medicgirl05

In the first few months of my basic career my partner and I had a call for a patient in respiratory distress, despite our persistence that he go to the ER he refused. A&Ox4, so we couldn't change his mind. Later in the day we got a call to the same residence, this time it was respiratory arrest. Upon arrival my paramedic partner had a moment of panic. I did the few things that I was capable of, BVM and OPA. Patient still had a pulse and the call worked out OK. I just remember looking at my partner as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom where the patient was, and thinking, I've done everything I can do, it's your turn...He just stood there. I called for a second truck and my supervisor showed up within about a minute. As soon as she was there my partner came back to reality and got his stuff together. Point of the story is that in that few minutes that I was stuck there with a patient needing care beyond my capabilities I realized that I wanted more...I never wanted to be in such a situation again...I knew what the patient needed but I was unable to provide that for him. I had the crap scared out of me that day and that situation, along with many others, shaped me into the paramedic that I am today.

I am currently in the process of applying for an overseas position with Onsite OHS. I am wondering if anyone can give me any advice or opinions about working overseas as a civilian contractor. I have done some internet research and discovered casualty rates and such...I am wondering more about the personal side of it. Those of you that have been there... Is it worth it? If you knew what you were getting yourself into would you do it again? What is the hardest part about it? What kind of work did you do while overseas and where were you at? Also any information on Onsite OHS would be appreciated. I have a friend at Camp Dwyer working with Onsite OHS and she is loving it. I am curious if others felt the same way. Thanks in advance for your responses!

Congrats to you! It is such a great feeling when you get your cert. I did not too many years ago...I have found that I am still a student though. Be prepared for things you haven't seen or read in a textbook, they happen all the time. Just be prepared for them and learn to adapt and you will do great! Good luck!

I can count on one hand the number of times I have used Lido. Mostly just for V-fib and we don't often see that particular rhythm. Out of the times that I have used it, along with the other conversion steps, I have had the one save. I think it is strange that we dont carry Amiodarone but I don't really get an opinion on that. :-) I work at a transfer service and they carry amiodarone, though I haven't had the chance to use it.

We carry and use Lidocaine. If I remember correctly from paramedic school, and this was 2 years ago so its possible that it has changed since then, Amiodarone has a proven increase of ROSC over Lidocaine; however neither increases the rates of hospital discharge following their use. I had one code "save' with the use of Lidocaine. I think it had to do more with great timing than anything I or my partner did. V-fib on arrival, defibx2, little Lido. So I think in some situations Lidocaine has the potential to work.

Uh oh. I sure hope the game warden doesn't visit this site...LMAO I carry a field guide, trauma shears, and a couple pens. The ambulance carries everything else.

A couple of months ago I arrived at work and went to check my truck....in the back doors was a huge tree limb that had been slammed inside by the crew on a call late the previous night. Apparently they had no idea it was there and they transported like that. Can you imagine? An ambulance driving down the highway with about 10 foot of tree sticking up out of the backdoors? Thank goodness nobody got hurt by this protrusion and we could laguh about it!

Welcome! Which part of TX are you from?

1. If I had any reservations about wether it was rape or not I would report. I'm not sure exactly, but I dont think the camp nurse can refuse care for the minor so I think the parents would have to be contacted. While I agree with Dwayne that kids are kids and it is not my business to get involved with the actual choice of sexual intercourse between the two, I don't want to get myself in trouble over it. 2. I am very surprised that this is a question. Where I work illegal drugs are a fairly common occurence. So my question is this, I arrive on scene to my "chest pain" and see these drugs, I notify the police. How long do I wait at the residence for the police to arrrive? We have a 10 minute rule. From the time we arrive on scene to the time we begin transport needs to be less than 10 minutes....so am I supposed to delay patient transport to wait for the police to arrive? Also if I reported every drug I saw my deputies would not like me very much because that is ALL they would be doing while at work...and while drugs are an important issue there are many other important issues for our deputies to busy themselves with. Plus many patients who have taken drugs turn into not very nice people when you get the police involved. So, for me, the answer to this question is absolutely not.

I worked as a basic for about 2 years before jumpin to paramedic.... In my opinion it is possible to skip the Intermediate level but in my personal experience it was difficult. There are so many skills you could do as an intermediate that you dont do as a basic. It was hard for me to go from not doing much at all to suddenly have this whole new skills set. If you work as an Intermediate you can get more efficient at IV sticks at the very least. So it is possible but be ready to work to get to that level.

Most current EMT books have an associated student website. Check the front and back cover for such information.

I work for a rural service in south Texas and we run 48 hours on and 72 off. The first 24 we work first out and the second we are the back-up truck. We have 2 bunk rooms with 2 beds in each. We sleep when we can. Usually our day starts with checking our trucks then eating breakfast then we get a nap in. Wash trucks in the afternon if needed and do station chores. We average about 1000 calls per year so we are not very busy. I am the lead medic on my truck and while all the crews differ in how they do things my partner and I sleep in complete uniform with the exception of boots. We are usually out the door before the dispatcher has completed giving the info. I love my shifts. It allows me to work a part time job. Also, I don't feel like patient care is compromised because it is very rare that we dont get at least a 4 hour nap at some point in the day.

Same thing happened to me but it was the backboard compartment. We pulled out of the ER and it flapped open. Stopped in the middle of the street to shut it, didnt lose any backboards. The funny part was that when we got back to the station there was a message from an RN at the ER notifying us of the open compartment! A little late...

I've had farmer issues too. Had one guy that got stuck in a hay hauler...Turned out to be DOS but getting to him was an act of congress...No actual roads, no specific directions and approximately 7 miles out in the pasture. Plus when we got to him some family members were at the actual scene waiting for us and yelling that it took us too long, and we got in trouble because the ranch had exotic wildlife and we left the gates open after we went thru them... hope to never repeat that call.

I don't think its gender discrimination to have 1 of each gender on a truck.

While I don't know the legal aspect of it I am going to throw in my opinio on a 2 female crew. I work for a rural 911 service where the norm is a male/female crew. At one time due to personnel shortages I had a female partner. That makes a 2 female crew. Some situations are more easily handled by a man. Also some ethnicities communicate with men better than women. I think ideally a male/female crew is best. Male for male problems and female for female problems. JMO...

1. I've been a paramedic a little over two years and I still get the pucker factor on some calls. Sometimes, after I have a call that flows well and requires brain use I feel pretty confident in my abilities but that usually doesn't last too long. You never know what can happen in EMS! 2. My first paramedic call was for a man on cocaine that jumped off 4 stacked tractor tires, did a double backflip, and landed in about 8 inches of water on his feet. His only injuries were breaks in each foot and a pelvic fracture. He was lucky.

I understand your frustration. My first "bad" paramedic call was at a racetrack where there was already a private ambulance staged. They, however, didn't have a paramedic so it was "MY" call. The guy was entrapped due to no doors on racecars. Also he had no feeling below his collarbone. They had nothing on him. The racetrack is at least 15 miles from the station that I responded from....So I get there and fire crews won't let me access my patient. I just went with it for the most part. I did get in and start a line and talk to the patient though while they continued to cut. So I have 1000NS hanging on a 16g cath TKO. Some male nurse keeps opening my line up. I told him probably 5 times to cut it out. His response is that the patient is a trauma patient and trauma patients need fluid. I keep calmly telling him that if I could hear lung sounds or get a BP i may give fluid but since I dont know what shape his lungs are in I'm not giving fluid. Eventually, after the man was extricated and I had just had enough, I yelled "everyone hush!" That got there attention and from there on out I ran the call. As we left the racetrack some of the guys told me that they respected me for controlling the scene. If I had done it in the beginning, it wouldn't have gotten as out of control as it did. I've since learned that if I walk into a call assertive I get much more respect from the bystanders. I work with a man who is an intermediate and is about 45y/o, so I have to assert myself so people know I'm running the show. The longer you let it go on, the harder it is to correct. I think the biggest difference I made was just how I approached. Head up, confident, and talk assertively. If you act unsure of yourself they are going to be unsure of you also. If that is not enough I would tell the fire department This is my scene, things will be done my way. I have a similar fire department with similar thought process. If what they are doing could hurt my patient or myself I am sure to say something, otherwise I keep my mouth shut and do it my way. I have worked at my service long enough and we are small enough to know which fire guys are actually helpful and which ones are more of a hindrance. I give directions to the ones I trust and the other ones I send to do traffic control or something similar. I hope this helps and god luck to you!

I started out as an 18 y/o EMT. I was very nervous! One of the most important things in the beginning is to be eager to work. Don't let the small stuf get to you. There will probably be some teasing but you just have to roll with it. Another thing is if you arent sure of how to do something ask. It is really annoying to get on a call and realize your partner doesn't know how to work the stretcher or some other issue. Mots of all just relax. Everything will be fine. EMS is, for the most part, a big family and your fellow employees will help you as much as they can. Good luck!