mrmeaner

I would have to agree that going to the local media is not the way to go. I think we already get enough bad press. There may be a statement in your hire paperwork that addresses "competition" and schooling. How sure are you that the school you're enroled in is a good one? There are still a lot of people who believe that EMT's should go through each step of training and not jump from basic to medic. They may have put this in writing. In any case, do what you think is right; but I hope you plan to get more out of this lawsuit than vindication. Your decision was probably a good one, but just make sure you look around to see how deep you are before you keep digging. Good luck with your class.

code brown - ....shots fired? Sorry, easy joke that no one else took. We don't have a panic button, but I'm sure that phrases like "Shots fired" or "Send PD ASAP" repeated over the radio along with your call sign would be enough...well pretty sure. Our local LEO's are pretty good at responding to calls that have cause for concern to begin with. However, this is BFE...

I ran my first code on Sunday, so my pool of experience is shallow. However, I can say what my protocols are. - Why do you think this is that you are often not allowed to pronounce? We are for obvious death. For ACLS, med control is required. I don't know that a medic has ever been challenged. - Would you like to be able to pronounce patients dead in the field? I don't have a problem with the system we have. Having the med conrol is a good CYA. - In the scenario of a medical arrest (regardless of rhythm) patient who you spend 20-30 minutes on scene with, going through three rounds of drugs IV/IO, good CPR and ventilations, no return of circulation, do you feel that there is a real chance of that patient surviving to hospital discharge? No. I don't think there is a gold standard of actions for this scenario. You need to balance legality, the best interest for the pt., the consideration for the family and your own ability to sleep at night. - Do you think it is easier for the family for you to pronounce their family member dead in their home or for the physician to do it in the ED? I think it depends on what the family thinks of you. If you explain what is happening and why (within reason), treat the pt. and the situation with respect, and are confident in your actions and demeanor; I don't see why the body needs to be transported for a notification. However, If you can't do the above, you probably would be better off having the doc do it.

No written documentation, just crime scene photos.

What you thought you always knew about [s:812dd25109]dispatchers[/s:812dd25109] women. :wink: The only thing missing was a reference to chocolate.

Yes, that would probably be the best answer. However, considering the past history of our local government and training history, I won't be holding my breath.

Thanks, spenac. I kind of figured that since this would be more applicable in a rural setting , you would most likely have experience with this given your location. To the dispatchers that responded, how in depth to your caller's/patient's history do you go? For example, with a seizure pt., would you ask if there is a history of seizures, how long this one was, if they recovered and went back into it or was it one long seizure, etc? If you do and once you have this information, how do you update the responding crew? Do you give the information once they request it or do you give them updates regardless of whether or not they asked? On the other side of the coin, do the other dispatchers you work with do the same thing as you do or do you go above and beyond what is necessary? I assure you, none of the questions are loaded. :wink:

No, it's classified as road kill if it's...killed on the road. Had it been shot on the road, you'd have a chance. Then again, that's illegal; here anyway.

Yeah, they hired some firm for about $80,000 to do a study a couple years ago before they remodeled the new dispatch center and upgraded the communications systems. The results were shocking! They recommended just about everything the dispatchers were complaining about. Yes, a major incident is usually enough to bog down the dispatchers. Part of the problem is that we have people calling en route whenever another first responder or fire truck leaves the garage. But, that's a training issue that has been going on for a long, long time. :oops: Yep, didn't catch it until after I posted. I attribute it to Cut & Paste laziness on my part.

LEO's use the same technique (read: poor negotiating plan and delegation technique) here. It's most likely faster to restrain the pt. if needed and transport w/LEO so the pt. can get assessed then to jack around playing, as Dust said, "Deal or No Deal" However, it seems that psych emergencies are either not covered in training well or they don't happen enough to keep EMT's confident in handling these emergencies.

From what I understand, we have two dispatchers per shift that take care of: Police, county and 1 city; EMS, two services; First Responders, about 5 services; Fire, about 8 services. I should stop by there to see how they request and process information. They don't make it a requirement. So, realisticly, if I wan't to have a bag spiked and ready, I should do it myself. The intent wasn't to take that away, but to get more information before arriving on scene. I don't think that every response needs to be emergent, but I'd like to make the decision for each call with the most information available. Also, if I can eliminate some time on scene, even better. Nice avitar, btw.

Thanks for the responses. It's not that I want to get rid of or demean the dispatchers, my thought was that being able to better understand the call, respond appropriately, and get a history ahead of time would be a benifit and free up the dispatcher to take other calls and communicate with fire or police regarding other calls. I've never been in a dispatch center so I don't know what information they process during a call. Maybe that's part of the problem. I just assumed that they are usually multitasking when they may not need to be. I can see where this wouldn't work in urban areas as well regarding traffic. Good point. Half the time we will have a bag spiked and ready already in the ambulance. If I think I'll need a second line or the previous shift didn't put one together, I will enroute.

I thought of this while reading the pet ambulance thread of all things, but, do any of you contact the pt. directly either via patch through the dispatcher's office or by calling the pt's home? I haven't because, well, I didn't think of it. If we could make contact with the caller directly it would give us a greater chance to make educated decisions about: response (upgrade to L&S or downgrade to no L&S), additional support (ALS, flight or cancel services) and a decent idea of what's going on (called in as flu-like symptoms but now sounds like a stroke). I'm not implying that the person in the passnger's seat isn't without tasks like playing navigator or spiking a bag. But, if you use GPS (and it works for you) and you make a habit of preparing IV's, the time taken to talk to the caller ahead of time would be invauable, even if all you get out of it is a short history. Maybe all the other services are doing this and I missed the boat. If this is a practice, how well does it work? Do you get good information? Is it better information than you would get from dispatch? I'm not picking on dispatchers, but my BS meter doesn't work as well in the third person. That and the idea of using EMD's sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't it be better to have the person talk directly to the medical response? No offense, but once we have the destination and the call info, I don't think the dispatchers need to be playing interpreter.

Do you guys cross your longboard straps or run them straight accross?

Don't take this as a comment on your kids, but the homeschool kids were looked at as a little weird when I was growing up. Looking at the school system now, I'd be ok with my kids being looked at as a little weird.

Strong work! :thumbright:

I don't think the above statement counts unless you consider your partner a tool.

Yep, even our cot has four wheel drive! No "Git-R-Done" sticker though.

Yeah, I'd go with that. There are a lot of acronyms that get used in different areas. I would take it as a lesson to not use acronyms unless they are widely accepted and common. :wink:

Yeah, kind of puts a damper on the "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." theory. It may be true in some cases, but those that who can do both well are invaluable.

www.wemsa.com Sorry, Wisconsin EMS Association. But it's also how the annual WEMSA conference is referenced here. There are/have been a lot of great speakers like Bouvier, Mike Smith, Dan Limmer, two EMT's from the VT shootings, etc. (not braging or trying to sell it, just really enjoy going there). It's one of the best conferences in our area and is typically worth digging myself out of the snowbank for. Ken was there a couple times and I wasn't able to go due to self inflicted misery. I'm hoping to go next time he's there though. A couple of people I know who have met him or have gone to his seminars have had nothing but good things to say about him, personally and professionally.

ET: Eddie Torez the extra testicle!

At least you don't have to worry about one leg being more tan than the other! I don't know if I've ever seen a house with "icicle" christmas lights on it with a green leafed tree in front. How long did it take you to get back?

Man, you guys know "Boo-V-A"? I've been hoping to catch him at WEMSA the last couple years, but it hasn't worked out. I think it would be worth the drive to the big easy to see him teach in his own area. You guys gained some major points in my book.* I was able to at least go to a couple classes by Mike Smith. * The points in my book are as useful as the points on "Whose line is it anyway?", but thanks for playing.

Thank you Eydawn for saying it nicer than I did.