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I like how you take my figure of 45 seconds (the difference between your mandated time and mine) and stretch it to "2-3 minutes." I also would still like to know what environment it is that you work where all of the trucks are pristine. I work in a tightly packed urban population center in New...

Fired? This is ridiculous. Precisely how are you dispatched? Do they just tone you and give you an address or do they send the full job to you? When I say 1-2 minutes, that's from the stated time of dispatch, which is generally from the beginning of the full message, which is the "code" (2...

I hate to bring this thread back from the grave, and I do have a great deal of respect for your obvious knowledge and experience, but sometimes I question the things you say. Obviously a 10-20 min. response time is totally unacceptable, but having just 15 seconds to call en route? Is that a...

My work has VE Ralph bags which carry: Adult & Ped. BVMs Full assortment of airways bandaging supplies (roller gauze, dry dressings (of various sizes), wet dressing, tape, cravats, etc.) Infant, Ped., Adult, Large Adult BP cuffs 2 Adult NRB, 1 NC, 1 Ped. NRB 1 O2 "D" Cylinder w/...

I presently wear Rocky 8" FirstMed boots (which are water/blood/gasoline/etc. proof). They have a front zip, if that's what you're looking for. They're kickass boots, but I ordered mine too big because I'm dumb like that. No safety toe, either, but the leather's more than tough enough that it...

I know many EMTs who have ink, myself included (getting more tomorrow, actually) and the consensus so far has been that it's no big deal, so long as all of them can be covered when wearing uniform pants and a short-sleeve shirt. Hence why all of my work is gonna be back/shoulders.

BLS is allowed to administer oral glucose, but I think it's safe to say that oral glucose is rather limited in its application. Not useless, just limited. As for the above poster's squad carrying EPIpens and being allowed to use them with some additional training, I believe they are sadly...

RidRyder To address the local ALS issue: in NJ, we theoretically have 100% ALS coverage, thanks in large part to having a hospital every 5 or 10 miles it seems, in addition to MONOC being allowed to operate medics. This by no means gives the ALS system a pass as perfect, given a few factors...

Jersey has no online med. control, just standing orders. It sucks because it hamstrings us, but I can definitely see a system like that getting terribly bogged down around here. EMTBandit There is a decent number of EMTs at my job who ride volly elsewhere, but that is by no means the...

I think we could all do with a mini bar. In fact, they should be standard issue, as soon as you get your cert test results back.

I have no idea what an MFR is, but yeah, we're pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. I wouldn't say the system needs Biblical vengeance enacted upon it, but we definitely need to stop screwing around to facilitate the FAC and update across the board.

As I mention regularly, I'm a paid EMT working in East Orange, NJ. East Orange is a hard town with a high call volume but no money, so the proverbial belts tend to be drawn tight up here. Old vehicles that are falling to pieces, old equipment, crap pay, and long hours with the stong potential...

Well, what probably happened was that the caller said, "Oh my God, someone was just hit by a car! I think they're dead!" As for media misinformation, I love the new and exciting classifications for burns they come up with. "Fifth degree burns!" Fifth? Let's see, 1st is superficial, 2nd is...

Well, we get called out for a mouth injury. Turns out it's a drunk guy from Newark who wandered over and got jumped. Abrasion to the forehead, missing a tooth, bleeding from the mouth. He's very agitated as we pull up, shouting at the cops (one monstrous officer and a sarge who seems just...

So last night was another milestone in my EMS career: first time I've ever had to get into a physical altercation with a patient. Who is now going to be up for charges of aggravated assault on EMS personnel and assaulting a police officer. Oh, and violating his probation. Way to go, skippy...

Nope, no communication difficulties at all. At least, not with the staff. But this guy was toast; by the time they called us, it was just a question of him dying in the home, in the bus, or in the ER.

After I got out of transport hell, my first call was an MVA. Just a bunch of RMAs, but a couple white dudes in East Orange, NJ, at 9 pm, in the winter? Coming from at least an hour south of there? Twitchy? Gee, I wonder what they came to the hood for. As for my first EMS call, which I did...

My vote is for Puerto Rico.

When going through the class, I found it was very beneficial to make a crib sheet of a bunch of rote memorization stuff, like average ranges for blood pressures/pulse rates/respirations, write out in full the common mnemonics (SAMPLE, OPQRST) and basically anything you find the instructors...

Wouldn't the administration of oxygen in a situation where the administering person acted in good faith in an attempt to help be protected by Good Samaritan laws or whatever local analogue may exist?