It's official, I'm a certified EMT!  I received the results from the National Registry EMT and successfully passed the exam. Once I received the certificate I will need to register with the county EMS office and take the ambulance exam. Then I'll be out on the streets as the Elite Medical Technician providing care and treatment for the fine ladies while my partner handles the left overs




Overall this has been a great experience and accomplishment. The skills, training, and education serves great a  purpose in providing prehospital care for those who are ill and vulnerable, which I find very rewarding. Being part of EMS (Emergency Medical Service) has it's perks like immunity by the Good Samaritan Law in the U.S. and Canada borders. The good samaritan doctrine as it is legally known, is a legal principle that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for 'wrongdoing.' Its purpose is to keep people from being so reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions if they made some mistake in treatment.

Just the other day on my way to a meeting, a lady asked me the time. I gladly provided her with the time. She made a comment about I'm one of the last few people who actually wears a watch. No surprise considering almost everyone in populated urban areas carries a cell phone. Obviously if your screwed when the battery craps out. A basic wrist watch has its' advantages. For this reason, I wear a watch in to accurately measure and monitor a patient's vital signs such as Heart Rate/Pulse and Respiration in case of such emergencies. Significant changes to a patient vital signs means deteriorating health cause further injury or possible death. The training and intervention are greatly emphasized to preserve life and prevent further injuries. 

an EMT? After a 15 weeks, I graciously received my EMT course completion certificate and CPR/AED Basic Life Support (BLS) card. A few steps closer to EMT certification. The journey has been an experience of a lifetime and a defining moment of my life. Initially, I took this course to gain skills and knowledge for personal development. However, getting involved with the course create strong values for the education, training, skills, knowledge and a bond with the classmates and instructors. We all kept each other on track and supported each other throughout the course that made everyone felt like an Elite Medical Technician. Everyone will miss each other. We enjoyed each other's company, unique background, and not taking things too seriously from time to time. On the other hand, a few of us will get together and study for the National Registry exam in order to get certified as an EMT. The window of opportunity opens up when I get certified and possibly rolling in the streets with ear piercing sirens of the ambulance.


As a well deserved gift for accomplishment, I'll be getting an all terrain zero emission mountain bike. Essentially stimulating the economy and reimbursed with the stimulus tax refund

The weekend breezed by quick as usual but had an very adventurous time. I scheduled Saturday for my second ambulance ride along and I ended up with a different unit then I signed up. The other unit worked out far better then I expected because I knew one of the EMT with a mellow and welcoming Paramedic. We stopped by for breakfast a small family owned cafe and hung out. The calls are slow in the morning and we watched a few episodes of Dave Chappelle show of Season 2 on a portable DVD. A good way to past the time with a few laughs. However, once we drove into downtown thats when we are called for duty.

The first call we received was at a clinic with a 37 year old male complained of severe pain in his legs due to blood clots. He had difficulties walking so we assisted him onto the gurney and into The Rig (ambulance). I attached 3 leads on the patient and the pulse oximeter to measure his initial vitals. Sure enough his vital signs were stable. He was pleasantly pleased when the reception made the 911 call we arrive within two minutes. The Paramedic asked relevant questions about his current condition and past medical history. The patient has a history of HIV/AIDS and prescribed a cocktail of medications. It's sad how some people are ignorant of their health and cause harm or injury to themselves. Then spend the rest of their lives on medications as life support. When the Paramedic completed his questions we drove off to the nearest Hospital approximately five minutes away. The EMT gave me a chance to assess the patient and monitor his vitals during the ride. How could I give up an opportunity to interact with the patient and gain experience. When we arrived at hospital I took the final blood pressure reading and other vital signs, relayed the info. to the EMT, and released him to the Emergency Department.

The second call we received involves a 83 year old woman who has body pain due to gout arthritis. She could barely move due to hear unbearable pain. The Medic also had difficulty obtaining an accurate blood pressure reading from the patient couldn't keep arm still. So it came time to transport the patient to the hospital of her choice. I grabbed the heart monitor, oxygen tank, and the patient's bag of prescription medication into the Rig. Then assist loading the patient into the Rig. Two additional family members came on board for transportation to the hospital. The Medic promptly administered an IV saline lock and ordered me to hook up the patient with a nasal cannula with 2 liters/minute of oxygen. Along the ride the Medic gathered all the patient's info. for his report for the emergency staff. When arrived at the emergency department, I obtained the patient's final blood pressure and manual pulse rate readings. As a result, the patient had high blood pressure and a strong fast beating pulse. For this reason, the Medic suggested that obtaining a pulse rate manually it will give me more practice rather than using the pulse oximetry. We unloaded out of the Rig and released her to the hospital. On my way out to sanitize the gurney and equipment, one of the family members of the patient ran out to thank me in person. Certainly made my day.

Finally some down time and lunch. Unfortunately, as soon as I reached for my lunch we get another emergency call. The most unusual call because this was at the city/county hospital. We were the first Medic unit to arrive with  at least 20 firefighters onsite and many people were evacuated. Reportly the hospital had a transformer explosion that poured smoke throughout the 1st and 3rd floors. The smoke got so thick I heard firefighters requesting additional CO2 extinguishers and a thermal imaging camera over the radio. The Rescue Captain gave us a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) pack and ordered us to prep up as a contingency plan. How cool to experience a full box (full EMS emergency call). A first for me and the Medics. After several hours the situation was finally under control. A few firefighter units were on standby along with two medic units. We were called back since it's near the end of our shift.

An awesome rewarding and learning experience. It sure beats the day in the office.