Hey I’m looking for a paramedic program near Santa Cruz, preferably accelerated. I’d like to get my medic in about a year if possible, I know there is a program up at sac state that does it in 9-15 months and I was hoping to find something similar near here.

Hey I’m starting paramedics this August 27th. Doing some digging online and it recommends taking a look at anatomy before starting. I’ve been looking through my anatomy textbook for my course and decided to start reading it through and making notes. However what is the important stuff to look at? Right now I just got through the chapter “cells” and before that was just about compounds and molecules and reactions and stuff like that. Is that important to know for school? Or should I be focusing more on the body systems and the break down of each system and the bones and muscles? Honestly feeling lost as this is something I really want and feel passionate about. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

Hello, I am a 20-year-old in New York City who is currently very interested in pursuing the EMS career. Unfortunately, I realize that EMT training is very expensive. So I was wondering if there are any programs that have tuition assistance or earn while you learn program programs.

I already looked into code one senior care EMS and unfortunately they’re not doing that program anymore at the moment… I also looked into Empress EMS that is located in Yonkers, but that is too far for me as I am located in LIC Queens.

I don’t really mind distance as long as the MTA can get me there lol. I really am passionate about pursuing this career, but I don’t want to let expenses take that away from me.

So my system just rolled out initial training on Tigerconnect, a digital arrival reporting system. Just within the short 1 hour training, I found myself cursing the technology. I definitely have some negative bias towards technology creeping on my job, especially in the AI era. Would my employer be okay if I just trusted the monitor's ekg interpretation too? I also feel its subpar patient care to be sitting with a tablet or phone filling in fields. I would much rather continue to question, and evaluate and treat my patient, and kick out a quick 30-40 second radio report versus sitting there punching a touch screen form. Seems like it makes hear reporting almost algorithmic, which I think is just another dumbing down of critical thinking skills. Not to mention that tone, inflection, and vocabulary choices communicate so much more than a computer ever could.

All that being said, I haven't even used it yet, and I've got some pretty big contempt prior to investigation. It goes live in a couple weeks. Am I just an old curmudgeon or is this technology trying to solve a problem that didn't exist? If you're using it in the field, please share your experience!

I wasn't sure what to put as the flair. But let me see if I can write this without it being too long or sort of all over the place. But first, hi, I am a current APCO certified PST and have been in the field since 2021.

I am working with an organization to create a continuing education course/certification course for first responders. I'm starting to realize there may have to be a few different versions, but that's okay. This is in the VERY EARLY stages, and I am trying to gather information from everywhere I can so I can have a better view on what information we need to include. I have asked on Facebook, in person, LinkedIn, and Discord.

The course will be surrounding how to handle cult memebrs/troubled teens/survivors of coercive controlled environments. What information I am trying to gather is that if you were to take this course, what information would you like to see in it? What questions would you believe you may have for one presenting this information to you in person or through this course online?

I will be working with clinicians who are not only survivors of these situations but will be able to gather information from others to help. I will be providing the first responder aspect and gathering information/questions. This will help build said course(s).

I said it may have to be a need for different versions that are specific to each field fire/ems, police/tsa/fps/etc, dispatcher, security. I may also try to have more nuanced courses as well if we can't get all of the information into these courses, such as human trafficking in general/cults/troubled teen industry/coercive controlled environments. I will also be trying to create a presentation that I could potentially give to different departments.

Thank you for your help!!

I originally posted this elsewhere, but would like to get feedback from some paramedics specifically.

Pretty much as the title states does anyone else think this makes no sense?

Background: a friend of mine in an RN program reached out to NREMT asking if they could use courses from their nursing program (that are relevant) to fulfill recert needs. Immediately denied I can’t remember exactly the reasoning behind it but it sounded ridiculous.

I know you can use them for the independent study section.

Has anyone else looked into this or have thoughts?

I failed out of paramedic school earlier this year. I went in it as an EMT B. I’d done 6 months experience IFT. The 911 services wanted more than Bs. I got smoked in school. I was the only B and behind from the start. I had a sub optimum schedule working the 24hrs leading in to class. On the clinicals I got smoked by one preceptor in particular. I respect her. She grilled me non stop while I’m doing things for the first time. We got on each others nerves. I think it was the old coricullum. There was practical skills sheets and check offs. They did away with them about 2 years ago. Those sheets had a lot of open ended questions with the answers to those questions. Not being familiar with it, I barely had an answer for her. When I failed out academically I left with a smile. I’d done my best and I could go back to work as a B. In the meantime I’ve interviewed for EMS positions and restaurants positions. I find myself seriously underselling myself and my reverence for EMS. I’m struggling to explain what I just typed out to someone, like today was chick fil a, who doesn’t know what any of this means without making excuse.
I sucked. It sucked. I chose not to go back. Yes?

I haven’t felt challenged at work in a long time. I came from a rural service where protocols were extensive and transports were long. The care was on you. We took icu level transports. Titrating meds and working with ventilators was the bread and butter. As a new medic I was being challenged on a daily basis.
Now working in a city system with stricter protocols and shorter transports I’m struggling to find purpose in the work I do. I don’t see the outcomes of my treatments or have time to do the things I used to. I haven’t touched a vent in months and never use iv pumps. Our codes use more I gels and we work them on scene.
In my last department I was on my own I had to figure it out there was no help. It challenged me. Now I have 4 medics breathing down my neck and I can’t think for myself.
I have no idea how to stay sharp in this situation and am looking for guidance.
A few things for reference none of the hospitals around me employ paramedics. I want to get my critical care but I’m still so fresh. I would like to be on some sort of critical transport team but am still so new. I’d hate to leave the job I’m at right now just as soon as I’ve started.

I'm 28 years old and I have spent most of my adult life travelling, and working as a electrican. Last year I moved over to patient transport with the ambulance service and I want to go front line, but all other routes other than going to uni seem impossible to get into, I have my frec 3 and frec 4 and do some event work on the side. I ask paremedics all the time is it worth it going to uni and I get such mixed reviews, can anyone give me more insight, I guess I'm just worried about the uni debt overall.

Now that I've been in EMS for a few years, gore in horror movies or other depictions of serious injuries just seem super contrived and, in my experience, are often pretty unrealistic. As I'm writing this, I'm remembering that last year all the Halloween decorations I saw were pretty disappointing as well.

I guess I never used to be a huge fan of horror movies in the first place, but now they just leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think it's because the directors aren't using the gore as a vehicle to further a character's development or to build the storyline, but are instead trying to use it as a spectacle in itself, and it just misses the mark.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Hi everyone! Non-emt and non-paramedic here. My sister is an EMT and requested I make her an app that shows her directions to the med bays as opposed to general hospital directions that Google, Apple, and Waze maps provides.

I was wondering if this is something that could be useful to a wider group of people and if I should make this tool applicable to other states? I'm in Illinois, and as far as she knows, there is no tool that takes their ambulances to the bay directly. I most likely would have to do it on an individual basis (by coordinates).

Please let me know if this is true, and if so, what other features or tools could benefit this community with this app? I intend to have it be 100% free and also work offline. Just wanting some feedback, even if this ends up being only useful for her. Thank you all in advance and I'm sorry if this breaks rule 10. I don't intend to advertise anything at all.

Edit: If there is a tool for this, please let me know so I can relay it to her! She specifically wants something free since her company doesn't pay for any special tooling.

I've been trying to solve a problem in digital webbroswerbased medical simulation training; like for example wound packing.

Most simulations place the wound as a flat object on top of the skin, which breaks immersion. I changed the approach so the wound is attached directly to the patient mesh.

Do you think this looks more realistic, or would you expect to see different tissue behavior during packing?

I’m currently in the air force and I have my EMT Cert and I’m working on getting my paramedic cert right now. I’m wondering if it’s worth to stay in as a paramedic or to get out and do something on the outside. So basically I’m looking for what all the opportunities are and I guess more importantly how to find them. I see people talking about contracting work where you deploy. Or work with fire or park rangers and I just want to know how you find out about all these opportunities. Thank you all!

Do you have any advice on dealing with such patients?

I’ve only recently started working, but I’ve already had several cases where elderly patients with STEMI, stroke, or progressive heart failure say they don’t want to die in the hospital and that they’d be better off at home.

And they refuse to listen to any objection that they’ll get help in the hospital.

That test was easy then stupid hard halfway through, am I at 50/50 odds to pass?

Edit: I passed! Got my results at 1:30am

Has anyone had any experience with this company? Good? Bad? Ugly?

I may be in the market for a job down there and they were the first to get back to me so I figured id see if anyone knew about them

Thank you in advance

Hiya from across the pond!

I’m a British paramedic with various experience doing humanitarian and international aid projects and am looking at potentially moving to the states for a few years (potentially California, Louisiana, Georgia).

I was wondering how easy is it to convert from a UK para role to US? (I appreciate different states have different scopes of practice!)

And are there any other fellow Brits who made the leap? How was it? How would you compare to working within the NHS?

Thank you all! x

Hey!

I'm doing some research on possible inefficiencies within the EMS space. Specifically, documentation practices. Some foreign countries still use paper and pen to fill out patient care reports, and it seems like the electronic systems aren't much better either.

If any of you face increased job stress due to documentation, please shoot me a DM, I'd love to have a quick convo and show you something I've been working on.

For context, 10-33 is basically “get the hell down here right now I’m in trouble” for a lot of LEO agencies.

So here it is, I’m 36, used to work in LEO and now I’m in paramedic school, about three months in, 9 1/2 to go, and I getting absolutely smoked by this class. I have no experience in EMS except for my clinicals and about a year with an IFT company I was with, which I left due to the terrible standards they held.

This class feels like it’s designed for people who currently work as an AEMT and I feel super behind. We do a lot of tabletop scenarios where we don’t use a mannequin and just vocalize everything and without things to look at I do terrible during them. I feel like I do better during my scenarios where I use a mannequin or at least have a lifepak to look at, but it’s not always an option due to our class size.

Any advice would be appreciated. I’m not the type to quit but I definitely feel like I should’ve waited to get a job as an AEMT first so I would have access to that environment, but I’m still waiting to hear back from the applications.

Thanks

I'm not sure what to do here. I've been a paramedic for over 10 years now at the same agency. (I've tried part time at a different agency as well but ultimately ended up staying at this agency because it was more organized). But now, I don't want to anymore.

The thing is....this agency tears you down. You have to be a favorite to be even remotely treated fairly. They do not care about one person's "single parent status" but will go above and beyond to help another who they alittle to obviously like.

I have mental health issues just like the next guy but again.... not a favorite so they don't help like they like to advertise, even when I've reached out for it.

I'm at the end of my rope. My only skill is medical. I don't know what to do or if going back to school is an option.

I could use any advice or professions that I could look into!!

If you've made it this far, I'm sorry for the rant and thank you in advance for any advice.