This thread is for all those applicants who are prehospital providers, from volunteer EMT to professional paramedic. The topic of how such experience plays as an EC and "exposure to medicine" in the application process has been ground well tilled in many threads; e.g. "what will make me look better, an MS or an EMT?" None of that here.

Does working "in the field" make you more cynical, more idealistic, or just make you tired? Did you decide to become an EMT after deciding on applying to med school, or did working on a rig inspire you? Any good war stories?

I have a gut hunch that, per capita, more DO applicants are sirenheads and transfer monkeys than are MD applicants. Lets represent here!

I haven't worked as a lead in the field for about six months, but I have been flying with my nurses quite a bit as of late and have been providing a supporting role in those transports.... I took the EMT class at my school (UC Davis) during undergrad with the intent of beefing up my med school application, but I ended up landing a job for a small ambulance company in the bay area... I eventually worked my way up to the position of field supervisor overseeing the operations of ten BLS ambulances and one CCT rig, along the way becoming a AHA CPR instructor and emergency medical dispatcher. With the skills I picked up with that company, I was able to score a great job with the UC Davis Life Flight Helicopter program...

Just this evening we picked a victim of an assault... multiple stab wounds to the chest... my nurses decompressed the patient's chest bilaterally after placing a tube with a big mac, after a cold offload, the patient was cracked in the resus room of our ER where he dropped a good 3 liters of blood and clots and our trauma attending relieved the patient's tamponde... within four minutes the patient was in the OR were it was discovered that one of his ventricles was lacerated... he is all patched up now and recovering...

I have seen both sides of the spectrum, from the over idealistic to the ridiculously cynical, but in the end we are all working for the same goal...

I applied to a local community college's paramedic program... there is a limited number of seats that are awarded by lottery.. a lottery i didn't win, and thus i am still just an oxygen and glucose admistering EMT... I hope to one day to work in the field as an EMT, then if the situation elevated, start providing paramedic level skills, then once i walk into the ER, continue patient care as a physician (how's that for overly optimistic?).

I also work closely with several pediatric intesivists who always seem to have all the answers, so that too has peaked my interests. Because I have worn glasses since the sixth grade, I wouldn't mind becoming an opthalmologist either. Then there is OMM... I'm glad i don't have to decide right now...

I find myself driving my personal vehicle as if I was rollin code three, but I have only set off the photo-enforced red lights with an ambulance. I can't imagine every working anything short of a twelve hour shift.

Right now I am doing my best to prepare for my March 4th TUCOM interview by collecting my thoughts on all the good times I have had so far...

That's my story...

Brian Enriquez
bmenriquez@prodigy.net

EMT Representing!

I've been an EMT for almost a year and have worked in both field and hospital settings. My first interview (COMP) is next Tuesday so I'm hoping I can share some of my wonderful war stories... I agree that there's more DO applicants that have been EMT's - simply due to the fact that they tend to have more experience and apply later in life than MD applicants.

Being an EMT has made me everything that you mentioned (especially cynical), however it has also confirmed my desire to be in medicine. I obtained my EMT cert while doing my pre-med work during my undergrad - so my decision to enter the medical field was prior to becoming an EMT.

In respect to the "non-issue" of a better applicant -- it's better to devote yourself to what you enjoy -- NEVER do anything just to make your application look better. ADCOMS can see through this. If you want to be a pre-hospital health provider -- do it for the sake of helping people -- not for adding an EC on your application.

-Michelle-

I'm an EMT as well, however, I have a different take. I became an EMT to help, but find I'm doing very little of that.

I cannot even begin to count the number of hours I have spent down at the station waiting for a call to come in. So far, in a years time, I went on ONE call!!!

Now that I'm doing premed class work, I do not have time to hang around at the station doing nothing - how do you people handle that? I really can't study at the station due to its setup. I'm thinking of just dropping it - what other options are there?

EMT for four years
EMT-Intermediate for two years
Paramedic now for eigth years

Got woken up at 3:30am the other day by the Sheriff's Department to evaluate a guy with schizophrenia who was walking around in circles on the road in the rain. Said he was trying to get to New Orleans for mardi gras. That's excitment.

emt/er tech for 5 years
paramedic for 5 years
emergency med pa for 7 years
d.o. here i come.....

After graduating with a BS in Life Science and realizing that the job market was less than ideal, I enlisted in the US Air Force and earned my EMT-B. I have had the opportunity to provide prehospital care, but in the military EMT's more often act in a nursing role... we administer meds, start IVs, and do Foleys. I cannot wait to move on to med school this fall at AZCOM. Being an EMT is cool, but I'm ready to move on to a bigger challenge.

Cyndi

So, I'm in the class right now for becoming an EMT.. and of course.. DO school is where I plan to go in the next couple of years. I can't wait to get out and actually do something.. reading the text is fine.. but I need to start doing stuff!!! Anyone have any good advice or stories in Contra Costa County.. I saw a UC Davis grad.. I go to UC DAvis as well
Christine:)

Actually I just got off my 05:15-17:15 friday, my 08:00-16:00 saturday and 05:15-17:15 today (plus I'm full time undergrad)shifts, I'm way to exhausted to get into right now. I promise I'll give my advice and insight tomorrow...

EMT little more than a year, I work for urban EMS agency. When we hit the road we usually run 1 call/hr, I worked 52hr weeks all last summer, I've seen more than 500 patients in my time with the company and oh the stories I could tell you...

more to come, sorry... *sleeps*

Volunteer EMT

One call in a year, I wish I had that luck. I have been on the box for over 2 years and I have run about 300 calls. I love being in the field, I just wish I had time to become a medic. Have fun and be safe. Remeber: A truama code is a dead code.

EMT representin'

Four year DO student, who will *hopefully* be matching at an MD Emergency Medicine residency... I've got 22 days to find out IF I matched, and 25 days to find out WHERE I matched.

Anyways, I was an EMT up in Virginia while I was in college. I think the experience is great, and besides being somewhat of a good CV fluffer, it helps you realize the continuum of acute patient care. A lot of my fellow medical students, and even most non EM residents, dont' understand WHAT the pre-hospital medical force has to go through... They only see a "new chart on the rack" when they do their EM rotation. So I think the experience gives you a better view of the environment the patient is coming from and how they got here...

Actually I still think my EMT license is still valid, although it is expiring in a few months.
Q

Two years BLS, going into my thirteenth year working the ALS fly-car.

Good job, great experience.

Need to move on before my umpteenth zillion third-floor carrydown snaps my spine in two ...

- Tae

HOOOAAHH PACtoDOC!!

hello fellow prehospital workers. Ive been a paramedic for 7 years now and an RN for 2 (had to have a BS in something and nursing would help the medic part). Will be applying for the entering class of 2004. I hope all the 24 hr shifts will help for residencies assuming I make it that far. Well im at work now and gotta go.
Good Luck To all and congrats to those accepted or already in.

My Stats:

EMT-Basic 1year
EMT-I 1year
EMT-P 5years
EMT-P CFP
AS-Paramedicine
AS-Health Science
BS-Biology

I have been actively working in EMS since 1996. For the last year and a half I have been working full time as a Flight Paramedic for a Rotor Wing service in Idaho. This fall I will be a MS 1 at LECOM.

Bottom line, hats off to all those pre-hospital providers who have done time in the streets and have choosen to go on into medicine for the right reasons. For all of you out there who simply obtained your EMT beacuse it looks good on your application will never know the experiences to be gained, or experience the other side of medicine not even seen in the ED (i.e. the full arrest at 4:00 am in the bathroom while the pt. is stuck between the toilet and the wall, or the family who does crack cocaine, momma's working the street and my baby can't breath.....deal with it!).

It's great to see all of you out there taking the next leap. When Med school is all over let's not forget our roots and always remember to respect our fellow EMS providers (a thankless position in health care).

Until August look for me in the friendly skies!

You know, I thought you folks were out there...

I've been a paramedic for 5 years, working in a hybrid role, both in a dedicated 911 truck and in the ED of a community hospital. It's a unique role; in a single shift I may be doing RSI in someone's bathroom, then wiping butts in the ED. Or, I may be performing thrombolysis in the cardiac room, and then going on a 911 call for conjunctivitis! To qoute Roy from Bladerunner: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..."

Except, you guys and girls would. And then top my story with one of your own!

To stay in EMS, let alone pursue medical school, ya gotta have the love. Many disgruntled straight-to-med.school-from-high-school docs could have been prevented if they had just done a few ridealongs. To all those who become an EMT to just buff their CV, keep your eyes open.

To all those who have found purpose and meaning in fifth-story back pain, brutal trauma, failed resuscitations, scornful nurses, illiterate coworkers, and ****ty pay, I say Keep the faith. It's great to hear your stories.

Oh the stories we could tell.

Full arrest yesterday with bystander CPR in progress. When I asked her to stop for a moment to check for a carotid, he was gasping on his own :eek: She got an "A" for effort though :)

Hey green912, something similar to that story. We got called to a nursing home a while back for full arrest, arrived and the LPN met us at the door to take us to the room and said they were doing CPR but having a hard time because he was combative(i would have been too), he was asleep and the CPR woke him up. Then 2 weeks later or so, went back to the same nursing home for a fallen pt, and walk into the dining room and 2 aides setting on a counter top said there she is (pointing at the pt) and she was actually in full arrest. Oh well sorta funny, im sure yall have come across some of these.

Good luck to all.

Two weeks ago I responded to a possible accident pin-entrapment. The weather that night as lovely 34 degrees with lots of of rain and wind. We were the second unit onscence and we discovered one f$%#ed heavy duty pick-up but no pt. This was on a very dark two lane road with big ditches on both sides(both full of running water) and woods. We started combing the woods in search of an ejected body. By this time 3 engines, 2 ladders, a squad truck, EMS 5, support 9, 7 police units and my box we searching through dense woods. After an hour and a half the victim has found. He decided to run home to avoid a D.U.I. Needless to say I was very cold and wet, since I don't have turn-out gear on the box.:mad:

Oh, it's war stories you be wantin', eh? ;)

Called to an old health clinic, where one of the kitchen workers collapsed. The clinic staff had *dragged* her by her feet to the elevator, then to the clinic. That explained the lacerations to the back of her head. :eek:

We get there, and the doc is trying to tube the woman - only, he's standing to one side of the woman's head, and inserting the *handle* of the laryngoscope blade into the mouth.

He sees us, and literally tosses the blade to me as if the thing were on fire.

We work her up, get a quick-look - asystole ...

Packaged and about to leave, when one of the nurses gives us a couple of EKGs that they did on this *cardiac* *arrest*.

First EKG - coarse v fib - in all 12 leads.

They did a second one, five mintues later - fine v fib - all 12 leads.

As we were wheeling her out, the doc tells the staff that they did a bang-up job ... :rolleyes:

- Tae

For people who have interviewed already; how well do you think you related your prehospital experince to the interviewers?

It seems like ADCOMs are more likely to understand research experience or non-medical volunteer work. My fear is that the interviewer's mental image of "ambulance drivers" is that of two guys in white smocks throwing the patient onto the gurney (after the firefighters have saved their life...) and driving fast to the hospital while the attendent shouts back from the passenger's seat "DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!"

In 2 interviews I have felt frustrated, not knowing if I was explaining too much or too little. One fellow referred to my EMT experience, and I interjeted (perhaps a bit too quickly; us ALS types are sooo defensive) "I'm a paramedic." He said he knew the difference and continued with his question.
On the other hand, during an interview with a MD/PhD student, in an effort to illustrate my responsibilties, I mentioned that I am credentialed to administer succinylcholine & etomidate as part of the RSI protocol. My interviewer's eyes got real wide for a moment. Hmm, guess I should use that example next time too!

Anybody have any thoughts on how best they have explained the unique world of EMS, any (hilarious or distressing) misunderstandings of their experience, or interviews with current MD/DOs who are former EMTs?

I look at my paramedic experience as a valuable tool in my application box, but not the cornerstone piece. I listed the experience on my application and included some lessions I've learned in my personal essay as anyone with healthcare experience would. During my interview I was asked how I deal with stressful situtations and I gave one paramedic and one non-medic situtation to answer the question. I think most adcoms are very familiar with EMT/paramedic experience, however some, like your eluded to, may not realize the total scope of medics. I value my medic experience very much and use it however I can during this crazy process, but I also want to balance it with my more academic accomplishments.

5:45 am I am leaving the hospital heading back to the station for shift change when I get punched out of an 'Injury" call. The comments stated that a man had suffered a hip injury 5 years prior and the pain had resurfaced 4 days ago. As soon as the ambulance pulls up in front of the house, a man walks out to our unit and yells "I am your patient." He climbs in the unit, gets in the jump sit and tells me he needs to get checked out. I am pretty sure he had just ran out of his pain meds. Then he starts to tell me how he called for rescue so that he would be seen faster, he stated "I hate to wait in the lobby." We pulled up at the hospital and I walked him right into the triage lobby. The look on his face was priceless.:laugh:

Hey, I didn't realize there were so many of us in here!

I'm an EMT, have been for almost 3 years now and I am currently working as an ERtech. I love every minute of it! and for fun I ridealong with the local ambulance service, yep when my friends ask me what i'm doin for fun that's what i tell them. most of my non-EMS friends find it hard understanding why i work 3-4 12 hr shifts during the week and then on my time off, i work another 12 hr shift on the rigs. i guess you just gotta be in the "family" to understand.

at first, i became an EMT to pad my applications for med/do school, but after that summer i found i really love it! in fact, i've decided if i don't get accepted, i am definitely becoming a paramedic, no doubt about that. the only reason i haven't done it yet is b/c between work and my premed classes (a full load) i don't have the time for it. but anyways, hats off to all EMS people in here, keep up the good work!
:clap: :clap: :clap:

Hey all,

I just finished my EMT-B class a few days ago. I obviously haven't had a lot of time out on the rig or in ER yet, but have had some pretty unusual things happen. My second clinical in ER, I got to do CPR for the first time...unfortunately, my pt , an elderly lady with a very long medical history, ended up dying. It's definitely different than CPR on a dummy!!

I originally signed up for the EMT class so that I could see if I liked working in the medical field...If I wasn't hooked before, I certainly am now. While I'm waiting to take my NREMT EMT-B exam, I'm trying to get in as much extra ride time as I can. You can't do too much of this!!

Congrats Radionut about finishing your EMT course. I've been an EMT for a year and currently work in an ED. I must admit that I love rig work, but I think that continued care in the hospital setting is more rewarding - but I find myself always waiting for that code 3 ring down to get the excitement you find on the streets.

During my first responder course and my EMT course, no one ever revealed the fact that when you do CPR you break ribs. The first time I did CPR I did 2 compressions then 5 or 6 ribs broke. Scared the crap out of me. Then I realized that I'm doing CPR because they're dead and not much is going to hurt them at this point. Still wish someone would have told me that before so I could have expected it...

My worst code happened when a 50 yr old male came in for SOB and a possible AAA. He was speaking in full sentences and his EKG was decent. I took him over to CT scan, where I'm guessing he dissected completely, and that's when he coded. I hated not being in the ER with drugs/docs/any resources of any kind when he coded, but I got him back quickly and ended up doing CPR on him for over 45 minutes. Crazy day at work that night...

Anyway, I wanted to give credit to all of the EMT-B's and EMT-P's for their hard work and dedication. I know it will make us all better docs!! :hardy:

Hi guys and gals,
i just stumbled into the DO forum by chance and was happy to see such EMS chatter going on.
i guess i'm a bit of a traitor, but i'm going to MD school in august and have to leave EMS behind (for awhile anyway).
EMT- 1 year
NREMT-P- 2 years
I graduated with a BS in bio in may 2000 and realized i couldn't get a job!!! since i wanted to see what medicine was like before applying to med school, i enrolled in my community college's EMT basic class. It snowballed from there...i went to work in the rural area where i had gone to college and then was enrolled in paramedic school before i knew it--i always felt stiffled by being a basic. the knowledge i gained in paramedic training i wouldn't exchange for the world!! since then, doors have opened and i've been able to train in RSI, 12-lead ECGs, get my instructor cards, etc. i feel well prepared for rotations.

as far as my interviews...i talked little about specifics (i doubt must of them would have understood anyway). they may think of me as an ambulance driver, but i relayed stories about the first time i had to tell a family their mother was dead and the time i had to tell a 10 y/o boy his mom had died. ahhh, those memories still bring a tear.

anyway, it's all about bablance and that's what EMS has taught me. those bad calls mixed with those crazy calls prepares you for real life and medicine. luckily, i got in on my first try and feel that my experience as a medic helped a good bit. but to those
of you still trying or getting ready to apply, best of luck!
hats off to all those first on the scene!

streetdoc

Take a look at the latest issue (march 2003) of JEMS. It has a five page article about going from medic to physician.

I have noticed that this thread is two pages long, and we have yet to devolve into bitter and pointless internecine scrapping.

Where are the bitter diatribes against para-gods written by the Basics? Where are the lamentations of the medics, illustrating how their perceptive diagnoses and heroic treatments have been ignored by physicians and nurses? Where is the perspective of the physicians who think that us ambulance drivers should just concentrate on getting the patient to the ED quickly? And no one has attempted to hijack the thread with some irrelevant digression. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by paramed2premed
I have noticed that this thread is two pages long, and we have yet to devolve into bitter and pointless internecine scrapping.

Where are the bitter diatribes against para-gods written by the Basics? Where are the lamentations of the medics, illustrating how their perceptive diagnoses and heroic treatments have been ignored by physicians and nurses? Where is the perspective of the physicians who think that us ambulance drivers should just concentrate on getting the patient to the ED quickly? And no one has attempted to hijack the thread with some irrelevant digression. :rolleyes:

Well, I did a lot of bellyaching mentioned above for many years.

I tried a creative outlet for my frustrations by writing about my experiences and posting on the internet. That helped, but became stale quickly.

Then, I stopped all that, and did something definitive - I applied to med school. :D

- Tae

Funny story about saving lives...

A fifty year-old gentlemen wanted to get the toilet really clean, so he mixed ammonia and sodium hypochlorite. BAM, chlorine gas. Two friends of mine went out on the call. This guy already had COPD, and attacking himself with chemical weapons did not help.

So, his mentation was going south, and it was bringing along his SaO2 as a traveling companion. During transport the paramedic realized that the guy need airway and ventilatory control, and initiated a RSI intubation.

It was touch and go, my friend told me later. They paralyze him, and he takes a look. Alll he sees is HCl-seared mucous membrane and lots of exudate; nothing looks like a glottis. Partner takes a look; nothing. Third attempt, after repositioning, is the charm, and the patient's SaO2 shoots up to the 90's. Life saved.

In the ED, my friend is walking around, letting the adrenaline burn off, when the patient's wife accosts him.

"His dentures are missing," she tells him firmly, "and if they don't turn up you're buying him new ones."

I missed the episode where that happened to Johnny and Roy. :mad:

Hey guys! Paramed pulled me over here from the MD forum. Great thread you got going here! About me...

-starting either Loyola or Rush in the late summer
-got my EMT-B in Israel two years ago while studying abroad in Jerusalem. Returned there this summer and got the equivalent of an EMT-I. Volunteered there both trips for public EMS.
-Illinois gave me reciprocity for the EMT-B from Israel this previous summer :)
-Currently working as an EMT-B for a private company in Chicago for a year

I loved working in Israel- although it was hectic and crazy at times you really learned a lot about EMS and the country and so much more... and the EMT's, medics, and paramedics (there are distinctions there) in Israel are the most amazing people.

Working for the private comp. has it's good and bad parts- but I love that it's Chicago and that I'm experiencing the city and its people.

volunteer EMT-B for 3 years

I love being an EMT. My county doesn't recognize EMT-I, and I just don't have the time (full-time job and all) to get my EMT-P, but I really do love being an EMT. I seem to get the weird calls on our Squad...on the last code I had was a 87-year old end stage cancer patient. We ended up perfusing him so well with compressions that he WOKE UP and started grabbing my partner's hands (compressions hurt. go figure.). When my partner stopped compressions, the pulse once again disappeared. Very, very, unsettling to have your supposedly-dead patient wake up!

While I've had good shifts and bad shifts, I think being an EMT has really strengthened my commitment to medicine. The county I work in is about half poor rural and half wealthy university, and it's been really interesting to see the differences in the types of calls in different areas of the county. The most frustrating thing is that I often don't know what happens to patients I bring into the ER. Sometimes the ER staff will tell me, sometimes they won't. So frustrating.

Hi.

I have been an EMT for 17 yrs - started in high school, an EMT-I for 6 yrs and an EMS-Instructor for 8 yrs (just expired). I have always worked as a volunteer.

Its great to see so many EMTs/paramedics who are taking up the challenge of medical school and I love some of the 'war stories' posted here.

When I make to transition from EMT to physician I will miss that certain something that can only be found in people's homes and on the street. Although plenty of crazy stuff happens within the hospital walls, I will miss my frequent flyer George whose duck Bobo lives in his living room and dances for us. No, Bobo is not housebroken
:eek: and yes, George has severe pulmonary issues and should not have feathered friends. There are so many people with so many stories who helped lead me to the decision to change my career and dedicate myself to becoming a physician. Our patients make us laugh, they make us cry, and they make us shake our heads in disbelief, but I really love this stuff!!

Some other stories to amuse you:

The dead guy who died standing up in his bathroom. No, he wasn't hanging, he was standing up; wedged between the toilet and the wall and was stiff (and naked) as they come.

The young, drunk Einstein who needed to urinate and was faced with a decision: should I wait till my friend finishes up in the loo or should I go out on the ice covered roof (2nd story) and take a leak there. I'll let you guess what option he chose. While laying in the snow with his pants still unzipped his biggest concern was would he be arrested. 'Unfortunately no,' said the police officer, ' I can't arrest people just for being stupid.'

Hi again,
Nobody has posted about one of the virtues of working as an emt- gaining muscle :). Little 105 pound female me now takes pride in being able to lift with the best of 'em, and that's without weight training on the side. And my dispatchers know it. Hehe. I still think stairchairs are evil though.
I just posted over in the MD thread about starting a forum dedicated to emt's and medics (I think it fits in the medical professionals column). What do you think? I also filled out the form out to those in charge of the forums suggesting it. There are enough of us and it would be a great place for us to chill, share concerns and stories.

Ok, story time for me. The days all run together so as I remember some I'll add them. I've said this one before over in MD. This is from when I just started working in the privates. A lot of our patients are able to stand up with support out of their wheelchair and pivot and be led to sit back down. Well, my partner and I get to an eye clinic to pick up a female patient who is sitting in a wheelchair with a sheet over her like a blanket. So we set to move her over and didn't look at the paperwork first (I don't do that anymore). Me, as I sometimes do, ask the patient, "can you stand up with our help?" She answers, "nope, I aint got no legs honey." Oops. I don't do that anymore. I felt like running and hiding in a corner. Worse is that we take her to dialysis regularly. I don't think she remembers it- but she does remember the crew that dropped her and reminds me of that because it's one of my friends at the company that did it.

I also like to pay attention to funny things I see around the city...
-on a church bulletin boards:
-dogs are happy because they wag their tails, not their tounges
-give the devil an inch and he'll take a yard
-G-d wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts
-on a sign in front of a cemetary: Drive carefully, we can wait!
-on a sign in front of a store: WE ACCEPT ALL CREDIT CARDS (and in teensy letters, "except american express")

the first code i ran as a paramedic was at a house with a raccoon on the couch. no joke...he watched us from his place on the couch. talk about performance anxiety!
streetdoc

heh. i went to an animal bite call where a rabid racoon had wandered into a house, bitten someone who lived there, and was in the process of destroying the place. i didn't know sounds like that could come out of a racoon...she was hell bent on attacking everything that moved. the person who was bitten, the other 2 residents of the house, my partner, the medic, and i were hiding in a bathroom waiting for animal control to get there and capture the darn thing. yes, that's right...6 people cowering in a small bathroom afraid of the attack racoon!! :laugh:

(see, i told you i get bizarre calls)

You know, you don't see a thread where all the lab monkeys are sharing war stories about eluting and titrating!

Pluckyduk8, way to take the initiative to get our own forum! I'm in!

By the way Sweet Tea, I read a story, about CPR "waking up" a patient, very similar to yours in a book. It's a great collection of anecdotes from ED physicians and nurses, but I can't find it right now! This makes me wonder how often this phenomenon occurs.

I had a code in the ED last year where the monitor clearly showed VF, but the patient was breathing and speaking, and had no palpable pulse. The next hour was the mega-code from hell, and we called it when the patient had been asystolic for awhile. BUT HE WAS STILL BREATHING! There was no doubt; the man was dead. We don't know what we saw, but it was very disturbing.

Originally posted by paramed2premed
; the man was dead. We don't know what we saw, but it was very disturbing.

From a neuroscience perspective it's not all that amazing that the nerves feeding the diaphram muscle were still spitting out action potentials causing the "breathing", it can take a while of ion gradients to even out and especially when you are injecting gallons of ACh enhancers and agonists to keep the muscles going in the first place.

Afterall, a chicken can run around with no head for minutes before finally kicking the bucket...

:p ;)

Well, mister smarty pants, ten minutes after we called it, the man got up, grabbed the doctor's head, and ate his brains.

Turned out it was a zombie!

I played that video game once, Resident Evil!
Q

bump

I just want to keep this prominent for a little while longer, as some people have been pleased to find a pre-hospital presence on SDN.

ok, how about a(personal) list of things about ems that you don't see/experience anywhere else:
I'll start:
1.intubating patients in a ditch at the side of the road in the rain
2.having people shoot at your ambulance during the LA riots
3. having pts meet you at the door with either
a. a loaded firearm
b. a screwdriver stuck in their rectum
c. a bodypart in their hands(their own)
d. the (live) rattlesnake which has just bitten them
4.starting an IV inside a car that is being cut from around you
5. seriously considering that the top of someones head looks like a punchbowl filled with koolaid( vs 357 mag at close range)
6. running a code by yourself (fortunately on pt with iv already established)

Ok, so let me put out my best story ever. That is a challenge that others will take up, I am sure!

Called for a "worker caught in a machine" at a manufacturing plant. Arrive to find a body underneath a sheet, next to a large machine. Somebody says "he's dead." I pull the sheet down, and the man's face has been ripped off, gone. There is just muscle over bone, like those melting faces in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

In a strained whisper, the patient says "I'm not dead."

This long-haired man had walked under a spinning shaft extending from the machine, and his hair had caught. He was twirled by his hair, flung around in circles attached to the shaft. When someone hit the stop button, the shaft instantly stopped, his neck snapped, and his scalp and face, down to his mandible, was torn free.

I looked at the shaft next to the patient. From it hung a scalp and face.

Two of the doctors in the hospital told me they had nightmares for a couple nights afterwards.

Ok, it's not a screwdriver in the rectum, but it's still a good story! (I have a feeling that emdpa has a few better than mine.)

hard to top that one.....
but how about this.... the dreaded "farming accident"
2 guys moving hay with a forklift(I think you know where this is going), and one accidentally pins the other to a wall through the abd with a blade of the forklift. the guy is in pain, but conscious and talking . this is back in the days of mast pants, so leg compartments applied and inflated 2 lg bore iv's wide open, dopamine at 20 mics/min, surgeon came to scene because pt could not be extricated without removing blade. blade removed, pt bled out in less than a minute from the abd aortic perforation that had been self tamponaded.....I think your story is better though

Your story freaks me out. I have had patients die on me, go from talking to dead. These were unexpected, though, and their deaths happened quite in spite, not as a proximate cause of, my interventions.

I did not have any nightmares from the faceless man because, I think, I talked with him quite a bit, and saw him as an injured person, rather than some horrible deformity. A nurse in the ED felt the same way as I did, and wasn't too traumatized.

I would wager that you had some idea of your patient's probable clinical course, and were horrified to see it play out. That element of inexorability, and knowing that any possible therapy would likely be deadly... That would mess me up. Ugh. I need more Zoloft now.

I remember a call a long time ago ...

Responded for a 'well-being' check, there was a sign on the apartment door that said 'Warning - Attack Cat". Yeah right - funny.

Fire does a forced entry, and when we get inside we can see the woman on the floor, moaning. Between us and the woman, is a cat.

My partner walks toward the woman, and the cat jumps on her and starts to rake her with its claws.

"Get the f*cking thing off me!" she keeps yelling.

So the cops start to whack her with their Mag-Lites, to try to knock the cat off of her. Only, they keep missing and hit my partner instead.

"Leave the f*cking cat alone!" she yells, after being whacked a couple times.

As soon as she moves away from the woman, the cat jumps off of her and runs into another room.

Guess the sign wasn't a joke.

- Tae

Medic here too....worked in private EMS and vol. FF dept. & ambulance service.

Paramedic 7 years
EMT for 1 before that
ECA before my EMT by a couple months(still in high school)

I bet some of you are like...."What the hell is an ECA?" Only in Texas my dear friends....one month long of training, no hospital rotations or ride-outs required...we are talking the basics...stands for Emergency Care Attendant.....but we prefer Extra Cot Attendant....:laugh:

I'm a second year DO student now....never would've thought it back then....life's funny

There's no way I can top the forklift or Raiders of the Lost Ark stories....but I have a couple that I remember trying not to laugh in front of the patient...

Call #1:
Respond to an woman complaining of abdominal pain...she's lying in her bed holding her abdomen wincing and moaning....of course the stretcher wouldn't make it around the hall corner....and the scoop wouldn't work either so my partner and I just grabbed the arms and legs and carried her down the hall.....funny part is that I noticed the parrot she had in the corner of her bedroom walking in...and it wasn't talking much, but when we started to move her and she started screaming "Oh my god..it hurts it hurts!"....parrot started repeating her...."Oh MY GOD....IT HURTS, IT HURTS....Oh MY GOD!!, (SQUAWKKKK!!!)"........poly wanna cracker?:laugh:

Call #2:
Dispatched to a woman who called 911 saying she was having a miscarriage....said the cord was coming out.....uh oh...Prolapsed Cord!!!!!.....well..it didn't have a pulse....(you probably know where I'm going with this)......yep....the tip of the old tampon that she forgot about..........that's not even the funny part......husband says "that's funny, I never noticed it...." (Thanks for sharing sir...):rolleyes:

Vince

how about a list of things you have seen pts place in their orifices?
fb's(all rectal)
1. beer bottle
2.wine bottle
3.light bulb
4. pop-up sprinkler
5. can of edge shaving gel
6. and my personal favorite.....manakin arm to the elbow( seriously)
7. screwdriver
note: # 4 and #6 same pt 1 month apart

ok, since everyone's talking about some memorable experiences here, i thought i'd give mine.

it actually happened last night. this guy comes in by ambulance for severe respiratory distress and he is actually talking to us when he arrives. well the doc goes to intubate and finds a FB in the airway, apparently the guy had an MI in the dentists chair and aspirated some gauze! well, while the doc is trying to free the FB, the guy codes. we did cpr for about 15 minutes and got him back. everythings lookin ok, till he codes again about 10 minutes later! this time we worked him for about half an hour,(i'm sore and bruised today from sitting on the gurney with my knees doing compressions) and miraculously, he came back! when i left at the end of my shift he was on a vent on his way to ICU. that is the first time i've seen someone code and then make it (so far).

well that's my little story

lytesnsyrens -

So it has been a little over a week; has the patient left the ICU yet? Is so, was it with a toe tag or going home?

Kind of a bummer, that arrest. Respiratory-etiology cardiac arrests are so hard to save. On top of an MI...

Hey everyone. Well, I'm a paramedic myself. Loved every minute of it. I used to be on this forum for a while, but i've been away for about a year and a half now. Well, I've finally started on the Pre Med reqs. All be it, i've had to move nearly 300 miles to finally get the chance to do it, but I'm not gonna stop now. Good luck to everyone else!

Hello, all. Long-time reader, first time poster, etc. etc. I wonder if I could hit y'all up for some advice?

I'm old-ish at 32 years of age, but not terribly intimidated about building up a good application. I'm on track to apply for 2006, and I intend to use my time well. Since I have no science in my BA degree, I'm thinking post-bac. Therefore, I'd like to get strong EC's before I flutter off to who-knows-where, a year from now. I may have time in my glide year, or I may be able to get early entry to med school if I do the MCAT in April 2005.

I've been volunteering in the county ER for the last few months; I'll have maybe 200 to 300 hours there by the time I'm applying to schools. I'm also arranging shadowing time in neighborhood clinics. I hope to cultivate a DO mentor who can write a letter that glows in the dark.

EMT is part of my plan as well. The idea is to get trained and certified at EMT-B level, and use that to get work and experience either in an ED or a clinic. I can use that to get into a post-bac and it'll serve me well in the app process for med school... right?

Is it a sound plan? Have any of you done something similar? I figure worst-case scenario, I love being an EMT, I go for Paramedic certification, and forget med school. Unlikely, but possible.

I am a few years older than you and basically am doing the same thing after 5 years as a medic and 10 as a p.a.
it can be done. good luck

Please insure that your HIPAA forms have been filled in triplicate and notarized before further positng.;) ;)

Originally posted by Pinky18
Watch hot babes... blah blah blah :)

Well, see, that's just my point: I've spent far too long on my computer already. It's time to get my career on track.

Thanks, emedpa. I only wish I'd been in healthcare the past 10 years, instead of wandering around in the business world, finding myself. Keep us informed how it's going, eh?

Originally posted by paramed2premed
lytesnsyrens -

So it has been a little over a week; has the patient left the ICU yet? Is so, was it with a toe tag or going home?

Kind of a bummer, that arrest. Respiratory-etiology cardiac arrests are so hard to save. On top of an MI...

sorry its taken me so long to reply, finals have been consuming me.

anyway, the guy lived for 3 days. he died right before my next shift. it was sad, i had hopes for him even though we all knew it would've been a miracle had he lived.

i forgot, after i left that night, i found out that a few hours later b4 he got to ICU his lung collapsed (probably from the cpr) and they had to do a chest tube on him. he didn't get to ICU till about 5 am after being in the ER since 10 pm.

Originally posted by Green912
Please insure that your HIPAA forms have been filled in triplicate and notarized before further positng.;) ;)

dont remind me. HIPAA ugh!

The SARS "epidemic" has brought HEPA to a new light,
The feds have put up the HIPAA fight,
and I carried a HIPPO up the stairs tonight!

Hey everyone,

I am 20 and have been an emt for 2 1/2 years. I've worked my way through nursing school as an emt-b. now i am working as a nurse, and wish i was back in the rig, i will be starting work in a surgical ICU at a large university hospital in 2 months(university of Iowa), maybe that will quench my craving for blood, guts, and codes. Anyway, I am getting my bs in nursing, then med school prereqs. but there is so much i want to do before med school ie: paramedic training, flight nurse/paramedic. I want to get back to the streets but i have been very busy (full time school and full time work) Reading these stories make me want to forget about school and jump into the closest ambulance service (hard to raise a family and pay the bills as an EMT though) Does anyone have any ideas of how to get their EMS kicks when they cant be working as one? Reading this forum has helped.

Thanks all, and don't forget your ems days when you are a doctor, remember, you where never just an ambulance driver!

I'm going to finally watch the Hipaa movie today, and take the little quiz so I can go back to riding ambulance. (Yes, I am abs. pumped with coffee, and yes, I'm sure I'll still sleep thru it) My NREMT EMT-B exam is still 30 days away, so I'm just gonna ride with the local EMS service and hopefully line up a job!!

30 Days....it's gonna be so nice to have that over so I can stop being a "greenhouse technician" (flower waterer) and be a full-time emergency med techinician. :cool:

raDiOnut

I'm an EMT-B and am in the Bay Area. Go Bears. I'm trying to find placement preferrably with an ambulance service, but will take any job where I don't have to sit on my ass and wipe them. Any of you out there have any recs on where to start?

ajnak182,

Where in the Bay Area are you looking for work???

In SF the primary ambulance provider for the 911 system is SF Fire. Other ambulance providers in SF are King American (http://kingamerican.com/) and AMR (www.amr-inc.com)

In the East Bay, AMR is the primary 911 provider, but other ambulance providers are Westmed (http://www.westmedambulance.com/) and Priority One (http://www.priorityonemedical.com/home/).

Hope this helps!

Brian Enriquez
bmenriquez@prodigy.net

Had a guy once down 59 sedatives and chased them with a 5th of whisky. We get there and he's on deaths front door. We can barely hold him up. Then a cop shows up and the guy flips out. He went from almost comatose to trying to bite me. We strap him down and got him in the back of the ambulance. The paramedic is working on him and I'm at his head ready to bag in case he crashes. He threatened to kill me, my family, the medics family, and the cop's he saw earlier...then to top things off he hocks a luggy right at my head. All of a sudden he got very calm...looks up at me and says "Daddy, I love you."....Wierd. I'm afraid to have kids if they're going to look anything like that guy.

I was holding pressure on an arterial bleed all the while the lady kept calling me a "skank white ho"
I really wanted to let go so she'd bleed enough to shut up...then I thought of how much of a mess it'd make and thought better of it.

i really dislike some people at times...
streetdoc

Hi Everybody,

I passed my EMT-B written & practical! I'm looking forward to beginning work w/ a local EMS service as soon as my MI paperwork comes back :)

raDiOnut :cool:

I wanted to do some EMT work during undergrad, but I didn't have the money to enroll into the EMT-B program. It's only offered at once placed around here, and it's a 40 minute drive.

okay.. stupid question.. but I have one... what is the medical examiner's card. I'm EMT certified, have my CPR card, but some employers want the medical examiner's card.. what is that?
Thanks,
Christine

Christine,

The medical examiner card is a a certification you get from the DMV... Go to the DMV on Fifth and Pole Line across the way from the Post Office and they will give you a form and a green card that you have to bring to your PCP... the form is basically a physical check off (vision, hearing, a UA, etc.)... just make sure you get all the boxes filled out otherwise you will have to go back to your doc to fill in the things that you might have forgotten (i found this out the hard way... i just tried to renew mine the day before yesterday)

While you are at the DMV, you might as well get your ambulance driver's cert too!

Email me if I can do anything else!

Brian Enriquez
bmenriquez@prodigy.net

Thanks brian
Now I remember what it was. I wonder if I can download if off of the computer. I am not in Davis anymore and the DMV is far from my house. I have an appointment for the amb. driver's cert. on the 10th, so I guess I should actually read the handbook huh? How are you doing by the way.. any news? Well, I'm chugging away at the MCAT one more time :) Hope you're doing great. Have any advice on how I can get hired without any experience?????? That seems to be the big problem. Thanks
christine

Originally posted by raDiOnut
Hi Everybody,

I passed my EMT-B written & practical! I'm looking forward to beginning work w/ a local EMS service as soon as my MI paperwork comes back :)


Congrats, 'nut!

-F. (hoping to join you in August)

I am sooo jobless.. how do I convince someone to hire me when I have no experience as an EMT.. I don't know how to get my foot in the door. For all of you who have been doing it for a while.. how'd you get started?????

I took a weekends-only job with the worst ambulance service on the planet. It consisted of scamming Medicare patients into trucks that were ancient and dangerous. They were eager to hire brand-new basics; the only people in the state who hadn't heard of them!

Our uniforms comprised white pants and a white smock, like the kind the old-time doctors and pharmacists wore. Ridiculous.

I LOVE EMS. I was a NREMT-Basic for two years, and NREMT- Intermediate for one year and now finally I have made it to NREMT-Paramedic. Yes I am a ParaGod.

Originally posted by PreMedAdAG
I am sooo jobless.. how do I convince someone to hire me when I have no experience as an EMT.. I don't know how to get my foot in the door. For all of you who have been doing it for a while.. how'd you get started?????

i went to the local ER and bugged the life outta them till they gave me my way. seriously. its been almost 2 years and i'm still there. my persistence payed off.

I just moved to a different state, had to retake the practical and written exams and now I'm waiting for my cert. I'm really starting to miss EMS. I got sooo happy when I was in the hospital for my practical and they had the Steris anti-bacterial handsoap. :rolleyes: I hadn't seen that stuff since my last run. Is that pathetic or what?

Hey all,

I'm a Texas Licensed Paramedic. I've been working in EMS for 3 years. I was an EMT-Basic for a year, and EMT-Intermediate for a year, and now a Licensed Paramedic for a year. My volunteer service paid for the EMT-I & LP, as long as I would continue volunteering with them. The volunteer hours also look good on applications.

I work at a park-time paid service, and a volunteer service. My medical directors for both services are DOs. The Medical Director for the volunteer service serves on several state and national osteopathic boards.

This was a good opportunity for me to both learn about osteopathic medicine, and get my foot in the door. I had them both write recommendations for me to medical schools, and I feel it greatly helped my application. I was even asked about it at my interview.

If you get into EMS I encourage you to establish a good repoire with your medical director early, in order to use them as help later down the road.

Ambulance Attendent - 2 years
EMT-B - 4 years
Lt. of Rescue - 2 years
Small 10 bed ER as overnight tech - 2 summers

All the ambulance time was in a small volunteer agency. Along with the small rural town, we serve Whiteface mountain ski center in Wilmington, NY (right near Lake Placid). Wasn't uncommon for us to be there 3 or 4 times a day during busy ski days. Busy Busy. Can't wait to become a D.O. and get into EMS direction after this experience. The stories we could all tell would be interesting I'm sure.

Dang, I forgot to post when I passed my certification.

I'm an EMT-B, as of Sept 3rd (though I successfully spanked the skills and NREMT tests in mid-August). I was recently hired in the same (Level One Trauma Center) ED where I've been volunteering since February.

After some training in November on EKGs and venipuncture, I'll be helping out on a part-time basis with the approx 100,000 patient visits a year we get. Moo hoo hah hah hah. My evil plan is coming together. Now, to work some ride-alongs in there too...

Good lord there are alot of you out there. I stopped reading the, "war stories," halfway through. Just too many. A good and funny thing. After all these years it's very easy to get cynical but I put that all behind me now and am looking forward to getting into some medical school somewhere. The process is long tough, expensive and downright retarded. I guess there has to be some process or else they would let anyone in right? I am leaving paramedic work for the younger generation. It's just not something many people can do as a career. Burnout is obscenely high, divorce rates are astronomical, alcoholism, drug use, etc.., We as former EMT's and Paramedics must not forget that this job is oftentimes neglected, paid ridiculously low wages, and lumped together with fire services as just a side job. Please forgive the cynicsm I just get frustrated at times. It's refreshing to see the enthusiasm in most voices about this profession and I share the majority of it with you. Just remember and pay respect when we walk through your E.R.

Paramedic 12 yrs
EMT 3 yrs
Age: 30
City of Pittsburgh EMS/Rescue
Medical school: we will see! Good luck Chris/Drexel

HI everyone
I am an EMT B at Brown University , as a volunteer EMT. I really enjoy it and I think University EMS is a great place to work in. The call volume is not as diverse or as high but it is definitly interesting and gives people exposure to EMS at a younger age. Here we have a program to teach EMS Basic over the summer and a ride along program for those who are nto certified to learn more about emergency medicine.
EVen better at every interview I went to the admissions committee seemed to love that I had clinical expereince. It's a great thing and I am glad to speak to so many other people who have partaken in thsi expereince and are now movign on to medical school. I myself am off to UNECOM in July.

Wassup Emts and much respect to paramedics--

I can give only my perspective....straight out of EMT class into an Emergency Room about 2 years ago. Hospitals theses days atleast in my department relegate the role of Emt to what amounts to a fairly bonehead job...patient transport, stocking, etc. with only a minimal skill set that involves basic woulnd care with some splinting.
I get frustrated with the fact that I could be learning so many skills if we didn't work in an environment where everybody protects their territory and everybody is so afraid of getting sued. This is just the way healthcare is these days I suppose.

This aside I do feel like I've gotten a pretty eye-opening introduction to working in healthcare and am certain that it is my calling. This ultimately makes it worthwhile for the aspiring EMT. However if you haven't noticed from these posts an EMT is an apprentice and a well seasoned paramedic is a master tradesman. I would point this out to anyone trying to measure up the amount of time and effort that must be spent to acquire these two different experiences.

:cool: Much respect to all the paramedics sweating it out on the streets!

My EMS experience definitely helped me getting into medical school. My undergrad grades weren't all that great, but I had a lot of experience. I was an ER Unit Clerk from the age of 16-18 then was a basic EMT for a year before becoming advanced for the past three years or so.

I currently work in three emergency departments: A 14 bed Level II, a 33 bed Level II and a 60 bed Level I. Plus I work as an ER Coordinator and was in charge of all the physician QA for a while. Needless to say, I am thankful for all the experience EMS has given me--wouldn't have made it this far without it!!




zack
AZCOM CLASS OF 2008

I've been an EMT since 94 (started when I was 16) and after undergad (in 2000) became a paramedic. I've done the gamet of volunteer and paid. Right now I'm working for a mostly transfer service and can't wait to get off the truck and back into the classroom. Interviews at NYCOM and UConn so far. I think my mailman is getting a little sick of me waiting for him at the mailbox everyday.

I just started taking certification classes this semester at a local community college, so I'm not even officially an EMT-B yet, but its already been a life changing experience. I have seen/done enough during my clinicals to decide that its time for an early midlife crisis and change careers.

I don't have any more interesting stories than what's already been posted, but how about the most annoying reason you've ever seen someone in the ER?

In one of my hospital rotations there was a teenage patient brought in by his parents, with headache and nausea all morning. The only prior history on his chart was "patient states moderate EtOH consumption prior night". A little later the nurse starts explaining how she is going to start a saline IV because the patient is probably dehydrated, and his mother says "yeah, that really helped a lot the last time we brought him in." :rolleyes: Going to the ER for a hangover? Never thought about that in college!

So, whatever happened to that forum for EMS anyway? Or has everyone gravitated to the emergency medicine one?

How about the most annoying reason for running emergent...or maybe the most funny. Mine was emergent for "bleeding from the mouth", which ended up being chapped lips, that weren't even bleeding when we got there. Our patient asked us to put tape on her lips. :laugh:

EMT for 12 years and still going.....

Have been in the work force for about 5 years and felt it was time to put my love of medicine into overdrive and get those letters after my name.....

Hey.......whose going to have Thanksgiving Dinner with their crew tonight waiting for that all important, fallen off the toilet call?

Sorry I am late with the war stories people but here are two that should entertain:

1) This happened to one of my buddies on my night off. Get called for a fallen and can't get up. Get there, the elderly gentleman is on the floor of his room of course in full arrest. And of course, there is about 2 feet of space in all directions with which to work in. Send his wife out to the living room so we can work. Call the medics, yada yada yada.

Send out one of the newbies (aka go-fers) for a reeves and he comes back running into the room 10 seconds later........the wife is in full arrest. Had to split the crew while the second ambulance and medic unit stumbles in.

2) Get called for a car accident where a car is underneath an 18 wheeler. The driver of the car is so drunk he actually drives under the truck no realizing where he is. Cops had to do a double take when they saw this one. To make a long story short.....we tried to get the guy out with the spreaders and they BENT......Finally got a wrecker to lift the trailer off the car and the cops hauled this guy..who was not hurt into the slammer.

Originally posted by mochafreak
How about the most annoying reason for running emergent...or maybe the most funny. Mine was emergent for "bleeding from the mouth", which ended up being chapped lips, that weren't even bleeding when we got there. Our patient asked us to put tape on her lips. :laugh:

No joke....

1) Woman calls says she is having a stroke. When I get there and determine that she is not have a CVA, I needed to explain her that her leg just fell asleep. Her response "this never happened to me before".

2) Another crew took this one. Woman calls for possible seizures. After talking with her, it was determined that she just had her 1st Orgasm. Husband in the other room was found jumping for joy

Not made up.....WE cannot make these things up.

ok I have read this thread for a while now and I never posted a story...

BTW I got my EMT in 94 and my medic in 97.

Anyway, I was working in Albany NY and got called out at 1am to a MVA. We get there and there was a broken light pole hanging halfway over the road (power was turned off and it was out of reach). There also was a small gremlin type car that was ON ITS BACK with its wheels still spinning a bit. After joking with the other medics/firefighters that we thought the car just needed a paint job, I went to check on the patient. He had a line S type fracture on his forearm and he looked like he had a new popeye arm due to the contraction without the bone support. Right next to him was the officer that was called to the scene to begin with. So, I start to treat the guy who REEKS of alcohol and the firefighters start to clean the scene. He turns to me and ask what is going to happen to his car. I told him that his health is more important than the car but it looks pretty totaled and they will clean it up. The next thing he does is look at the car...then me....and then the car again...and says..."you not going to bust me for the weed I have the glove compartment are you?" I smiled at him...then the cop...and I looked at him again and said "No..I'M not going to bust you at all" I laughed about that phrase for hours after that call.

argh.. someone want to take the time and tell me how to get a job as an EMT? This blows, nine months ago I was certified and can't find a job anywhere!!! Please take a few minutes to help out!

Not too sure how it works in CA but why don't you try and see what the emergency crews are in your area and call them.

Examples are rural metro and AMR of big corperate agencies.

Also, look into the type of service they offer. Otherwise you will find yourself not doing much emergency work but more of picking up mrs smith at home...taking mres smith to dialysis...and taking her home again. Its nessessary but not so much of you want emergency medical exposure.

Try volunteer fire departments/ambulance agencies also. Some FD's will let you just run med calls...no fire (but fire's fun too). You don't have to be paid to get great experience. I think it's more fun to be a volunteer than paid actually (was a paid EMT in Denver for a year...really good calls sometimes...transfers the rest of the time...fire is all 911 though).

I don't know how it is in Cali, but I just began volunteering here in queens, nyc- just doing ride-alongs cause im not certified yet. We went out with a police scanner and an EMS scanner (I think) and wait for calls to come in. The guys that I met are volunteering to get 911 experience and working doing transports for money. From what I understand, you need 911 experience to get hired at a hospital or FDNY, and to do that you can volunteer.

Hey all. Just writing to repesent FDNY EMS. I'm a recent hire and will be working with the Bravest until I begin school in August. Riding with an upstate NY volunteer squad versus riding in NYC is like comparing a little kitten to that tiger who attacked Roy (throw-back to a former thread).

FYI: according to FDNY EMS, the requirements to become an EMT are simply "At least 18 years of age, A valid NYS DOH EMT Certificate, A motor vehicle driver?s license valid in NY State, and a High School Diploma or equivalent" (not necessarily prior 911 experience) [http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/community/ems_employment.shtml]
They're hiring like crazy now so give it a shot and call to get on the list.

Prior to being selected I had only been riding volunteer for 2 years, and certified as an EMT for 1. If you're out of school, not working this year, and looking for a very um, 'educational' medical experience, I recommend looking into the job (provided you can handle the BS-- but hey, you get to wear a cool patch :D )

Be careful, some of you are bordering on becoming Wackers. You east coast folks know what I'm talking about.

Wackers? A "Wacker" is Austrailian slang for an idiotic nerd. How can east-coasters know what a you're talking about when you use down-under lingo? :eek:


by the way, we're not yet bordering on becoming idiotic nerds.:laugh:


ok maybe I am a little-bit since I actually looked up what a wacker is. time for bed

FYI- " wacker" in east coast ems slang= ricky rescue type. for instance:
has their own mast pants in their car at all times
wears trauma shears even when off duty
bought a blue light so they can go to accident scenes when off duty. they hear about these on the scanner they carry all the time.....
you get the idea

Blue light? Come on, most wackers have full-blown light bars, in addition to the 14 antennas all over their vehicles.

I think I used to work in the same company with one of the biggest wackers of them all...he had EVERYTHING in the back of his pick-up truck, including medic level equipment even though he was a basic...amusing, but very scary. Had a paramedic tat also. I think he actually used a separate plug in light on the dash of the...ambulance. :rolleyes: Don't worry...he got fired.

bump

Bump - so folks can see the potential for an EMS forum.

Of course, this thread has had such a cozy nest in pre-osteo...

Wow! I just stumbled into this thread...

I'm working on my EMT (~8 more weeks), I've been working as an EMD for about 3 months (I answer those calls that you guys make the runs on and try to help the caller until you get there)

Can't imagine all the stories out there :D

I got a call the other night, a 5 year old couldn't wake his mother up...
So, while keeping him on the phone I tone out the ambulance, first responders, and PD. We get the little guy to unlock his door, the medics go into her bedroom

and...


She opens her eyes and asks what the heck is going on. hahaha, poor kid was scared and his mom had just had a tad too much liquid refreshment... *shake head*

I bet it was odd waking up and seeing about 7 guys standing in your bedroom :D

Its nice to see so many in EMS that are taking the next step. From my experience over the last 14 years the ED docs and medcal directors with prior prehospital experience have a better appreciation of what we really do out there. I have to agree with a prior post regarding padding your app. with a Emt position. Its not right for everyone and the motivation should be a genuine want to help others My career in EMS started as a First Responder/FireFighter, Emt-B then Emt-IV. Its not all guts and glory, I have been on some hilarious calls over the years that I will never forget. I will be attending DMU in the fall and can't wait.

I was a Paramedic for 10yrs before attending LECOM. The past experience doesn't help much for the core sciences (everything I knew was covered in the 1st hour), however you'll be way ahead when it comes to clinical procedures. Good luck and keep striving higher.

Check out our new EMS forum!!!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=96

Hey, just a basic from upstate NY..It is great that EMS has its own forum..I was tired of the only threads being "HOW MUCH DOES EMS HELP ON APPLICATION" crap..

I volunteer for fun..Then again my idea of fun is a 4 car crash with major trauma

You're a sick individual who I'm sure makes your paramedic partner groan at 3:00am saying, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!"

I can just imagine a dermatologist about to entubate someone.

"Now..I just have to remeber how to do this from medical school..Think think"

And yes..I am that person who makes my paramedic partner groan..I also like to sarcasticly say "I suuuure hope we don't get a CPR soon"

Originally posted by PACtoDOC
EMS might give you an edge if your application happens to fall into the lap of someone who appreciates it. The problem is, most docs and administrators don't have a freaking clue what EMS experience means. I still have problems with getting people to understand it. I mean its stupid, when someone gets ill on an airplane, the ground control physician has the right to delegate to someone on the plane the ability to open the medical aid box. If I was the ground control doctor, I would be happy as hell to have a paramedic running the show. The last person I would want running the show would be the dermatologist.

As a 7 yr. paramedic, it occurs to me that other medics (esp. newbies) seem to think that every doctor should be a de facto emergency medicine expert. Would it be odd to think that the last person the dermatologist would want running HIS show would be a paramedic?

EMT-B 5 years
AEMT-I 1 year
ED Tech 1.5 years
BA in Biology
MD student (Year 1)

Well, I can say that working full-time in the ED definately has made me more cynical and very jaded. Basically unless you don't have a pulse/aren't breathing or have a condition that will lead to one of these two outcomes in the next few minutes, I am not impressed. Sit down and wait your turn. (This especially applies to the drug seekers that present to your triage window for the third time in a week.)

Hey everyone,

I've been an EMT for six years, although I only actively rode for the first four and a half.... loved it though!! I think it definetely helps with being more comfortable dealing with patients and learning new clinical skills... I'll be starting med school in the fall, so I'll know better then, but friends of mine who used to ride and are now med students or physicians all say the same thing: being an EMT does wonders for your confidence!

:clap: for EMS!

Originally posted by quideam
Hey everyone,

I've been an EMT for six years, although I only actively rode for the first four and a half.... loved it though!! I think it definetely helps with being more comfortable dealing with patients and learning new clinical skills... I'll be starting med school in the fall, so I'll know better then, but friends of mine who used to ride and are now med students or physicians all say the same thing: being an EMT does wonders for your confidence!

:clap: for EMS!



I'll second that... even though I am only in my first year of med school, I am definately noticing a difference... from actually having done CPR (I teach MD students CPR and believe it or not there are some that fail the AHA test..) to doing skills like B/P's/IV's, and to interviewing patients... (In my clinical skills class the tutor had to stop my interview so other people in my small group could ask questions, since I had already covered all the important stuff..) Good for competence and good for knowledge of both medical conditions and patients...


So I will join you in your :clap: for EMS!

just passed NREMT- B
any words of advice for a new emt :cool:

just passed my NREMT-B EXAM about a week ago . good luck

just passed NREMT- B
any words of advice for a new emt :cool:

It's not at all like they taught you. It's better!

just passed NREMT- B
any words of advice for a new emt :cool:Congrats!

If you decide to work in an ED rather than on the street, don't stress about being called a "Nursing Assistant." You know you're not, and so does anyone who needs to know. Solidarity with your fellow Techs can co-exist with being one of the more medically-minded.

You can get along well with residents without sucking up, too. Volunteer for ridiculous scut stuff, and you're more likely to be included when a cool procedure is going on. There's need for holding and immobilizing, watching the vitals monitor or the clock, or just being the non-sterile pair of hands to adjust lights or drop supplies into a sterile field. I've "helped" with LPs, suturing, casting, and conscious-sedation reductions of dislocated hips, shoulders, and elbows. Cool stuff!

EMT since 1994 (back in the old days of EMT-A)
EMT-CT (something akin to a paramedic in my state, though not the same)
since 2000
ER Tech at the hospital where I go to MD school since 2000
Member of the same squad since 1994

So, I've been doing this stuff for just about 10 years now, and I'm only 26 :D

I guess I kinda started as a way to find out if medicine was really going to be my thing or if it was just an idea planted in my head by my parents. Turns out I love it and wouldn't change a thing.

I'm in MD school; when I interviewed the 2nd time at my current school (I was wait-listed and didn't get in the first time) the interviewer pointed out that not only did I have clinical stuff on my application, but also the fact that I'd been doing it for so long (and at the same squad no less) really showed committment to the clinical side of medicine, not just resume fluffing. When I prepared with the pre-med advisory committee at my undergrad they told me to highlight my interest in clinical medcine since before I graduated high school if anyone had any questions about me not doing research.

I also know of at least 12 other people in my year and the years behind/in front of me that are EMS people too (at least 5 of whom were members of the squad where I ride before starting) - so a lot of us do go to MD school too. We even have it set up to get continuing education for our time in school - I recerted last year without having to do a thing other than fill out paperwork and be in med school.

But, considering the DO part, there hasn't been a DO school in my state until the past year or so with VaTech opening, so maybe something will change with that development. I know of one person at my squad who's going for DO there now.

Anyway, good luck to those applying - and keep riding if you can once you start school - it's not that hard and it's a great "light at the end of the tunnel" situation where you can have some autonomy and remember the stuff that makes this fun when you're memorizing the TCA cycle for the fiftieth time.

As of 2 weeks ago...

I am now a licenced EMT. :D

just the other day, where I volunteer as a firefighter, I was called to a scene of a 14 year old boy hit by a car. Blood was everywhere. They ended up having to call life flight. So far thats 2 calls Ive been on where theyve had to call life flight. At any rate, we were on the six o'clock news that very night.

Blue light? Come on, most wackers have full-blown light bars, in addition to the 14 antennas all over their vehicles.
Speaking of blue lights...reminds me of a story (go figure). A couple of years ago the PD had an incident where the suspect and police officer shot each other. Pt. had life threatening injuries, and the officer had a graze wound to a finger. When the medics showed up, the fire dept. and 20 officers were with the injured officer and nobody was with the injured suspect (I know, I know, guys. Shoot an officer and you deserve what you get. Fact is though, the pt. was still alive and more in need of medical attn. than the officer.) Anyway, the lone medics watch as the fire dept. rides off with the officer in a 2nd unit. Meanwhile, they're trying to intubate and all that good stuff with no help at all. They ended up having to ask a police officer to drive them into the hospital. As they were getting ready to pull out, the officer that's driving yells through the inside window to the crew and asks, "How do you turn on your blue lights!" That's when you know you're in trouble! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

This thread is for all those applicants who are prehospital providers, from volunteer EMT to professional paramedic. The topic of how such experience plays as an EC and "exposure to medicine" in the application process has been ground well tilled in many threads; e.g. "what will make me look better, an MS or an EMT?" None of that here.

Does working "in the field" make you more cynical, more idealistic, or just make you tired? Did you decide to become an EMT after deciding on applying to med school, or did working on a rig inspire you? Any good war stories?

I have a gut hunch that, per capita, more DO applicants are sirenheads and transfer monkeys than are MD applicants. Lets represent here!


I trained as an EMT-B (Texas) when I was in college because I wanted to be an EMT. I *loved* it...I fully admit to being a woo-woo. I volunteered with a rural service and it was always a blast. I had known for a few years that I planned to apply to an MD/PhD program, but I didn't train as an EMT just to get experience. I just really liked it. And, in retrospect, it was a great way to learn how to TALK to patients. I was one of the best in my class at talking to patients and getting an H&P just because I'd done it before (surrounded by screaming people and flashing lights in the dead of night). I even continued to volunteer until my 3rd year rotations started (didn't have time, esp. since my crew was based an hour away from home). We used to joke that I was going to be the only EMT-B in Texas with two doctoral degrees!

Ironically, I never wanted to be an ER doc...just a woo-woo who cleaned them up and dropped them off. I have an incredible respect for any EMS crew, and almost wish I could do both (be a doc AND volunteer a shift or two on the side). But, since I would have to drive an hour to get to a crew that would take a volunteer (closer places are run by the FD and are paid-positions only), it just isn't an option right now.

I went to school back in New York for EMT-B, my license expired back in 1998, reason, I paid out of my own pocket and basically ran out of money for more education. Now, I live in Oklahoma have a family, my wife has good income, so I wanted to get back in the medical field. Do you think I missed out to long for a refreshers course? I mean like I remember almost everything I learned back in NY, and here it's like WOW. No one that I know experienced anything like that traumas that I went through back in NY. More laid back here, no gunshot wounds, stabs, things like that. I worked in Far Rockaway for a while back home. Well, looking for some advice. If all is lost, I might just go to school for LPN/RN or something. Now I have the time and the money. Thanks.

--

www.stephenmathies.com (http://www.stephenmathies.com) :cool:

FireFighter/EMT 1979 (yeah I'm old)
CRT 1980
EMT-Paramedic 1981
Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse 2001

Started off at volley fire co. got my EMT, then took the Cardiac Rescue Tech course, which was kinda EMT-I with more drugs, then to paramedic. worked for a County EMS department for 20 yrs, retired, went to nursing school, got my RN, worked in an ED for 1.5 years then took a Critical Care Transport position. I still don't think of myself as a nurse, more like a glorified paramedic.

Former 91B/2F, Flight Medic with the 45th Medical Company, 421st EVAC.....Ansbach Army Heliport.

Ground Ambulance crew for 1 year, had a nervous breakdown, changed careers and now I'm looking to get back into the game after a long hiatus.

Oh, gotta give a shout out to all the SOLDIER MEDICS, past, present and future.

HOOOAH!

You will be pleased to Know that I am on the wait-list to get into the EMT class at the school I'm going to....then I will go for Paramedic!!!!!!!!!

Brand New LA County EMT!


Made history by sitting for the test with the largest group of applicants the county has ever seen.


Almost had to use the skills I was just tested for on the drive home though- a spare tire popped lose on the car infront of me and nearly took out a few other drivers while is squirreled around the freeway~ could have been exciting.

Until then, I'm doomed to ride alongs, volunteer hours, and job applications until I can get with the company I want... 10 weeks. Shizah.