medicnick83 Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Hi all, Curious! Whom here is actually employed/volunteer in EMS? (Be it Fire services, Ambulance or Police) Me personally, I'm a "Intermediate" (ILS/AEA) in the Department of Health: EMS in Cape Town, South Africa - we are also known as "Metro EMS" but it seems they want to 'drop' the "Metro" part. See attached photos for what our uniform, ambulances look like and our badge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris07 Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Yes. I'm an EMT (BLS) in California. I work for one of the largest ambulance companies in the country. I run emergency calls every now and then but these days I mostly just transfer people from facility to facility since I am a part time employee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicnick83 Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Yes. I'm an EMT (BLS) in California. I work for one of the largest ambulance companies in the country. I run emergency calls every now and then but these days I mostly just transfer people from facility to facility since I am a part time employee.Oh boy dude... I'd hate to do that... I can't DEAL doing IHT's all day (Inter hospital transfers)In South Africa, we have a 'division' for those type of calls though, IMO, they are lazy buggers! We call the service "HealthNET" or "Health Non Emergency Transfers" and the vehicles are called "Tango's" (Basically doing IHT's of walking patients etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcmp123 Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 I do like the Toyota Hice ambo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramcamper Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 deleted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCMPDude1337 Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 I don't hold a medical field (EMT, EMR, Paramedic, etc), however, I do operate with my local volunteer fire department which provides a medical team to the regular fire response area, as our fire response area is very rural, and we are able to arrive on scene and give care to patients before the ambulance can get on scene. We have to undergo an actual medical basics course which provides us with the basics to perform a successful job in order to respond with the medical team. It also allows us to provide vital information to the EMS crews responding, such as BP, O2 Sat, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCERT1 Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I've been an EMT for 4 years and an Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the past 2.5 years. My current volunteer fire department only runs assistance calls. So the most I do in the field anymore is take vitals and sit with patients until a transport arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo719 Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I am currently in Medic school in Southern California. I was a firefighter/EMT in Colorado for 4 years and now I work with the Forest Service in Socal. So yeah Ive been in some interesting spots in the past and seen a lot of fire the last 2 years summers as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildcatsMike Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thank all of you for your service. I'd love to be in the FD, but I don't think I could do EMS. I have Trypanophobia (Fear of injections), and I throw up every single time I get a shot. I HATE needles. I don't think I could do that to someone, as I.Vs are one of my worst nightmares. Lol. Anyways, thank you guys for doing what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmergencyFan97 Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 First responder here. South Carolina, USA. On another note, I watched that documentary "Tell Me or I Will Forget" about South African EMS, and woah. That's all I got to say. Great documentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris1990 Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Connecticut EMT-A ( advanced ) firefighter west haven fire deptSent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris1990 Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Thank all of you for your service. I'd love to be in the FD, but I don't think I could do EMS.I have Trypanophobia (Fear of injections), and I throw up every single time I get a shot. I HATE needles.I don't think I could do that to someone, as I.Vs are one of my worst nightmares. Lol.Anyways, thank you guys for doing what you do. yah would advise you not to if you puck from an Iv, I don't want to know what you'd do when you have 2 people's guts spread over a highway, a third impaled on his car convertible windshield and a mother and child stuck in their car( both got away with only scraps and bruises ) thank god!Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildcatsMike Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 yah would advise you not to if you puck from an Iv, I don't want to know what you'd do when you have 2 people's guts spread over a highway, a third impaled on his car convertible windshield and a mother and child stuck in their car( both got away with only scraps and bruises ) thank god!I don't wanna know what i'd do, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frm03064 Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Ive been on a fairly busy engine company (2200 runs a year... about 55% EMS) in Monroe County NY for the past 4 1/2 years. been an EMT for 3. Were a non-transport agency though... so while we respond on all priority 1 and 2 jobs in the area, we dont actually do to much when we get there as long as the person has no immediate life risks.... just stabilize and help the ambulance with lifting/packaging... We only have 2 ambulances in town, so between our district and neighboring districts in town limits they get tied up sometimes and we end up waiting for a commercial rig to come from the hospital... then we end up doing the bulk of pt care because of the delay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multibullets Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Do EMT's (Not Paramedics) get to insert an IV line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo719 Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Do EMT's (Not Paramedics) get to insert an IV line?Depends on State and local protocals. In Southern california, nope not at all. In Colorado and other states, it was a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris07 Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 For the most part, EMT is glorified first aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmergencyFan97 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 EMTs cannot initiate IVs here. The skill level of each of the levels of prehospital healthcare provider (in some places up to 5 or 6 levels) varies by state. For instance, here in South Carolina, the state officially recognizes three levels: Emergency Medical Technician Emergency Medical Technician-Advanced Paramedic The chief difference between the EMT and EMT-A is that an EMT-A can initiate IVs and give a range of drugs. The chief difference between EMT-A and paramedics are that paramedics are able to give a wider range of drugs, including morphine and other narcotics, as well as interpret EKG strips and manually defibrillate. That being said, many fire departments in the state run first responders, who, depending on the department, may be anywhere from First Responder-certified to Paramedic certified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCMPDude1337 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 EMT's down here can do any pre-hospital care such as IV's. They cannot issue any medications though. Only a trained paramedic can issue a medication whilst enroute to the hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo719 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 For the most part, EMT is glorified first aid. Lol, I feel very limited in SoCal, however do you know if LaCo is going to adapt NarCan into EMTB Protocols next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris07 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 Doubt it.They snuck in aspirin for cardiac chest pain and pulse oximetry last year...but the fact that it's taken this long to put them in doesn't bode well for future changes.Also, what's the point? Just like aspirin and pulse oximetry, just because it's in the scope doesn't mean we'll carry it on the ambulance or fire engine. It's all a de facto ALS skill.I mean for crying out loud, most ambulances don't even carry AEDs here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomperson139 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 I mean for crying out loud, most ambulances don't even carry AEDs here.What?! You serious? We have to check we have a working AED on the vehicle before we start the shift... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris07 Posted December 25, 2014 Report Share Posted December 25, 2014 So do we, but it's because we provide 911 service. The only companies that carry AEDs are the ones with 911 contracts. All the other companies only provide transport between medical facilities and are not emergent.The State and County makes companies jump through so many hoops to deploy and keep AEDs that the ambulance companies that don't provide emergency service can't justify the time, money and effort to put together an AED program.Also note that AED does not equal Cardiac Monitor/Defibrillator. AEDs are used by low level providers (BLS and lower). Cardiac monitor/defibrillators are used by Paramedics only and are a required item in the ALS inventory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmergencyFan97 Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 It is illegal to operate an ambulance without an AED/defibrillator in this state. Thank God. And as to your point, yes and no. Our cardiac monitor is also an AED and manual defibrillator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multibullets Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 As a European I can't get my head around how the US has all the different laws and regulations in the different states. It just seems confusing to me. In the Netherlands, all PD, FD and EMS vehicles have an AED on board and all our ambulances are manned by a driver and a nurse (Paramedic) who can perform most medical procedures. Which just seems to make it all a lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
