TheWritingParamedic

This game is addictively frustrating. My partner is like, "What in the world are you yelling about in there?!" It's gonna suck when I get a call and I have to stop.

Well... since all the Haldol in my station has expired... I'd prefer not to transport violent psyche patients at present...

That... is a good question. Medical book-wise, I'm fond of Bledsoe's Emergency Medical Pharmacology published by Brady. Granted, it has it's mistakes (mostly on dosing calculations and a few contraditions) but it is one of the best EMS pharm books I have come across. It's a great reference. Human Anatomy & Physiology by Elaine N. Marieb is my favourite over-all reference for the body. It is an excellent in-depth source that doesn't 'talk down to you' like many other A&P books. It's also not very thick because it doesn't repeat information. I don't have a favourite EMS care reference since ones like Mosby and Brady "Paramedic Care" books repeat a lot of information that is actually entirely useless to us in the long run. As for enjoyment, I'm currently reading EMS: The Job Of Your Life by Devin Kerins. It's awesome.

So true, so true! LOL

We got dispatched to an assault at about 7:30pm on a warm Friday night. We arrive on scene with approx. six cop cars. One of them walks up and tells me that this woman had been beat by her boyfriend and she's now complaining of neck and back pain. The cop told me she'd been hit with a shoe on the back and neck. Okay ya'll, remember "hit by shoe". I walk inside to find a healthy, pretty woman holding a 5mth old infant. I ask her what happened and she tells me she has an "extensive history" of spinal problems and has a pinched nerve. She told me she's on prednisone. She stated she'd been fighting with her 'baby's daddy' and he'd threatened to kill her. After he threatened to kill her, she said he hit her with a banana. A what? A banana. "Then he hit me with this stuffed banana. And this thing hurts when it gets flyin'," she said. A... a.... a stuffed banana. A BIG STUFFED BANANA. It took everything I had in me not to laugh. My partner said I did a good job because generally I can't contain myself and I do laugh. But I'm learning to hold it in. I already laughed at a lady who called us for tape because "the ticks are bitin' the backs of my legs and my butt and I need tape to wrap up my legs." When she told me that I couldn't help it. I just laughed. Luckily she was drunk so she wasn't offended. Anyway, there you go. Assault by stuffed banana. I wrote it up in my report just like that too.

That was probably the funniest part of the whole movie.

I really don't have a problem with homosexuality. Actually, I have no problem with it. I have a problem with people and not their sexuality. I live in a very southern region of the United States and while homosexuality is still not well accepted around here, most of the time the folks just turn their heads and close there eyes if they don't like it simply because they hate fighting or arguing. Slowly it is becoming more accepted, but it is going to take time.

You need to sit down and ask yourself this question: "In the moment of truth, will I hestitate?" For example, if someone (a family member or bystander) went into cardiac arrest in front of you & collapsed to the ground, would you stand over them shocked, terrified, and unable to move or think? Or, would you act and do what you are trained to do? You have to have faith in yourself and don't worry about what everyone else thinks of you. Who cares? You are there to help people and make a difference. You are doing a difficult and honourable thing with your life and you should feel good about that. You'll never get comfortable unless you throw yourself out there and just do it. I used to have severe anxiety attacks when I was in school but when I got into EMS I realized that if I didn't act someone might die and I was better than that. I wasn't going to allow myself to let anyone down. The more calls you run the more comfortable you get with it and the quicker all your knowledge comes to you. Be brave and if your partner(s) starts "taking over" your call and you know you can do the call-- you know you aren't freezing up-- then just look at them and say, "I've got it." Tell them to stand down, you can handle this. Don't be afraid to ask for help but don't be afraid to take action.

You have to guard yourself well in this profession, I will agree that much...

I'm not sure if anyone had mentioned this before, but have you considered Raleigh in North Carolina? Wake County is the city that Raleigh is located in and our protocols are very aggressive and progressive. We are currently one of the few places in the nation that are using induced hypothermia on resuscitated cardiac arrest patients. Raleigh has an international airport as well. I'm not sure if you have already been here. It's something to consider.

When I actually allow myself to have a day off and I'm not sleeping, I race go-karts.

In my county we can to inter-facility transport but only if the patient requires or has the potential to require ALS care. Otherwise we have BLS services that can do the transfers instead. We can transport burn patients from an ED to a burn center, OBs to a delivery center, etc. However we can only transport within our county or to neighbouring counties. We don't do long-distance transfer. I have come to notice that it differs in a lot of EMS agencies as to how they handle interfacility transports. I suppose it depends on your resources, how rural your area is, and what the need of the patient is.

Oh wow, that is awful. I'd have to quit my job and work somewhere else if my agency took that direction.

Here in Wake County we aren't allowed to deny transport to patient. I can see how benefitical (yet dangerous) it would be to be allowed to deny some patients transport here. However, in a neighboring county they can deny patients. It's frustrating because not only does my agency have to transport even the most ridiculous patients, we have to transport them to hospital in our county and ALL adjacent counties as well. I hate driving 40 miles at 3 in the morning for complete BS.

We have a government EMS agency in my county as well as six contracted private agencies working with us. The only agency that has a rule against tattoos (or you have to cover it up) is my agency (the government one). The only ones don't care so long as they aren't offensive tattoos. Truely, I feel that it shouldn't matter because an EMT is not made by what is on their skin. It's what they can do to help their patient and their people skills. That's just my thought. It does bother me that if I want a tattoo on my arm I have to think of ways to cover it up now that I'm full-time with an agency that doesn't allow tattoos.