anchormedic

Good topic! Just to reiterate...mx the patient not the monitor! Both ASA and TNT are "relatively" safe in the absence of contra indications. Give the PT the benefit of the doubt if clinically you suspect something is not right. Do a risk vs benefit assessment and if the benefit outweigh the risk - do the mx regime. The functional reverse is also true - if the risk outweigh the benefit, don't do it. Having said that, ST-elevation greater than 1mm in two or more anatomically contigious leads is a worry (IT IS WELL RESEARCHED AND DOCUMENTED) and the poor response from nursing staff shows a complete lack of insight into acute patient management.

Was dispatched for a bleeding call on the otherside of the city. OA we found a young women that complained in a thick accented voice that she has "a pulse". I could not resist and replied "well done Mam, you are still alive". Highly taken aback by my reply (within reason I suppose!) she said: "NO! I have a pulse!!" Getting a bit irritated I asked my partner, who speaks the local language, to translate. After long deliberation between the women and my partner it turned out that the women had PILES (Haemoroids)!! I have yet to convince my partner that the focused assessment he had to perform was truly acedemic and that he will thank me later!! It sure is nice being the senior crew...

Interesting topic. I can not help giving my two cents worth when I read about nursing practitioners working in the pre-hospital setting. First the good - It is great to hear that nurses are allowed / required to work in the pre-hospital emergency medical field. Even more so when it is happening in developed countries. Now the bad - extricating baby Jessy Brown from the tangled wreck that used to be Mr. Browns car is a job for a qualified Advance Life Support Paramedic and the extrication team working under his command. If - and this is a BIIIG if - ambulances where only required to perform paliative care and no acute emergencies then I will be the first to promote Nursing sisters working on an Ambulance.