Burnzonemt

There was an excellent article on the use of the KED in a past JEMS magazine. Author Thom Dick had about a one page article in "Tricks of the trade", and was quoted as having learned how to use it from Kendrick himself. I couldn't find the article, it was about six months or a year ago. I believe he said it only took about a minute or two if you were efficient and had a partner to assist. Like everything else I think it would get easier with practice. So maybe five minutes max to put on the KED, is that too much to ask? I think this item is too often unused due to not enough pratice on it's use. It can make a bad mess worse if it's not used properly. But back to the topic, yeah I would have wanted to see the KED used in this instance.

Don't feel bad if you didn't get it MedicRN. I didn't get it either the first round. After I sorted out who supposedly posted what, I had to really laugh! So, So true! I do more lurking than posting here, so my hand is not raised. :wink: LMAO at the post that admin or mod was supposed to make. "Closed for the good of mankind" Definately too, too funny!

:notworthy: I think you outdid yourself again Ace! :notworthy: I've been trying to stay out of the war as much as possible. However, my opinion is that the focus should be on the best and most consistent care for the patient. I hate to see people working a job they don't really want to do. If you're working in ems, give it the best shot that you can and strive to better your care. Same goes for the fire side. If they lump the two together, my opinion is that folks are going to have to suck it up, multitask, and like it, or move to some place where they can focus on just fire or just ems.

The poll has closed so I can't vote as such. My vote would be that I would stay in it. I think something like this needs to happen anyway. Too many whackers out there who are in it because they get their jollies off by driving L&S from or to a scene where the pt. is code green (flu/cold) type. Or these people casually throw out that they are EMT's in a discussion about this, or that, or the next thing. Health care providers could be a CNA in a nursing home, and I don't hear alot of people bragging about their job at the old folks home. So, yes, call everyone health care providers, eliminate the stickers, license plates, and doodads. Make it a federal mandate. Then see if anyone drops out of the profession because they are tourists.

Bummer, I am Spongebob Squarepants, and I don't even like spongebob! The description is too totally accurate though. I had to deal with a traitor at work today, and jealous people are the bane of my existence. I'll have to see if I can rig the results next to maybe become an Arnold or a Garfield. I like Arnold Schwarzenegger's muscles and the comic strip Garfield is cool.

After reading the initial post my first concern is the patient. Scene safety is behind us seeing how that we've already walked into the room, got the story from the FD and the pt.'s "buddy". Who knows who is watching this scene with that much drug paraphernalia laying around. I'm thinking just get out of the apartment with your patient as soon as possible. I don't want to deal with anymore of his "buddies" than I have to. I'm pretty sure that PD will only aggravate the situation. That being said though, my county is small enough that the local police or sheriff's office is probably already watching this location. In my area it is a lot more likely that PD will be on scene instead of FD. They LOVE ems calls to these locations and are more than willing to "lift assist" if they think drugs might be involved. As for documentation, will only give hints to the PD if they are on scene and haven't picked up on it yet. Probably nothing in my PCR either. Who's to say that the bags weren't full of flour? :? Most likely not, but what if? It was drilled into me in class and by my current ems director that our service can tell the police very little about our pt. They largely have to pick up on it on their own. Example: You ask the patient if s/he was drinking prior to the wreck, and you "happen" to nudge the officer as they are answering. One of the officer's told the class that they want us to share info with them, and the SO just won't know where the info came from. My concluding thought is word of mouth only, and then very carefully with even that. EMS director is waving the HIPPA club and threatening to fire us otherwise.

I thought I remembered discussion on this topic before. In the one post Ace has some research posted and in the other Rid talks about Zoll calling off a study due to cracked ribs. Here's links to help with this discussion. http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=941 http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1491 The SF study sounds interesting, anymore info available?

Ah, ethics. I love to follow ethical arguments. Doesn't seem to be any real answer, only grey area. Definitely no black or white. I tried putting myself in the doctors shoes and I can see their point. All the tests and evidence available to them points to a brain dead child. What else can you do with this child that is going to change his outcome? Nothing obvious. Dr. Lindell Smith should have maybe been a little more compassionate with his statement. I just don't like something about his statement of "We don't treat dead patients, so there is no further care. If he is dead, I don't continue caring for him." Now try standing in the parents shoes. More likely than not they are still in the grieving process and have memories of a happy little boy running around the house. Seems to me like they would rather not know the whole truth about what the child's brain status is. Miracles can and do happen, just pick up your nearest Reader's Digest to read all about the latest and greatest miracle to happen. Sure seems like they cover these kind of things a lot anyway. So a miracle, maybe. If the parents are willing to care for the child I say power to them. In all honesty though, my vote goes to pull the plug. Even if it was my family. The Terry Schavio mess is still to fresh in my mind. There is NO quality of life left when someone lives in a vegetative state.

Now I was starting to think their private message button was broke. It did get a little repetitive, but was entertaining to me anyway. ALL five pages of it! Maybe there's more to come. HEHEHE, PRPG, that cattle comparison is just too funny. If somebody doesn't see the humor in that they need to go to Wal-Mart and buy some humor! :laughing5:

I hope your wrong, but unfortunately you're probably right. This is what scares me about these laws being put into effect. What is to keep some burnout from skipping necessary treatment, be that what it may, and then claiming it was because of his/her religion. So we offer Catholics, Methodists, Jehovah's Witness', Protestants, and any other religion you can think of concession based on their belief, what is to keep me from forming an obscure, off the wall religion that will allow me exemption in the event my negligence gets called into court? Now I'm all for nonemergency exemption (abortions, birth control pill, circumsions, etc.) but my opinion is that blanket exemption for all health care providers is BAD, BAD, BAD. After rereading the origanol post it seems that some states are considering broad exemption laws. This is just wrong on so many levels. I hope Kansas isn't in that number considering these B-R-O-A-D exemptions. If they are I might have to move...... GGGGRRRRRRRRRR (insert angry chainsaw noises here) So do personal faith and medical care mix? Not sure. Looks like a grey area to me. I'm still on the wall on this one. ~Just my few cents worth~

Now this is starting to sound a lot like my thoughts on this subject. Kudos Kevkei :occasion5: LMAO at pmedic623 and Dust I love how the sarcasm breaks up a subject like this. I think we all know that we aren't done beating this subject until it reaches ten pages or gets locked. I'm doing my best to help it reach ten pages, but there's only so much I can do finally! (Just Kidding)

I am only a basic so my guess may not be 100% right, seeing how this was technically an ALS call. I do like what Dsmitty wrote though. I assume that his chest pain subsided after he was removed from his family and probably resolved by the time you got to the ER. NSRtachycardia along with his slightly elevated BP is what makes me think this. He probably thought he was having a real emergency if this is his first panic attack. However, his tounge hanging out to the side... hmmmm, maybe he was just playing with his family for a little attention. I would have liked to have been there and tickled the bottom of his foot :laughing8: Thanks for a good scenario Medik8. BS or not BS that is the question. :dontknow:

I don't care what anyone says that right there struck me as humorous! BTW, the line to collect your $5 forms right behind me. Now if Nate will just show us where to go to collect I'll be outta here :cya:

Hasn't this been discussed before? Beating a dead horse does get old after a while Here's a recent topic on this issue http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3369

They probably had a KED in the ambo. Why not use that or as redbkirk said a short board if they were out of LSB's? Course who knows as unpopular as the KED is if anyone even remembered how to use it. (save the hate mail, I'm being sarcastic)

You better believe (no pun intended) that a law like this would get abused. All it takes is a lawsuit to find out! EMS Ballbuster Attorney: "Mr. good intentioned but lazy emt, I believe my client died because you didn't use a common drug that you carry on the ambulance." Lazy EMT: "Good thing you brought that up because it is against my beliefs to administer that drug." OH YEAH, I see the future and it abuses itself. :twisted:

Okay, even though it looks like conservatives are getting the :violent3: , I'll stick my neck out and admit to being a conservative Christian type. As a matter of fact I feel that this is the reason I'm in the field trying to help others or brighten someones day. HOWEVER.....that being said I will ONLY talk about my beliefs if I sense my patients have a similar belief. I have seen to many Bible thumping hypocrites to freely talk to just anyone (can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine?) about it. My feeling is that if you are in a position to provide care that the patient requests, then you need to lay your beliefs to the side and do as they request. Just my feeling, but if you are working in a position where the pt. requested above mentioned services, and you can provide it then you need to come across with the goods. (Not trying to sound harsh or judgemental but I feel very strongly about this)

Oooppss! my last post may be more pertinent to the discussion about automated blood pressure readings. Move it if it needs it admin. Back to the original post. The only thing the needle bouncing means to me is "Listen up Sonny, you are about to hear a systolic reading". I admit I am a newbie to ems, but it just seems to me like this may be a bit inaccurate way of getting a reading. I don't remember my textbook covering it either (BradyBooks #9 was what I studied)

The other week we transported a pt. who I would guess to have weighed at least 400lbs. Needless to say our lifepak12 cuff didn't fit on his arm. So I dug out the LARGE adult (read thigh) cuff and went for a manual bp. Sounded like I heard a sys of 130. The other emt also took it. Neither he nor I told the other what we got until after we were both done. He came up with140/90. Sounds good to me, so we get him to the hospital and they use their machine only on the forearm. They obtained a pressure of 168. I thought WTF, I'll put that in my bag of tricks and try it the next time the cuff doesn't fit. On the ride back to the station I took my bp on the machine first on the forearm then on the upper part of the arm. The difference was almost 40 points. I got rid of that idea real fast. I still insist on having at least the first reading done manually. I prefer manual done all the way, but sometimes I don't have a choice when another EMT techs the call. I will admit to using the machine once in a while when I'm filling out paperwork or maybe feeling lazy. It scares me tho if my partner, or any emt for that matter cannot get a manual reading on any pt. Just my 2 cents.

You know its rural ems when: Dispatcher: Rural First Response, please respond to an 80yr. old stroke pt. No address available. Someone will meet you at the highway. The first response apparently gets there ok after some guidance from one of the volunteer ff that lives in the area. ("You know this will be the trailer house five miles off the highway and in the next county.") A short break and then: Rural ambulance to Dispatch: Could you advise us of this location, we are on umpteenth road and can't find this location. Dispatcher: We will send someone up to meet you at the highway on the next mile over from you. Ambulance: Okay, but we will have to turn around and come back to the highway and then go one more mile to get to that person's location. Twenty minutes after responding from the station they advise they are on scene. Gotta LOVE that rural ems! Cardiac arrest gets a prayer and not much else! P.S., Bonus points for getting the cows to stampede by alternating your siren enroute to a scene, although I will not admit to doing this