself. And speaking from a fire perspective, as a woman you will have to work harder, just by virtue of some of the favorite fire academy exercises (pushups, pullups, etc) being upper body...

I've found a knife is very useful, but primarily for opening boxes of supplies and forcing our crappy plastic O2 seals off the bottles. In 5 years of EMS, I have cut exactly one seatbelt with one (note that a knife is not preferred for this--use shears) and lost two others, so I don't advocate...

I've read that the danger of administering albuterol to heart failure is often overstated, though poorly studied. I'm not sure if anyone has any more information on this. Example: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738536

I hardly think that pointing out that certain interventions performed by EMS may have no clinical benefit is "anti-EMS". If anything, it's the opposite. How are we supposed to advance EMS if we can't even admit where we could be getting it wrong?

Lazy/burned out coworkers or hospital staff. People who avoid giving pain medication to keep a call BLS, nurses who groan at every patient you bring in to the ER, medics who try to take borderline patients to local hospitals in the first due so they don't have to drive 20 minutes to the trauma...

Day shift 100%. I work 7a to 7p. Beat traffic both ways, my social life isn't destroyed, and my caffeine intake remains moderate. Also day shift is way busier, which is also a big plus for me.

If they refuse treatment, they refuse treatment. Let them know the risks (not in some overhyped way, just explain that it's to keep the neck still in case of an fracture), have them sign a refusal (at least our refusal form has a box to check if they refuse a specific procedure) and continue...

Get the degree first. If you are super motivated, you could try Dr. Parasite's advice, but I know several people who took a break from university fully intending to return and then never did, it's very easy to get out of the groove of homework and classes. If you want to be a PA or a physician...

Yeah there are certainly exceptions. SWAT medics, riot situations, etc. I was referring more to routine, everyday use.

ER and ICU nurses tend to enjoy their jobs, in my experience. They certainly get paid more than medics. I have minimal experience with floor (med/surg) nursing, which I think is more what you're talking about. From experience, one of the EMT's at work is getting his RN while working part time...

I work in a crappy area of the county and I have never been worried about being shot or stabbed. In my experience, the medics who exclaim how dangerous the area is and how much we need vests are also the ones who try and prove how tough they are by yelling at psych or drunk patients to get them...

If you enjoy the medical side, lots of guys (and gals) where I am go on to get their RN/BSN after a few years on the truck. A few others got their PA, and a couple (including me), go for MD/DO. All feature more pay, more relocation options, and the option to still do things in EMS if you feel...

The whole shebang, drive, tech, wash the tires. We were medic/basic. I've never heard of a place hiring drivers only, unless its a critical care truck with nurses and CC medics in the back. I had about 2 years of volunteer experience as a tech and driver when I was first hired.

Where I am, leaving EMS to go to the police means getting a raise, not working two jobs, a union position, pay raises, and a pension. But if you don't like being a cop, you're not gonna be happy. I'd do some ride alongs with a local department if that's possible, and see how you feel about the job.