ToledoEMT

Don't forget the Levophed

Now what's that saying... Levophed... Leave 'em dead?

This is in NW Ohio and SE Michigan.

EMT-B course - 400.00 including books (2 1/2 yrs ago)

EMT-P course - Just about 5500.00 for an accredited program, including books, uniform, ACLS, PALS, nursing drug book, and a few other minor things. How much I've spent in gas... Good lord, probably half that. And it's only an hour drive.

I've heard of people drinking hand sanitizer... Now I haven't done the research on this, but ewwwww.

*slightly revised after figuring out what I really need*

Several pens. Like six at least.

One sharpie.

One pair of non-latex gloves

One pair latex gloves (typically grabbed right before I'm on the scene)

One pair trauma scissors

One roll 2" tape

One penlight (which I'm sure I'll lose before the night is over)

Cell phone and pager

Stethoscope in my left cargo pocket

Jenn, I understand completely. I do. My brother went through this recently.

My advice... Try to meet up with the DA, as the above poster said. You might be surprised at the result. Be humble, don't cop an attitude, plead your case, see what happens. I wish you the best of luck.

April

Thanks for the insight, what I don't understand is that the cop told me that it would NOT out points on my license, because it was not 15 MPH over. But the job I have they do not look at points, they look at offenses. I am going down to the court in the AM and see if I can do something about it. I am going to be really upset that this will stop me for getting a job I have been working towards for so long, finally get everything done, and ready to go and then I do something so stupid. I really do appreciate all the advice you all have given me. I hope that I can get something taken care of, the court date is March 9th and I will be in my orientation of my new job so asking off for that day, would be about impossible. So I hope I can figure out something.

Again thanks you guys, I see why everyone freaks out when they get speeding tickets now when they are in this profession...Lead foot=No job!

Jenn

I carry a small bottle of rewetting drops and my glasses w/ me at all times... Mine get dry after twelve hours, kind of like what everyone else says... I hate wearing the glasses, but carrying them with me has saved my butt more than a few times.

Good luck on your new shift, sounds like it'll be an adventure

April

Im getting ready to be rollin on a 24 hour 911 rig in the Los Angeles, CA. However, I wear contacts and i was wondering how you guys handled that. My contacts begin to bug me after about 12 hours. What happens with those midnight and after runs? Do you carry re-wetting drops or before you go to bed do you wear your glasses?? Any ideas that have seemed to work for you guys, please let me know. Thanks

Congrats to you!!!!

Let the fun and excitement begin

April

Popped pimple that wouldn't stop bleeding.

FD on the scene actually said that he believed it might be "connected to a vein".

Yes, we transported. Grandma was insisting. Pt was her grandson.

On arrival at ER the Doc took the pressure bandage off and revealed... Absolutely nothing.

So do we want to get an online myspace-type study group thing going? I heard an idea like that from someone back in there...

I just started a group on myspace for medic students... It's small, hopefully we can get some people posting

http://groups.myspace.com/medicstudentsunite

For those of you on myspace... I created a myspace group for us...

Myspace Medic Student Group

Have at it

God knows we could use eachother for support.

Where are you taking your course??? Just curious.

I started yesterday at HVA in Ann Arbor. To say I'm a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Well, I'm doing this the hard way... the way the program runs, it's "A&P+Pathophysiology for Paramedics" from 9/6-11/5 then it bridges into "Advanced EMS Care" which is the first Paramedic class...

Well, I'm doing it the hard way... I'm not taking the Paramedic A&P... I'm taking regular Anatomy and Physiology with Lab and regular Pathophysiolgy then starting the Paramedic on 11/5...

So do we want to get an online myspace-type study group thing going? I heard an idea like that from someone back in there...

Take Care, Everyone

I applaud you for wanting to expand beyond the narrow box that paramedic education tends to reside inside. It seems like most medics come out of school knowing little more than the difference between "crackles" and "wheezes," yet no true understanding of what they actually mean or where they come from. There are certainly a lot more sounds than just those two, and they can be quite valuable to your ability to accurately diagnose illness. Others have given you some resources here, so just let me give you this piece of advice; lung and heart sounds are not something that you can listen to a few sound clips of and forget about, then expect to know them a few months later, much less what they actually mean. It takes constant practise to master them. And if you don't intend to master them, don't even waste your time studying them. Take every possible opportunity you get to listen to every set of lungs you can find. Your friends, your family, your classmates... they are all your patients when you are a student. Even if you don't hear a lot of abnormal breath sounds, you benefit. Because the more normal breath sounds you hear, the easier it becomes to recognise when you hear an abnormal sound. If you are doing a rotation in the ER, your job is not limited to just taking vital signs and starting IVs. Listen to EVERYBODY's chest, even if they are there for an ingrown toenail. IVs are easy. ASSESSMENT is the one real skill that paramedics have a hard time mastering. Use every opportunity you have to practise it.

Thank you for this post... I've printed it out.

The benefit of listening to normal breath sounds makes alot of sense to me now. I already listen to everyone's chest now, but you're right, recognizing normal makes abnormal jump out at you that much more. I just don't run across many patients that have abnormal sounds. Breath sounds have been an area I really need to work on.

Thanks again!

Not yet, but it is on my list of things to do...er, yeah.

TPBM stole my Littman. I want it back.

I took a little bit of everyone's advice (minus the foley tray, of course). I survived, the kids came out unscathed, and as far as I can tell, I didn't let the entire EMS community down. At one point we did have twenty kindergartner's in the BACK of the rig for a photo op -- that was kind of wild.

The next day my son came home with twenty "Thank you" cards... It was very sweet. His teacher really has her hands full, I know I appreciated them. My supervisor has them now...

Thank you to everyone... I was able to relax a little bit and enjoy it for what it was.

Pictures on Monday, if anyone wants to see the chaos.

April

22 five-year-olds. Twenty minute talk. Walk through the ambulance.

HEEEEELP!

Five year olds don't have much of an attention span and I have 20 minutes to fill... I'm looking for things to talk about...

I've got this so far:

What my job is

When to call 911, when not to call

importance of seatbelts and helmets

...

I'm having a hard time coming up with things to talk about. Any help would leave me forever in your debt.

Why am I terrified by a bunch of five year olds?

Anthony... Great post!

I was really impressed with the way you expressed yourself... It made me really think about how I say things. With every patient in general, but especially with kids. In EMS and while I'm off duty. I have two kids.

Also, I want your dentist. I just recently had a bad experience with mine.

Take care,

April

All of our cars carry AED's, we're a private service, but we are also contracted to do 911.

All of these are in our Basics Drug Box:

Albuterol

Activated Charcoal and Ipecac (blah.)

ASA

Epi-pens

We also carry KEDS, although according to most of the people I've worked with, they've never used them or maybe just used it once.

I'm a brand spankin' new EMT... as a matter of fact, today was my first day.

What got me here... Car accident when I was younger. Couldn't tell you what it was, but I knew after being strapped to that board that for some reason, I wanted to be part of the calvary I just knew from that point on. When my first born was 13 months old he choked on something and we had to call 911. The fact that I didn't know what to do really hit home, and I decided that this was more than something I wanted to do eventually... Unfortunately, it took five more years for me to enroll in the EMT course.

BTW, my youngest was really choking last week... She's also 13 months old, coincidentally... My husband flipped out and wanted to call 911. I knew what to do. This time... thank God.

It felt good to know what to do.

I must be an exception...I am an EMT-I (just found out I passed the NREMT) and EVERYTHING is exciting and cool and new

for ME. The medics I worked with on all of my ride-alongs kept apologizing that we didn't get any "good" calls..

I had to say to them,"EVERY call is good for me, I am here to learn."

AMEN!!! Okay, finally someone who feels the same way I do.

I passed the NREMT! I just checked online...Now I'm an EMT-I!!

In my opinion, the test was not as difficult as I'd heard...we had

harder tests in class!

Now, on to employment! Can you tell I'm excited?

WHOOOOOOOOOT!!!!

Congrats to ya

April