Hello RKR!

This is in response to his comment on the post Much more transport tonight.

Greetings to you too Dude.

VACIS or eMR as we are calling it, has I think now completed it's trial period at selected stations and will begin it's slow roll out here in 2011. I'm sure I have read a time scale for it's implementation but as any of us know these things usually take longer than expected.

I remember in my previous life when computers where going to give us a paperless office system that manual invoicing (which is really what part of the documentation is for) was decreased by 95% but the books were never thrown out.

There are really only four levels of officer in our service,

Trainee - your induction and basic training at school (8 weeks) and the remainder of a year (usually) on-road with Qualified Officer mentors.

Paramedic Intern - after another stint at school and then anything up to two years on-road for skills consolidation and development. There are many things in this job that can't be learnt from a book.

Qualified Paramedic - another stint at school for the largest jump in skills and knowledge.

Intensive Care Paramedic - not a natural progression for all who wish to gain the extra skills, knowledge and responsibility but a hotly contested, merit based selection system with limited positions. It does, and this is my opinion (like arseholes I'm allowed to have one before any ICPs try to rip me another), it deters really good officers who are not the cream of the crop at examinations, interviews or application writing.

Then there are the speciality positions, Rescue or Special Operations Team, Flight Nurse or Paramedic, Rapid Responders cycles and cars.

The eMR is going to have all the protocol and pharmacology on it but you'll always need a book on the job.

And as a note to any reader you can always drop me a line direct to taztheambo@gmail.com


See you at the big One.

Taz