bbbrammer

Probably too much, but have had a use for all of it on multiple scenes- Stethescope with tape on it Notepad (one of those mini-things) Two pairs of gloves Sheers Multiple pens since I am always loosing them Two SST tubes (for needles in the middle of nowhere) Mini maglight (flashlight/penlight) Radio Pocket reference I work in rural EMS where we often have to leave our truck behind to go four wheeling to the pt, so sometimes leaving stuff on the truck doesn't work, not to mention that it tends to disappear.

Probably too much, but have had a use for all of it on multiple scenes- Stethescope with tape on it Notepad (one of those mini-things) Two pairs of gloves Sheers Multiple pens since I am always loosing them Two SST tubes (for needles in the middle of nowhere) Mini maglight (flashlight/penlight) Radio Pocket reference I work in rural EMS where we often have to leave our truck behind to go four wheeling to the pt, so sometimes leaving stuff on the truck doesn't work, not to mention that it tends to disappear.

Studying between calls is always a good idea, but the best thing that will help you is practice. Even if you can't get someone else to help you, practice on your own. Write out a list of what you are supposed to be asking, then pretend you have a pt. like a chest pain and go down the list. When I was starting out I practiced on this 3ft blowup alien that my sister had just to get used to the questions and the trauma assessment. Repetition helps. Other times I recruited friends and family to answer questions to get used to it. If you are having trouble remembering the answers to the questions, then carry a notepad with you. I do, and find it useful for writing down answers, phone/fax numbers to give to services I am transferring care to, and on wrecks it is great for keeping pts what cars they are in in order. Just remember, anything you write down is strictly confidential, and when you are done with the info it is best to either keep it with the report, or shred it. NEVER take it home with you for others to find. Otherwise it is a great tool to use. You can also use the first few pages to write down bits and pieces of info to refer to.

We can always count on Rid to be informative and thorough. I got to admit though, it was a nice attempt at trying to use your A & P to reason out the answer.

My first call was a drunk MVA rollover in a ten foot ditch. The fun part was I didn't have a radio myself-my partner had it and she had run home to grab something POV (only about a mile away). The wreck happended at the end of her driveway so she couldn't come get me because she made pt contact immediately. Her dad had to come tell me about the call, then lead me to the scene since I didn't know where on earth it was at. It was in the dark, at night, raining, middle of nowhere, and my guy had a head injury, broken arm, and a set of vocal cords. I won't ever forget that fun.

atropine amiodarone diazepam (not yet-on the way) epi 1:10,000 epi 1:1,000 Lidocaine bolus/ drip mag sulfate bicarb glucagon phenergan benadryl thiamine D50% D25% versed (not yet-on the way) ntg SL furosemide morphine (not yet-on the way, too) albuterol asa procainamide solu-medrol charcoal needles, fluids etc.....

Thank you guys for all your imput. Connie especially simply because it was nice to see how your company protocols were written up. We are re-writing ours into a more user friendly edition instead of the novel edition we have now. I may use ya'lls setup as an example of how easy they can be written. Thank you. Our state protocols prohibit lasix if the systolic is less than 90mm Hg, but I wondered how other services/states/countries handled it. Thank you for your responses, I appreciate it.

I'm curious. Lasix is contraindicated in hypotensive pts, but in your services what is your bottom marker for evaluating hypotension? Systolic less than 100, 90, 80, etc? How hypotensive does someone in acute pulmonary edema with a hx of CHF have to be before you draw the line on Ax. Lasix? I am looking for different protocol standards here.

Congratulations. I came out of that school May 2005 with my AAS in EMS. I support a two year degree for Paramedics, there are a lot of Gen Ed's that you have to take that I have found quite useful out here on the streets. It does come in pretty handy sometimes.

Scorpio : the sex addict. Laughed outright when I saw the word talkative. That is usually the first thing people say when describing me.

28. I apparently spend way too much time watching Jeopardy and reading Uncle Johns Bathroom Readers.

Show me a criminal who really IS innocent

There is always a lot to be thankful for if you take the time to look for it. For example, I am setting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. 1) When I am feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor's dog that barks all the time run to the end of his chain and gag himself. 2) If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. 3) A penny saved is a government over-sight. 4) The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then your body and your fat are really good friends. 5) The easiest way to find something around the house is to buy a replacement. 6) He who hesitates is probably right. 7) If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone to blame. 8) How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on. 9) If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy? 10) If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet? 11) Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film. 12) You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.

Along with several questions is this: I don't know exactly how Tenn. does it, but we have to check in, out and document ALL controlled drugs. So if he gave her two doses of say 2mg of morphine, and there is exactly 4mg missing from the stock, that would say something. Just like it would say something if more than documented ax dose is missing. Beyond that, I would agree that this is alot of he said she said, and that the pt. is just money grubbing. 1.5 million dollars? Come on. Though if the bra and underwear was really cut off and the pt. fully exposed, then there should definately be an accounting. Just like scrat rat said, unless there is a specific injury that requires it, cutting off nick-nacks is uncalled for. If it happened. And morphine? For THOSE injuries? Definately something (well aright everything) is missing from this whole thing.

Very plain and simple. Perhaps they should consider teaching it like that. Then the two hour service can be shortened down to a 15min explination.

I had a score of 32. Apparently I should be taking out the phone number for my doctor right now and keeping it handy for when I get above 40.

I got "another Satan". Does this mean I have a free pass to be evil?..... :twisted:

I think that if I had the gift of eloquence, I would have said it like Overactive did. Overactive: you hit the nail on the head. Thank you for saying it better than I could. Man, I gotta work on my communication skills....

I agree with Doc, that is also why the CP in a STEMI is also a more pronounced "crushing" chest pain than a stabbing kind of pain. Think of it as the difference between leg muscles that hurt because you just ran 10 miles, and muscles that hurt because you just got severe degree burns to them. The first kind of pain can be relieved relatively easy, especially compared to how hard it would be to relieve the pain from the second. Same kind of muscle dying (ischemic) pain vs. the dead (infarcted) kind of pain. At least that is a (semi-loose) kind of analogy.

I wish you luck in everything. We will carry on, slaves to our loves...

I wouldn't mind having a couple of those for myself!

That is why I was not wanting to pull it out anymore from 21cm. At the time I got it to that depth the flight crew was on scene taking over pt care and I let them know what I had with the tube. Since he was their pt then, they took what they had and one of them helped me secure the tube where it was. Beyond that my resposibility (and assesment) of the pt was over, but in the gist of 'continuing education', I thought I would gather some opinions. Most likely we will never know what happened, but it is usefull to toss the idea around anyway.

Lets take care of something first: you are a human being. That means that no matter how long you have been working or not, occasionally you WILL mess up. Everyone does it, regardless of whether they admit it or not. Just like John5107 said, it is not very likely that anything you do will kill a pt. And everyone is nervous out there. I have been on the streets for a year and still get nervous from time to time. NEVER EVER doubt your abilities. You know more than you think you do, and are quite capable of doing your job. Not to mention that the more you worry about it the more you will mess up. The minute you stress and go "OMG, how do I do that?", your mind will blank out and you will have trouble remembering. It happens to all of us. If you find that you are having problems on a call, take a step back, take a deep breath, and tell yourself that you DO know what you are doing and you CAN do it. There is alot of little things that happen on calls that school is unable to prepare you for and no one can expect you to know it all when you are new. You could also try having your FTO run over some things with you to practice when you have some down time, kind of like you did when you were in school or prepping for your practicals. Beyond that I would try what some of the others have suggested-talk to your FTO about some of the problems and get them sorted out. The best medics out there have screwed up before, but they talked to someone about it and learned from it. Just remember, you CAN do this!

Oklahoma doesn't require it, but you can still get it if you want to.