the 100% directionless thread

chaz90 said:
Nothing quite like the joy of a critical patient with difficult IV access. I was realllly close to doing my second conscious IO, and my first one with a completely alert patient.
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What was going on with the pt?
 
chaz90 said:
Status asthmaticus
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Breathers get me. Every time we're kicked out for a shortness of breath or difficulty breathing I always throw some ectopy. Once I get there I'm cool but those patients that can't breathe and no matter what you do it doesn't help is not a good feeling. Especially 15 minutes away from the ER without RSI as an option on someone who needed a tube 10 minutes ago.
 
Annoyed... Running numbers and with all the bills I have no idea how I am going to pay for medic school without pulling out a 10k student loan. The really crappy part is it has to be a private loan because my wife and I "make too much money." Sadly I don't think they know what the cost of living is these days.

Maybe I am being fussy and whiny and some of you are thinking "it is only 10k." But heck. I hate being in debt. I hate the fact that I "have to have" a credit card, I hate the hospital bill I have to pay, I am happy my wife only has 12k in student loans but with all these bills for living we have almost no money to save for school. And when I do go to school it will be nearly impossible to work full time or anywhere near full time while in class so there goes half our income. I make too much money my ***.

Part of me wishes I don't get in this year just so I can save more. But oh how much of me wants to go on and learn more. To become a better EMT and to continue to learn. I almost hate being a basic. Not because I think Basics are worthless or stupid. No I hate where I am because I am stuck. I have so little I can do. Yeah I can recognize a pneumothorax but I can't do anything definitive about it when it gets to that point where intervention is required. Yeah I can call a medic or "drive faster" to get them the care they need. But I have the desire to be that person to provide that care. Not for the glory. But because I see too many people who need higher level of care I am sick and tired of not being able to provide that. Yes... in the end they need a doctor. And yes I will have limitations as a medic. And maybe I will desire to go beyond that. But for now I want to become a paramedic and it is almost heart breaking that I may have to pass on my dreams. Yeah it might be only a year. But I am tired of where I am at in a "profession" that is crippling itself.

Maybe I should just get out of EMS. I think about that almost daily. Leave EMS. Become and ER tech and try to get into Nursing school again. I try to convince myself of that daily. That as an RN you know more, are able to do more. Yeah I deal with incompetent RN's all the time but at least their profession is respected. But for some reason I always have some voice in the back of my head telling me that I truly want to become a paramedic. Not for a short cut into medicine, not to become a technician (even if that is in my title) but because of the environment that I would be working in. Call me an adrenalin junkie or whatever. But I enjoy being "in the box" going to my patients to help care for them. To be one of the first steps in taking care of someone and helping to give them the best chance at getting to that skilled RN, MD, team of professionals.

Really not sure where I am going with this. I just tired, frustrated, almost depressed with the direction that I see EMS going. Maybe I want to become a paramedic to try to change the direction where were going to something better. But I see so much stupidity in this industry. Starting with the people in it. The ignorance, the apathy, sometimes at the same time! Because of those people we dumb down education, continuing education. Heck most college text books are written at the 10th grade level! But then I see hope. A start in the right direction. The Code Green Project I feel is one of the best things I have seen appear for EMS. It may be small. But I feel that it is something that will bring awareness to an area that needs light.

I have read this over just to figure out what I have been rambling on about. Probably should just click delete. I just don't know how I can be so frustrated with something I desire and yearn for.

Anyways. Good night. It has been a long day and tomorrow will be long too. Sorry for any miss spelling or what not. This really was just a vomiting of my thoughts in a not so well thought out manner.
 
FireWA1 said:
Annoyed... Running numbers and with all the bills I have no idea how I am going to pay for medic school without pulling out a 10k student loan. The really crappy part is it has to be a private loan because my wife and I "make too much money." Sadly I don't think they know what the cost of living is these days.
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Federal student loans aren't income based. If you can't get one for your program it's not because you make too much money. If the thought of borrowing bothers you that much, just put it off a year and save up to pay for it.

You aren't going to change EMS. Might as well face that right now. If you aren't going to be happy working as a paramedic the way things are now, then you probably shouldn't do it.

On the other hand, you also shouldn't go to work in the ER or go to nursing school if you don't want to do those things either. There are just as many "incompetent" paramedics as there are nurses. You'll deal with that no matter where you go to work.
 
Robb said:
Breathers get me. Every time we're kicked out for a shortness of breath or difficulty breathing I always throw some ectopy. Once I get there I'm cool but those patients that can't breathe and no matter what you do it doesn't help is not a good feeling. Especially 15 minutes away from the ER without RSI as an option on someone who needed a tube 10 minutes ago.
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Thats why I'm glad my old service had CPAP even for status asthma. At my other service in the county that didn't, it's why I was infamous for NTI. But now I get RSI starting friday :)
 
All I know is when my fafsa was processed by the school it said I am responsible for 100% of my education. And when I called to follow up they said I can't get a student loan. Oh well.

And the last two kind of tie together... I know I'm not going to change the world. Or be some prodgey in the field or even be something amazing locally. But I just want to be one less incompetent medic in the field. Not for my sake but for the patients. There will always be things I'm unhappy about. That's life. All I know is I feel stagnant where I am right now and I don't like that. Thanks for the reply to my brain vomit.
 
Robb said:
Breathers get me. Every time we're kicked out for a shortness of breath or difficulty breathing I always throw some ectopy. Once I get there I'm cool but those patients that can't breathe and no matter what you do it doesn't help is not a good feeling. Especially 15 minutes away from the ER without RSI as an option on someone who needed a tube 10 minutes ago.
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See, I even had RSI as an option but didn't bring my partner with me for the second medic required. I could have called for another medic to intercept me, and perhaps should have in retrospect.
Poor lady refused EJ access (not that I think it would have been at all easy on her anyway). I could have tried some aggressive convincing to grab a quick IO for faster vascular access, but eventually weaseled a 22G into her upper bicep. Even the ED ended up having to RSI her with that 22G as their only vascular access.




TransportJockey said:
Thats why I'm glad my old service had CPAP even for status asthma. At my other service in the county that didn't, it's why I was infamous for NTI. But now I get RSI starting friday :)
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Yep, had CPAP on her. Just one of those times it didn't help as much as I hoped it would.
 
TransportJockey said:
Thats why I'm glad my old service had CPAP even for status asthma. At my other service in the county that didn't, it's why I was infamous for NTI. But now I get RSI starting friday :)
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We have CPAP and that's definitely saved more than a handful of NTIs. We have them in our scope but I've never done a live one and honestly don't feel super confident in my ability to do it on the first pass.
 
Jim37F said:
Breaking news out of Monterey Park, CA

Fire Engine crashes into a restaurant, at least 6-7 reported injured

http://www.myfoxla.com/story/252675...-restaurant-several-people-critically-injured
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Update, more details from ABC: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9506340
Monterey Park Police said an Alhambra Fire Dept. truck collided with a Monterey Park Fire engine, sending the fire engine into a restaurant on the corner.

Multiple fire department vehicles, paramedics and police units were on scene to treat the injured and begin an investigation.
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No bueno :/
 
Oi... No good. Hope everyone is OK.
 
That's all bad. Thoughts are with the FFs, the victims and all their families.
 
Somebody didn't clear the intersection when they had a red light...
 
Silver lining of an EMS career #241:

Your roommate stumbles upon your paystub and states he will be purchasing all of the toilet paper for the remainder of the year.
 
Damn the central time zone change. Thought I had to leave by four tomorrow morning to get to work at ten am... but because as soon as you cross over the Texas state line you're in central time zone, I have to leave no later than three am
 
TransportJockey said:
Damn the central time zone change. Thought I had to leave by four tomorrow morning to get to work at ten am... but because as soon as you cross over the Texas state line you're in central time zone, I have to leave no later than three am
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Wow...that doesn't sound fun at all.

I did the math on Humboldt. I'd have to leave around 4 so maybe we can be commute buddies someday? Haha
 
Robb said:
Wow...that doesn't sound fun at all.

I did the math on Humboldt. I'd have to leave around 4 so maybe we can be commute buddies someday? Haha
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I've made the drive often enough to do it in my sleep, though, which is nice.

Lol and maybe. Sounds good to me
 
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