rat115

Thanks guys. This is an excellent thread. Reading it has helped me better understand the medications that I'm leaning in my EMT-I class. Thanks for the question, Anthony.

On the original topic....My exhusband was on albuteral and an MAOI. He never had any problems with the two. You just have to watch, but don't with hold anything in an acute situation.

We've had this happen, too. We've taken the kids in with us. We've also used our own families and friends a couple of times when there was some reason that we couldn't take the kids with us. One thing about a small town is that the people tend to be a bit more willing to drop things to help someone if they can (especially if the person is new to town).

We currently have a PD officer here who is training as an EMTB. It works great since he's learning what to do in the EMS area. He's able to report what's going on on scene better than some of the other PD and SO in the area. He's also able to help us if we need an extra back. (There have been times when we've only had one person from the EMS show up on a call and PD has had to drive.) Shane--- I would be curious to ask how your leaders work recruiting for your Explorer posts. I'm a BSA leader for the Venturing crew here, and it's currently in serious trouble because of the previous leader not wanting to recruit. Any advice from you or your leaders? (Hope you don't mind my thread jacking. lol)

I've got to add something here..... I don't respond to many posts in the forums because of the bashing that occurs here. Basic is just that....BASIC....a starting point. Everyone must start there. Everyone should respect that someone is starting. So many people don't feel that basics have enough training....Quit slamming those who are basics and find a way to CHANGE the training! Can basics do a good job.....Some can. Some can do a better job than ALS providers who forget that they've got to remember the BLS before they work on the ALS. Without the BLS, the ALS is a lot less likely to work. If you don't like what I say, remember it's my PERSONAL opinion. Find facts and don't bash me. (And FYI for those who may want to bash the fact that I'm a basic....1) I'm in a rural area with little access to ALS and 2) I'm finally getting to get started on my ALS training....have to drive over an hour each way on the interstate to do it, but I finally get to work on it. )

You know it's going to be a bad call when dispatch tells you that the pt's family quit doing CPR for 5 minutes to watch tv and started it up again. Even worse when you show up on scene and they're doing CPR with the pt still seated on the couch. :roll:

:thumbright: :thumbright: To those who were there. As well as, our thoughts and prayers. From what I saw, I have to agree with Rid that you ladies and gentelmen did a great job in a tough situation.

AK, you've now got the reputation as a jokster. AND for the record, you didn't trick me in chat!!!!!

I'll come. Just make sure that there's some good dancing music. Congrats!! :thumbright:

One thing you must remember about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) laws is that they do NOT take effect until you have been employed with the company for a minimum of a year. Then it only allows you a certain amount of time off per year. FMLA (if I remember correctly) allows you to take you to 9 weeks at a time with pay and up to 6 months without pay.

One thing you must remember about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) laws is that they do NOT take effect until you have been employed with the company for a minimum of a year. Then it only allows you a certain amount of time off per year. FMLA (if I remember correctly) allows you to take you to 9 weeks at a time with pay and up to 6 months without pay.

I knew that there was a definate advantage to being in a rural setting where you or someone else on scene knows the cell phone number or land line number for just about anybody in town. Plus, we do have the 800 mhz radios in each ambo and fire truck as well as all the LEO vehicles. Unfortunately, we had to test the full extent of our area's ability to let everyone know how bad of a wreck we had on the interstate and who was involved (since it was someone that we'd all worked with in the course of our jobs as well as daily life) and keep it off the radio bands that could be picked up by the scanners in town.

Hey....I'm sure the females up there around the oilfields wouldn't like to be called animals.

We've got some guys on our service who are like that. They don't pay attention to if the other person is ready to lift the cot. I've found that "Hold on just a sec. Ok, I'm ready, and we'll go up on the count of 3." works really well to slow them down, let them know that I'm not ready and when I am ready. It keeps me from getting injured and is a polite way to tell the fool to slow down no matter who is within hearing distance.

:thumbright: Congratulations on the first semester and good luck on the life time of learning!!!

I don't think that's what he's talking about with that question.

...when your kids' friends see you more than your own kids see you. ...when your family memebers hear tones go off, hand you the radio that's sitting on the counter and tell you to "be safe". ...when your family can SLEEP through tones going off in the middle of the night.

....when the people in town are so used to seeing you en route to the ambulance shed that they automatically get out of your way at the appropriate street even when your hazards are not flashing.

Wendy - Those are some intresting thoughts. I've never quite looked at it that way, but I'll have to think on it some more. All I can say for sure is that if I ever figure it out then I'll be able to tell my mom how I keep calling her when she's needing or wanting to talk to me.

I've woken up in the middle of the night just before tones went off more times that I want to admit. I've also grabbed my radio when I was headed out just because I got a "feeling". Last time that I didn't follow that feeling, I got a call on my cell in the middle of a Cub Scout pack meeting telling me that I would be the only supervisor in town since one of the other supervisor's wife had just been set up for a transfer to Denver and he had requested that the third supervisor and the director be the ones to crew the ambulance.

The Partner from Hell is right! This gal has a serious problem. I agree with Ruffems that it sounds like managment knows what she is doing (and probablly with whom). Keep a log for yourself of what happens and if you can who else that might be credable is around. That way you know. Talk to the others with your service that you come into contact with during that time and don't be afraid to ask them "have you seen ------". That way you have brought their attention to the fact that you're looking for this "partner" and they can witness for you. Keep doing YOUR job to the best of your ability and DO call dispatch and let them know that YOU'VE gotten the ambulance ready and don't know where your "partner" is. Good luck at getting a short work time with this person.

We're a rural area. We don't have access to a bariatric unit. It would be nice, but not likely. We just ask dispatch to page for a lift assist and we get other EMTs or some of the FD guys over to help us move the patient.

Looks like it might be a bit of a rough ride until that afterburner kicks in. :wink:

Our basic stuff to take in for a medical call that's not chest pain is our Jump Kit and the O2 bottle. Our cot has a pillow strapped to the head and 1-3 blankets (depending on the weather) strapped to the foot. If we have an Intermediate, we will take the Pulse Ox. For a call for chest pains or respiratory distress, we add on our Lifepack-12. We put this stuff on the cot for ease of movement, but it's whoever is lead on the call putting it there while we're en route. If we're called out to an accident, we leave as much in the ambulance as we can. A lot of the time, the only thing we take out at first is a package of 4X4s, a couple of rolls of kerlex and c-collars. We get the FD guys to grab the backboard if we need it. We're all required to keep a set of sheers on us for times like these. We normally don't even pull our cot out of the ambulance on an accident scene since it's a pain in the butt to chase it down or to try to deal with it in the grass on the side of the highways.

I have a "kit" that's actually just a bag that I found cheep. It's got 4x4s, some kerlex, bandaids, waterless hand sanitizer, a cpr face shield, some gloves, a set of sheers, a pair of tweezers and my spare BP kit (I've ony got it because the list for my EMT-B class said we needed a BP cuff and stethescope before class started and then the instructor pulled out ones that had been paid for in the student fees for each of us.). The thing is that I'm in a rural area. If I'm not "on call" and I come across an accident or something, I'm required to call 911 and provide assistance until the ambulance can get there. Most of the stuff that I have I've not used in a year and a half. I've used my bandaids up and had to replace them between my own kids and the different scout programs that my kids are in.