Canadian Caesar

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!

Lets see, how about... How to Prank a Cop With a Cap-Gun

HINT: I spy with my little eye... a QRS complex or two.

uuuuh, Dust. Better re-read that quote you used. Because the way I read it, the proctors just said what you finished saying. They said stopping at EMT is not a good idea, and that he should got right through to Medic...

Isn't that the dude that actually blew his brains out on camera?

Gee. If you really look hard enough, you might be able to find a few more dead threads that you don't agree with that you can resurrect.

President? Hmmmm... Dustdevil 2012!!!! Has a ring to it! If anybody could beat Obama...

Someone forgot their hotlink...

I went to a call very similar in character to this one on my practicum. A "man-down" in the local transit center. I'll tell you, the crowd I dealt with probably has nothing on the crowd in a New York subway station at rush-hour. But after pushing through the crowd, your patience gets a little frayed. Sometimes the best way to control a crowd like that is to yell, not to quietly mutter "excuse me." We quickly checked LOC, ABC's, (He was ignoring people for the most part and reluctantly obeyed verbal commands without opening his eyes. He was breathing fine, strong pulse, wanted to sleep, etc.) Ruled out C-spine. (Patient and bystanders both agree that he laid down in the middle of the transfer site and refused to move when asked. Not signs of trauma, etc.) By this point, we were so irritated with the crowd that was forming and that the transit police were trying ineffectively to control. (Having to ask people repeatedly not to touch the equipment.) We worked very quickly to move him to the stretcher and get into the ambulance and off scene, continuing assessment and treatment in the ambulance. Our hasty departure was apparently noted by the bystanders. Which invoked the opposite response from the story. As we loaded our patient into the back, I heard the hysterical voice of a female bystander yelling "Oh they are hauling ass, he must be dying! Oh good Lord!" As she groped for support from her fellow rubberneckers. I can only imagine what they thought as we drove away at a leisurely pace without activating our lights or sirens. That being said, bystanders will make their own assumptions, no matter what your actions are. And in such an emotionally charged situation, they will NEVER assume the best. Things will always be "worse" than they are. P.S. Patient turned out fine, some ETOH, but mostly just wanted to sleep and was sick and tired of people bugging him and chose to ignore the people who were asking him to move. Shelters wouldn't take him due to his history of physically abusing staff. Protocols didn't allow us to cancel on him, so he spent the night in a nice, warm, hospital... waiting room.

Just thinking, anything special about what she has been cleaning with? Any chance that her mixing cleaners/inhaling vapors could be making her situation worse?

Please don't find my lack of faith disturbing... ever.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9e0_1206570404 Let's all make sure we are extra nice to people like ERDoc from now on. Never know when one can snap. Best of all, this guy receives no professional consequences!

I especially liked the part where she says: "It wasn't... technically we didn't STEAL the car. We were just BORROWING my friend's mom's car without permission..." All because the officer was so rude as to suggest that she was under arrest for stealing a car. clearly she was in jail for some other reason. Perhaps some sort of vice crime?

Well, actually there is a BGL meter. Just to give credit where little credit is due...

Way to take the Bull by the horns. It's people like you that will drive EMS forward!

Well if that is true, I'm sure you can see why I was mislead based on his statement. Sneaky bugger ain't he?

So he should have started a whole new thread with his comment that was relevant to the original topic? :roll: Bless him, perhaps he used the SEARCH FUNCTION!

I wonder if she would be even MORE upset if she new the difference between BLS and ALS practicioners not to mention the equipment on the ambulance? For example: What id the Epi didn't work? Or what is her sons airway was totally swollen by the time the ambulance got there? 10 to 1 odds says she is under the impression that the BLS ambulance will just "Stick a tube down his throat so he can breathe." or "Cut a hole in his neck to help him breathe." Just like "ALL the Ambulance Drivers on TV can do..... right?" Who says the "dumb" public cant advocate for positive change in EMS at least once in a while? Somebody should let that lady know the real difference between ALS and BLS, she at least seems able to get her concerns in the media.

Yup, I can see where your confusion comes from Harris. I just think of it as Traction being the opposite of Compression, if that helps. Think of it like this: - Person walking with a cane on an injured leg is reducing the compressive forces on the leg. - A person with a femur fracture and a traction splint is not merely reducing the weight on the leg. Genuine traction is being achieved here. (Hopefully.) As for you question of appropriate treatment, I see supporting some of the weight of the head on a sitting or standing patient as reducing compressive forces, not true traction. To me true traction would mean that the stresses on the spine are in the opposite direction of compression. So would I relieve some stress on a standing pt? If I could slightly, I think yes. But would I continue this if they were laying down and the weight of the head was no longer applying compressive force to the spine? I think not. Mind you, this is just the way I keep stuff straight in my head. and it isn't exactly straight out of a textbook. :wink:

I've talked to the Chief of Strathcona EMS, which is integrated, and it turns out nothing will be changing there. They are continuing service as usual while sub-contracted by Alberta Health. So it doesn't look like Fire/EMS in Alberta is going the way of the dinosaur quite yet.

BTW just in case it discourages/encourages Michael... The things needs 2 special "123A" lithium batteries at ~$2 each if you buy bulk. But like I said, mine has been really good with batteries so far. Depends on if they are already using night adapted vision or not. But it is 10 times worse than any camera flash, easy :shock: Of course I had to shoot myself just for stupidity's sake. I couldn't use 90% of my visual field for several minutes. The usual big blue dot effect. It takes about 5-10 minutes of sustained use on the high setting to cause it to get very hot. I don't know if it would cause much of a burn. But it is certainly uncomfortable to touch. And if you absentmindedly put it back into your thigh pocket immediately after prolonged use, you would definitely know it! I have used the bright setting for about an hour continuously without the thing blowing up in my hand and it doesn't get much hotter after the first 15 minutes or so. The low setting doesn't get hot at all and you could touch it to your face after 20 minutes and be fine. Now I'll take a crack at Dustdevil, :shock: what exactly did your protocol determine was appropriate for checking pupils? I agree that a minimag is too bright, do the small penlights with the pupil scale on the side satisfy your protocol? Or did you require something totally different? There are a couple reasons I decided to use the light for checking pupils, please correct me if I am doing irreparable harm to myself and my patients... my retina's will thank you. First, I tested it on myself. It was no more unpleasant that using the "pupil penlight" that my preceptor had, with similar sideffects with either device. When shone at the wall, both seemed equally bright. Granted, the LED produced a whiter hue and a more even beam. http://www.maglite.com/lampspecs_aaa.asp As you can see from the link, the maglite output averages 15.6 Lumens over the life of the batteries. The surefire flashlight low setting output is a mere 5 Lumens. So the surefire light is less than 1/3 the brightness of the minimag when I use it for pupils. So all in all, I couldn't find a reason not to use it on eyes. But Dust if I am hurting someone please let me know.

Well, I'll just go ahead and admit that I happen to own this flashlight. Well, the LED version that Surefire offers, which has better battery performance and 2 brightness settings. Though a tad more pricey. Which Micheal might like even more... http://www.surefire.com/E2DL It was a gift from my girlfriends parents for the completion of my PCP program. (And since we have to furnish our own supplies for practicum, it was a well received gift.) A few things I must point out. 1) The so called "strike-bezel" is just the same as the traditional bezel that all the Surefire penlights I have seen have. But with more pronounced "teeth." Even their regular penlights have the teeth and are a fraction of an inch shorter. And is smaller, more compact, brighter and more rugged than the issue Maglights that my Preceptors had. (Granted, they get theirs for free. They are issued equipment) 2) I have gotten VASTLY better battery performance than even the manufacturer claims. Which is quite refreshing for a change! I have not changed the batteries yet in mine and I have used it a few times over the last 6 months including a rather long period trying to break into a patients house. 3) The 2 brightness settings are handy. The "low" setting is good enough for most applications and not too bright for checking pupils. And the "hi" setting is blow-you-out-of-your-socks bright. Great if you are searching for an 85 year old farmer who collapsed in his 40+ acre field and didn't call for help on his cell phone until 23:00. :roll: But be warned, the light does get hot on this setting and it will blind anything you shine it at for a looooong time. (Be it an angry farm dog, old lady, preceptor or RCMP officer...) It takes quite a while to get hot so it can be used for short term translumination. The spectrum of light that I get from mine makes veins show better than some of the commercial florescent lightbulbs found in buildings nowadays. All in all, a fun toy. If you have the money to spend, mine certainly hasn't let me down yet. But I can think of better ways to spend the money at my point in life, maybe you can't. So get it Michael! lol

So this is what our "EMS News" section on our front page has to say about our profession... Small town outraged over sex offender EMT - Houston Chronicle 11 Dec 2008 at 3:20pm Ambulance attendants accused of molesting patients - The Associated Press 11 Dec 2008 at 2:10pm Hamilton police, EMTs accused of scam - Boston Globe 12 Dec 2008 at 2:14am State claims Hamilton cops falsified EMT training - Boston Herald 11 Dec 2008 at 8:20am FDNY EMT Charged With Falsifying Docs - North Country Gazette 11 Dec 2008 at 9:20pm Sexual Assault, Scams, Falsified Documentation... I am quite literally sick to my stomach... Why the hell is this all that the news has to say about our profession? Shouldn't we all take a hint that it is time to start doing something about all this? When you go a website of this caliber and that is ALL you see in the headlines of the news section on the front page(not a single positive one!), I don't know how any of us can sleep at night! This site is supposed to represent and encourage the best that EMS has to offer. Instead visitors to the home page are inundated with captions from the dregs of our society. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the Admin for having the news on the front page. I just think we obviously need a PR boost. Not for any feel good, showoff whacker reasons either; but because the kind of news we see right now is DAMAGING! Being a new guy to the industry and all, I am not sure what can be done. Which is why I am trying to pick everyone's brains here.

I was on car with a Paramedic preceptor that recently returned from Australia where he went on multiple ride-alongs while on vacation. He told me that at least one service there only used C-collars as spinal precautions because Long Spine Boards have no evidence to back their use. :shock: So I guess we are coming around slowly in the world of EMS.

Can't really "hire" a volunteer now can they? :wink: