HellsBells

Well, its possible that the succ could have increased his potassium level if he was hyperkalemic prior to the accident, I suppose that its possible he could have had some preexisting kidney damage related to his diabetes.

You could become an air traffic controller

Hear is some news about AHS plans regarding their promise that there will be no reduction or degredation in service. [email=http://www.calgarysun.com/news/columnists/michael_platt/2009/06/23/9895681-sun.html]The Calgary Sun

The couple of points here nremtp, I agree that if you're on a meal break you should not be disturbed until it is over. If you are tucked away in the station eating, then dispatch should not be disturbing your unit, even if the call occurs right outside the hall. In fact there is an on going battle, regarding this issue between the union and management in the large urban service I work for now. However, It is obvious that if you are out on the street and someone has injured themselves and asks for your help, then there is a duty to act. I understand that it is a busy day and you may be tired and not ate for awhile, but I think it very unlikely that postponing one break puts the patient at great risk, or runs the risk of an EMT's blood sugar getting dangerously low; as you argue. If you were at a Hospital cafeteria and someone started to choke, do you think a doctor would respond with: "no, sorry, can't help now, I'm on a break, I think you can find another doctor upstairs"?

... Thanks for the heads up... I guess

I little off topic... but why not use a sager to reduce a compund fracture?

Speculation at best. If the victim was a junior firefighter, then it is a horrendous misuse of authority. However, its hardly the fault of the Fire Dept. itself, as these types of predators are opportunistic and could just have easily been a scout leader, school teacher, or a preist.

I'd much rather work with a good 70 year old than a whinny bitch, who complains about his partner assignment. They are good when they work, but all the ones I've seen weigh a ton, and are terrible to lift manually if the electric mechanism breaks down. Your missing the point though. Were not talking about the everage 70 year old, we are talking about the exceptionally fit old bastard, who can still perform the tasks of the job.

No shit. Sounds like this guys not too keen on the "book learning"

Looks kind of entertaining, not looking for realism though. Not any more than when I watch House that is.

My first reaction was to call this a junctional tach with RBBB, but as chbare pointed out, there are a few scattered p waves in lead III, and in the 3rd, 11th, and 14th complexes of V1 at the bottom, so now I'm not so sure... leaning more towards V-Tach. Oh, and to the poster that diagnosed a BBB due to "rabbit ears," my understanding is that its not a very reliable indicator.

As the discussion has proven in its evolution since my post, I can't say for sure that it is or isn't with absoulte certainty.

It is a LBBB, as the QRS is wide (its borderline at 0.12 sec), negative in V1 and the underlying rhythm is supraventricular in origin

Think the cost for your exam is bad? The in Alberta, the dreaded Alberta College of Paramedics exam now costs $747. As well as a $375 a year registration fee.

this $37.50 per call makes me laugh too. So, if you do one call per shift, you actually make $2.50 less then sitting around doing nothing?

Why? Any minimum wage job would pay better.

Good for you Medic AR, I hope you fight this situation tooth and nail. There is no excuse for management to treat you in such a disrespectful manner. I wonder how far this Captain would take things if it was his finger stuck with an uncapped needle. There needs to be a higher standard set for all employees, particularly for the "lowly street medics" Any options to find a better employer in your area? I assume you don't have a union to go to either?

Alright, fair enough. I'll admit it is an interesting topic. I reviewed the thread and noted that its was geared towards an episode of House, my apologies for being a grump. Has anyone actually incountered a patient with this syndrome?

Only in so far as the only point this far seems to be to brag about knowledge of a rare disease. I thought at least there would be an interesting case or story involved.

Is there any point to this thread? Did you have a pt with this condition?

Mobey, its time. Pack up the family and come work for Calgary, you have no choice. I hear they are planning to start hiring again soon. Changes so far. 1.) a few new bosses, complete with impressive new titles 2.) weekly email updates (propaganda) on how the transition is going to be the best thing since kraft dinner 3.) City of Calgary labels being scraped off some of the new units, so now they just read EMS 4.) Ongoing feud between HSAA and CUPE for the right to negotiate rubbish contracts on our behalf Otherwise its business as usual.

With repect to this thread, I have about four uniform shirts that have never been used. They are too big for me and I'm willing to give them away free, you just have to pay for shipping and handling, I live in Alberta, Canada. PM me if you are interested.

Working rural, I had this experience many times. My beef was our town is now understaffed, why don't we just go home, if the city hospital want the pt returned after 6 hours, they can just call the local transfer service. However, the boss never listened, apparently we were paid more if we waited, then took the patient back. I think that under provincialization it would be better to utilize my scenario.

I'm still here, but start work at 6pm, maybe there will be new locks on the doors. As for a gag order? never heard anything about that. I'd like to see them try it though.

I would hope that this question was asked as a joke. Its hard to imagine that even the most redneck, jaded, burnt employee would intentionally try to hit a fleeing mexican.