I have a confession to make.  I have not taken a test in 11 years that was not based on material that I was taught in the few days prior.  That is to say, since college, if it was not ACLS, PHTLS, or some other EMS related course, I have not tested on it.  It has also been 12 years since I took a standardized paramedic certification test.  Now, I am on the verge of facing the National Registry paramedic test head on.  Every piece of information that I obtained in 1999 and 2000 will be called out, along with anything else that I might have learned along the way.  No pressure, right? The biggest change that I have seen over the years is the way that we are able to study is completely different.  Back then, having information “at my finger tips” involved me adjurning to my book shelf or hoping that the correct material was hiding in my bag somewhere.  Now with the inventions of Google, the enhancement and growth of the internet answers are even easier to come by, as they should be.  I am struggling though to figure out if that will make it easier for me to study or harder. I feel like I am a prety computer savvy individual with a good grasp on what is out there in cyber space but in embracing that I am also putting aside much of what I previously knew. For my entire academic career, when I had to I buried my nose in a book.  I was not very good at studying mainly because I did not do it.  My grades in high school were good, not great but good.  They were that way because as I look back now, I was bored.  I did not study very often and somehow still did well on tests but my grades were brought down becuase I was one of those lazy kids that did not see the value of homework.  When I got to college that hurt me in some of my classes because my study skills were not as good as some of my peers.  It was not until I got into...

It is hard for me to believe that it has been a whole year since an EF-3 tornado tore its path through Western Massachusetts.  We were very lucky that day.  Loss of life and the occurance of injury was surprisingly low.  Most importantly though I was lucky enough to work with some amazing people that day.  Back on June 13th of last year, I shared some thoughts on the day that I would like to invite you to read. Late last year, however, an even better opportunity was presented to me: I was given the chance to write a chapter for a book called Springfield Tornado: Stories from the Heart.  The book was officially released today, and I am extremely proud of it.  Clicking on the title of the book, or the picture below will take you to the ordering page for the book.  If you ask me, it is worth the read, but of course, I am biased....

Since it is EMS week, I decided to take some time and look back over my career.  This is my nineteenth EMS week which is a staggering statistic for me.  I knew from day one that I loved this field, but there was a part of me that always doubted that I would stick with it as long as I have. I have picked up a lot of hobbies and side projects over the years but nothing has stuck with me the way that EMS has.  From the first day that I was eligible to get on ambulance that has been where I have wanted to be.  It is hard for me to pin point one reason as my motivation has changed as I have evolved and progressed in my career.  On that first call I think that it was the adrenalin rush.  It was being involved in that emergency and stepping up and seeing it through to the end.  I remember watching the paramedics working out of Community Medical Center and thinking of them almost as gods.  I was always amazed at what they were able to do.  They were larger than life to me, and I could never imagine myself being in their shoes. Once I got my paramedic card in the mail, I was motivated by all of the new things that I would be able to try, but I was also terrified.  I remember sitting in my car getting ready to head into work for my first shift as a cleared paramedic, dry heaving in the parking lot because I was so nervous.  I saw great opportunity in what I was doing, but I also saw great responsibility, and having that responsibility was very scary for me, and I feel like that showed through in my medicine for the first year or two that I was a practicing paramedic.  I could be quite high strung and on edge at times. As I got more comfortable though I feel like I progressed into a pretty decent paramedic.  I was not the strongest by far, but when I was unsure of something, I was always quick to ask.  I knew my limits,...

Two years ago today, I sat in my office staring at a blank Blogspot post screen.  I had tried the blogging thing before but I had never tried writing about EMS.  Now though, after reading blogs like The Happy Medic and Life Under the Lights, I decided that it was time for me to take a stab at it. Now, two years and almost 150 posts later, here we are.  It has been quite the journey so far, and I am sure that there is going to be more to come.  There have certainly been some ups and downs, but as John Hall says about EMS careers, they should be a sine wave, and not a bell curve.  This blog post is not about patient care, management, or anything EMS related.  Its simply to say thanks to you, the reader, for actually taking the time to read the occasionally aimless musings of an EMS professional.  The first 150 posts have been a blast. . . Lets see where the next 150 takes...

2011 was a big year for me and a big year for EMS in the New Decade.  Born from some ideas discussed over a few beers in Baltimore was The First Responders Blogging Network, and I was fortunate enough to be one of its first members which brought about my domain move from Blogspot to www.medicsbk.com. While as of late there were a few technical glitches, I saw a number of visits and got some great comments, so I decided to share with you the top five articles viewed by you, the reader.  For those new to the blog, I welcome you to check out content that you have not yet seen.  For the faithful readers that have been with me all year, I invite you revisit some of this year’s most viewed and share your thoughts on them. 5.  A Punch in the Gut – In July, the Baltimore Fire Department’s EMS Training Center was shut down.  Read my thoughts on that here. 4.  IntuBrite Laryngoscope Blades – As part of my involvement with the Podcasting Studio at EMS Expo in Las Vegas, I was able to choose what I felt was the most innovative product on the show floor.  Here is my selection. 3.  A Call to Volunteers – Over the course of the last year and a half, I have become quite vocal about the New Jersey State First Aid Council and their efforts to bust EMS in New Jersey back to the stone age.  Here is one of those articles. 2.  EMS in New Jersey – A Call for Action – Here is yet another view of EMS in New Jersey, this one dealing directly with NJ State Bill S-818 and my thoughts on it.  Again, this was a very hot topic this year, and I invite you to read this, especially if you are a New Jersey EMT. 1.  Goodnight, ALCO – On October 31st 2011, AMR Alameda County closed their doors.  A lot of great paramedics and EMTs were forced to find other work in different counties or hop on board with the county’s new provider.  I owe a lot to the folks out in ALCO.  This is...

Hey, did you know it can snow in New England in October?  I always thought it might be a possibility, but what we experienced up here in Massachusetts last week was unlike anything I have ever seen.  This year, I have sat through a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, and now one of the nastiest winter storms of my career.  Hey, Mother Nature, I am waving the white flag! My Saturday was just like any other: I spent it on the streets, responded to a call or two, and was ready to head home, shovel a few inches of snow off my front walk and enjoy the first snowfall of the year the best way I knew how: with a glass of wine and some dinner.  Things took a turn at around 5pm though when the snow picked up. With many of the leaves still having yet to fall, trees began to be weighted down.  Many of them broke taking power lines with them.  By 8pm, most of my city was without power including my house.  It is an eerie feeling when you are sitting on a main artery of a city surrounded by lit street lights and there, 100 yards down the road past an intersection is nothing but darkness.  At this point, I saw no reason to go home so I turned my 12 hour day into a 24. In comparison to the tornado that struck my city on June 1, dealing with the October snow storm was much more challenging.  When the tornado hit, we had our damage path, we knew what the threats were, and we figured out what we had to do to work both in them and around them.  What we found in the snow storm was the damage was much more wide spread, and the environment was constantly changing.  What was a clear intersection just 5 minutes prior could now be blocked with a tree or downed power lines.  Keeping track of street closings and hazards was a logistical nightmare. I spent the next week (yes, week) couch surfing with friends or sleeping in my cold house.  Although it was a stressful seven days as I waited...

My name is Scott, and I am a PC. I admit it: PCs have been my life and my passion for quite a number of years.  I remember my first one when I was 8 years old.  I still speak DOS fluently, in fact, the computer that I am typing this on right now is a computer that I built myself a little more than two years ago. That said, I am still mourning the death of Steve Jobs today. In addition to my love of PCs, I also have an affinity for gadgets.  Just the other night during some downtime at work, I was replying to tweets on my iPhone while reading a PDF on my iPAD, all while listening to music on my iPOD.  I have them all, and I love them all and a day does not go by where I am not using them.  Steve Jobs revolutionized mobile media for me.  He changed the way I surf the net, he changed how I listened to music, and he changed how I communicated with people. You Android users out there should be counting your blessings as well.  If it was not for the iPhone, do you think the Android would be half as good as it is?  Jobs did not just challenge his own company; he challenged everyone else as well.  He pushed them to make their products better just to stay competitive, and they did the same right back to Jobs and Apple.  Because of that competition, we have what we have today. I found a couple of inspirational quotes from Steve Jobs as I was reading through an article about him on the Huffington Post today that I thought I would share: “That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity.  Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.  But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — BusinessWeek interview form 1998. I love this quote, and I feel it embodies everything that EMS 2.0 stands for.  Make things simple again and start over.  Don’t over complicate things...

When I sit down to craft a blog entry, I try not to focus on “Me.”I’d rather focus on “Us.” That being said, there comes those occasional times when my inner narcissist takes over.This is one of those times. In May of last year, I made some tough and important decisions about the life I was going to lead.I was overweight, and not leading a healthy life style.It was time for me to change all of that and get myself into a better place physically, mentally and emotionally. I’ve always been what I refer to as a “stress eater.”Food makes me feel better.It has always been therapeutic for me.Let’s face it, we work in a stressful field, and the position I hold has been extremely stressful over the last couple of years, so reaching for an extra helping at dinner, or hitting a McDonald’s drive thru was an easy thing for me to do. I realized that I couldn’t do that anymore.I needed to find better ways to cope, and it was time to start taking better care of myself.I started concentrating on eating better, and downloaded an Application on my iPhone called “Lose It!” and on May 14th of last year, I began recording everything that I ate, and any exercise I did.I’ve continued that religiously each and every day since then.Now, 40 weeks later, I’ve reached my goal. When I started my transformation, I weighed 310 lbs.When I stepped on a scale this past Monday, I was delighted to see that I was down to 235.That’s right, I lost 75 lbs.I haven’t weighed under 240 lbs in at least five or six years.I feel great, I look like a different person, and I fit into clothes that I haven’t worn in years.I’m not completely satisfied yet, but losing 75 lbs is quite a huge step forward, and anything from here on out will be a cake walk (mmmm cake). To those of you who have known about my endeavors, I thank you for your support.For anyone who is looking to do something similar, check out Lose It!It’s a great application, and it changed my...

A year ago today, I made the decision to take the leap into the EMS Blog world.I remember the days leading up.So much was going through my head.What should I write about?Will anyone actually read it?Well, almost 70 posts later, I’m still going strong, and I have you, the readers to thank for that. My first post was quite simple, it was just a little overview of who I was, and what I was hoping to accomplish in the coming posts.I say “who I was” because in the 365 days since that first post went up, I’ve grown and changed quite a bit.What started out as the simple musings of a Paramedic is now viewed over 1,000 times a month, and has over 50 registered followers.#MyEMSDay has been created, and over 200 EMS 2.0 pins are being worn by Paramedics and EMTs fromSpringfield,Massachusetts toMelbourneAustralia. To those of you who have read what I’ve had to say over the last year, I thank you.To any new readers I might have, welcome to year 2!And finally, toEMSin the New Decade, HAPPY...

That morning in Dallas, I got to spend about two hours with Chief Skip Kirkwood from Wake County EMS, and boy did it fly by. The interview I posted in that previous post was a pretty good summary of what we covered in the more “formal” part of our talk. From there, the discussion turned to an exchange of ideas and thoughts on where we are at and where we are headed, and if you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than what you can learn from him, and his department in North Carolina. My admiration for Skip Kirkwood started about five years ago. I learned about the National EMS Management Association, and their list serv on Google, and I quickly signed up for both. If you don’t follow the NEMSMA List Serv, what are you waiting for? Its filled with some of the greatest minds in EMS who frequently share ideas and thoughts on the field, and Skip is one of their most frequent and well respected contributors. When he speaks (or in this case writes) people stop, take notice, and listen. I have actually saved many of his emails that I found to be useful, and I’ve shared them with those around me. I’ve closely followed the progress Wake County EMS has made over the years, and I even have a few friends from New Jersey who currently work in his system (who I am very jealous of). To me, Skip Kirkwood comes across as someone who is a fearless, confident leader who expects nothing but the best out of everyone around him, and I don’t see why simply his personality wouldn’t bring that out of people. He also projects himself as a very patient person, eager to share the life and professional lessons he’s gained over the years. I thought the most interesting moment in our interview was his response to the question “What lesson would you like to teach to a new EMT or Paramedic just getting their start in the field?” His response had nothing to do with anything clinical or even operational. It was about their personal well being. “Manage your finances,” he said, “don’t live outside of...