the 100% directionless thread

COmedic17

Forum Asst. Chief
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Well I am looking at applying to Denver Health. Now to convince my wife.
Last I heard from a buddy who just got hired there, they require a 1 yr minimum of experience in your current certification level to be eligible for hire.
 

Handsome Robb

Youngin'
Premium Member
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She still can't replace @Handsome Robb

I'm glad I'm not easily replaceable.

In other news I read Mark Owen's "No Easy Day" about the Bin Laden raid in its entirety today. Good book. First time I've read anything besides medical stuff in a while. Was very refreshing.
 

Chewy20

Forum Deputy Chief
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Bah. High call volume and low enough acuity that you haven't seen a sick patient for that long? What's your strategy for keeping your sanity? I feel like that would burn me up remarkably quickly.

Yes, and trust me I have been losing my marbles. First 5 or 6 months was all the fun stuff. Ever since then I have been wanting a new job lol.

On another note, the captions on some of these pictures on emtlife instagram are priceless.
 

PotatoMedic

Has no idea what I'm doing.
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Last I heard from a buddy who just got hired there, they require a 1 yr minimum of experience in your current certification level to be eligible for hire.
Thanks for the heads up!
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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My partner at work is finishing up his medic school (already passed national registry, he's just getting the paperwork together for his state P card) and was positively drooling at Williamson County EMS's (grammar nazis, is it "EMS's" or "EMS' "?) website before remembering he and his wife just bought a house in Riverside
 

Chewy20

Forum Deputy Chief
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WilCo is a good place to work.

EMS is already Emergency Medical Services. So just keep it EMS would be my guess lol
 

TransportJockey

Forum Chief
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My partner at work is finishing up his medic school (already passed national registry, he's just getting the paperwork together for his state P card) and was positively drooling at Williamson County EMS's (grammar nazis, is it "EMS's" or "EMS' "?) website before remembering he and his wife just bought a house in Riverside
That and WilCo wants at least a year experience as a medic. I would love to work there
 

chaz90

Community Leader
Community Leader
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fbcf4978797aaa8750e7d05f2625c958.jpg

Working in the Mega Gator at an event today. I'm working in a transport capable unit for the first time in a while!
 

ViolynEMT

Forum Chiefess
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Working in the Mega Gator at an event today. I'm working in a transport capable unit for the first time in a while!


I'd be stoked I got a vehicle at all. Last two freelance gigs I did, I had a big bag, portable O2, and an AED ready to grab so that I could run with them. o_O
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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So I managed to get the first 12 hours of my shift covered so I could take the Orange County Fire Authority written test today. Feel like I did good, pretty confident I'll pass and move on to the interview. If (when) I do, that'll mark three FDs I have interviews lined up for (Long Beach, LA, and now OC). All three are looking at January academies...fingers crossed!

Also, I show up for the night half (1930-0730) of my shift, it's not the busiest in town. The 3 calls they already ran are about the usual daily call volume (yesterday they had one call)....and in three hours I get 4 more calls...(my partner is already half complaining of having a black cloud lol)

Oh and apparently before I arrived, earlier today they got dispatched to that nasty head on collision with a Lifeline Ambulance over in Pasadena..only to get cancelled enroute to be rerouted to a medical call, but from what they were saying (from the dispatch info and overhearing the radio) it def sounded pretty gnarly. Terrible the patient got killed..hope the crew is alright.
 

Akulahawk

EMT-P/ED RN
Community Leader
4,952
1,349
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In the meantime I went out and bought pepper spray that was recommended by an LEO and I have my father's old night stick from when he was an LEO.
:cool:
Those are all good places to start, just remember that the use of force isn't a ladder of escalation but more like a pinwheel. You simply select the appropriate amount of force necessary to stop the threat. If you do choose to own a gun, be mindful that means you consider that the threat to YOU is potentially that of great bodily injury or death. You may only USE deadly force (of which firearms are but one means) if you are directly/imminently threatened with GBI/Deadly force. A "night stick" can easily be considered using deadly force because you easily can cause death with it.

For home protection, I actually do NOT recommend using a shotgun. They're cumbersome in tight quarters, you still have to aim them accurately, and have a relatively limited capacity. There's a reason why short-barrel rifles, subguns, and handguns are used by SWAT teams for entry into houses... In my house, my go-to is a handgun for those times I might have to go hunting for trouble in my house to keep my family safe because two of those three aren't available to me. I'd rather get into a safe area where I know my backstops/safe directions of fire and force trouble to find me.

If you choose to get a firearm, get good training in both legal matters and physical skill. Also, take your time to really get to know what firearms work best for you. Me? I choose a Glock 23 and a .45 cal 1911. I shoot them both equally effectively. Could I shoot a 9mm? Sure. They'll be easily adequate for the job with any decent self-defense load. For that matter, I'd be happy with a decent .38/.357 revolver. I could use my .22 for self defense, but my other firearms would be more reliable/effective at stopping the threat.

I once had my CCW. For me, while shooting someone is the last thing I ever want to do, I will do it defensively if it ever becomes necessary. That's a choice I made.

Getting a self defense firearm is an intensely personal choice that only you can make. What to choose is also very personal. Yes, most of my firearms are range-queens. Two are for self defense. I know them well and occasionally compete with them to keep certain skills sharp. We all have our bits of advice, but you must choose what will work best for you and your situation. The hardest thing isn't really the hardware... it's choosing to potentially end a life and getting high quality software (training) that will hopefully allow you to stop the threat without ever having to fire a shot.
 
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