the 100% directionless thread

Ill watch from a distance :)!
 
Tigger said:
The probationary year though...I just don't know if I can do that.

Springs Fire is making two hiring lists this year, one for the average citizen, the other for paramedics. Their starting medic wage (after one year probation) is almost twice what I make working for a third service (with comparable benefits). It's tempting, but I am not sure I could make it the point where I could be comfortable doing things my way.
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Probation was a bit of a pain, but was worth it in my opinion for a job with stellar pay, benefits, and job security. Once it's over, you do **** your way and don't have to worry about looking over your shoulder. My brother is fighting the same battle right now though. He's a good paramedic, already a certified FF, but going through our drill school and probation right now and struggling with not having a voice.

As to providing medical care: My experience has been that, for the most part, if you express an interest and competence in the medical side, most officers will let you run the show. Its one less thing they have to do. Certainly there are officers that force the "I'm in charge, I call all the shots", but they aren't as common. Just more vocal.
 
STXmedic said:
Probation was a bit of a pain, but was worth it in my opinion for a job with stellar pay, benefits, and job security. Once it's over, you do **** your way and don't have to worry about looking over your shoulder. My brother is fighting the same battle right now though. He's a good paramedic, already a certified FF, but going through our drill school and probation right now and struggling with not having a voice.

As to providing medical care: My experience has been that, for the most part, if you express an interest and competence in the medical side, most officers will let you run the show. Its one less thing they have to do. Certainly there are officers that force the "I'm in charge, I call all the shots", but they aren't as common. Just more vocal.
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Fair enough.

The other thing holding me back is really just not wanting to work for a large organization. I've been where I'm at since only 2013 but have some management responsibility already. I write grants, work on the budget, do PIO/social media stuff, spec ambulances, and do a lot of community paramedic groundwork. This is the stuff that I hope will make an EMS career for me and keep me from being stuck on the truck for life. If I go to bigger department, it will take years to get that sort of responsibility back, if at all.
 
Remi said:
Oh no, not the dreaded OR. It is so much worse than the non-dreaded OR. :)

Seriously, I wish I could have some of you guys come spend the day with me and my partner on a busy day. We'd have you doing airway assessments, dropping tubes, stuffing LMA's, switching LMA's out for tubes, masking every patient for at least 10 minutes, using US to scan lungs and vasculature.....it'd be fun.

Edit: maybe even place a a-line or two.
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VentMonkey said:
Sounds like my idea of a good time.
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VentMonkey said:
I think @Remi better be careful what he wishes for before he gets a ragtag group of forum folk at his OR doorstep:eek:...
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DEmedic said:
Sign me up! I'd KILL for that opportunity.
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Remi, like the rest of these folks, I would jump at the chance to get some time in the OR... if only you were closer!!!
 
Akulahawk said:
Remi, like the rest of these folks, I would jump at the chance to get some time in the OR... if only you were closer!!!
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Can we meet in the middle???:cool:
 
Remi said:
Oh no, not the dreaded OR. It is so much worse than the non-dreaded OR. :)

Seriously, I wish I could have some of you guys come spend the day with me and my partner on a busy day. We'd have you doing airway assessments, dropping tubes, stuffing LMA's, switching LMA's out for tubes, masking every patient for at least 10 minutes, using US to scan lungs and vasculature.....it'd be fun.

Edit: maybe even place a a-line or two.
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That would be amazing. Unfortunately I will be going to a Level 1 academic center that uses predominantly AAs. I almost wish they would let us go to the GI lab, they always seem to be so nonchalant.
 
Remi said:
Oh no, not the dreaded OR. It is so much worse than the non-dreaded OR. :)

Seriously, I wish I could have some of you guys come spend the day with me and my partner on a busy day. We'd have you doing airway assessments, dropping tubes, stuffing LMA's, switching LMA's out for tubes, masking every patient for at least 10 minutes, using US to scan lungs and vasculature.....it'd be fun.

Edit: maybe even place a a-line or two.
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Our OR rotations (all four of them :() were the best part of medic school for me. So much resuscitation knowledge to be had too. Granted I found the OR to be a terrifying environment since I'd never spent any time in them but my program partnered with several anesthesiologists who wanted to precept paramedic students and it was great. Pretty excited to go back for my RSI class sometime in the new year.
 
VentMonkey said:
What does RSI training entail at your service?
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It is changing a bit so we will see. For whatever reason the regional medical direction community wants to greatly expand RSI availability, which I do not agree with. It used to be only for ambulance paramedics, but now they want urban, non-transport paramedics to have it which is completely unnecessary. They also used to require a year as a paramedic but that seems to be going away too, which I'm not wild about. On the other hand, I work in a pretty rural and mountainous area so it's a skillset I need to get comfortable with.

Education wise it's two days of class. One is an "airway management class" which is sort of a hybrid between a refresher and a difficult airway course. Surgical crich review is included in that as well. The other class is the actual RSI class, which is taught by one of the medical directors and is half pharmacology of the RSI drugs and half RSI patient selection. There's also some discussion about paralytic use and sedation. Then it's off to the OR for a day with one of the affiliated anaesthesiologists and a few written tests.
 
Tigger said:
Fair enough.

The other thing holding me back is really just not wanting to work for a large organization. I've been where I'm at since only 2013 but have some management responsibility already. I write grants, work on the budget, do PIO/social media stuff, spec ambulances, and do a lot of community paramedic groundwork. This is the stuff that I hope will make an EMS career for me and keep me from being stuck on the truck for life. If I go to bigger department, it will take years to get that sort of responsibility back, if at all.
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That I can certainly understand. It's frustrating having to wait years here to be able to enact any sort of significant change.
 
I'm fairly comfortable with rsi but that would be a fun class to go to.
 
VentMonkey said:
But!...did the squaddies get ROSC??...
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first one last shift (where I was on overtime) we did....about a 12 min scene time (engine was pulling in on scene maybe a min ahead of us, squaddies maybe another 1 or 2 behind us).....initially asystole of PEA to ROSC, no shocks, no advanced airway, 2 rounds of Epi and just as I rotate in for compressions and put my hands on chest I feel movement....I personally think it was possibly secondary to choking (lunchtime, collapse witnessed by bystanders but all they did was place a pillow under his head and call 911 for unconscious, 5 min downtime estimated before fire started CPR.....and I spent the whole transport suctioning out what looked like peanut butter from the airway)

Todays, my new partners first CPR call, straight asystole for the whole code....I think medics said they got in 4 rounds of Epi and a round of Bicarb? worked up for ~20-25 min before base hospital called it
 
Remi said:
Oh no, not the dreaded OR. It is so much worse than the non-dreaded OR. :)

Seriously, I wish I could have some of you guys come spend the day with me and my partner on a busy day. We'd have you doing airway assessments, dropping tubes, stuffing LMA's, switching LMA's out for tubes, masking every patient for at least 10 minutes, using US to scan lungs and vasculature.....it'd be fun.

Edit: maybe even place a a-line or two.
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So....Remi....what is your favorite beer? :D
 
I'll trump the beer and say what's your favorite whiskey!
 
@VentMonkey Chargers all the way in the AFC, even if they won't make the playoffs barring a meltdown. Melvin Gordon is a beast. Tony Romo may be the first a-back in a long time in Dallas.

I can certainly see an issue with probation, but to be honest I really wouldn't mind learning something new on the suppression side.
 
StCEMT said:
So....Remi....what is your favorite beer? :D
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Any good ale with lots of character, but not over-the-top bitterness. There are so many good ones these days, but I think too many of them try to make up for lack of character by just being as hoppy as possible. Stone Arrogant Bas-tard is probably the best example of what I think an American ale should be. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is another really good one.

FireWA1 said:
I'll trump the beer and say what's your favorite whiskey!
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If I had to pick just one....probably Jefferson Reserve or Elijah Craig. But any good bourbon, really.

:)
 
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