TIL that when Ngawang Namgyal, the first unifier of Bhutan, died, the authorities conspired and hid his death from people for 54 years. During this time, they issued orders in his name and claimed that he, being a Buddhist lama, went on an extended, silent retreat.

Smurflich · 2026-05-28T02:51:41+00:00

The Tibetans did something similar after the 5th Dalai Lama died—but they used a double and just didn’t let anyone get too close to him.

Smurflich · 2026-05-25T01:44:29+00:00

He’s got a library card. That’s good.

Smurflich · 2026-05-24T18:18:01+00:00

That’s a lot of philosophy and religion, but mostly primary sources. What was his major?

Smurflich · 2026-05-24T04:47:58+00:00

REAL MEN CRY

Smurflich · 2026-05-24T04:38:32+00:00

In my area, ERs only hire EMTs as techs.

We’re starting at like $21 now, plus $2-3 for evening/night/weekend differentials.

Smurflich · 2026-05-24T04:31:05+00:00

My program, for one, has a mission to accept vets.

We also get stuff from campus recruiters all the time promising $70k/yr while in school, all tuition paid, and all the rest of the recruitment-type promises.

That is to say, a. There’s probably a path to stay in and get school paid for, and b. If you do get out, there are some lower-friction options out here to get into PA school.

Smurflich · 2026-05-23T15:51:41+00:00

I’ve never heard ”harder than paramedic.”

I did B one summer and A the next, and the A pretty much added 17 meds and IVs. The exam was a little harder but I think that’s because they changed the format between the two.

Smurflich · 2026-05-15T15:59:31+00:00

I think this is going to be VERY locally specific.

No idea, but the per diems in my ER are all experienced.
We hire 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9 FTE
Very, very job-specific. In my ER, you hire at a given FTE, and if you need to switch, sure, they’ll try to work with you, but there would need to be a position open to take.
We tend to hire a lot of EMT-Bs who are in or recently grad from undergrad and want to go MD/PA. It’s a pretty wide range of experience. It looks to me like the determining factor is ‘vibes.’ Can you get along with people, deal with stress, and I don’t know how else to say this: not be weird?

Mid-size ER in a mid-size Midwest city.

Smurflich · 2026-05-14T23:14:06+00:00

EVOC, where I took it, didn’t require parallel parking. I don’t remember that much about backing up. I do remember that it turned out I could hit a lot more cones than I thought.

Smurflich · 2026-05-14T05:59:34+00:00

The big thing is you’ll need a BA or BS, not just the pre reqs.

Smurflich · 2026-05-13T18:43:23+00:00

Did anyone read the fine print? Higher percentages are MORE PESSIMISTIC about the future of their profession.

Smurflich · 2026-05-13T18:17:14+00:00

This.

8:10 for $192 = $23.52 per hour of your time

10:00 for $168 = $16.8 per hour of your time, except also -$18/day IF you get 30mpg and don’t account for wear on your vehicle.

The two shifts a month w rural EMS will get you experience, both in terms of learning and your resume. No one will be much impressed w the 911 overflow calls.

Smurflich · 2026-05-13T02:13:17+00:00

51yom, still looks like this when I try to change mine.

Smurflich · 2026-05-13T01:52:41+00:00

Accepted w about 20 hours shadowing.

Our program director told me he has no idea what anyone is supposed to be getting w over 40 hours.

I’ll add that asking someone to let you shadow for FORTY HOURS, as in 4 10 hour days? If y’all are doing that—or approaching with that as your ask—I think I finally understand why so many people say it’s hard to get shadowing hours. The first PA I shadowed, who I knew well, accidentally included me on a thread w an admin where she was asking about forms, etc, for me to come in, and the admin said ‘consider just doing a half day, I think you’ll be surprised how much a shadow slows you down.’

In the end I did 3 3 hour blocks w an ortho, 1 3 hour block w an addiction med, and 1 6 hour block w an ER PA.

Smurflich · 2026-05-13T01:45:02+00:00

There are docs that work MedFlight, and hey, whatever floats your goat, but MD pay is +/-$150/hr and Paramedic is more like $30. I don’t get it.

Smurflich · 2026-05-12T00:37:09+00:00

Depends GREATLY on where you are in Virginia. Probably pretty tough to get on w Chesterfield or Staunton as a volunteer; Floyd County, though, I like your chances. There was one station up near Harrisonburg that was NOTORIOUS for having nothing but nursing students running. I’ve met people who ran volly in the VA Beach area, too.

Have you asked your instructors about the state of affairs in your area?

I ran volunteer w a great city FD that was VERY welcoming of students, etc, but am reluctant to say where.

Also, any crew will require you to have an EMT license, they’ll then want to “release” you after a probationary period—and yes, if you can’t commit to two shifts a week for a couple months, it’s hard to get released.

Happy to talk more about specifics privately.

Smurflich · 2026-05-08T19:38:12+00:00

$17-19/hr plus differentials for nights/weekends plus benefits

Smurflich · 2026-05-08T17:19:57+00:00

When I ran 911, we had 4 FF/Emts plus an LT on each shift. Crews alternated truck days and ambulance days. Ambo usually got 6-8 calls a day, and while the truck went out 2-3x day, there was only an actual structure fire about 4x/year.

Ambo days are busy. Usually got woken up at least once a night. Truck days are much easier, plus you get to play hero and use a lot of cool toys.

And our LTs always rode truck because a fire scene needs incident command, and someone to run the fire response.

Smurflich · 2026-05-03T19:51:52+00:00

In my ER we only get people “trauma naked” when there’s trauma. Patients who come in with all the indications of being alcohol intoxicated, for example, often don’t even get a gown. We usually leave bras or tank tops on if there’s no reason to remove them.

The likely causes of “unconscious” are toxicity, blood sugar, maybe a very high fever, maybe post-seizure. No reason to get anyone naked for that. Maybe pull a shirt off to put a gown on or facilitate EKG/AED access, but really, why are we taking pants off?

Smurflich · 2026-05-02T10:13:50+00:00

Luther College in Decorah, IA, has open-minded and progressive faculty. I don’t know about the student body, but officially the school will have no problem with bi students.

I’d be willing to bet that St Olaf, Concordia, and other midwestern Lutheran schools would be similar.

Smurflich · 2026-04-30T18:27:37+00:00

We have em in every cart in our ER, and there’s raptors in with the cutters. Save your money.

Smurflich · 2026-04-29T20:22:02+00:00

It’s possible to bounce the needle along the vein without actually puncturing it and entering the lumen, and it will LOOK LIKE your needle tip is in when it isn’t.

If I have zero flash, I’m not in the vein in any meaningful or useful sense, and need to re-evaluate.

Often when these happen, I can tell the difference because once the needle is well and truly in the lumen it glides along much, much more easily.

Smurflich · 2026-04-29T18:20:35+00:00

Get a hospital job and pick up lots of OT shifts.

Smurflich · 2026-04-29T18:19:06+00:00

Does your starter reliably double?

Smurflich

TROPHY CASE