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Penthrox

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  • Occupation
    Paramedic / Nurse

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

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  1. Thank you for proving my point.... The company I work for is where, which is then regulated and checked by AREMT. I have not mentioned the fact that I am currently studying the Bachelor of Health Sciences Paramedic at Flinders Uni and wouldnt you know I recieved RPL. I am not here to have an argument with you Kiwimedic as I am assuming you work for St John Ambulance? Just the pinnicle of how an ambulance service is run. Unless you have some constructive remarks instead of slander please stay out of my thread. Oh I also have a Bachelor of Nursing from UniSA want to rip that to shreads aswell? I work in a trauma hospital here as a Nursing Specialist but hey im just a vollie dreamer.
  2. The way it works here in my state anyway is you hand off to the state crew for unstable transports. Being that it was a private event we are not authorised to transport unless directed by the clinician of the state service over the phone (normally an extended care paramedic or doctor). That will only occur under 3 conditions, we will be quicker than them arriving and a paramedic is on crew, it is a triage situation or we are directed by the clinician due to overloading on their crews (they must be stable). It was not a metro event it was out in the country and most of the stations for the country have volunteer crews who are all at a emt b equiv. At some including the one they vollie crew came from had a paid Intensive Care Paramedic on crew in a sprint car (Ford Territory used to arrive quicker). He didn't attend as he was at another job. The sad fact is the constant shame I feel when dealing with them because I am a 'wannabe' or an 'ambulance chaser'. I can't be a paramedic here with the state service because I do not meet my BMI and am considered unsafe, although I can do all the manual handling required for the job. The case in question was set out like this, for my organisation we have 2 ambulances and 1 4x4 support vehicle. At this particular duty we had 2 paramedics (to international standards), 1 EMT - I, 1 EMT - B and one trainee first responder. At the time I had a patient at our outpost who I suspected had torn his MCL but refused transport to hospital, it was at that time the rider went down. The other 4 (including the other Paramedic) set out to retrieve the patient, he was brought back to the post where I was. I only cannulated because he became unstable, everything else was done. They arrived to us and transported from there, where the above story takes over. We have to handover to a state run service if they arrive irregardless of their qualifications. The fact we are not normally shown any respect is par for the course around here and in the country 99/100 I will have a greater level of training than them. It was reported to the clinician on duty at the time (whom I work with at my hosptial job) and also to the health commission of Australia. It really makes me question if its ego or the patient they care about. I offered to travel with them as they had Morphine and Fentanyl on board and with permission from a clinician I can administer these medications but that was refused. So for ego the patient suffered the 40 minutes over dirt and broken roads to hospital to get further pain relief when i could have given it to him then and there. It is just the sad fact of life I guess, this is not to say the state service is all bad. The majority show us respect (especially to myself and the other para's) but it just upsets me when pride and ego take over from patient care. The patient was in full C-Spine and yes they did lift the head end of the stretcher, stop fluids and remove an IV Cannula because they can not transport with cannula in situ (unless I accompany them but oh how embarassing!).
  3. Hi, I am a volunteer Paramedic here in Australia and volunteer for a group here. My paramedic level is recognised by AREMT and is an Advanced Diploma, the state run ambulance service which responds to 000 (aussie equiv to 911) run Ambulance Officers (equiv to EMT - all the way upto Extended Care Paramedics. I was working a motocross on the weekend where a rider came off his bike at 70mph subsequently fracturing his wrist in the process. I was not first crew to him, the first crew consisted of an EMT - B and an EMT - I. The patient's helmet was cracked in several places, on lookers state he was 'asleep and awake' during the time it took for response to him. The patient did complain of loss of feeling in the lower limbs and pins and needles also. Naturally the crew assumed it was spinal and stabilsed the head and neck with a c collar. The patient was haemodynamically stable at the time of primary, for pain the patient was given methoxyflurane (self administered analgesic) which had minimal effect. We do not carry any other medications for pain relief. We called the state ambulance service for transport and a higher level of pain relief. All this was relayed to the comms room of the state ambulance service and they dispatched a crew. During the time it took for them to arrive he because shocky, flucuating bp and nauseous. I made the call to cannulate the patient and administer fluids and an antiemetic medication. To administer the antiemetic medication I need permission from the state run ambulance service according to our drug protocols, so I contacted the clinician of the state service and was given permission. I administered the medication and started fluids, he once again stabilised although his pain was still a 10/10. The state service arrived and insider were to ambulance officers (emt - who could not administer opiate medications. I also had the patient cannulated and they are not allowed to transport cannulated patients. After explaining to the crew what was wrong with the patient I was talked down to by one of them and he made the statement 'what would you know you are just a wannabe' to which I replied 'I am actually a paramedic and a anaesthetic nursing specialist mate so alot more than you!' which didnt go down all that well. The first thing the state crew did was pat slide the patient to their strectcher although he was on scoop stretcher. They insisted on sliding him across, so we let them. The kicker is the very next thing the ambulance officer does is RAISE THE HEAD END OF THE STRETCHER after he has been told of suspected cervicle injuries. Immediately I lowered it and phoned the clinician at their comms centre. During the time I was on the phone the ambulance officer had stopped the IV which is not qualified to do and removed the cannula, loaded the patient into their ambulance and drove off code 1 (lights and sirens). Gobsmacked I lodged and official complaint and that is the last I have heard. It just goes to show although there are private cowboys out there, there are also state run cowboys who think they know it all. I felt so bad for the patient and I hope he is ok. My rant for the day. Thanks for reading.
  4. Penthrox

    I passed!

    Congratulations As I tell everyone I work with stay within your scope of practice and have fun!
  5. The Vapour Rub is a great idea, I will be using that here Thanks mate.
  6. If you want a GPS in our company, you bring your own. If not its the good old street directory or maps.
  7. Magnum Stealth II's all the way. Best boots I have ever owned, I have been using them for 2 years now and still holding up strong.
  8. +1 for Galls also. No complaints here
  9. Hi, I carry on a duty belt (because I am sick of putting it on my normal belt all the time) Left to right Pager Case and pager (company) Radio Swivel Belt Holder (Motorola ATS 2500) Maglite O Ring (which I rarely use because I normally forget to grab it from the vehicle) Glove Holder 4 pairs Paramedic Pouch from Ferno which has my Surefire 6P, Littmann Steth (i keep it on me because of cost), 2 pens, shears, scissors and a sharpie. Keys for vehicle and station In pockets are gum, personal phone and company phone. On my are my radio (attached to belt), speaker mic and ID Card. Thats it. Not that exciting but thats it.
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