Starting Ride Alongs soon...Pretty Nervous

[hurt88]

So we just finished up all of our trauma sections in my EMT class and our instructors have cleared us to get our Ride Alongs scheduled. I gotta say that I'm pretty nervous just thinking about getting my first taste of everything I've been learning about but i'm also very pumped at the same time to get going and experience all that I can before I actually get on the job real life.

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips before I begin? What should I expect? Should I be expected to help out during calls or just mainly observe and take it all in etc..etc..

I do know our instructors have said that some will just allow observation while other may let you take vitals or some other very basic things but I'm guessing it just depends on the company your with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zombiemedic]

Sounds like a basic internship? Depends on the preceptor but you'll probably end up taking vitals and maybe some assessments. Be ready for some minor trauma - cleaning wounds, splinting, etc

 

[hurt88]

Sounds like a basic internship? Depends on the preceptor but you'll probably end up taking vitals and maybe some assessments. Be ready for some minor trauma - cleaning wounds, splinting, etc

Ya I figured I might be allowed to atleast take vitals on stable patients but much beyond that I figured I'd be limited since I'm just a student.

 

[Shishkabob]

Being a student doesn't limit you. Of every place I know, students are allowed to practice to the full extent of their scope of their certification they are learning, with the caveat of being taught the specific thing.


If an EMT can do it on an ambulance, you'll most likely be doing it during your ride alongs.




Have fun, follow the medic and learn, jump in with the vitals without being asked, ask questions, and don't be nervous--- YOU won't kill anyone.

 

[MrBrown]

Remember, 90% of being a good Ambo is talking to people, 9% is good fundamentals of Ambulance praxis and 1% is adrenaline and suxamethonium (although hopefully not together)

Oh and if a weird lookin fellow in an orange jumpsuit with DOCTOR written on it and a Cat in the Hat hat rocks up out the sky in a red helicopter, just do what he says

 

[Bubz628]

I wish we would have gotten to do more ride-alongs. Our class only did one 12 hour clinical. But I have to admit I had fun. I was on one of the busiest units in our area. We had a total of 11 calls. I got to see a lot, and get a real taste of what I'm about to start doing for a living.

I wasn't expecting one of our calls. It was a 61 year-old male who was found in his front yard with a very decreased LOC. He was completely drunk, and it was 11 am. I could tell he had been sitting there from the night before. He was covered in flies. When me and the paramedic lifted him up onto the stretcher, his entire pair of pants was soaked in dripping diarrea. He dripped poop all over the truck, and when we set him in the wheelchair at the hospital, it was still dripping all over the floor from the legs of his pants. It took forever to somewhat get rid of the smell out of the unit.

I know that's not the worse it's gonna get. It just gave me a general idea of what I have to expect as an EMT.

 

[hurt88]

Thanks everyone...Here's another question. Are there any rules regarding recording your ride alongs? I'm not talking about once the PT is in the ambulance as I know thats not allowed do to privacy. But what about recording on my phone dispatch telling us everything and the ride to where we are called too. I think it would be great to have my first couple recorded and I'd like to through them up onto my youtube account to show family and friends what everything consists of.

 

[Trip]

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips before I begin? What should I expect? Should I be expected to help out during calls or just mainly observe and take it all in etc..etc..

The best piece of advice I can give is: wear shoes with good tread but your not afraid of getting bloody or puked on and, if your pt starts to hurl, be the first to tip them away from you. Experienced techs love to "christen" the noob. Lol.

Trip

 

[Trip]

Thanks everyone...Here's another question. Are there any rules regarding recording your ride alongs? I'm not talking about once the PT is in the ambulance as I know thats not allowed do to privacy. But what about recording on my phone dispatch telling us everything and the ride to where we are called too. I think it would be great to have my first couple recorded and I'd like to through them up onto my youtube account to show family and friends what everything consists of.

That probably wouldn't be the best idea. We sometimes have incidental HIPPA violations over the air (pagers/radio) in our dispatches but, if understand you correctly, recording your dispatch could be construed otherwise. You may, however, have fellow techs/firefighters/whatever play pt for you and you can mock a dispatch, good practice to boot. HIPPA regs get pretty gnarly and you need to CYA. The best course would be to stage it. Base it on an actual call, changing names, dates, addresses, etc, but the CC can be the same and you can show your tx. Just my $0.02.

Trip

 

[EmtTravis]

When I did my ride alongs I got to do pretty much everything I can as a basic that is now licensed. I went on calls where I just took vitals but then also had calls where I did the assessment and pt care with my preceptor there backing me. I had a blast on my ride alongs and learned a great deal. Where are you planning on doing your ride alongs?

 

[hurt88]

We only have certain areas that we can schedule our ride alongs and I believe they are in Williamson and Jackson County in Illinois.

 

[hurt88]

Just got everything scheduled out today for my ride alongs. I'm only doing one shift right now on Monday from 1pm-12am. Very nervous already but very excited. We are only required to do 10 hours of time but I'm hoping to push upwards of 30.

 

[Shishkabob]

23 hour ride along? Odd...

 

[hurt88]

23 hour ride along? Odd...

Haha my fault...Fixing that now

 

[Ewok Jerky]

dude, there is nothing to worry about. you will not be required to do anything worth worrying, in fact when on scene you will probably be expected to stay quiet and out of the way. you might be able to get vitals on a stable pt, or do compressions on a code but those would be the only two things.

show up early, introduce yourself and find your crew, don't wait for them to find you. bring your text book. ask them what they expect from you on scene and during transport, and at the ED. ask questions but not during a call. take notes if you need to but ask questions after not during. also feel free to ask them questions about state certs, national registry, job apps and things of that nature. i ended up getting hired at the company i did my ride alongs with and the crew told me what to expect during the hiring process.

but really, you dont need to be nervous i just hope you get to see some s***. ive only had two riders, one was a BLS car and the other we sat at a post for 10 hours.

 

[Handsome Robb]

dude, there is nothing to worry about. you will not be required to do anything worth worrying, in fact when on scene you will probably be expected to stay quiet and out of the way. you might be able to get vitals on a stable pt, or do compressions on a code but those would be the only two things.

Sounds like you had some shotty preceptors. On my rides for my B and on all the ones I have done for my I, I got thrown right into it. Doing assessments, vitals, O2, breath sounds, splinting, played with the 4-lead monitor, IVs, dropped a king airway, bagged a pt. There was one point on an MVC with multiple victims recently where I was doing an assessment, looked up and neither one of my preceptors were near me, just a FF who kinda smiled and told me to keep doing what I was doing, as they were both off treating other pts. I basically was 'the' EMT on the rig and the actual EMT just shadowed me and helped me when I got stuck.

Rides are what you make of them, if you show up fired up and willing to learn more often than not the preceptor is going to be willing to help and teach you, provided you are competent and they are comfortable with you and your knowledge and skills.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Sounds like you had some shotty preceptors.

Rides are what you make of them, if you show up fired up and willing to learn more often than not the preceptor is going to be willing to help and teach you, provided you are competent and they are comfortable with you and your knowledge and skills.

maybe. now that I work for that company I've been told its a liability issue. maybe there are differences between states or because this is a private company.

I totally agree with your last comment though. although they didnt let me actually provide pt care, I learned a lot from the crew they quized me more than my instructor did.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

...oh yeah we also didnt run any codes, traumas, or MCIs.

 

[feldy]

The best piece of advice I can give is: wear shoes with good tread but your not afraid of getting bloody or puked on and, if your pt starts to hurl, be the first to tip them away from you. Experienced techs love to "christen" the noob. Lol.

Trip

Haha I turned a pt away from me as they were about to puke on my first ride...pt puked all over the medic instead...gotta be quick! Medic wasnt too upset.

 

[CAOX3]

Its going to be dependent on the system and what they allow. You want the true feel you won't get that from the sidelines, my riders do everything, cpr, defib, breathing treatments what ever. You re not there to carry the bags, I will allow you to do everything your comfortable with including giving the report at the hospital, will watch you like a hawk, but will allow you the freedom with supervision.

Expect constructive criticism, we are here to help you. The only rule I have is if I tell you to stop, get down, wait or move, you do it. I might not have time to tell you why then but I will explain it later. We have to report how your doing so we needed to s see you do it.

Your next emergency may be myself or my loved one, so your going to learn to do it right, and there is no better way to learn then jumping in and getting your hands dirty.