beccabotkin2002

I work in a rural area in Missouri. I am an EMT basic. In Missouri we are not allowed to do IVs or much of anything else. We can give asprin to a chest pain pt, we can advise the pt to take their own nitro or albuterol inhaler, we can administer oxygen, and we can give simple airways and combi-tubes. It almost seems like they would be just as well off in a private vehicle as a BLS ambulance, I have saved a few lives, but I've also watched a few go. We almost always have an ALS crew within 15 minutes, if we aren't running ALS. I can't imagine an area being only BLS with no ALS near, it just seems stupid. If I was having the problem that you are, my focus wouldn't be to try to be able to do more procedures, intubation and IV, my focus would be to get more paramedics around, not necessarily on every truck, but within a short response time to any area.

Of all of the paramedics and EMTs i work with, as well as myself, we assume if the patient is talking to you, their airway, breathing, and circulation are good if they are talking to you. the only time that we actually stop to check a pulse is if they are unresponsive, but yet, you can tell even then if they are breathing and have a pulse... we don't overlook these things, it's just noticeable without going through it the way it teaches in a textbook.... Have you worked in the field? Textbook doesn't necessarily apply to the real world... I very seldom think back to something from my textbook, it's mostly common sense, and protocols that I use to make my decisions.

promethazine.... I love it! I don't know what we would do without it, it works great for anti-nausea, and makes the patients nice and sleepy for a quiet ride to the hospital.... promethazine is one of our most used drugs. We're addicted to giving it to our patients! LOL... Seriously... we've never had any problems, or adverse reactions to it, we don't have to call for medical control for it... we can give 25 per our protocols...

[/font:c4e296d9e9] I live in a small town, I moved here from St. Louis, MO. I really enjoy here, but there are definitely some challenges to working here. We are 2 and a half hours from the closest trauma center, so if we have a severely injured patient, we have to fly them through air evac. We are normally around 30 minutes from the closest hospital, and it's about a band-aid station. I really enjoy the fact that I already know most of my patients, and patients with major medical probs i can remember their history, and allergies. People are a lot more at ease, when someone they know is taking care of them, I wouldn't trade it for the world!