musicislife

A few questions here for any NJ EMTs. First off, I can only see my transcript on nj ems user (i cannot access oemscert due to my number starting with a 6) and it only contains online courses i have taken. I have taken many more CEUs, but they have been on drill night at my squad and I did not get a certificate, just signed a CEU sheet. Does the state keep track? Secondly, there are requirements for all responders. I took a fire 1 course recently that included hazmat awareness, ICS 100 and 700. Does the hazmat awareness I took count (from IAFF, not NJSP)? is my pro board fire 1 cert enough to satisfy the hazmat awareness, and ICS? How do you guys keep track of the required courses and CEU credits, in case an audit comes around, especially if required courses like CBRNE that I took provided no certificate of completion, just signing a CEU sheet?

He said he was just casually riding his bike home..I have tried to go as fast as I can on flat ground and only hit 20 mph. My best guess is 10 mph or less Ive done a lot of nexus research..however I doubt our great state of NJ is that progressive with EMS. I will have to look into NJOEMS

well, our protocols do not specify MOI, except in the case of MVA or GSW i believe..they only specify signs/symptoms of spinal injury anyway I found that PT had no neuro deficit, palpating the spine revealed no pain, and the pt was not complaining of head, neck, or back pain. he was fully alert and oriented, he was not intoxicated/under the influence of anything, nor did he show any signs of being under the influence, and had only minor injuries (3 small abrasions to knee and hands), and the PT stated his head did not even hit the ground (and there was no damage to his helmet). from this i would say the likelihood of spinal injury is very, very low, as no signs or symptoms were present. that would be my defense of my treatment plan.

yeah, her reasoning was simply because the bicycle crash.

Scenario was a teenage male hit a lip in the sidewalk and went flying off his bike (moderate speed, on flat ground) Helmet was intact, no neck or back pain on palpation, pupils unremarkable, grip and motor skills intact, vitals good, just abrasions to his knee and hands...it all just seemed like a kid who took a spill off his bike. My planned course of action was to dress the wounds, and transport if the parents decided (which they did). Leader of my crew decides full spinal immobilization. Personally, I had no desire to backboard, because no part of this presentation screamed "spinal injury." he had fallen off the bike and broke his fall with his hands/knees. to me, the board seemed like overkill..but my decision was over-ruled by the leader of the crew. thoughts?

So I was wondering how you guys dealt with being the new EMT/medic.. it seems to me that it is difficult for me to voice an opinion sometimes (such as: "he doesn't need that board and collar") anyone else have this experience? luckily my on-call night crew is great, but in the daytime we get who we get, be it the most experienced member or the guy who rides one call per year

sorry I should have given a better report... the pain was in her LLQ and she described it as a come and go cramp, and the whole event began about 15 min prior to our arrival, when she went syncopal..she was diaphoretic and warm, with no prior medical history and no history of a similar event. The pain would last about 10 minutes at a time. There was no rebound tenderness or radiation on the pain the reason I am asking is because the medic seemed to brush my report off about the tachycardia (130bpm) and the hypertension. I guess I am trying to figure out why she brushed that report of, thinking maybe she knew something I didn't

i was also thinking a bowel obstruction, especially judging by the come and go nature of the pain and tachycardia...we don't get follow ups unless it is a CPR save

my research from AHA says that BP is the lower end of a hypertensive crisis..but the medic said otherwise. She also left before I could ask after we transferred the PT. I was concerned because the LOC, hypertension, abdominal pain, seemed like dissecting AAA.

I gave a report to a medic that the BP was a high, saying that it was 184/110..she said it was not high...what is considered "high"? no history involved here, just syncope and abdominal cramps.

Patient in motor vehicle crash, neck/back pain severe. Board and collared. States feeling dizzy after being boarded. Any (general) idea what could be the cause of this?

Hi, So i have been tasked with interviewing a healthcare professional (besides an EMT-B, since i am one) for a health care class that I am taking. I am interested in being a paramedic, so I would like to interview one. I also need your first name and your years experience as a paramedic. Thanks for your time! What is the function/description of your discipline? What educational and professional credentials are required for the discipline? What kind of settings/environment do people in your field work in? What personality traits and/or characteristics must an individual have to be “cut-out” for this discipline? What drew you to this particular discipline?

Typically with psych patients we have one cop ride in the back and the other ride in the patrol car behind. We usually don't mention we are going to the county psych ward unless they directly ask. The key is to keep these people as calm as possible. Nothing is worse than a crazy guy in the back who gets a little too upset with you. Also, consider restraints if the patient gets too rowdy. Something about EDPs, they seem to like me.

yup, that and he might be creeped out by the blow by teddy bears we have on our rig, they're scary looking

Yea typically I estimate it. I guess I don't see a difference if he is an 8 and I guess a 9. Usually the assessments that are involved in the gcs end up being done anyway, just not as part of a formal gcs. My only exception is if I know we are using a helicopte, because that is usually a bad trauma.

ill try to snap a pic. It's a Christmas tree on wheels

Thanks for the replies. I'm so used to using my squads abbreviations. Cc means crew chief, the emt in charge

Having a rather heated discussion with my CC about this one.. We had a 4 y/o male, pretty large for his age, with an apparent asthma attack. His SpO2 was 89%, I decided to use an Pediatric NRB on the PT. He tolerated it just fine, and his SpO2 increased. My CC got upset about that at the end of the call and said I should have used o2 blow by with a paper cup and o2 tubing. Which do you guys think is more beneficial in these situations? Blow by or NRB? It seems to me based on his presentation and response to treatment that the NRB worked just fine.

yes that was a joke. I did not use quick clot on a paper cut. However, it does burn according to patients we have used it on

thank you

BLS Unit 208 dispatched to a 20 y/o female c/o abdominal pain x 30 min. Upon arrival, found patient in fetal position being attended to by P.O 423. PT diaphoretic, pale. NKA. Meds: Wellbutrin. Regular menstrual period. PT ate plain bagel and drank 1 glass of water 2 hours PTA. PT stated she was watching TV. Skin: Pale, cool, diaphoretic, AAOx4, sharp pain in LLQ, 10/10, denied radiation, constant for 30 min, sudden onset, vital signs assessed(see below), lung clear and equal in all fields, PT denies possibility of pregnancy. Denied again when asked a second time en route. Oxygen initiated at 15 lpm via NRB by P.O 423. Patient placed onto stretcher for transport in position of comfort. Oxygen continued at 15 lpm via NRB with onboard oxygen. No changes en route. Transported with patient on stretcher, emergent to Valley Emergency Department. Report given to Kristen, RN and patient placed in room 2B. P.O 423 when written on reports in my area means Police Officer then his call sign. PTA means prior to arrival, standard in my squad. How is this?

full cardiorespiratory arrests. One had chest pain and dropped mid-sentence, according to my friend who was on the call.

you put that all in the narritive section? Our reports look something like this http://www.docstoc.com/docs/41480699/GENERIC-RUN-REPORT-Prehospital-Patient-Care-Chart-GENERIC-RUN-REPORT-Prehospital i dont have an actual blank one from my squad to scan in at the moment. However, this system looks pretty good

yes.

being from NJ doesn't mean we deliver crappy care. Ill have you know this past year we had 10 CPR calls, and 10 CPR saves. Plus, we have the longest EMT training in the country that I know of. True, a lot of people around here don't give a hoot about care, but you don't know what I can do. To let you know, all the doctors in my area hospitals know me and have personally told me that they are relieved to see when im on the crew bringing a patient in, because they know that Im good at what I do. This opinion by the doctors extends to the majority of members on my squad. Im on one of the best rescue/EMS squads in the state, we win awards for our skills. Pretty crappy eh?