medicgirl05

Thank you for insulting my intelligence. The stretcher on the ambulance was rated for 550lbs but I am unsure what model it is. I know it is not exactly new and it probably isn't on the Stryker website. Just to disprove your statement I looked on the stryker website. I am providing you with links to 2 stretchers that they currently sell that are rated for less than 750lbs. There are more however that don't rate at your 750 mark. Next time you try to insult someone elses intelligence make sure you know what you are talking about. http://www.ems.stryk...detail.jsp?id=1 http://www.ems.stryk...tail2.jsp?id=10 Also, why would you present yourself as younger than you are? Between that and your name you don't present yourself in a very good light. Just my opinion.

Somebody asked about the patients response to the situation. Can't find the question to quote it but here is the answer. In the beginning she just wanted us to make it work. She even offered suggestions. After I made my desicion to not transport and explained my reasoning to her, she said she understood and she thanked me because nobody had ever thought about her well-being before. She said usually the private services just cram her in without any thought. I know I made the right desicion for the patient. I just know that my supervisor doesn't see it like that. She lost $150 ya know!

In the scenario I presented the patient didn't weigh 1000 pounds. She weighed a little over 600 which would easily fit on a bariatric stretcher rated for 750.

In that case, wouldn't you prefer to be able to say that you restrained and did everything you could to keep the patient safe? Or would you be ok saying the patient was on the floor of your ambulance completely unrestrained?

I have had that scared/nervous feeling...at some point it stops being a problem and just becomes normal. At least it did for me. I remember thinking how cold the people involved in my first code were too, but after a while you learn that the joking and laughing is just how many people learn to deal with such things. Now that should NEVER be done with family around... I have had a few students tell me they couldn't wait to see someone die, or couldnt wait to feel the ribs break. Those students concern me far more than a student who is nervous/scared. The dead body issue is something that hopefully will pass with time. You realize that it is just a body, there is no person in there anymore. It is just their earthly core. If you are really concerned find an instuctor or preceptor that you trust and talk to them about it.

I had to laugh. One of my first things in basic class was using the traction splint. It was so awkward in the beginning because everyone was afraid of touching another persons groin, but by the time that class was over we were all laughing so hard. It was one of the best classes I had in basic class because that was when we started to be friends.

I wouldn't buy any uniforms or shoes until the program tells you what they require. I can't think of anything extremely helpful about the class itself, sorry. Try to make a study group. It was helpful to me to be around people with similar interests who cloud answer questions I had. I am currently taking Anatomy and Physiology and I highly recomend taking it before advancing in EMS. It is not required but allows you to understand some things much better. Welcome to the City!

The Texas EMS conference will be held November 20-23 in Austin. I was wondering if any of you from the city will be attending? If so maybe we could get together one night. It'd be great to put faces to some of the names on here.

We are provided with our navy blue polos. They have our county logo and our name embroidered on them. We are issued 2 at a time and we must turn in our old ones to receive new ones. We are usually issued them when we "need" them. Mine right now are in poor condition and I started asking for new ones about 6 months ago. One of them was sprayed with some kind of hot liquid out of the rescue tools the firemen were operating(yes, I thanked them for that). The liquid left a dark stain over most of the front of the shirt and it has drops on the sleeves also. Unfortunately things don't happen very fast around here.

Even if I say I completely belive you about the useless seatbelts in a wreck I still have to point out that there would still be a huge legal issue in taking a patient on the floor. Every report I write I put "Patient is resrained with #seatbelts". I think not having any at all would be a lawyers field day. I have put a second backboard on the bench seat on multiple occasions. ALWAYS secured with three seatbelts. The difference is that the backboarded patients are out of MVCs. The 911 service I work for has NO other service within a 30 mile radius. So it is often deemed that the benefit outweighs the risk in such a scenario.

Very cute. Congrats to you and your wife!

First of all, yes I am still employed. Probably because I am one of the only 2 medics they have right now. High employee turnover...wonder why? I am unsure why we are comparing my situation to that of an emergency call. I think they are two completely different things. If this same scenario had presented as emergent I definetely would have done something different. Also, as I mentioned it was not the patients fault that she had a medical condition causing her to be so heavy and neither is it my fault. I did not refuse her because she was "too fat" but because it was unsafe to transport her. This is the first transfer I have EVER refused so it isn't like I look for excuses to not do my job. In fact, we stayed at the hospital trying to find an alternative for the patient for an hour and a half. Much longer than the actual transport would have taken. I also don't like the innuendo that I am giving false information. I do however appreciate the input. I understand that the risk of a wreck may be low....Do you understand what would happen if there was a wreck? Even a small one? Any idea what I could lose?

Welcome to the City! We recently had a similar thread that can be found under the category of EMS News. It is called "job interview." There is some great advice there. My personal experience has been more of a moral/ethical line of questiong...Questions such as-What would you do if your partner was stealing? What would you do if you had a problem with a fellow employee? Do you think it is right to take home a company pen? Those sorts of question...I have also been asked about med doses such as glucose, nitro, and aspirin. Good luck to you!

This company isn't like a typical private service. It is run by a family and my "boss" dispatches calls to us while doing her normal everyday things. I did measure and the patient width and the clearance of the truck and report that back to her. Well, I am scheduled to work there tomorrow so we shall see if I still have a job when I show up in the morning. Thanks for all the input!

Wow. Makes me wonder if I have presented myself in a professional light. Thanks for sharing! Good luck in Mongolia!

The solution was for the service that has transported the patient before to do it again approximately 12 hours after I refused. That was planned before we left. There were a few other factors which I didn't seem relevant to the initial post. One of which was that the receiving facility was holding people over causing them to have OT and wanted things to be done in a hurry. I told my boss I would do the transfer if I could remove the stretcher brackets and she refused. I called her 3 times about it BEFORE I refused transport. I appreciate the input.

Just for clarification, the patient was large due to a medical illness. It had nothing to do with her being "too fat."

I found myself stuck in an interesting scenario and am curious how others would have handled a similar situation. I was working for a private transfer service and my supervisor called and told me to take the stretcher out of the truck before heading to a local hospital for a transfer. She said the patient wighed more than our stretcher allowed so we would be transporting her on the hospital provided mattress. She advised that the hospital would provide the man power needed to get the patient in the ambulance and the receiving facility would help get the patient out. From the beginning I was not comfortable with this but I decided to go with it. When we got to the floor I went to see the patient before accepting care of the patient. The patient was very wide on the bottom half. I asked my supervisor if we could remove the stretcher brackets, but she said no. I asked the patient if she could tolerate laying on her side, she said no. I went and measured the ambulance and the patient and the patient was about 6 inches too wide. We talked about using pillows to prevent the stretcher mount from injuirng her and she was very willing to do that. Then we discussed getting her in the ambulance with the mount in the way. She said it wasn't an issue for the other private service to transfer her as they just slid her in. Hospital staff advised that service was unable to tranport her today but would have a unit in the morning. I refused the transfer for multiple reasons. I did not want the liability of the transfer. I was genuinely afraid of injuring the patient. The patient was being transferred to a rehab center so there was no issue of her not getting the level of care needed. I decided that waiting for an ambulance service better able to serve was the best thing for the patient. My supervisor was not happy, obviously. I am curious as to what others think? Suggestions for the future?

I keep cinnamon flavored gun and chewing it usually distracts from smells. Only one situation that didn't work and I used Vicks. Old guy laying in the contents of his colostemy bag for at least three days in the TX summer with the HEATER on! It was horribly rank.

No argument there. Most of the ER docs are rent a docs. When we fly out multi system trauma pain management is one of the first things dealt with. If we don't medicate the flight crew will so we figure why wait for their arrival. Only pain med we currently carry is Morphine. We had been using Nubain but it got removed after multiple ass chewings from ER docs. We are currently rewriting protocols to carry Toradol. Unfortunately my supervisor is more of the opinion that less intervention is better, so we don't carry many pain meds..

The exception to the abdominal pain is if we are fairly sure of what is causing the pain. For example, someone with previous history of kidney stones and no recent trauma we could medicate. None of the local ER's approve of medicating abdominal pain because they say it interferes with their exam. Other than that I haven't researched it much. On a patient by patient basis I can do pretty much what I want with online medical control so I don't worry much about the protocols, as trying to change such things are like pulling teeth around here!

When you are doing clinicals you have more knowledge than riding the truck as a basic. You also have more skills you are able to perform. The entire thinking process from a Basic to a Paramedic changes because of all the new things wyou are able to do. So in my opinion, clinical time is much more valuable than working as a basic. Plus as a clinical student you are supervised so you have the freedom to make your own calls but you have the safety net of someone who can guide you. Edited due to posting issues.