jsadin

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Reasons not to do it? Only the fact that it is in Philly!

OMG, I must be tired. I read ERDocs post and sat here scratching my head for a sec going "who the heck is this Melena chick?".

Heal up Dust!!

I've said it once and I'll say it again; I love the fire dept guys I work with. They're great and always willing to help when asked. HOWEVER, they are not needed on 99.9% of the calls I run. To send a group of ff's on every EMS call is silly. It puts the ff's at risk by driving a vehicle lights/sirens on public streets, it puts the public at risk for the same reason, it's a waste of fuel, it increases truck wear/tear, it increases patient anxiety by putting more personnel on scene and it pulls fire apparatus away from a strategically placed fire station in the event of a fire thereby increasing response times. Not to mention the fact that most ff's want nothing to do with EMS.... Forgot to say; the fire dept may not make money off the EMS run, but they do benefit by boosting their run numbers. If they respond an engine with EMS for every call, they can honestly say they dispatched fire apparatus to emergency scenes a whole bunch more than if they just claimed real fire responses (box alarms, brush fires, structure fires, etc). They may not get a cut of the insurance billing, but they are most certainly getting something in return.

Ruff, yer sarcasm meter must be broken....

Grease Paint and Monkey Brains - White Zombie

Sounds to me like everyone stood around and went "hey, that's not my job!". Whatever the details are, the bottom line is this woman died in a hospital emergency room in front of a security camera. The hospital had better hope this woman has no relatives that feel like suing because they'll be screwed...

Somebody is in deep dudu. Woman dies in Brooklyn ER waiting room

Way too many possibilities to even begin to speculate. Here's my plan tho': Get more details on previous accident from ride-along Collar/LSB if deemed appropriate (EMT ride-along can 'splain to patient) Get her in the ambulance O2/line/vitals/detailed survey Assuming transport time is short, get her to a trauma center ASAP Have spanish speaking ride-along get as much history as possible If I were a medic, I'd get a 12 lead (but since I'm not, I won't!)

What an absolutely terrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their loved ones.

That's my wedding song.

Very good!

Bushy! Nice to see ya....hope all is well.

Should be. Almost never are....

This BMW seems to have done ok at 140mph. Yes, the deer is completely inside the engine compartment. [web:b4da91cde7]http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16061&stc=1&d=1200542066[/web:b4da91cde7]

On another note, how many of our calls REALLY hinge on our getting there in 2 minutes or 5 minutes? Unless it's full blown anaphylaxis or a rapidly evolving MI, a couple minutes either way doesn't really mean squat. I stopped running for the truck after the first few years of EMS work.

re: chute times I can be woken at 2am by the tones and be enroute in 2mins from our station. The call logs prove this out. If I have to pee, it may stretch to 3mins. re: staging fire apparatus OMG, I'd love to see that! Can you imagine the uproar?

Ditto everyone on checking the truck out before the start of each shift. I've had crews leave empty main/portable O2, understocked IV kits, expired fluid, basic supplies not restocked (BVM, NRB, etc), and on and on. There's nothing quite so embarassing as showing up on scene and not having what you need to properly treat your patient. Time is usually 15-20mins, but it can go longer if the last crew left the truck a disaster.

Fire/emt, how in the h*ll can you have the same responsibility and accountability as a paramedic if you are not one? As an intermediate, I do not have the same accountability and responsibility as a medic and you certainly do not as a basic. Yes, you are responsible for caring for your patient, but the treatment options available to you are so limited when compared to a medic that you cannot draw parallels. I was a volunteer way back when and had some of the same ideas that you do now. Then I woke up and realized I knew damn near nothing. Now I'm an intermediate and I still know damn near nothing. Once I get my last kid out of school (two years) I'll get my paramedic and then maybe, just maybe, I'll start to scratch the surface....

"Addicted" - Saving Abel

OSHA's purpose in life is to levy fines. Don't want to be fined? Follow the OSHA rules (in the USA).

http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/5/394 Two cases of severe beta-blocker overdose are presented that were treated successfully with glucagon therapy. The effects of glucagon in reversing the cardiovascular depression of profound beta-blockade, including its mechanism of action, onset and duration of action, dosage and administration, cost and availability, and side effects are reviewed. Medical complications of beta-blocker overdose include hypotension, bradycardia, heart failure, impaired atrioventricular conduction, bronchospasm and, occasionally, seizures. Atropine and isoproterenol have been inconsistent in reversing the bradycardia and hypotension of beta-blocker overdose. Glucagon increases heart rate and myocardial contractility, and improves atrioventricular conduction. These effects are unchanged by the presence of beta-receptor blocking drugs. This suggests that glucagon's mechanism of action may bypass the beta-adrenergic receptor site. Because it may bypass the beta-receptor site, glucagon can be considered as an alternative therapy for profound beta-blocker intoxications. The doses of glucagon required to reverse severe beta-blockade are 50 micrograms/kg iv loading dose, followed by a continuous infusion of 1-15 mg/h, titrated to patient response. Glucagon-treated patients should be monitored for side effects of nausea, vomiting, hypokalemia, and hyperglycemia. The high cost and limited availability of glucagon may be the only factors precluding its future clinical acceptance. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asys, that was beautiful.

Doug, I think your major hangup here is that you think people are saying "the degree makes the medic" as an absolute. I don't believe that is the case (at least not for me). For me, with something as serious as paramedic level medicine should be, a degreed individual is at least a basic first step towards putting everyone on the same educational playing field. If a paramedic is ever going to be viewed as anything more than a technician level provider simply following pre-planned scripts, there needs to be recognized educational standards applied to all. Can a non-degreed medic be a superb provider? Absolutely! Does it help our cause to be the ONLY medical providers with ZERO college requirements? Not one bit. Just take a look at the average medics salary and compare that to most degreed medical positions to see what I mean.