Life in EMS

[EMSgirl1989]

ha this vid was amazing

[armymedic98]

23 seconds yes paramedics probly want to see that

[medperson1]

@armymedic98

well at least green ones! ;) now adays although traumas are still interesting to me, the cases i like the most are the ones that make me think!

[armymedic98]

@medperson1 yah i know the point of the vid and i think its great,but just seeing thats like,oh poor patient

[medperson1]

@ntltennis101112 they're Believe by Yellowcard and Anecdote by Ambulance Ltd. and fyi that was in the video description :)

[PSYCHEDELIKSOUL]

lol did you choose that second song because the bands called Ambulance LTD?

[medperson1]

@PSYCHEDELIKSOUL no my partner choose it, it's one of his favorite songs, or at least used to be when we made this video

[medperson1]

@PSYCHEDELIKSOUL no my partner chose it, it's one of his favorite songs, or at least used to be when we made this video

[chad142]

its nice to know people still thank us from what we do, thanks its really nice to see people support use in ems, after all this political bullshit and nonsense, so thanks to all who support us and a special thanks to medperson1

[medicgirl1730]

I saw the pic of my ambulance company! :D Lol. (surprising since we aren't that huge!)

[simovalmo]

Rispect and congratulation at American Paramedics!!!!!!!I'm italian Nourse!!!!

Sorry for my not perfect english...;-)

[shilohsxe]

@simovalmo Kudos to those saving lives in other countries:D!!

[swampEMT]

People don't realize; we're not the uniform we wear, we're not the patch on our sleeve, and we're not the vehicle we drove up in. Medics are medics long before they have the right to say so, they are not made they're discovered. When tragedy strikes everybody runs; some toward and some away. Those of us that do this job are all bound by one question you ask it everytime you answer a call; "If I don't, who will?"

[firemedic30ca]

@swampEMT My question as im responding to a call is "WTF does this asshole want at 3 in the morning?"

[durangoandsilverton]

how do you put up powerpoints?

[medperson1]

it's not a power point, it was created online from where there is a link to put it up with.

[comiebastard]

oh man "The Frequent Flyer" 3:02 is painfully familiar

[medperson1]

@comiebastard yeah tell me about it!

[nabby]

you can download Microsoft movie maker..its easy to make movies...

[socceric93]

I love the BSI comment in the video. subtle, but funny.

[medperson1]

yeah and he's not the only without it too!

[TheGenlee01]

@socceric93 what does BSI @ 4:04 & 4:35 mean?

[acravatt]

Thanks bunches, great video.

[di0726]

Hamilton first aid, Inc Neptune.

I joined to support my community and give back for all the times the EMTs had to come for me or my family! 34-21

[kempsoncloud9]

what matt said

[mymyPikiCa]

There is me in the future...

[mattbert18]

AMEN! i have never heard it put any better then that!

[mattbert18]

we don't do it for the thanks or for the money...we often don't get a thank you and we can't be in it for the money since we don't get paid the way we should...we do it because we care and want to help...no other explanation...props to all EMS staff out there!

[elsamuraiguapo]

That's why nationalized health care works. If Firefighters/Paramedics/EMTs can do the job they do for little to nothing, then so can these overpaid doctors.

[medperson1]

a doctor goes through 10+ years of school and upon getting their license they are $300,000+ in debt meanwhile a paramedic goes to school for about 1 year and pays about $10,000 for it, you're comparing apples to jalapenos. just because we do it for little to nothing doesn't mean that it is sustainable this way, the turn-over rates in EMS are ridiculous, the average paramedic works in the field for about 5 years and than goes on to greener pastures where the pay can actually sustain a family.

[elsamuraiguapo]

They wouldn't have to be in debt if the government provided free education up to Ph.D. like in Cuba.

If there is a high turnover rate for those in the EMS field, then maybe they should be better compensated.

[medperson1]

you just made my point for me, if we stop paying doctors the salary that they make same thing will happen. also if the gov't were to pay for our education like it does in Cuba than we would have to settle for a lifestyle like in Cuba. where would the gov't get the money to pay for everyone's education?

instead of picking on doctors for making a good salary for doing a job in which they hold people's lives in their hands, lets pick of bankers who make millions a year to screw us over

[elsamuraiguapo]

Just to let you know, state physicians here in CA make 235K a year. The notion that making doctors government employees = them getting paid peanuts is false.

Remember every other developed nation in the world has a form of universal health care, not just cuba.

[BlessElShaddai]

You can become a LPN then take a EMT-B class and become a EMT-P, that is what my friend is doing.

Also Paramedics go to school for two years, normally. I never heard any paramedic going to school for 1 year. LPN is one year. My friend did not have to do the two years, just one year of LPN and then a EMT-B class which is 6-2 months, after that your a Paramedic. Paramedics can get up to 70,000 a year.

[medperson1]

If by LPN you mean Licensed Practical Nurse, than you are talking about a certification level decrease and a significant decrease in pay to become an EMT post LPN.

I'm a paramedic, there are 2 year programs out there but the most popular ones are either a 1 year technical school or a 4 year bachelor's program in Emergency Management on top of the paramedic license.

Why do you have to become an LPN in order to take an EMT class? EMT is a 1 semester-120 hour course at a community college!

[jrowe6]

i agree with what you are saying. i am doing EMT-b right now. should take about 3 months. then EMT-i which is another 3 or 4 months, then the paramedic course which is again 3-4 months. i should be able to do it in a year. but im going to do Fire I+II after emt-b so for me that doesnt even matter. im doing fire not ems. but yea, paramedic is 1 year if you bust it out.

[medperson1]

Idk where you're from but paramedic programs here are 1 year meaning you do a semester or about 5 months of classroom time followed by a 3 month hospital clinical rotation and than a 3 month field internship.

it has nothing to do with emt-b, emt-i or what not. the 3 are each a level above the other but are independent of each other. you usually only have to be an emt-b to get into a paramedic program.

[jrowe6]

we dont do semesters, we do quarters. emt-b is a quarter. the paramedic classes are split up. there's a paramedic prep course, then paramedic 1+2, then paramedic 3+4. then 2 classes worth of clinicals. that is done through a community college. it takes forever that way, so i found a school out of state that does it differently. emt-b then emt-i then emt-p. you do all the class work online and at home. then you go to their facility and do the hands on stuff and clinicals. its way faster

[jrowe6]

....i dont know if im going to take it all the way to paramedic tho. i'll probably just do emt-b then do fire 1+2. i'm going to get a job as a fire fighter not ems

[medperson1]

yeah it's faster and makes you into a useless know-it-all provider who can't do shit. I've seen medics like that and I've attempted to train some of them - they tend to know their stuff but cannot perform under pressure and most of them work for fire departments and I pray to god everyday that they never touch my loved one.

no offense to fire-medics quite a few of them have no business ever touching patients.

[jrowe6]

thats offensive mate. i am taking time off from college for this. i think serving the community is an honerable thing to do. i am doing this training so i am properly prepared. i am not the kind of guy you seem to have assumed i am. i am well suited for this kind of work, which is another reason i have chosen to take up the job. not everyone has the mental a physical capabilites that i have and i think people like myself should use their strengths to help others in need.

[medperson1]

sorry if you were offended by it personally but it wasn't meant for you personally, it was a general statement. I don't know you, so I can't speak of the kind of person you are, I can't judge what kind of provider you will be until I see you in action but I spoke from years of experience about fire-medics in general not about you specifically. I really do hope that you succeed, become an amazing knowledgeable and compassionate provider and prove me wrong.

[jrowe6]

its cool. i guess i took it the wrong way. not everyone is suited for this line of work. plus there are alot of guys who took the job for the money. i'm from columbus ohio for the record. we have more emt's and firemen than we have jobs for them so most of the time they are trained well and pretty good at their job. some places have very few applicants and a very high need, leading to positions being filled by underqualified people. is that the situation in your area?

[jrowe6]

cont- i've been looking on the internet for info on out of state jobs.....mostly what i find is stuff about how many places are under staffed and under paid. the system is out of balance. not enough money coming from taxes to cover the service and pay for an adequate number of ems providers. not enough money coming from the patients and their insurance to repay the ambulance service. i read something about medicare/medicade or whatever only pays like 50% of the ambulance fee

[jrowe6]

cont2- that means the ambulance service is actually paying to provide the service for that person and they just have to bite the bullet and pay for it themselves. i forget the exact specifics. i think this was from georgia where they're having a rough time keeping enough emt's on staff. but yea, it sounded like a rough situation. does any of this ring a bell?

[medperson1]

you pretty much described EMS as a whole! I'm from SoCal, in my county we charge a $1400 base transport fee plus $10 per mile and plus for everything that we do for the patient, which the average ambulance ride ends up costing about $2500 of which MediCare/MediCal (CA's version of medicade) pay about 20% and a lot of private insurance companies do not cover more than half which leaves it up to the patient to pay cover the rest.

[medperson1]

on top of that we have a very high uninsured population with a large portion of those being illegals who are unable to pay altogether. all these things combined is what drives up the service costs.

the company I work for is decent but the pay is fairly low since there is virtually no competition here and if you have a family it's extremely hard to be able to support a family on our paychecks especially with the cost of living in these parts, so the turn-over rates are high! we're often hiring!

[jrowe6]

oh yea? i will have my emt-b certification finished by the end of january. part of the course is preparation for the national registration testing so i'm going to do that as well. do you know if that would certify me to work in california? thats actually one of the places i would like to look for jobs. cali, colorado, and alaska are my top choices at the moment.

[medperson1]

yes CA is a National Registry state so you have to have your NREMT certification and than you have to get certified in the specific county that you wish to work in - at least for now, as of 2011 i think? we are supposed to go to a state EMT-B certificate. right now paramedics are licensed by the state EMS Authority while emts are certified in individual counties and the requirements for emt certs can vary quite a bit from county to county.

[funkytomtom]

@elsamuraiguapo I agree that we should nationalize healthcare, but people need incentive other than just goodwill to go through the amount of schooling and debt a physician goes through before they make any sort of compensation. Try a cool quarter million of debt and a literal decade of training before you can start a practice. This is spoken as a practicing EMT-Intermediate, so I understand very well what we go through for little pay.

[medperson1]

@funkytomtom well put brother, well put

[unclewalter87]

@elsamuraiguapo I'll make you a deal. Give me my medical school education for next to nothing, and I'll give up the high salary.

[elsamuraiguapo]

@unclewalter87 Sounds fair to me.

[StarsAndStraps4E]

@mattbert18 I know right, Most people dislike us anyway and the money sucks.. but i wouldnt trade it for the world.

[cgvfd1156]

@mattbert18 Thats true man im a volunteer firefighter and i just now got my Kentucky National EMT-B. I love my jobb!!!!

[wannabeaflightmedic]

lol'd at 1:08

[KLM880]

Very good picture montage!

Greatings from Hungary!

Hungarian Ambulance Service / Paramedic

[wolfbitejb]

Thanks to all my brothers and sisters.A lot of times we dont get thanks or way to gos.But we will be blessed !LT Rescue WCVFD

[medperson1]

but do we really do it for the thanks?

in my decade long career i have been thanked a grand total of maybe 2 dozen times. oh i often have people come up to me and thank me for doing my job, but that doesn't count to me, it's when a patient or a patient's loved one thanks me for "saving" their life or being there in their time of need, that's what gets my heart pounding and makes the longs hours, missed meals/family time, etc. all worth while.

[applemacbook123]

this was a very good video man.. very nice

[MikeJones665664]

the 3rd pic grossed me out ughh

[medperson1]

blood's not the gross part: imagine feces, vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids covering not only the stretcher but also the walls, cabinets, ceiling and of course me (aint i lucky?), or how about washing out blood, brain matter, guts, pieces of bone and pieces of other body parts? it's not as gross as it is sad because it's pieces of what used to once be a human being, but hey it's what makes the job interesting, lol!

[swampEMT]

Ditto

Two things:

When we count the cost of helping each other we will find out how much we are in debt. - Roland Blanchard Jr.

Our search for our enemy should begin and end at the nearest mirror. - Roland Blanchard Jr.

[medperson1]

agree with both but dont get how they go in with the conversation

[ClemeRo11]

What happen to the guy? It seems PRETTY serious?

[medperson1]

i believe it was multiple gsw's (gun shot wounds) to the head, neck and back/abdomen. but i might be thinking of a different call

[exodus989]

What's worse, is that pt didn't make it to the hospital :] Or else the cot wouldn't be back in the rig dirty.

[medperson1]

no the patient made it to the hospital, he actually survived, made it to rehab and then out of rehab with little evidence that he ever knocked on death's door.

idk about you but we clean the cots right outside of the rig in the ambulance bay, my partner just stuck it back in to get a picture, he was still pretty new to the field and it was one of his first "bad" calls.

[exodus989]

Ah. We never put the cot back into rig, even on bad calls like that. We lower it to the bumper at an angle on the back of the rig wit the doors in, right on the catch hook pretty much. We use the Stryker xFrames

[medperson1]

we don't either he just did it to get a picture, we use the Stryker X frames as well, currently we're trying out the Power Pro's - gotta say I kinda like them :)

[MakkDonaldzz]

Strechers scare me for some reason;there just creepy

[medperson1]

Um, okay! why?

[weiserbud67]

@MakkDonaldzz ur 30 years old n ur scared of stretchers???? thats hard to believe that a stretcher scares a 30 year old man!!!! WOW

[69adrummer]

This video has really made me be thankful I signed up for EMT training where I live. It's all volunteer and I hope to give something back! Actually, I hope I never have to use what I'm learning but...life happens!

[medperson1]

Yeah, but once you get to feel like what you just did actually made a difference for this person you wont want to stop, it's a selfish job and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. You take away so much more from it than you will ever be able to give back.

[ModeraterX]

Explain?

[medperson1]

what would you like explained?

[ModeraterX]

How does being in ems take away more then you can give back? and how is it selfish?

[medperson1]

I meant you as a medic take away more from the job than you can ever give to it

[swampEMT]

Ditto

[hurley4387]

oops! nevermind didnt read the description. sorry! keep up the great vids!

Mike, NREMT-B

[hurley4387]

great video! what is the name of the 2nd song?

Mike, NREMT-B

[jenna4000]

mostly santa fe springs, where do you work?

[medperson1]

bout a 100 miles north of you

[jenna4000]

The EMT at 2:06 trained me...weird

[medperson1]

you work for Care?

[jenna4000]

sure do

[medperson1]

where at?

[noMoreFEMA]

1:55 Racetrack has gas for $2.56 a gallon!!!!

[medperson1]

that picture is front way back when i think prior to Katrina

[drumsrock2]

why were those paramedics in swat gear??

[medperson1]

they are tactical medics most SWAT teams have them, they go in with the team and if anything goes wrong and someone ends up getting shot, etc. they are right their to treat them, usually they are there to treat the cops. they are especially useful during stand offs if a cop gets shot its usually too dangerous for regular medics to just go in and treat the victim so the tactical medics will initiate treatment until the victim can be brought to the regular medics in a safe location.

[emtmartinez1989]

awesome video

[medperson1]

thank you, a few shifts of complete boredom with the partner!!!

[wyo7011]

Thats jakced up man, but funny, thats the life of the basic though. I have my I so i see it from both views.

[medperson1]

well unless he wants to do the report for me, which i knowing him i know he doesnt and i wouldnt put my career on the line by allowing him to write the report. but i help sometimes if its really bad and he's still not done cleaning by the time i'm done with the report.

[wyo7011]

Looks like you got to play at 0.21 seconds. Nice!

[emt73216]

What is the name of the artist and song for the song following Yellowcard?

[medperson1]

Anecdote by Ambulance Ltd. like it says in the video description

[indymedic121985]

Keep your videos roll'in! I love this one. "Never do anything you won't want to explain to the Paramedics"LOLOLOL

[medperson1]

yeah if only people actually listened to our advise, right? oh wait never mind that's just natural selection at work! lol

[indymedic121985]

My personal fav."Thinning the herd." Seriously don't some people remind you of cattle?

[medperson1]

oh yeah

[ryanmaffia]

That was cool. For anyone who works on an ambulance, check out The Paramedic Chronicles. I about died laying!

[bigpete544]

3 thoughts

1 i really really hate when my stretcher gets bloody like that cuse i hate cleaning it up

2 a couple times i thought i was watching a commercial for AMR

3 i love the random pics with the saying in em or the pics of the signs u had

[medperson1]

yeah sorry bout the AMR part i work for them so have an outrageous amount of pictures from the company. and yeah i agree on the gurney part but than again that's why i have an EMT partner who does the dirty work for me.

[slash78332]

LOL...figures you're a medic. My average arrival at the ER goes as follows:

1.Help the medic take the patient inside.

2.If it isn't a full arrest or major trauma, get vitals for the triage nurse while my medic gives a report

3.Help my medic fill out paperwork

4.Hear "Thanks for the help on the paperwork. You can go clean the truck now"

5.Shake my head in disgust as I put on full PPE before I tackle the monumental task of cleaning up the BPSU (blood, puke, shit, and urine).

[slash78332]

And as I shake my head in disbelief I think "I love my job". Crazy, ain't it?

[medperson1]

yeah, but than again you have to be crazy to do this job!

[MIoldtimer]

It`s what we live for :)

[indymedic121985]

God bless probies...doing all the hard work while we sit and watch more tv.

[medperson1]

yeah the poor kids, we're so mean to them! i sometimes almost feel bad but then i think back to when i first started, i was the only female in a company with 40 or so guys, they weren't so happy to have a woman invade into their little world, they were plain horrible to me at first but i eventually earned their respect. so then i don't feel bad for the shit that i make my partner and all the fng's do. :)

[MIoldtimer]

Poor kids??.....lol....I`m back in the game after being out for nearly 20 years. Back as a basic working with medics younger than my kids...lol...They are amazed at how fast "gramps" gets the truck back in service. Some whine.........too fast, slow down...that makes an old guy go grrrrr.....co rules are 15 mins after arrival at the ER. These kids!!!.I swear.....lol.....Lazy Lazy..Ah, MY medic class starts in Aug....then it`s MY turn...lol...BUT, it`s ALL GOOD....Back to what I love!

[code3s]

Thanks for the vid. Good Stuff. Who sings this song? Stay Safe out there everyone.

[medperson1]

first song is Believe by Yellowcard and the second one is Anecdote by Ambulance LTD

[rubberchicken1a]

Love this stuff. Keep up the cool vids!!

[novaluv191]

Great job, thank you!! - NYS EMT-P

[medperson1]

thanks

[modelswanted007]

i don't know how you guys (and girls) do it. thank to all.

[medperson1]

I've been told that we must be crazy to be doing what we do, and in a way I guess we do. but we are not alone in it, our patients must be pretty crazy to do half the stuff that they do ;) hahaha! it's the best, most rewarding and craziest job in the world and i wouldn't trade it for anything :)

[Foxsrose]

Hey, thanks. For 6:26 minutes felt like I was out there still. You're great and made my day.

[KFMC742]

EMS in my bloood

[marc4859]

Same here!

I'm a Community Rapid Responder in my state!

[auntadele]

that was a great video. My spouse could not fully understand why I loved my job so much, untill now. it did justice.

[medperson1]

i'm glad to hear that. fortunately my husband understands from his own job as a cop.

[medperson1]

sure thing, dont worry bout it.

[ffems21]

good video

[medperson1]

thanks

[medperson1]

first song is Believe by Yellowcard and the second one is Anecdote by Ambulance LTD

[H0lySm0key]

thanks :)

[KaosDude]

Watching this makes me can't wait to finish my training... Only twenty days left :D

[medperson1]

reminds me of myself when I was studing to be an EMT, after doing that for 2 years the Paramedic thing was only natural and I wasnt nearly as excited to be a paramedic as I had been to be an EMT when I first started my EMS career.

btw good luck with your career. you gonna be an EMT or a paramedic?

[KaosDude]

I am training to be a paramedic. I am really excited! Do you have any tips for me as I start?

[medperson1]

yeah, listen to your instructor and dont try to beat their stupid pranks it gets horribly painful if you do. also study, study, study and be sure that you cannot only recite protocol but actually perform. good luck to you, school's tough and the job is also, but it is all well worth it.

[KaosDude]

Thanks! :D

[slash78332]

KaosDude...also, don't let the oldtimers quell your excitement. There's a lot of boredom in this job whether you work for a 911 service or do convalescent transfers, but as I was told by my former instructor not too long ago, the day you don't get excited and enjoy what you're doing, it's time to get off the truck. There aren't alot of people who can do what we do, but those of who can are blessed

[fire251]

Yea I agree this is a great video. One question that I have: Did you have to get special permission to take the pictures of Patients? My department doesnt' allow me to take pictures of patients due to the HIPPA Laws. But like I said. This is a great video. I've seen some of the same. Just last week we had an MVA where a car was traveling at 87MPH on a 25mph street and hit a truck and tree

[medperson1]

i dont really have any pictures of patients on here and if i do than they are not of my patients and the pics were provided by bystanders, firefighters or cops.

my company would never let us take pictures patients much less upload them on the internet. they wont even let us upload pictures of ourselves in uniform. well it's not so much company policy as it is the policy that our county has established with our company.

[DFD57]

great video, keep up the nice work.

[medperson1]

thank you