ResQBtheEMT

Taber's is a great reference...and there's a section of abbreviations within it as well. Also, for any nursing students out there, there is an entire section of nursing diagnoses...a great tool for careplans.

I always carry my cards in my wallet, especially at work... While on duty, between 7am and 11pm we are required to wear the navy cargo pants/powder blue shirt ensemble and your service-issued nametag that has your first and last name with cert level must be on your outermost layer of clothing. After 11pm we may wear the cargo pants and a service-issued t-shirt with no nametag. If responding to an incident while not technically on duty, it is preferred that you are wearing something that clearly states your affiliation with the service. Otherwise, you must state your affiliation and provide ID if asked...

WOW - I agreed with or remembered almost all of those...I feel very old and outdated right now... But those WERE good times, and I think it's a shame that kids growing up now won't remember/know...

True Rich, but allowing a box of ExLax to fall from your jacket pocket just as a coworker begins eating (the food that they left unattended with you) also does the trick quite well...

While I agree that elderly drivers can be rather annoying at times... teenagers are at times just as dangerous, if not more so. Think about it, the elderly get into accidents, etc. because the downright can't see/hear/whatever...but teens get into accidents because they blatantly disregard the rules. They have the 'it can never happen to me' mentality. (I know, I lost 4 friends in 2 years in high school...) I think yearly vision tests are a good idea for drivers of all ages (I'm not elderly, but my eyes aren't 20/20...). Maybe drivers could be required to retest every few years, especially if licensing requirements change (I mean, was parallel parking required when grandma got her license 40 years ago?)... Bottom line, we can't single out the elderly in a discussion of bad drivers. We all know, from experience as well as our jobs, that people of all ages can be hazardous on the road...

Like others have pointed out, carrying a firearm while on duty just gives non-cooperative patients another option when they choose to hurt you. Sure, if you're lucky, a firearm may help you, but more often than not it probably will do more harm than good. Our service has a policy expressly forbidding the possession of firearms/weapons while on duty and/or on service property and at service functions. The only exception is law enforcement personnel acting as such.

Sorry for the delayed response...WELCOME BACK!!!

Since he obviously has missed this opportunity for shameless self-promotion, allow me... "If you want to be laughing for hours, check out the 'funny things heard on the radio' section in Devin's books...EMS: The Job of Your Life, EMS2: The Life of The Job..." (Does that about cover it Dev?) LOL j/k

The service I work for is a totally separate entity from the fire department(s). Although a fair share of our personnel are trained firefighters and a good amount of firefighters have medical training, ems and FD are not one and the same. There are actually 8 different volunteer fire departments in our service area. They each cover their own portion of our area, and many times utilize each other's resources in order to serve the communities. (Most of the time, more than one department is dispatched for whatever the call may be... the CAD dispatches them in the appropriate order for location/needed services) As far as rescue goes, firefighters fight fires... The cutting of vehicles and such is also left to the FD. However, it is not uncommon to see an ems employee climb inside a vehicle to perform patient care. We, like the FD, are required to wear full turnout at accident scenes. The FD frequently responds as first responders throughout our area. We utilize them if we have a delayed response (like from a hospital) or if the call requires more assistance than we have personnel available. Most, if not all, of the firefighters who respond have at least some medical training. Many times, it is our own off-duty personnel who respond.

I agree - as long as you can maintain an airway and get a good seal with the BVM there is nothing wrong with leaving the patient sitting upright. Being supine is not an absolute requirement...

Wow... First, I want to go on record saying that I think some of these replies were pretty harsh...USAF IS a very educated person, he should be treated as such. Not that he is any better than any of us, but his time spent learning should be acknowledged. That said, I've on numerous occasions communicated with him regarding various issues, for the simple purpose of gaining insight/new information. NEVER have I been made to feel 'stupid' or anything of the sort. As far as being dedicated, who are any of us to question him? He is right when he says that people should be educated instead of trained... In EMS we are trained to treat it as we see it, but why can't we at times go beyond that and look at the underlying causes of these problems??? Wouldn't we all be much better equipped to help our patients if we had some background knowledge? I think so...

Yes...food has the same effect as "S", "B", and "Q"... EMS personnel should NEVER eat... I never SAY those words, even at my job outside of ems!

Not fair, Chuck....don't you work at Mercy? LOL Seriously, this isn't a fair poll...I'm from the Pittsburgh area and I've been to all 3 of the choices and all have their strong points! For me, it depends on if the pt is going by chopper or ambulance... Choppers like to go to their 'home' (STAT vs. LIFE FLIGHT) I've had family members in AGH, but not for trauma. The care was excellent. I've taken many patients to Mercy...Again, excellent care. UPMC offers excellent care, a variety of facilities, and it's potentially close to home. (BONUS: we have UPMC medical command)

I carry a CPR shield on my keychain, some gloves, and my nextel... (Having a pen goes without saying) Sometimes, if I'm going on a trip I'll take a stethoscope and BP cuff, maybe a penlight...If I'm real ambitious I'll grab some Kling and some tape. I will always stop and offer assistance, and do whatever I can...and if I'm in MY service area, I'll call the incoming crew with an update....

In PA, we can assist a patient in using an Albuterol MDI or Epi-Pen (prescribed for the patient)...We are not permitted to do nebulizer treatments or just give a dose of epi. Statewide protocols now allow us to carry epi-pens on the trucks, but the service I am at does not as of yet. The training for these meds was included in my emt class, but the state protocols state that anyone without the modules must be trained prior to using the meds, in other words all our personnel must be trained if we carry it. Basics must contact command to administer meds...(However, with all of our units staffed ALS, basics never have to do this because of medics' standing protocols...)