Ambulance Driver's License (ADL)

got my ADL handbook the other day. thanks for the tips and stories all! :D

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MedicObserver said:
for one thing, it is not "ambulance driver"!!
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yes it is. we're talking about CA, where you need a separate ADL(ambulance driver's license). not everywhere is the same, some require more or less to drive an ambulance, so it's an honest mistake on your part assuming that the laws are the same where you are from.

MedicObserver said:
i very politely (well, that's kind of stretching it) informed her that she could go back to whatever floor she came from and be a bedpan changer like she really was.
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this is just downright rude. I can't believe you weren't tossed off your ride-along right there and then. At 15, your role is to observe, learn more about the profession, and be respectful of those helping you along. This is not the time or place to get cocky. You need to approach these situations with a little humility, and realize there are people that have been doing this for longer than you have been alive; and that they can teach you a great deal if you are willing to learn.
 
Here's my experience from over here on the other side of the states. We are not required to be EMT B certified, or take a test at DMV. We sit through a video and written test from a workbook and we are CEVO II qualled providing we pass the test. A DOT Medical Examiners certificate is required. That's it. Oh, and I AM an ambulance driver. B)
 
well I figured i would throw Idaho into the Mix. you have to take a EVOC that is provided by your agency. You also have to have valid DL!

I know the agency I belong to, we have members that are just "Drivers" and if it wasnt for these drivers we couldnt respond or transport due to the small number of EMT that volunteer with my agency or members that we have in total.
 
JCampbell said:
Here's my experience from over here on the other side of the states. We are not required to be EMT B certified, or take a test at DMV. We sit through a video and written test from a workbook and we are CEVO II qualled providing we pass the test. A DOT Medical Examiners certificate is required. That's it. Oh, and I AM an ambulance driver. B)
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You do not need a DOT medical Cert!;)
 
Because I can't resist having my say...

Double-E said:
got my ADL handbook the other day. thanks for the tips and stories all! :D

inb4lock.gif
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HAHAHA saving that gif.

VentMedic said:
I also can not tell you how many times EMT(P)s have shown up to a pick up a patient and have not brought an O2 tank with them. Their response is "the pt is just on 2 L/m, he can wait hold out until we get to the truck". Yes, but the patient will have to endure the discomfort of being short of breath with an SpO2 of 80%.
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Whats with that? On a couple of my placements, I've gone to grab the Oxysoc (portable oxygen), usually for homeO2 NC COPD pt, and the medics have just said "Nah don't worry about it". It's not like its any trouble just to bring the tank, and all those pt have sat very very uncomfortably in the ED waiting for us to handover.



And on a final note, EXECUTIVE DECISION TIME: As a student paramedic and know-it-all-in-the-making, I'm making the executive decision that cabulence will officially be known as the coolest pseudonym. Bugger the rest of ya who say different.:ph34r:
 
Whoever said that people tend to fail the California DMV Ambulance test was right. I read the booklet twice, did the online test, felt great, after all, I had finished the NREMT with 70 questions, so I thought I was good.

I failed the test.

The DMV lady was surprised also. She said I could take it again right away, but maybe best to study a little? So I went home and studied that booklet for two days straight, hours and hours. I went back, and I still missed two questions.

So study hard.

Peter
 
PeterB said:
Whoever said that people tend to fail the California DMV Ambulance test was right. I read the booklet twice, did the online test, felt great, after all, I had finished the NREMT with 70 questions, so I thought I was good.

I failed the test.

The DMV lady was surprised also. She said I could take it again right away, but maybe best to study a little? So I went home and studied that booklet for two days straight, hours and hours. I went back, and I still missed two questions.

So study hard.

Peter
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Hmmm, would now be a bad time to mention I passed it first time, with 0 wrong?
 
Mountain Res-Q said:
Without my looking it up... correct me if I am wrong... but in CA you can hold an Ambulance Driver's License without holding an EMT cert for only 1 year, although I have never met a "driver only" in CA... yet...
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I have. One of our local IFT companies....
 
That is correct, and I believe volunteer service drivers aren't required to be an EMT-1.

Sapphyre said:
I have. One of our local IFT companies....
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Just checking, are you sure he wasn't a "driver only" because the company only had enough EMT-1s on the insurance to have 1 driver per ambulance instead of having 2 drivers?
 
Regarding the "green card" as coming from the DMV: I'm having trouble getting any straight information about this.

CA DMV mailed me my original white paper copy of my ambulance drivers license (indicating they accepted my medical examiners form and issued my ABL), but they did not include any green card. I only received the white paper copy of the drivers license.

I, of course, cannot get any answers from the DMV, so i'm left asking colleagues. Does the DMV still issue physical, (preferably green), proof of medical examiner certification? Thanks! :)
 
You get the green card with the original physical form. Your phyisican should fill out and sign the multipage physical and the pocket sized green card. You turn the multipage physical and keep the green card.
 
it comes with the forms they give you to fill out. hopefully you didn't turn it in with the other stuff
 
Wow, thanks so much!

I printed my med examiner's form off the internet (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/dl/dl51.pdf) that's why mine didn't have a green card. Other EMTs told me it would be mailed: guess that was bad information.

(Incidently, the DMV rejected my DL-51 the first time I sent it because my Dr. missed a check box saying I had a 'regular heart beat'. Word of advice: double-check your Dr's work to avoid delays!)
 
Luke, I printed my first one off the internet too, my doctor gave me the card. You do know that your ADL isn't valid without a valid green card, right?
 
MedicObserver said:
for one thing, it is not "ambulance driver"!! that is one of THE BIGGEST insults to a Paramedic! once when i was on a ride we got into it with this snooty CNA at the ER because she told us that she didn't need an ambulance driver (uggh, i hate that word!!) telling her how the patient was doing when she could see for herself. i very politely (well, that's kind of stretching it) informed her that she could go back to whatever floor she came from and be a bedpan changer like she really was. you can guess how many laughs that got! we had PATIENTS and TOP ER PHYSICIANS laughing at it; i guess no one like her anyway (except for maybe the bedpans; she WAS the one who dumped them) lol sometimes you just need a good laugh but PLEASE , i tell you, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE TERM "AMBULANCE DRIVER" AGAIN!! IT IS DISRESPECTFUL WHERE I COME FROM!!
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Wow that is an ignorant post. I feel for the CNA.
 
I just read this thread start to finish and it amazes me how often threads get off track in this forum and often end up in someones feeling getting hurt weather we know it or not. I wonder how many people lurk and would love to post but are afraid of the possible attacks from the "my cert is higher than your cert" folks.

Back to the thread, I hate to tell you this but half of you should probably not have a license to drive a car let alone any kind of emergency vehicle. I have been a professional truck driver for over twenty years I hold every endorsement except for the passenger bus endorsement. I have driven well over 2 million miles and except for a few minor equipment damage incidents and 1 ticket for speeding (in 1994) and 1 call in from a pissed off driver I have maintained a stellar safety record. Over the years I have driven in all forty eight states and some of Canada. I have observed drivers in every major metropolitan city from coast to coast. The most common problem I see is lack of attention followed by just piss poor driving skills and a huge lack of courtesy for those around you. I include in this fire,EMS,LE and of course many of my fellow truck drivers. Do I have any answers for those already suffering form these problems, not really but I am concearned with the new folks that are coming out on the road, my son included.

I remember taking the 8 hour EVAP course and thinking this along with some practice on the road is how a department prepares people to operate a very large and heavy vehicle on our communities streets. To say I was very concerned is an understatement. I was in the process of developing a driver training and ongoing skills management program when my wife and I had our bonus baby and I know longer had time for two departments and my tech job. I really feel this is a highly overlooked area and one that is sorely in need of attention. Remember our families and all others share these roads with our responding professionals. Just some food for thought.
 
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