medik8

I've read his books. I liked 'em. I got a kick out of his humor. Pretty good idea of what it's all about...especially in the city.

8

Stick em quick....get it done....and watch out for the wigglers... It's just like any other procedure that's remotely painful...prolong it in any way and you will always make it worse. Be fast...and confident. Works *almost* every time.

:wink: 8

You Are an Irish Coffee

At your best, you are: wild, spontaneous, and outgoing

At your worst, you are: too extreme and reckless

You drink coffee when: you want to keep drinking booze

Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofcoffeeareyouquiz/

:shock:

Meh...sounds to me like you were just calm, cool, collected and able to handle chaos...which is a good thing. Important thing to remember is not to "stuff" your feelings. If you truly feel ok and like you were unaffected by this, and are wondering why...that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's kind of a gift...of a certain sort. I have that. I consider it a blessing. Not much excites me, unless it involves kids...I don't get all worked up. I just stay focused, calm, and do my job. Even when it DOES involve kids...I don't let it bother me on scene. I am able to hold it until later in most cases. There have been a few times that I really had to bite back the tears, or had to walk away for a second... Some wonder how I stay calm during bad calls. I can't even answer that. I just do.

As long as you revisit the scene/situation in your mind and understand why things were being done, and are all cool with the order of it, and have any questions you may have answered, then the absence of any emotion is, like I said, not a bad thing. If anything, it sounds like you are on your way to possibly becoming very good at what you do. Calm heads prevail.... Ask yourself this... Do you want someone handling your emergency that is an emotional mess and frozen in their tracks, unable to think clearly? Uh uh....me either...

xoxoxo

8

Wow....I'd say the majority of my patients have been gross in some way or another. Yeah...it's sad...and it does get SO old... It's a breath of very rare fresh air when one actually looks decent, has clean clothes on, nice/clean teeth and doesn't smell. And...sadly....most of mine ARE NOT homeless...and as mentioned here before, manage to have the other "necessities". Cigarettes...check. Alcohol....check. Cable....check. Chew....check. Drugs....check.

Sure, if you learn from taking the exam you don't like it. But it doesn't happen that way. And finding out you don't like it is the best thing that could happen to you. The worst thing is to find out that you DO like it, do it til you're fifty years old, and then realize you have nothing to show for that time except a bad back, high blood pressure, a fat ass, and massive debt. You won't be able to afford a vacation, a new car, or college for your kids. And you have nothing but a certificate for 136 hours of night school to show for it all. Now what job are you going to get?

I know you're gonna do what you wanna do. The lure of the siren is quite seductive. But she is a fickle bitch that will spit you out in a few years wishing you had never met her. It won't be a fond memory you are glad you have. It will be five or ten years you really wish you hadn't wasted. And I take great pleasure in saying, "I told you so!" :wink:

LMFAO! Dust hit the nail on the head, as much as I hate to admit it. *Dust....I want you to take great pride in knowing that even though I am sick right now and feel like hell...you made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt...and now my headache is even worse...but I love ya for it* :wink:

A Fickle Bitch indeed.....I confess there are many times I'd like to smack the hell out of her...but I still love it. So, even though I will end up poor....lol...oh well... But, Dust has a good point. It definitely has to be that you love this crap. And don't be surprised later when you are wondering why the hell you gave your life to it. It's actually more of a sacrifice. But...meh....too late...the seductress already has me under her spell.

Freakin' hilarious! I agree....I'm stealing the Mickey Mouse question for LOC....but only for those unique situations....

However, if they were originally standing but becam inverted during the fall and landed on their head then you could say that their head fell 16'2'', their shoulders fell 15', their chest fell 13.5', their hips fell 12', and their feet fell 10'.

LMFAO...that sounds like something I'd be thinking...but just not say aloud. Thanks for the laugh, Hammer.

A fall is a fall....it is measured from the height they fell....and the treatment depends on the injury... If I would throw Hammer off three completely different 10 foot ladders...I'll bet I'm going to get three different results...one may be significant....all may be significant....none may be worth a damn. The only thing certain to be sore there is me. LMAO.

8

Well said, AK.

Longs....we certainly DO NOT want you to feel unwelcome. So, like AK said, I can appreciate your situation, and I'm sorry. Things will get better...and I admire you for trying, putting it into gear, and not sitting on your rear. BUT...please look up your protocols and learn them. It's to your own benefit of becoming a good EMT so you can KEEP that job you so desperately need, FOR your family. In addition, for your own pride...to know that you've become the best you can be so that you can serve your patients and community well.

Good luck! :wink:

8

Cell phones....GRRR..... Mine is a necessity to my life...but my students know that theirs better not interfere with class. We're here to learn. If you want to talk to your girlfriend....do it on your own time. Either that, or invite her to come participate as a patient while I watch you do the assessments that you so desperately need to learn.

LMAO...

HELL NO!...You're not too old. It's a job, everyone has to have one pretty much, you're most likely (the majority of us) not going to make much money.... BUT... if you've found this profession AND fallen in love with it...then you're very, very, rich in many other ways. EMS is one of the great loves of my life...and unlike some of the others from the past (gulp..we won't go there)....it's one that has NEVER let me down. The benefits and rewards that have been given back to me, in my heart and mind, are incredible. I will cherish them forever.....and welcome them every day I work.

If its what makes you happy, then there is nothing more to question...

:wink: That's just how I see it....

8

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO there!!!! I can't wait!!! Where is everyone staying? Anyone want to share a room?

You're quite welcome xsel....it's just who I am....that's all... :oops:

8

So long as you get the information that you need to make a good decision when it comes to management of a problem, the alphabet soup you use to get there is really immaterial.

I like this....Good answer AZCEP! These pneumonics are provided as a helpful tool to learn to ask pertinent questions and to be thorough...but nothing replaces getting the job done and having the good common sense to know when to get the hell outta dodge. Covering all your bases is a good practice to be in...but when push comes to shove...it's not gonna matter when he first couldn't breathe, how bad it hurts, whether he had a ham sandwich for lunch, or when his last drink was. If he's not breathing, or he dies because you spent too much time on scene and not on patient care...it's kinda irrelevant. :roll:

8 :wink:

Meh... Mike's an uber smart dude who I trust, but I've just seen this situation way too many times in thirty years. Working something out mano a mano only works if you're both interested in reaching a compromise. It seems absolutely clear to me that she is not. And any attempt to discuss it will likely result in an ugly confrontation for which she will report our friend as insubordinate and argumentative. And with him being the newbie, guess who's going to be believed.

There is no settling this with this broad. And it ain't going away on its own. This requires moderation and intervention from upstairs.

And I will repeat one of the most important facts about working in EMS:

Do like Dust said.....and run like hell...but be diplomatic and professional, not whiny. You will be more believable and respected. It's unfortunate that it has to be this way, but sometimes...it just does. I'm like Race...I'd rather jump...and I always do (thank GOD), but...to each his own.

Some things have to be taken to management....that's what they're there for. This lady sounds like a real bitch...sorry...lack of a better word here. As far as I'm concerned....it's ON....

Good Luck.... :wink:

8

Wow... :? What a tough situation. It has to be so incredibly hard to let something so precious go. It's obvious these parents are holding on to that last little bit of hope, for one shred of a possibility for a miracle. I sincerely hope I never have to feel the pain of losing a child, or even worse, of fighting to try to hold on to one. It's hard enough when they're not mine.

Kinda makes you want to count your blessings and quit sweating and complaining about the small stuff, huh? Reality check...

It's kinda funny how life throws you little reminder wake up calls about the important things...that's two I've had in the last two days. One personal, one in print. Either way...same effect...

8

when we rolled her forward into the body bag, I happened to look at the couch where she'd been sitting, and noticed that the skin from the back of her legs, arms, neck and the back of her scalp were still firmly attached to the couch cushions....and was moving.

Uck... :pukeleft: I have had a situation like that before, where the decomposition was so bad that the skin just kind of slithered off the bones...almost like a degloving, but a lot slimier. BLECH. It reminded me of a well-done piece of meat, where you grab the bone and the rest just falls off. NAST!

Besides that...not trying to be mean here at all...but what happens if your patient's "outlines" don't fit in those "outlines". :shock: Seems like it would make for an even MORE uncomfortable experience....in my opinion...

8

It sounds like it would be good for the employees in the long run...but would take some huge, brass balls!!

Dwayne

He's got 'em.....

(xoxo PRPG...) lmao...

8 :wink:

Hmmmm....a few that come directly to mind are....

"Jumper" - Third Eye Blind A short sample of lyrics:

Well he's on the table and he's gone to code

And I do not think anyone knows

What they're doing here

And your friends have left you

You've been dismissed

I never thought it would come to this

And I, I want you to know

Everyone's got to face down the demons

Maybe today

You could put the past away

"Dr Feelgood" - Motley Crue

"Lunatic Fringe" - Red Ryder

"Numb" - Linkin Park (love that song!)

"No more tears" Ozzy Osbourne (lmao)

Just a few that come to mind...I'm sure I'll think of others.......lmao

BTW...Great avatar, Jake!!! 8) Damn...why didn't I think of that first...

:wink: 8

Also, most diabetics do not have feel chest pain during an MI. I have seen this first hand on many occations while working in a dialysis center.

Very true...Because I knew this....I was able to save my own father.

8

If you want to be a paramedic, dial that destination into your autopilot and lock it in. Don't stop until you get there. But if you just want to be an ambulance driver and play with the siren, well fly on out to California and they'll give you a basic patch in fourteen days.

:wink: That's funny stuff, right there...

I say...if you feel you are ready for it...then go for it. Don't look back. Look at Jenni....she's kicking butt and taking names....*8 is SO proud of her surrogate EMS daughter* lmao.

Get in school and get it over with....then enjoy. It's a hell of a job....wouldn't trade it for the world.

xoxo

luv, 8

:shock: OMG! I made it to "Level 3" almost at the end...lmao..duh.....and then well...see for youself!

Yikes!

I THINK THAT THE NREMT IS A JOKE ONE OF MY CO WORKERS TOOK IT AND WENT TO A STATE THAT WANTED YOU TO HAVE IT THEY STILL WANTED HIM TO TAKE A 10 WEEK CLASS AND TAKE THERE STATE EXAM SO AS FAR AS I CAN SEE IT DOES NOTHING I HAVE HEARD OTHER STATES ARE THE SAME THEY WILL TAKE THE NREMT BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO TAKE THERE EXAX I THOUGHTTHE NREMT WAS SO YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO TEST IN OTHER STATES YOU COULD GO TO WORK

:shock: Holy Crappies!!!

:pukeleft: I have profuse nausea,..... a giant urge to hurl. This gave me a headache...

Wow...

Right....As a rule, I refrain from using endearing terms, so as not to offend someone older than me. I use it sometimes with kids...depending...for kids will tell you if they don't like it, and not be as offended as an adult. And I only do that usually after I've asked their name and used that first. Basically...I talk to a kid as I do my own...and usually that gets received well.

Now, as for the old men...well...as Rid said, they like to flirt. I have a few regulars, and those guys EXPECT me to be that way with them. If I called any of them sir or their first name, they would ask me what the hell my problem was. Literally, in those words. lol. Some of them, all I do is walk in the house and smile at them. "Ahhhh...there she is...they say." I give a wink, grab their hand, give a squeeze and a pat on the back, verify that the condition is the "same as last time"... and away we go.

As a rule...just start out by being respectful and polite. You will get to know your patients, and you will get to know what is offensive and what is not. You have to somewhat "read" the patient and the amount of pain/distress they are in, the kind of sickness, and the seriousness of the call. Use common sense. It's different with everyone. As long as your intentions are good, and you use your head, everything else will usually fall into place.

:wink:

xoxo 8