Roni

It's been awhile. You guys still willing to help me with my book? If all goes well it's going to be a series of books.

I'm just coming to a paramedic scene and need to know how this victim will be treated at the scene.

My 18 year old female victim has fallen. She was doing a cheerleading stunt outdoors on hard pavement. She was standing on another girl's shoulders. Let's say the two girls are just a little over 5 feet each. If you measured to the top of her head while she was standing, she would have been a little over 10 feet high. When someone asks how far she'd fallen, would you include the height from the top of her head or would it be closer to 5 feet, measuring from how high her feet were from the ground?

Whatever the height would be in this scenario, would it be possible for the victim to have been knocked out from the fall at that height?

Would she be placed on a backboard and is it possible for her to have been unconscious while her torso had been strapped and come to about the time the ankles were being strapped?

What if she had a gaping head wound (forehead)? Are you going to cover it and put the head strap right over the wound?

If so, isn't that going to hurt a bit? Would you be doing anything for pain or leave her to suffer until she's treated in ED?

Can't remember how to do quotes on this site. Want to thank MikeEMT for the info. I agree with DwayneEMTP it's nice to have the info on the forum instead of one on one and Emergency Laughter, congratulations on your book and my bear IS watching a climbing accident..lol

I would like to use my books to teach my readers something. If there's anything you guys would like readers to learn or know about your work, tell me things I can write about in my stories. I recently took an online writing class and wrote a story about a guy who didn't want to pull over for an ambulance. Wasn't written in the best way. Everyone knew his son at school may have lived if he would have pulled over, long before I got that far in the story. But it did make people think.

Thanks for your help all!

-Roni

They don't work. All they do is squeeze the blood out the open holes. The only good prehospital intervention for shock is diesel. You could use them to stabilize a pelvic fx if you can find an ambulance that still carries them. My professional consultant fee has been billed and is in the mail. Be sure to look for it.

Will do. Thanks for the help!

I was recently reminiscing with a friend about when we both started EMS back in the early 90s. He still rides and showed me his ambulance. Despite how much we bitch and moan about a lack of progress, the change over time is visible. I figured I'd start this thread so that we call a wax nostalgic about our early days and give the new people a little insight into what it used to be like. This is not meant to be one of those, "This is the way we used to do it so this is the way we should do it now," type of threads.

When I started my basic training in the early 90s, we still used MAST pants and were tested on them on our state exams. We only suctioned the oral pharynx for 10 seconds because that is how long it was comfortable to hold your breath. The ambulance had 3 VHF frequencies, dispatch, switchdown (unit to unit) and hospital. There was no CAD/MDT or whatever it's called.

The jump bag in the ambulance now has a portable, automatic CO detector. There were no CO detectors back then, much less ones that could be attatched to a jump bag. We had to go through 2 separate radios to get to medical control, now it's a simple phone call away.

So glad you started this topic!

I received EMT-A training as a requirement of the LE training I completed in '91. I'm writing some fiction in which two of my important characters are paramedics. One began his career as a cop but switched when he realized that he lived for the medical calls.

I planned to use the application of MAST trousers in a scene. Are you saying they're not used anymore? Why not? What do you use instead? Is there ever a situation in which you'd use them?

Computers in the squads (called MCT's or MDT's) are used for multiple uses. Typically the "Home Screen" will be the CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) page. This will show all of the units working, what calls they are on and what calls are pending. This allows officers to "self dispatch" and not wait for a dispatcher to send the call. I would also be able to look up details of a call that I am on or interested in. I can look up history of the call (i.e. how many times have we been to this residence in the past). I can run license plates while I am out on patrol to see if a driver has warrants or if the car is stolen. When on a traffic stop I can check the status of their license. I can also run people for warrants in general. Back in '91 officers had access to all of this information you just had to get it from a dispatcher.

Radios are now going digital which makes them more secure and reliable. Cell phones are used to call people what my old department called a phone detail. Not every "victim" requires in person contact. Sometimes a phone call is all it takes. With smartphones some departments are integrating their MCT's into the phone as well. This makes it really useful for bike or foot patrols and gives them the same capabilities as their vehicle counterparts.

Very valuable information. Thanks so much. Things sure have changed!

I finished law enforcement training in '91. Due to an injury I sustained in an attempted escape from the detention facility I worked in, my career was over before it began.

In '91 there were no computers in the squads, officers carried hand-held radios, and no one carried cell phones. Would you be willing to explain how all that works these days?

Hello,

I’m an aspiring fiction writer looking to consult someone regarding the EMS profession. I have a consultant concerning my climbing characters and find it easier to ask one person questions rather than a whole forum.

If you frequently respond to climbing accidents or were in law enforcement before EMS, I have specific questions for you, but I’d appreciate help from anyone willing to answer questions for as long as it takes to complete my manuscript.

There’s no pay involved, but I promise your eyes a good workout (as they roll frequently at the questions you’re asked) and a signed copy of my book when published.

Thanks for your help.

-Roni