Helluva week

Image courtsey of Flickr user bottled_void

Wow.  Sorry I’ve been gone for a while, but I’m back now.  I had a helluva week that I had to recover from.  I passed my NREMT and got my certification (FINALLY!), not to mention a promotion at work to Detective.  So, in addition to plugging holes and catching babies on the road, I’m now at a (for the most part) desk job at work.  Not much of a pay increase, but the fringe bennies are nice (among them being at home with my family at night)!  Now that I have my office squared away and all my schooling and testing done with, it’s time to get down to some blogging.  With some help from my new friends at FRN, I think this is going to be a great place for us to share ideas, scream WTF!? from time to time (c’mon, you know you do it AT LEAST once a week..), and get a good laugh from our fellow road dawgs.  Thank you all for stopping by and welcoming me!!

Testing

Image courtesy of PhotoBucket user TristanWestbrook

Tomorrow I test for the NREMT-Basic.  Here are the two patches I’m trying for.  I’ve put a lot of time and effort (as has EVERYONE who has ever studied for this exam) and I’m hoping for the best.  With any luck, I’ll be able to report back in roughly 24 hours from now that I passed, and that I’m watching purple unicorns fly overhead in formation.  Okay, maybe just that I passed, but hey, who WOULDN’T want to see purple unicorns flying in formation?!!

Banner Day

Image courtesy of Flikr user lumaxart

This has been an AWESOME day for me.  I finally got state approval for my National Registry test this morning, and to top it off, I got a call from The Happy Medic and acceptance into the First Responders Network, a blog network of EMS, Fire, and Police peeps.  I have to say this has been one of the most rewarding days I’ve had in a LONG time, and I’ve only been up about 4 hours!

That being said, anyone with sure-fire wins on studying for the NREMT, please let me know what they are in the comments.  I want to pass this thing first time around!

Rescuing Friday the 13th

Rescuing Providence (http://rescuingprovidence.com/) is posting all their Friday the 13th calls online as they happen (or after they clear, as the case may be).  The site is always good, but this just blows my mind!  Here is the direct link to the Friday the 13th post (http://rescuingprovidence.com/2011/05/13/friday-the-13th/).

Seriously?!?

Let me preface this rant by saying that I spent two weeks of HELL gathering things to get into EMT school.  CPR cards, school transcripts, certifications, blood types, etc. etc. etc…  The LAST week of school I scrambled AGAIN gathering CPR cards, school transcripts, etc. etc. etc. that they had LOST.  School ended 3 weeks ago, and I was told that “everything is set.  All your paperwork is in order and we should have it to the state in less than 3 days.”

Right.

Yesterday I get an email from the clinical director with a list of names of CPR cards they DON’T HAVE and need copies of.   Keep in mind I already gave it to them twice.  The same day, I get a letter from the state telling me my application for certification was denied, wait for it, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE A CPR CARD ON FILE!!

So, I went to the station, made 150 copies of my CPR card, and took them to the EMS Programs office where I went to school.  They didn’t find it funny, but at the time, I wasn’t trying to be funny.  I wanted the damn process OVER with.  Today, I got a wild hair and decided to call the state myself.  All they are missing from my file is my CPR card, and then my application will be approved.  I just emailed them scanned copies of the card and they’ve already approved it.

Lesson:  If you want something done right, do it your damn self!