DFIB

That is a great list. Do you recommend buying them in that order?

My patients? None have recieved notification. I am just an EMT so I haven't had the chance or the means to screw up yet. I am sure my time will come once I am working cardio and pushing meds. As for others in my service ... I don't have a clue. I am not that far up the food chain.

I care deeply for my patients but I love myself. Following procedure, protocols and proper chanels in not dishonest or stupid,but protects all involved. The oposite could be.

You must have been talking with Mr. Gandy.

Don't hold back you love. Don't leave important things unsaid. Keep you life policy up to date. Live every day like it was your last. I love life but don't fear dying.

Very true, no need to risk me baiting you out. That's why you are so good.

Race - Your point is the point I was trying to make. I guess I didn't express the idea very well. Not that we hide things from the patient but only give them pertinent information according to the current situation. Longer explanations would only delay care in most instances.

A quick recovery for the crew and patient.

lol

Pessimist are optimist with experience!

The fact that Cain would support an amendment doesn't mean it will ever make it to his desk. Abortion is one of the most polarizing topics since the civil war. The odds of a two thirds ratification are slim to none.

Chris, I don't know how hard your EMT class is but an 88 is a good solid score. Most the students I know never break the 80 plane. It seems that you have recovered well from you injuries and I felicitate you for getting back in the saddle. I would wonder why your instructor would single you out when you have such good grades, Possibly he/she has self esteem problems of was just being a jerk. You shouldn't worry about that too much, your grades are just too good. If you are having trouble with the practical aspect what I found to help me was to memorize the skill sheets. They are my map and guide through practical applications. Once I memorized them I got a partner to practice with. Eventually it all came together. Hang in there. It sounds to me like you are an intelligent lady that has a lot to offer to patients. Welcome to the City.

This reminds me of something I saw many, many moons ago. It was the same kind of patient, same spitting scenario only in the ER. He had been in a MVC and the Doc was suturing his face and head. the patient kept spitting. The doc pulled his tongue out and sutured it to his chin. THe Doc said "Try spitting on me now" Should I have reported it? Probably. Did I report it? Not a chance. I never even told anyone. The reason i ask is that if we don't mention all the things we do correctly directly to the patient why would we go out of our way to mention the incorrects?

Do any of you as medics recapitulate your treatment to the patient after arrival to the hospital? When you give a medication do you specify all the details of the medication or simply say I am going to run an IV, or I'm giving you some medicine for nausea?

No intention to offend with the underwear remark. It was hyperbole. Keep up the good work and please hang around. I enjoyed chatting with you. I am a little curious. What state do you work in?

Pro. Ability to learn from more experienced providers. An opportunity to derail the BS and stereotypes for the newer providers. Possibly even an agent for change in EMS. Cons Way too adictive. Like internet crack

I purposely steered away from saying that I was thinking of you in particular. I referenced to your volunteers. All of us have a need to continue bettering ouselves instead of justifying our personal preferences for the profession. You have an opportunity to be an agent for change and advancement for your service. You can try to lead your service into better practices. I don't set the standards. They are in all the books. If you don't follow them then you either don't know or choose to ignore them. If you would rather justify your current position that is your choice. You are an EMT. That makes you and me the bottom of the line in EMS. so yes I have a pretty good idea what your scope of practice is I constantly learn from observations that are made on the forum and by peers. The fact that you will stay in the discussion makes me think you might have the will to do good things to advance the standard of care in your area. I'm sorry. I had the impression that you ran calls all of the time in whatever clothes were available at the moment. It least that is the impression I thought you were trying to portray. You can be a good EMT in your underwear but what will your patients and recieving hospitals think? Facetious but a tru consideration. People who strive for excellence do so in all areas of their life. Once again, It only takes one person to begin change and move your service into a different level of service. I can only comment on what you said about yourself. You said that "But I do make sure that I'm not completely filthy and at least don't stink". That doesn't seem like you are setting the bar very high in the standards department. It might possibly be beneficial to spend a little more time in the first chapters of the book. It doesn't seem to have taken effect in the field. Cheers

Hey Brian, Welcome to the City. I am glad you decided to check out this forum. I am an EMT as well and am always excited when a fellow Basic comes on board.

There is a huge difference between a joke in good taste and hazing. I think joking and appropriate pranks are part of people that spend too much time together. I would never attempt against someone's integrity or standing before his peers but we can always poke a little fun and build stronger relationships. You probably did the right thing. There are some of those yahoos in my service that I want to keep at arms distance. I rather be respected than loved every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Some of them I wish I had never met.

Hello, I am not going to truy to bust your chops here and my comments are well intentioned but I would think the minimum expectation would be for personell at work to be properly uniformed. I understand that at the end of your post you mention what is considered proper derss. I would be concerned for the need to have a rule that people not show up to work in flipflops and cutoffs or all of the other things you mention. This need would make me think that your volunteers are way under trained and really don't have a clue about the basic role of EMS in the community and the high standard we try to set. If they had any kind of certs of schooling they would know these things because they are the first things all EMTs learn. Do your volunteers not have access to EMT classes? If not, This might be something you would be interested in getting involved in. By the tone of your post I assume that you live in a rural area where EMS service is scarce. It is great that you have folks that can respond from work. Even though people are grateful for "some" care I think a properly dressed EMT will give the patient and his family an impression of the quality of care they are receiving. This is two pronged in my opinion: First, the way we care for ourselves speaks volumes to the level of care we think we are providing. And the pride or lack of that we have in what we are doing. And patients can see this. Second, your professional appearance tells the patient a lot about the level of care they might or might not be receiving. When in my area of operation, I carry a uniform shirt and an Id badge in the truck just in case I need to respond in a support capacity. . I never wear open toe shoes, sandals or shorts so my pants will be kakis or jeans. If they need me they will call my cell. We don’t have radios or pagers for off duty personnel. Just because I am at my other job doesn’t mean I don’t try my hardest to be professional when I am representing my service and profession. These are just some ideas your guys might want to toss around. You will be surprised the difference it will make for your service in the eyes of your community.

Where do you work? Mexico?

I think it is magical Nightingale light.

txladymedic - It is good to hear from you again, every time you post I enjoy your thoughts. I have to agree that power point has dumbed down many instructors. I get so tired of folks reading the Power Point I want to ask if they would allow me to read for them so they can rest their voice. Don't you hate it when you are sitting through a class and there are fellow students that are whispering just loud enough to distract? They probably only do it because they can read faster than the instructor

Akflightmedic. Gotcha. MArgaret Thatcher Rocked in her day. She would be like 100 years old now or so.