Combo Medic

When I first thought about this topic I was kind of skeptical about posting it, but then I remembered part of this blog was fun.  I have had several serious topics, but at some point we have to bring together something's that really soundly be brought together.  Kinda like chocolate and grasshoppers...really whoever though that was a good idea!  No my idea goes together like more like A&W Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream. Like that of a rabid wildfire, the news of a open executive level position has made its way through the news agency since being uncovered early this Sunday morning.  Even with my prior posts on professional develop might not help you prepare for this position, but like the tasty A&W Root Beer Float, this is a combination that I think would be excellent together.  It was reported that the head coach from the University of Southern California (USC) was informed that his leadership was not longer necessary on campus.  In fact, it was reported that he w

Are you interested in taking on new opportunities in a department that covers an area of 119 square miles and runs 30000 calls per year.  Then Newport News Virginia is your area.  The International Association of Fire Chiefs is hosting a job posting for Fire Chief of Newport News Virginia Fire Department.  To find more information about this post you can find it here - IAFC posting To apply for the position you can go here - Application   Preferred Qualifications Requires any combination of education and experience equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire, Public, or Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field; Ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience to include 5 years supervisory and management experience as a Chief Officer; Chief Fire Officer (CFO) or Executive Fire Officer (EFO) certification preferred. Requires a comprehensive background investigation to include a local, state and federal criminal history check and sex offender regist

Really, two days ago I am telling you about a potential shutdown in the federal government and in the next I am posting a picture of cash across the top with a title of grant preparedness.  But I promise I will make you understand why, or at least I hope.  You know, when I think about emergency services I think about all the times that my brothers and sister are placed in the most unusual situations and they do it for the benefit of helping a member of their community.  Think about it, when somebody has something happen and they cannot immediately figure out what to do, they typically call 911.  The dispatchers are forced to think about who best to handle the situation and then they tones are activated and the crews start to respond.  I would ask about the most unusual call you have witness/responded to, but I want to make sure to keep my rating level down here.  After the call is done, responders will typically ask themselves why they were even alerted to this response, but t

As I have been looking around the executive search companies, and the career center postings for interesting positions to post here on The Combomedic, I have started to see a trend in the preferred category of the application announcements.  Now, as we look at applications we know that there are typically two different categories of information on these announcements and that is required qualifications and preferred qualifications.  We know that while they don't state required, the organization is saying that they really really really want you to have them.  In the past we saw the movement of a Bachelors degree going from preferred to required and a Masters level education coming into the picture while other professional development certifications start creeping their way into the educational realm as well.  On the fire side, the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO) has moved from a lot of organizations wants list to their needed list.  Now we ar

If you haven't already heard, the government is heading for shutdown.  The politicians, and the media make sure that they tell us every change we get.  At one point I even think I heard a countdown comparing the governmental shutdown to of the space shuttle launches from NASA. We know that a shutdown of the federal government will affect the daily operations of the country, however what changes would be made when you arrive at your EMS or Fire Station on Tuesday 1 October 2013.  Now, if we go back a few years ago, the federal government was shutdown during the administration of President Clinton, and several state governments have shutdown since then.  One of the key things that remains once the government hits is...that's right!  Public safety.  No matter what, our public needs the services offered by Fire, EMS, and Law Enforcement.  So when you get on shift 0700 (or when ever your shift begins) on the 1st of October, you will put on the uniform, gear up, and prepare fo

Kenny Loggins took us through a lyrical danger zone while Maverick and Goose zoomed off the deck of the USS Enterprise in their F-14 Tomcat. So, I am sure that at this point you are already asking why I am talking about a great movie from the late '80s on an EMS and fire service blog.  If you have been keeping on eye on the new trends in emergency medicine then you will know what I am talking about. On the 19th of September, The United States Fire Administration released a document called "Fire/Emergency Services Department Operational Considerations and Guide for Active Shooter and Mass Casualty Incidents" which outlines the new trends in emergency medical care of patients involved in shooting events. (DOCUMENT) I don't think it would ever cross anybody's mind that if you delay patient care the outcomes will remain good.  That being said, the document looks at the current incident action plans for an active shooter event and changes the thoughts of most

The city of Alexandria Virginia has posted for a vacancy within their department.  This vacancy announcement was for the position of Assistant Fire Chief.  The City of Alexandria will be accepting applications for this position until 17 October 2013.  To find more information on this posting please visit (POSTING) . 

( www.amazon.com ) Tonight I began reading the Tony Dungy book "The Mentor Leader".  Everybody that has small knowledge of the NFL knows about Tony Dungy and his reputation and I can only wish that I was part of the Colts organization to be a fly on the wall to hear just a few words of his leadership style.  While I am still just in the beginning of this book I have already started to look at things slightly different than I did before.  So I started to look in my history and see who my mentors have been, or who they might currently be.  I looked at why I chose them, or why I considered them my mentors and I can really see that I jumped right into those because of their ability to get me where I want to be.  In the beginning of the book Coach Dungy states that most people look to get their leadership skills from those that have awesome bank accounts or tremendous winning percentages, but never for the way a leader is viewed, for what they really do.  Is great corp

This past week Apple released its latest version of the iPhone.  Pictures of Apples tires across the world bowed the Apple trend continues as people vie for the front spot and will wait in lines that wrap around city blocks just to update to the latest and greatest Apple device.  With the shear numbers in those lines I can safely say that there was at least one first responder (EMT, Paramedic, Firefighter, Police Officer) in those crowds, and I would venture to guess that there was an average of 1 in every line across the world. In addition to the release of the iPhone 5s and the newest iPhone 5c, Apple released the latest iOS known as iOS 7.  I will admit, I was quick to pull the trigger and updated both my iPhone and iPad to this iOS.  Really, who wouldn't want the newest if they weren't in the position to purchase a new device.  But are we as quick to upgrade our career field education as we are with updating the technology we use to keep in touch with the world?