shuttledude

At our local E.D. we had a tazeree brought in as a 911 since the darts were considered "penetrating wounds to the abdomen." How silly was that. He was numbed with lido and the darts were yanked straight out. Upon close examination, I found that the darts had grooves on them aligned exactly with the barbs at the tip. Has anyone else noted this? It could make removal much easier if one knew where the barbs were inside the skin. At this E.D. it's the doc's preference if he wants to numb before yanking the darts out, or not. Interesting process.

Sboykin, do what they said to do in class, and just be ready for some to say that's great, and some to say, no, that's not how we do it here. Keep an open mind and a thick skin; you will need both when you err (and it'll happen). Don't stress the mistakes -- learn from them and drive on. When you know what to do, do it. When you don't, ask. Good luck.

If that becomes the new standard, then there it is. We at the operator level have to trust the Forces That Be, within reason, to re-evaluate and improve protocols periodically. Is it a pain in the arse to un-memorize stuff and learn new stuff? Oh yes. But that's why we BLS folks make the big bucks, right? Besides, what are you going to tell the prosecutor, that you thought your system would work better than the published, established procedures? I foresee folks losing count around 30-something, though. fifty is a bit up there for the layperson. Maybe 25:1?