Canadian Caesar

Black Holes anyone?

WE ARE ALL GONNA DIEEEEE!

Edit: Errr, I hope people get the joke....

If I recall correctly, Calgary EMS actually just completed a round of hiring not even a month ago. One of my co-workers got on with them and is now working there.

I'm not sure where is best to hear about upcoming hiring competitions. but keep your eyes peeled on the ACP website as well as Alberta Health Services Careers website.

Sorry that it looks like you missed that one. Hope this helps. Best of luck Judy.

BTW, That kind of reads as more hostile than how is was written.

Just to be clear, no disrespect meant. Just interested in getting to the bottom of the matter.

The underlined is my issue. Saying that axial load injuries take little force to create a c-spine fracture, hence c-spine injuries are easy to cause is like saying that cars provide little protection because the roof isn't reinforced like the front, back, or sides. Sure, it's true, but how many car accidents out there involve the roof being caved in? Relatively few because the roof won't be involved unless it's a roll over. Similarly, I'd argue that very few traumas result in any significant axial load like a hanging does.

Additionally, I don't know anyone who would consider an unconscious trauma patient to be asymptomatic.

I don't know where this fixation on an asymptomatic spinal pt came from, since:

1) neither have I mentioned at any time an asymptomatic pt and

2) neither is the pt mentioned by kiwi and quoted by me in my original post asymptomatic by any stretch of the imagination.

Where is the confusion coming from?

Do cars not roll over where you come from? Easily 20-30% of serious MVA's I do are roll-overs. Perhaps due to the prevalence of pick-ups and other high center of mass vehicles around these parts? Your analogy is a fail, at least where I come from.

I'm having trouble finding actual quantities of force required to cause c-spine fracture. So I posted the first quantity I came across. Admittedly, a hangman's fracture would not be the most common in trauma. But I was doing the best with he numbers I could find. And I'm still looking.

So if you would like to find relevant literature to support your argument, instead of making bizarre and irrelevant automotive comparisons, I would welcome your efforts.

Sorry guys but I just laugh my ass off watching things like Trauma: Life in the ER and see a guy come in all boarded up with blocks and tape and whatnot because he fell over on the sidewalk and knocked himself out.

Did I miss read the intentions behind this statement then?

Unconcious Pt Knocked out from fall + C-spine precautions = somehow ridiculous?

I don't think that axial traction can describe the vast majority of trauma injuries that result in patients being back boarded. Similarly, I doubt that there are very many asymptomatic unstable fractures caused by axial traction.

I intended for my post to indicate that it requires far less force to cause a c-spine fracture than many people believe. I don't know how anybody can feel comfortable ruling out c-spine on an unconscious head trauma pt.

First off, while not actually dealing with the subject at hand per se, the following study did come to the surprising conclusion that Log-Rolling Pt's produced far more potentially injurious C-spine motion then the "Lift-and-Slide" technique. Anybody else surprised?

The Spine Journal

Volume 4, Issue 6, November-December 2004, Pages 619-62

C-Spine.pdf

Sorry guys but I just laugh my ass off watching things like Trauma: Life in the ER and see a guy come in all boarded up with blocks and tape and whatnot because he fell over on the sidewalk and knocked himself out.

In regards to your post Kiwi, this is from an older post of mine. It does not take much force to cause a c-spine fracture. Dust was right on the money when he said: "the unfortunate fact is that there is no recognised, objective criteria available in an unconscious patient with which to rule out spinal injury. "

<b>According to the following Medical journal article (The European Spine Journal) Eur Spine J (1995) 4:126-132:

Kinematics of cervical spine injury: A functional radiological hypothesis

L. Penning

Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Groningen AZG, Groningen, The Netherlands</b>

It only requires 8kg of Axial Traction on the cervical spine to cause a "Hangman's Fracture."

To put that force into terms you may have felt yourself, the relatively mild maximum 15lbs of force you use in the application of a traction splint to a femur fracture is enough to cause this type of fracture.

Two words... "Shower Soccer"

Only problem is by the end of reading it, you start planning your own little Zombie survival plan while trying to fall asleep, or while on a long bus ride, or sitting in class.

Haha. I'll admit I'm guilty myself.

Kind of harmless entertainment IMHO. Like playing the "If I won the Lottery" Game.

I don't take it as far as stockpiling morphine and cooking up explosives in my basement, however.

Those people scare me.

If you want to go read those sites, go ahead. I am not writing a paper here.

Fair enough, but don't give other people a hard time for trying to actually INCREASE the knowledge of others and themselves. Myself and many others look forward to the opportunity to learn from the research efforts of others.

I am posting what I know.

Maybe if you tried to increase what you "know", you would have more productive things to add.

Not to mention you might actually start understanding what people are talking about and not require correction.

I read the same in other resources but didn't cite them. No need to spam 20 sites all saying the same thing.

So you never read more than one resource on any topic?

That must be the case if you feel that posting 4 supporting references is out of your league.

Have you ever read a journal article and then looked at the last page? It's called a Bibliography.

This Bibliography usually contains many more than 4 references that the author has used in the article to research and support his or her position.

This is actually considered normal and not "spam" by most folks with higher education. It is in fact, a required element of proper journal writing.

In 2007, the city signed a five-year contract with UMass Memorial Medical Center to provide ambulance service for city residents over the objections of fire officials, who had sought to take over responsibility for EMS services in Worcester.

Great Job Guys, Way to give the IAFF more ammo. Now you know they are gonna say this wouldn't have happened if the "superior" services of Integrated EMS/Fire had been utilized.

Maybe they will feature this event in their next PSA Video...

However, if you are against higher EMS education, you might email the author of this:

2,000 Hours to train a Paramedic?

http://www.fd-doc.com/2000Hours.htm

http://www.fd-doc.com/

So this retard that wrote that article think the only thing that has changed in 23 YEARS of EMS is the time it takes to train?

Surely the expanded scope of practice and the fact that there is actually some Pharmacology involved have nothing to do with it?

He a physician for cryin' out loud.

I can diagnose a heart attack too! It's what Dustdevil is going to have when he reads that retarded article!

P.S. Does being a Firefighter/Medic/Physician make the author a FireGorrila?

Not saying that things are at that point yet, but...

In the opinion of all the people who suggested co-operation:

How bad do things have to get before you would fight for your rights?

Perhaps, but the patient would still be breathing................................................... dot dot dot

Ok... No more trying to do these polls when I am that tired! Lol Thanks Fiznat!

You don't actually do a real blood pressure in START triage.

So Pt#3 would be black because a 20mmHg Systolic BP would give you an absent carotid pulse would it not?

Griffin did not give Fraley intravenous fluids, and he did not conduct an echocardiogram -- an ultrasonic heart examination -- "due to the [patient] not standing or sitting in one place for any length of time."

County protocol requires an ECG if the patient has suffered heart trouble, fainting, an antidepressant overdose, difficulty breathing or electrical shock. None were among Fraley's complaints to a 911 dispatcher or appeared in the paramedic's report.

Uuuuuh. I'm confused? Is this a typo or do they really do echocardiograms there?

I think the reported wrote ECG in his notebook when he was gathering info and then looked up the wrong term?

Question to MIMEDIC: this "Associates Degree Program" is it equivelent to a Bachelors of Science or Buisness, to the best of my understanding we do not have Associates Degree in Canada or maybe I am missing something obvious ???

An Associates Degree is Canada is usually called an Applied Degree if I'm not mistaken.

An Applied Degree is usually < Bachelors Degree in the way of credits/years/courses.

Most Applied Degrees can be readily completes in 2-3 years.

If you click on the link at the bottom of this post from AHS it takes you to another site thats states that this is a Suburban Rural Operations. Meaning this is a posting for outside the Edmonton city or Metro Area. So I believe this will be for Parklands old area and then start adding in Medicares areas

Well thanks for that info!

Leave it to me to be an idiot and miss that fairly obvious link at the bottom of the page. I feel Sheepish...

POOF! Granted, but the only book you own is "1000-and-1 things you never wanted to know about Pus!"

I wish I could make a great first impression every time I meet someone.

*Deleted Posts were coming up too quick I was out of date allready*

As a result you're probably lacking a good foundation in A&P, pharm and patho.

Sounds like most PCP programs outside of Ontario actually.

It's been done!

AHS Posting for Edmonton

Position: EMT: Ambulance Email This Job To A Friend

Apply For This Job Online

Posting #: BT-41980-CC

Type: RFT - Regular Full Time

Location: Community Sector (all clinics and care facilities)

City/Town: Edmonton

Date Posted: 2009-04-01

Closed Date: 2009-04-17

Hours of Work/Shift Pattern: As per the current CUPE Local 3671 Collective Agreement, averaging 84 hours bi-weekly.

Salary/Benefits: $20.93 - $26.54 hourly as per CUPE Local 3671 Collective Agreement

Responsibilities/Duties:

Duties:

Alberta Heatlth Services - EMS requires Emergency Medical Technicians to provide life support services. As a pre-hospital care professional, you will be a patient advocate who will effectively communicate and interact with community partners and other health care professionals to ensure safe and proficient patient care. Within a dynamic team, assigned to suburban and rural operations you will be part of an innovative ALS service delivery model including paramedic response units in combination with ALS and BLS transport units. To fulfill your responsibilities you will, safely operate emergency vehicles, respond to medical and traumatic emergencies and adhere to professional standards, medical control guidelines, standard operating procedures, polices and directives.

It looks like they based the wages off of Parkland Ambulances Old Collective Agreement. Plus it looks like there will be BLS 911 transport in the Edmonton Zone as well as ALS from now on.

Allthough the "Community Center" description in the location description makes me think that this might be their solution to IHAS's new wages that they don't like? Is this supposed to be the new IHAS?

4d)RCMP are NOT real cops.

Be careful there Dusty, you don't wanna end up tazed to death.

Why don't you have O2 on him? You call yourself an EMS professional, try doing an actual assessment!

The Pt is blue for crying out loud! Obvious Respiratory distress!