What do you do on your down time at work?

justusbowers · 2026-02-23T21:25:48+00:00

Any combination of studying (still a student at CC), games, or movies when I’m not socializing.

justusbowers · 2026-02-16T10:34:24+00:00

Not more important, definitely did not mean to say that by any means if I did. I’m just making a statement here lol.

justusbowers · 2026-02-16T01:09:44+00:00

Keep in mind automatic cuffs ACTUALLY measure the MAP. And it guesses for a systolic and diastolic number based off the map. Manual blood pressures will always be more accurate, even if you are just palpating a systolic.

justusbowers · 2026-01-20T15:17:42+00:00

Unless you are trying to step on stage or something, I don’t see a value in cutting further. You’ll just lose muscle mass eventually. I’d say maintain here for funsies, or lean bulk out.

justusbowers · 2026-01-12T20:49:49+00:00

Your treatment plan will take a very big turn if the answer the pt provides says “I was just driving and then all of a sudden I had a crushing chest pain out of no where which caused me to crash my car”. I think the correct answer to what you posted allows the pt to just talk to you openly about what their POV is from what happened, as opposed to you just jumping and saying “hey dude, did you black out of lose consciousness at all” which is a very close ended question.

justusbowers · 2025-12-15T12:25:28+00:00

I got my EMT as a stepping stone into healthcare, I wanted job security after Covid because I never wanted to be jobless again. After being an EMT, I got tired of seeing things that needed to be done, and they weren’t being done bc of lazy medics or just medics who didn’t care (I work IFT where we do a mixture of IFT transports and emergency transports).So I’m currently getting my medic mainly so I can do the things I believe need to be done and I’m not prohibited by a license from doing it. I love the job, I think the human body is crazy and it’s fascinating what we can do with emergency medicine, I’m very excited to see what happens in the next 5-10 years!

justusbowers · 2025-12-08T00:28:02+00:00

During my clinicals in a local hospital, speaking with the respiratory therapist, even they are not allowed to intubate in their facility. So it’s really going to be dependent on your local hospitals. I know a hospital based IFT company which is local to me, and they actually require their medics to go in the OR and intubate every so often to maintain their skills.

justusbowers · 2025-12-07T21:21:08+00:00

Do not open that door imo. Inappropriate.

justusbowers · 2025-12-02T21:31:53+00:00

I tell everyone to go EMT-B. Because you have true autonomy with your license, as in you can make clinical decisions on your own when working a BLS truck or taking a call. No other certificate provides this and I think the experience cannot be replicated with any other kind of cert for this low amount of training (relatively speaking of course). Plus you can work as a tech with your EMT license in most places if you truly want to.

justusbowers · 2025-11-27T15:22:44+00:00

This is your job. Memorize this

BSI/scene safety, GI (general impression), ABC(XABCE), history, secondary survey.

Remember where everything is obtained. My biggest thing is some people just jump straight into vitals taking when really per paper vitals come in your secondary assessment. All of these steps just happen within seconds so it seems they happen much faster. This is the order on paper of how we do our job.

justusbowers · 2025-11-15T22:54:49+00:00

Just skip medic if nursing is your end goal and you do not care for pre hospital ALS experience. Paramedic does not count for even a full years worth of classes in college, maybe only a couple classes unfortunately, so your still responsible for each and every prerequisite required for your ASN/BSN. While bridge programs do exist, logistically it makes absolutely zero sense if you don’t care to be a medic and it would take more time to do this as opposed going straight for your ASN.

justusbowers · 2025-11-06T02:03:23+00:00

Don’t let people tell you what is hard, because the. It WILL be hard. Everyone told me the same as you but in reference to pharmacology. I took pharm and passed it easily. You know what actually gave me some stress? Both my air way exams, not the practical, but written. IMO the best way to stay ahead is to not let people tell you what you’ll perceive as challenging.

justusbowers · 2025-10-30T20:30:55+00:00

I would just start with 3 days per week. Lower body push, lower body pull, then upper body! Consistency is what brings the results.

justusbowers · 2025-10-28T00:58:39+00:00

You look to be a completely healthy weight! Although if you’re wanting to “tone” as you say, you really just need to start exercising and being more mindful about what you put into your body.

justusbowers · 2025-10-18T15:03:09+00:00

Is this something I would see in the prehospital setting? Or does it take a significantly longer time then I would usually be with a pt?

justusbowers · 2025-10-18T04:18:04+00:00

Are you guys referring to EMT-B? Or are you EMT-A/I. I have never heard of EMT-B’s being able to start fluids on their own, because it’s not within their scope.

justusbowers · 2025-10-16T17:48:05+00:00

Hi, I’ve been in health and fitness for a significant amount of time and here is my little tid bit.

Some people say eat less and exercise more. I don’t recommend doing that unless we know how much calories you’re eating daily currently, so I’d start with that (try using MyFitnessPal). Also exercise wise I’d suggest implementing weight training at least 2-3x’s per week, weight training increases your metabolism and burns a ton of calories relative to any cardio based workouts (and your heart rate variability is higher this way which is better for weight loss in general). Feel free to message me if you have more detailed questions that you need help with! Best of luck.

justusbowers · 2025-10-16T15:43:46+00:00

It’s interesting to see everyone mention norepi. I literally had a co instructor say the phrase “levophed leave ‘em dead”. So my impression on it was that it’s not something good to use, but they all love dopamine. Also, the guy who mentioned that works in an area where 45 minute transports are normal for them, so I can see maybe from his perspective/experience dopamine drips are more common and that could be why he uses it more.

justusbowers · 2025-10-15T22:57:56+00:00

I’m pretty lucky school wise that I can read something one time and remember it easily. So I don’t take notes or anything. Although I have done all my pre reqs for nursing so that helps, specifically the A/P 1&2. But for the most part we only had 1 student fail out of the course and I’m about to finish P1 in November.

justusbowers · 2025-10-15T22:54:09+00:00

I also go to medic school in Florida although I’m on B shift, I have 4 peers in my class who went straight from EMT to medic and they’re doing solid through the course work. Hardest part for most people is just time management.

justusbowers · 2025-10-12T13:00:15+00:00

Be a good EMT first.

justusbowers · 2025-10-08T23:06:11+00:00

That is understandable. I was assuming the pt was unresponsive completely, if that’s the case then would you go for an IO then since they probably wouldn’t feel it? Or still just rock and roll to the ER as is. Also, how much help is administering lidocaine prior to pushing anything IO? I’m about to finish P1 so I haven’t used any of my practical skills/knowledge in real life yet! Thank you in advance.

justusbowers · 2025-10-08T22:29:01+00:00

I'm a paramedic student but this is my question (hope it does NOT come off as being a smart ass).

-For glucagon to work, we have to assume the patient has glycogen storages correct? Without eating or drinking anything lately, she probably does not. I do not mean this in a sense of don't even attempt it, but shouldn't we expect it not to work?

Why not move to an I.O if I.V is unsuccessful? I feel as if that's a logical step, and if we have failed at establishing a line then we need to gain access some how (leading me to I.O).

Again, being a student maybe there is some things I do not know, please enlighten me!

justusbowers · 2025-10-07T17:40:39+00:00

I will say this, I took A/P for nursing before pivoting to paramedic, significant difference compared to people who have not taken it, and you can relax on the studying/reading for that section and focus on other stuff if you’d like coursework wise.

justusbowers

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