WANTYNU

TB: very much alive and active in specific populations but can also be found in all economic types. ……..

Most of the bacteria and viruses mentioned may not affect a healthy individual but can be deadly to the next patient you transport if you do not take a few simple precautions. Patients trust you and it is up to you to see that you do them no harm. That means learning about and diligently practicing good infection control. Hand washing and cleaning your equipment between patients should be always be done. Too often I see ambulance crews toss the gloves after patient care and go back to their truck or to the caferteria touching many surfaces along the way.

There's plenty of information in the EMS journals and on some of the EMS websites. The community colleges and various agencies that do healthcare continuing education for nurses and allied health professionals should at least have the mandatory infection control classes which they may be required to show proof of for some employers that do not offer the education such as agencies for contract workers. Some healthcare licenses also require some of the classes.

This question has been asked many times on several EMS forums. It does make one wonder what type of continuing education is being done for people working in EMS. The same goes for HIPAA education. Are any of these things being mentioned in the refresher courses which would be a perfect opportunity instead of reviewing basic anatomy or procedures that the services' training officers should be testing competencies?

Vent,

Excellent post, I was going to add a little bit on possible exposure and incubation times, as just because you were in the same space with an infected patient does not mean you had a likely hood of transmission. I remember reading (somewhere) that you needed to be in close proximity for over 8 hours before you were in danger of contamination with a TB Pos patient. Remember the guy who traveled by plane recently? Many scared people none infected….

But here’s the rub, it’s a little like the lottery, the vast majority of the time, your numbers are not even close, but all you need is that one in a million, and bang, your life is changed forever, so why not reduce the risk whenever you can.

Paranoid? Sure, but better safe than sorry. As was said, we can greatly reduce our risk of exposure, and as importantly, for our trusting patients by following some straight forward practices.

Keep your bus clean (including the FRONT {Steering wheel, knobs, radio mike, etc}), after a transport use fresh sheets AFTER wiping all exposed surfaces down with an approved antimicrobial agent.

Hospital floors are DIRTY, there is no “three second rule” ANYTIME, if you drop anything on the floor, throw it out or clean it before use, never, never, never, I repeat never use (reuse) anything that has touched another patient.

Our patients trust us to do the best we can for them, let’s not betray that trust by infecting them when they have no control to protect themselves.

Wash your hands frequently.

And from a previous post, YES the hand sanitizers really do work, and are mandatory in all NYC hospitals.

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

YOU ARE 16% WHACKER!!!

NOT AN OUNCE OF WHACKER IN YOU. A LITTLE WHACKING IS FUN, TRY IT SOMETIME!!! BUY A BLUE LIGHT, OR PUT AN EMT STICKER ON YOUR CAR. YOU NEED MORE WHACKING IN YOUR LIFE.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Actually I think I’m more than that, but the questions are skewed, I work full time and volunteer, so I have lights and plates on my POV, and most of the tee shirts I have are duty related (although a bunch are from shows).

I don’t like a big duty belt, but do wear one when needed.

I don’t have a $500 Littman, but do have a $150 amplified scope (I’m old and deaf), a do need to hear the difference between Rales; Rhonchi; Stridor; Wheezing.

For crying out loud, I invented an O2 wrench…. If I was going to spend my time on money on something, could I have picked a SMALLER market???

By many on this site from what I’ve read through previous discussions I have well met the classification of WHACKER…

This probably needs a recount!

But I won’t lose any sleep over it.

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

I've simply got to do something to impress on you folks that I am really a nice guy….. the idea that as frequent users of the site it wouldn't hurt all of us to seriously support the vehicle for our desire to communicate.

I've never met anyone on emtcity yet in a strange was I consider many of you friends. I have had discussions, arguments, spirited debate and a few people that seem to hate me on here. I've been put in my place more times than I can count but, you know, I never get mad because I know this makes me stronger, more articulate and results in tiny improvements in the person I am and the care I deliver. Prior to emtcity I did not have a medium that "worked for me" In my opinion there is far more intellectual content on emtcity than any other site.

Hey I just don't want to be a squatter here that does nothing in return.......

Capt,

First in my eyes you are making a contribution, you post. As far as being beaten up, we all have our scars, and if you don’t well you’re not trying.

I agree, we need to support any ACTIVE forum of communication, an adage coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton “The Pen is mightier than the sword” is saying in essence the sharing of ideas has more power to foster change then any war can. We are lucky we have a (fairly) open society with the right of free speech and the internet to share ideas, in the turn of the last century some groups were forced to meet in secret under threat of bodily harm in order to share ideas.

There have been many threads dedicated to the problems with and within EMS, it is a good thing you recognize how lucky you are to have a place to share ideas and learn, and a better thing that you wish to support its continuance.

Don’t worry about being liked or disliked by others on this forum, we after all constitute a large variance of experience and maturity, some criticize based on ignorance, most others have a valid point of view, you only need to listen unemotionally to filter out the nonproductive nonsense. Remember “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” and “sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never harm you”.

In other words, don’t worry, keep posting!

As Always IMHO

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

sphygmomanometer

RHYNCHOCEPHALIAN

I think he was simply suggesting that you "Pass it on" when/where you can.

Dwayne

Dwayne, do you mean "Pay it forward"?

-w

I really try to be productive here like a consultant, tutor, or mentor. If there's any way I can help by giving advice or share my education and experiences, I'll do my best. :hello2: Since I can't work the field any more it's the least I can do.

In the business world we call it sweat equity, (well we also say cash is king), but if you don’t have the Benjamin’s (or Lincoln’s for that matter) there are many ways to contribute, and the time you spend posting on the site is one of them.

You can also buy an O2 wrench….

Ok I’m kidding,

No I’m not. :shock:

Yes, I’m really kidding. :roll: :wink:

Truly, staying active on the site, is real way to keep things going.

If you like what you see, make it known, if you don’t, make it known, but either way, post, and keep the site active.

Hey as always IMHO

Be safe,

WANTYNU

I'm not sure that I have any responsibility to market someone elses website. I for one am not getting paid any of the advertizing dollars generated everytime someone opens a screen and an ad appears on the top of the page.

I'm a member of forums for gun owners, atheists, security officers, firefighters, ham radio operators, scanner users and star trek. I don't activly market any of them.

This isn't the only EMS forum I lurk around in. I'm also at EMSResponder which links from the Firehouse forums.

Internet blogs, chatrooms and forums are still not regularly used by the majority of society. There's really a small percentage of people who will log onto a forum like this one, register, read the many posts found here and participate in discussions.

Ask around at work sometime. Just how many of your coworkers will say that they actually log in at least once a day to this or another EMS related website and participate in the forums. I'm betting it's a very small number.

There is no doubt you can get something for nothing.

The question is how much better it is when you actually contribute….

-w

We enjoy an immense opportunity to share ideas from literally anywhere in the world and at no cost to us.

One thing we can do is to make a concerted effort to patronize advertisers that support EMT City and I encourage everyone to do so.

Capt,

A couple of things you and folks who read this can do to support the site and find and support those who do is:

Anyone who has donated cash above $50 gets a “Sponsor” by their name, you make a donation.

Some of the folks like myself, who have commercial sites also have an “EMT CITY” button on their site that directs traffic and new users to EMT CITY (it also helps with EMT CITY’s ranking in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc), you can find them on EMT CITY’s home page under “EMS TOP SITES”.

You make a great point to paraphrase “We’re all in this together, united we stand, divided we fall.”

Good post,

Be Safe

WANTYNU

Robin Williams?

Naw it must have been a conditions boss out of da Bronx....

-w

Yesteryear

organ

Noddle

radio

Occult

4 or 5 post more an it starts to get hard.... :twisted:

The last post should have started with an "N" the last letter of "INN", but lets continue anyway, as these are the softballs.

-w

Relay

Essential vocabulary

additions for the workplace (and elsewhere)!

1. BLAMESTORMING:

Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed,

and who was responsible.

2. SEAGULL MANAGER: A

manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

3. ASSMOSIS: The process

by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the

boss rather than working hard

4. SALMON DAY: The

experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die

in the end.

5. CUBE FARM: An office

filled with cubicles.

6. PRAIRIE DOGGING: When

someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up

over the walls to see what's going on.

7. MOUSE POTATO: The

on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.

8. SITCOMs: Single

Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have

children and one of them stops working to stay home with the

kids.

9. STRESS PUPPY: A

person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.

10. SWIPEOUT: An ATM or

credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from

extensive use.

11. XEROX SUBSIDY:

Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.

12. IRRITAINMENT: 1:

Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to

stop watching them.

13. PERCUSSIVE

MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it

to work again.

14. ADMINISPHERE: The

rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions

that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to

the problems they were designed to solve.

15. 404: Someone who's

clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning

that the requested site could not be located.

16. GENERICA: Features

of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as

fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.

17. OHNOSECOND: That

minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.

(Like after hitting send on an email by mistake).

18. WOOFS: Well-Off

Older Folks.

19. CROP DUSTING:

Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Albert Einstein,

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

dude

OK so the “new game” that had each new post start with the last letter of the old post is good, but here is a game that should present more of a challenge to our vocabulary enriched folks….

Same rules as before, with one exception each word must be longer then the last, but by no more than TWO charters, and not less in length then the preceding word. (Still starting with the last letter of the word before). And only for two posts.

As an example

CAT (3 letters) would be followed by TEN (3 letters) or TENT (4) or TRAIN (5 letters) but not TONGUE (6).

The word after TEN could be TONS, (4) but not TON (3), since we had two posts with the same number of letters, next post MUST BE AT LEAST 4 LETTERS WITH THE WORD AFTER THAT BEING AT LEAST 5 LETTERS (you only get one repeat in length so the next word has to be longer than TONS and start with and “S”).

So here is your first word:

>>>>> “I” <<<<<<

(So the next word must begin with the letter I, and be one or two letters long)

Have fun!

WANTYNU

Neonate

I've seen yours and they look pretty good but seem to me to be pricy but I tell you, I'm am so tired of crap I'm thinking seriously of buying one, if they really don't break.

All I can say, and I've said it before, is quality costs. You can add up all you've spent on buying stuff that breaks, or put it towards something that won't.

To me its a no brainer, but it's your choice (with really no down side).

-w

...Warning: I have not yet even opened the barrel to scrape from the bottom!

Then you must know ........... the guy lying by the door.........

Mat..

Is that like humor in jugular vein?

Well ALLLL RIGHTY THEN!!!!

What’s the name of the guy whose body is floating in the water?

Bob

I was quoting Simon, not myself.

Awhhh come on, I bet you have a really bad joke somewhere in that inventory of yours....

-w

OK here’s another one of my two for one post answers:

They are very secure, with similar construction makeup to the conventional regulators.

However, i would respect and expect that question from the guy who sells o2 wrenches.

Well I can understand your skepticism, and to be honest I did enter this discussion with a “tongue in cheek” post.

However, two things,

A LOT (I’m still trying to find out how many) of the stamped metal or plastic O2 keys are still being made, and sold. So there must be a demand (I hope anyway). :wink: Most folks in the NY and NJ area HAVE to use some form of wrench, so ( for this area anyway) you can conclude 1 of two scenarios; 1 the tanks have no toggle and need a wrench, 2 the toggles fall off.

As for the toggles, they fall off, I have seen many, many tanks with the tell tale pin hole whole where the roll pin and handle used to be, and have found more than one “escaped” toggle running loose in the bottom of our O2 bag.

As a side note, I sail a good amount and if you ever want to study good rigging and knots look at a sail boat. When you do, you will NEVER find a simple roll pin lever or hinge, as the roll pins will loosen and fall out (at the time when you need them most, thank you uncle Murphy). Every pin type anchor or shackle is secured with a threaded rod and cotter pin, or at least a cotter pin.

Since you work in an urban environment, you must have multi-floor dwellings, I’m sure you don’t carry three tanks with you to every job. (and please show enough respect not to say well you check the bag before every call)… We all check (or should check) our rig and equipment at the start of the tour, and restock after every job as needed, but if you have any reasonable job volume, I’m sure you don't open your bag and check it BEFORE each run. What do you do if the pin falls out in route to the patient?

We NEVER leave the portable "unpressurized/closed"...that's just asking for more hassle on-scene with a critical patient and two EMTs. FD keeps theirs closed, though, but they carry a whole O2 bag about the size of our jump kit with wrench attached to it.

WE (ambulance) have a metal wrench on the key chain and plastic ones in the back of the rig and sometimes first-on bag.

Ever had one (plastic O2 wrench) break on you?

Ambulance keys left in ignition during almost all 911 calls (so engine stays running and other emergency personnel can repark it if necessary).

We keep the bus running, but use a kill switch so we can take the keys out the ignition.

In my part of town, you don’t want someone moving the ambulance without knowing who you've given the keys to. :?

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

In my book, ya gotta give credit to a great product, or product line. I have used Rain-X windshield wipers (they last 3 time longer) and work better then any others I've tried. Their Washer fluid is a weird color (puke orange) but works great (on snow or bugs), and finally, not having the luxury of being able to wash my car on my own, I use a local automated car wash, they just included a Rain-X finish, I no longer order the hot wax as I find the Rain-X has a better finish (no streaks) and last longer as well.

My only thought is something that works that well CAN'T be good for the environment... what will we find out about this "miracle" product 10 years from now?

-w

I don't need to carry an O2 wrench, we have the high tech portable cylinders that have a toggle built in to turn it on and off.

Ya, we tried those, they don’t last long on our mean streets, still a few floating around, but what do you do, when they break off?

-w

After every call the D and M lines are bled.

How many calls do you run in a shift?

-w