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A Pox On This Place

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Everything posted by A Pox On This Place

  1. Thoughtful responses all. I've had some experience with pseudoseizures too and I'm convinced several I dealt with were likely stress related. I thought about whether my patient yesterday may have had a stress trigger to an actual medical event. I don't know.
  2. Good point, in the field (and with my modest level of training) I had to rely mostly on what the patient told me to rule out epilepsy, syncope, vertigo, migraines or a stroke. Can PNES even be diagnosed without long term EEG monitoring? In this case I took how clear and lucid he seemed, the complete absence of postictal fuzz and thought of my last two dozen calls to seizing/sycopic people in holding cells or courtrooms who were facing immminent sentencing. A jaundiced view I admit.
  3. I had a familiar call to a district courtroom yesterday, a 24 y/o male having a "seizure" at his sentencing hearing. We got there about three minutes after court staff said his seizure passed. He was alert, lucid and oriented and had no problem answering SAMPLE. He had the vitals of a pro cyclist (P-50, BP-110/60, R-12). He declined transport or further treatment. Fake seizures and sentencing hearings have always seemed to go together. If people are going to waste our time can't they even go through the motions of pretending to be postictal too? What are your experiences?
  4. No hate at all. I let mine lapse when I went into management for 18 years. I didn't do enough calls to stay sharp. Congrats on your RN degree.
  5. I have a question about chemical restraints in a prehospital setting. At a Level I that I worked at the infamous B-52 (haldol/ativan with a seperate syringe of benadryl) was often prescribed in in-patient psych when patients were combative or a danger to self or others. What chemcial restraints do you use in the field?
  6. Traditions? For me it's more about rituals. I thrive on rituals on how I prep my uni, check out my personal kit and rig, radio and organize everything. Checking twice (naughty or nice). I make cajun barbeque meatballs every Samhain for some reason and bring them to work. It's Rice Crispy/Dark Chocolate Chip bars for the soltices.
  7. You didn't let me finish...like MOST of the bloody UK and old Commonweath wankers. Last word bastards, all. Even Canucks. You're a piece of work. That you admit to admiring Indiana and own up to visiting our inbred experimental state. We hate to admit we use damn foreigners as test subjects but if you involuntarily chugged 13 beers and shouted "Show us your tits!" during the Indy 500 our behavior (would you prefer behaviour?) mod worked. Please advise, we want to publish the results sooner rather than later.
  8. You got kicked in the balls. From chatting a bit, reading posts and being a general stalker here some months before signing on I think you're scary smart, wickedly able and very experienced. It's a loss for NZ EMS a short sighted selection committee screened you out. But you know? Class always shows. I'd be very surprised if this was your last chance to move your career forward in the way you want. Not to blow sunshine up your ass but you're too able to not to succeed in the manner you've set for yourself. Tom
  9. Welcome, DTVD. Thank you for your service.
  10. Aw shucks, Dwayne. A Pox On This Place is a nickname I was given on a Green Bay Packers board a few years back. I think it was--mostly--meant in jest. It amused me at any rate. I'm kinda in transition now, about to wind down my county career and looking forward to working as a volly with a podunk backwoods ambulance service in Wisconsin. I've largely been a stalker on this site, I want to continue my lifelong learning process and this is a damn fine place for that. I'd encourage everyone to support the City to the extent they can. Besides, where else can you find an overeducated hilarious yahoo like Kiwi?
  11. Welcome, nysemtb. I took my Basic test in April, it sounds like you took a written one. Mine was a computerized exam at a Pearson Vue testing lab (that had a very nasty algorythym constantly figuring out--accurately--what I knew and didn't know). What sucked was I never got my final score, or a breakdown of how I did in the five major areas. NREMT doesn't give out scores anymore. I've never felt that thrashing over exam questions was particularly helpful. When I took the online exam I signed off on an acknowledgement not to discuss any part of the exam. If you hammered the book hard and worked on asessment you likely did just fine.
  12. Harrumph. Minnesotans speak nothing like Canadians. They're very much of a Commonwealth ilk. Kind of like tundra En Zedders. A Canadian could never pass as a Yank, their innate politeness would give them away straight off. Welcome eCamp. I love Ann Arbor.
  13. Point well taken, Mike. I'm on the JV team (trained by same agency) but we don't work for the same organization. We just admire them from afar.
  14. Welcome, West Metro. I also work for Hennepin, over at the courthouse. I used to work for HCMC and just went through EMT-B at the South Metro training center in Edina. Isn't Hennepin EMS the best? You and your peers are the standard bearers of professionalism in these here parts.
  15. LOL, actually I'm VERY long in the tooth to do the fire side but their BLS ambu service does a lot of good stuff. It's a rural county in NW Wisconsin and there's only one ALS ambulance service in the area. It is a volly department and in the four years since I bought a lake cabin in the area I've been impressed with their hard work and dedication. I met their medical director recently, he seemed like a very decent guy and he encouraged me to apply.
  16. Thanks Dwayne. I've been impressed at the number of wickedly smart posters here. Will I ruin this outpouring of good will if I say that I'm about to interview with a fire rescue service?
  17. Hi CSC! I wish no pox upon this house. That was a--very unfair and I think somewhat unjustified-- nickname I got on a Green Bay Packers message board several years ago. (Apparantly I'm opinionated and hard on dead horses.) Not to worry, Mike, no pox. I enjoyed reading the City when I was in EMT school last month. I got my first Basic license almost 30 years ago, I was a cop then. I remember the Brady book then had a blue cover and I thought it would take a year off my life. At age 57 that three week class I took last month did that. I've read some EMT student angst here about the bloody test. I feel fortunate. I'd worked at the Level I Trauma where I went to school and I had some wonderful instructors (all active or former medics) who communicated: 1. Don't waste air about testing. If best possible patient care isn't your motivator...uh, pick something else. 2. Mastery. Learn as much as you can for as long as you can. Your patients deserve it.
  18. Hello All, The State of Minnesota in their true and reasoned judgement has just issued me an EMT license. (I promised the state EMSRB that there will never be any more Kumite matches with lab animals at our local research lab and I even signed a statement to that effect.) I plan on continuing to work in EMS in retirement (in two years! yippie skippy!) in Wisconsin and I'm interviewing with a local BLS service there next month for some volunteer time. I've been reading the City for some time now. I'll wait for another post to start a manic rant on what a greedy useless lot of a**hats the NREMT are. Greetings! AP
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