EMT/Paramedic Help

[Queen]

My daughter an EMR has been working as a Medic in the oil fields of Alberta, Canada. She took a year off in Sept. to complete the training to become an EMT and while doing her exams last week she just got a shock of her life as it was determined that due to frozen fingers many years ago that she is having problems feeling a good pulse. The professor said she cannot continue with the training and worst she can no longer go back to working as a Medic as the professor is going to have her file noted that she cannot renew her EMR license unless she can demonstrate that she has regained feeling in her fingers (which is unlikely). She now has to find a new profession using her medical skills that does not require her using her fingers for pulse so nursing is out. By the way she loved her profession and is finding it extremely difficult to cope with the loss of her profession. Any recommendations for what she can do would be helpful.

 

[Tia]

Maybe ask moderator to move this to the Lounge?

 

[DeniseM]

Moved!

 

[NWL]

Radiologist? I'm no expert, but I believe this profession does not rely on your sense of touch.

Cheers!

 

[DaveNV]

Some kind of 911 Dispatch or Emergency Response Coordinator? Seems the people who can no longer do the actual work do the Admin stuff, instead. Good luck to her!

Dave

 

[pjrose]

Some kind of 911 Dispatch or Emergency Response Coordinator? Seems the people who can no longer do the actual work do the Admin stuff, instead. Good luck to her!

Dave

Wow. Is there another way to feel the pulse? lower down on her hand rather than her fingertips?

Google Pulse Monitor or Heart Rate Monitors - there are many devices that are wrapped around someone's arm to do the pulse electronically. I wonder if this might fall under ADA - where she would be able to do the job with "reasonable accommodations" which could include a different way of checking the pulse. If this is the profession she wants, she might try hard to find another way to make it work, rather than give up.

Beyond that, there's Medical Assisting, ER Tech (usually an EMT), Radiology Tech, Ultrasound Tech.....

My daughter is in a Medical Assisting program. She was also volunteering for an ambulance company and taking an EMT class, but kept fainting during the class - too strenuous I guess - so had to give up the class. If her Drs. can get the fainting issue taken care of (over 50 times in four years) she'll likely go back to EMT training and then work on becoming a Paramedic. Meanwhile, she'll need a mostly-sitting job, which will be an option for many Medical Assisting positions.

 

[MommaBear]

Wow. Is there another way to feel the pulse? lower down on her hand rather than her fingertips?

Google Pulse Monitor or Heart Rate Monitors - there are many devices that are wrapped around someone's arm to do the pulse electronically. I wonder if this might fall under ADA - where she would be able to do the job with "reasonable accommodations" which could include a different way of checking the pulse. If this is the profession she wants, she might try hard to find another way to make it work, rather than give up.

Beyond that, there's Medical Assisting, ER Tech (usually an EMT), Radiology Tech, Ultrasound Tech.....

Pjrose- I couldn't agree more!

There are also portable dopplers that use sound waves to "hear" the pulse and can actually find pulses that fingers can't. I would encourage your daughter to explore all possibilities before giving up a field she loves based on one person's feedback. The other route is testing through a neurologist which can quantify what she can feel compared to what the usual person feels.

Good luck to her- and to your daughter too pjrose.

 

[lprstn]

Cardiovascular Invasive Tech (no certification test) or Radiologist Tech (no certification test) or Physical Therapist Assistant (Requires Cert Test)
All require a 2 year degree.

My son finished the EMT training in high school and is looking at these other careers.

 

[Passepartout]

Hard to give a definitive answer, not knowing where the DD is. Assuming she's still in Canada, or probably anywhere in the Western world, there should be a division of her State/Provincial Employment office called something like 'Vocational Rehabilitation.' They can provide testing and training and sometimes income while training to be able to work in a related- or other field.

The OP's DD's described situation is exactly what Voc-Rehab is designed to address.

Jim Ricks

 

[Queen]

Thank you all so much for suggestions and guidance. I have shared them all with my daughter and she now feels stronger to fight for the career that she loves. As suggested by MommaBear why let one person's feedback cause you to loose your livelihood.

Pjrose, I am sorry to hear of your daughter's issue - I hope that her Drs. can come up with a solution to the fainting issue as I can see that she also loves her profession.

 

[ricoba]

Have her look into a RN program. There are many opportunities for nurses besides simply working bedside in a hospital. It's also a profession that pays well and has low unemployment and worldwide opportunities.

This comes from a guy who has been married to a RN for 22 years and she always tells young people to consider nursing.

 

[Queen]

The professor told her that nursing is out. He would not even let her take the lab exam as he said she would receive a fail grade because of the lack of ability to take a pulse with her fingers.

 

[ricoba]

The professor told her that nursing is out. He would not even let her take the lab exam as he said she would receive a fail grade because of the lack of ability to take a pulse with her fingers.

Perhaps she needs to find a second or third opinion from another source than this one teacher. I am sure the Province has a vocational rehab program as Jim discussed. They may be able give her other avenues.

 

[pjrose]

This is in Canada, right? Check if they have an equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA. I'm sure they must have some protection for people like her.

As I noted earlier, under the ADA if someone has a disability but is otherwise qualified for a job, the employer must be willing to make "reasonable accommodations" to let them do that job. I believe that also extends to educational institutions. This professor may - or may not - be able to fail her in a class or force her to withdraw, but he cannot dictate her career.

An automatic pulse or heart rate meter would seem to do the trick to allow her to retake with this class (with another professor and perhaps another school) and to do the job. In fact if it were the US, I'd discuss the ADA with the professor and the dean or equivalent.

I have had students who needed special accommodations that I have been quite willing to make (recording classes, having someone else take notes for them, extended time or a quiet area for tests, for example), but if I hadn't, I would have been in violation of the ADA.

 

[Zac495]

Queen and PJ - I can't imagine myself or anyone I loved not being able to work the career they love. Some people drag themselves to their jobs - waiting for Fridays - what kind of a life is that? (of course Fridays are welcomed - but after a satisfying work week).

I wish your daughters all the best. Please keep us updated!
Ellen

 

[funtime]

Do not let a bully ruin your daughter's career

This is in Canada, right? Check if they have an equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA. I'm sure they must have some protection for people like her.

As I noted earlier, under the ADA if someone has a disability but is otherwise qualified for a job, the employer must be willing to make "reasonable accommodations" to let them do that job. I believe that also extends to educational institutions. This professor may - or may not - be able to fail her in a class or force her to withdraw, but he cannot dictate her career.

An automatic pulse or heart rate meter would seem to do the trick to allow her to retake with this class (with another professor and perhaps another school) and to do the job. In fact if it were the US, I'd discuss the ADA with the professor and the dean or equivalent.

I have had students who needed special accommodations that I have been quite willing to make (recording classes, having someone else take notes for them, extended time or a quiet area for tests, for example), but if I hadn't, I would have been in violation of the ADA.

This man is a bully not a professor. She first needs to google the Canadian equivalent of the Americans With Disabilities act to see if CANADA, or city or province has a comparable law.

I imagine that there is a great need for folks in her profession given the boom time in Alberta. She must fight both for her current job and her new training.
She must also google and do internet research and find out all other ways to take a pulse including use of adaptive devices. Perhaps other EMT's in other cities are already using other adaptive devices.

After googling, have her find out if there is a complaint procedure and then follow it. As others have noted, there are probably other ways to take a pulse - and her employer should pay for such adaptive devices to have her use. Or, at the least she can find out the cost and pay for it herself. This is a good lesson for a young person to start to stand up for herself. Funtime

 

[moonstone]

She may also want to get her family Dr. to refer her to a specialist who can determine if or how much damage there is to the nerves (feeling) in her fingers. There is such a Dr. in Orillia ON whom I had to go to to get nerve conductivity tests done on my thumb, index & middle fingers to determine the extent of damage (loss of feeling) from Carpal Tunnel syndrome.
BTW I am a PSW (nurses aide) and take pulses nearly daily & I have no feeling in my right hand fingers & some loss in my left fingers - we use an electronic pulse monitor at work! Far more accurate than a finger although it doesnt work for a carotid pulse if that is needed for some reason.
~Diane