ncmedic309

Where did you get that information on the page? All the ambulances in NC must meet at the minimum the DOT KKK-1822-E standards. 48 inches of headroom? I haven't seen any ambulance still in service with that size module, the information sounds outdated and very innaccurate, we're way ahead of those times...

If you go with the big book, you might end up duct taping the binder before it's all said and done...but great text either way.

Joking? No, not joking...I truthfully would not want to wear that gold speckled patch on my uniform...talk about tacky... I never realized how retarded some of our patches looked here in NC, I'm glad that I have the privilege of wearing one of the best looking patches on that site!

For some people...taking the NR exam is a waste of their time...other than getting the personal satisfaction from passing the exam. If you don't plan on moving to another state, it doesn't do you any good, and a lot of agencies/departments don't give you any extra pay or benefits being nationally registered. You have to pay for the certification, you have to recert more often than your state requires, and you really don't get a lot in return. I don't see any major benefit of being nationally registered...

Dispatched to an MVC... Unit to Dispatch: "Do you have a exact location on this MVC?" Dispatch: "It should be on top of the exit 2 underpants.....uh...I mean underpass..."

Go get your EMT and then get a couple years of expierence and then consider going to paramedic school. I've seen several people jump right into the paramedic program right out of basic school and fail out before the end. Some people can probably pull it off right out of EMT-B classs, but I wouldn't recommend it...

I'm personally glad that we don't wear the patches, in my opinion they are ugly at best and need an overhaul...

Here's a list of required text for the program I attended: Brady's Essentials of Paramedic Care and Workbook (Great - best paramedic text I have seen) Brady's Prehospital Emergency Pharmacology 6th Edition (Decent - covers pharmacology fairly well) Brady's Advanced Airway Management (Great - Geared towards prehospital and inhospital providers) Brady's Advanced Medical Life Support (Great - Get it if you don't have it) Brady's Basic Trauma Life Support (Decent) Bate's Guide to Physical Examinations and Hx Taking 8th Edition (Great - A little advanced for prehospital providers) Seely's Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology 5th Edition and Workbook (Decent - probably better out there) Hubble's Principles of Advanced Trauma Care (Decent - Covers trauma really in depth) Emergency Medicine Manual 6th Edition (Good Reference - geared more towards physicians) ECG's Made Easy 2nd Edition (Great) ACLS Provider Manual PALS Provider Manual NRP Manual I think all these books really helped in the program, but we probably could have done without the Emergency Medicine Manual and the Advanced Trauma Care, the others I thought were essential to the program. I bought several others on my own that I really liked... Mosby's Comprehensive Pediatric Emergency Care, Brady's Basic Arrhythmias, Pathophysiology Made Incredibily Easy, and Brady's Paramedic Review Manual 3rd Edition. Overall, I was fairly impressed with all the text we used, it did a good job at preparing us for the field, providing you used it efficiently.

Sounds like the boys for Oregon are the ones with issues...somebody ought to set the story straight and make them look like idiots, especially if their intent is what it seems, to hurt the good name of this Henderson guy.

akflightmedic: Just a question...were you promised pay for your services and did you receive that pay?

Man she's hot! Great flick too... =P~

I also own this book, the second edition. It's well worth the money...

Ha! You might be able to pull those standards off in a small EMS system, if at all. I don't disagree with your ideas, if you could set that standard and enforce it, you would have the perfect system. I just don't believe that it's achievable in most places.

I was scrolling through the posts waiting to see if anyone got it...the dissecting aorta was my first thought...after providing more information, especially the age, onset, and history of HTN, it just put the icing on the cake. As that blood leaks into the abdomen it pools and causes intense pressure in the groin area, most commonly the testicles. I agree, he needs to be on the table, as quickly as possible...

Poor Spelling and Poor Grammar on PCRs = Poor Documentation I don't agree that it equals poor care, one might be exceptional at patient care and their spelling just sucks...however it doesn't make you look good either when it comes time for someone to review your PCR. If you can't spell a word appropriately, find out how, or use a word with similar meaning. Abbreviations might also come in handy in this situation, just make sure your using agency approved abbreviations and remember that some abbreviations can have 100 different meanings to other people.

It all comes down to treating your patient, a good thorough assessment on these patients will guide you to the proper care. If they are not in distress, is a mask really warranted? Sure their sats might be 89%, but does that mean that the patient needs high-flow O2 right away? Maybe, maybe not, what else is their presentation like? If you went with it anyway, you wouldn't harm your patient. The myth about knocking out the hypoxic drive of COPD patients is just that, nothing more than a myth, at least for us prehospital providers. I guess it's always possible that too much O2 could harm the patient based on the pathophysiology of the disease, but even so, it would be after a really prolonged administration of high-flow O2. More or less, we shouldn't be concerned with it in the field, if the patient needs high-flow 02 then they get it, putting a nasal cannula on a COPD patient in moderate to severe distress is poking a skunk, and we all know that poking skunks is never a good idea...

My little tanget about the COPD patients hypoxic drive was in regards to medic5587's post, I got the part of the scenario where the patient has asthma...but while were at it... Here's a debate for you... COPD is more or less a triad of several other diseases, more specifically asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. So would you be wrong if you considered this a COPD patient? Explain your rationale...

Looks like A-Fib to me with ectopy (most likely PACs)...

A NRB mask and high-flow O2 would have been most appropriate for this patient, it appears you gave it a try and the patient wouldn't take it, good enough. You made the attempt and got a little bit of O2 going. It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. This patient was in respiratory distress and high-flow O2 is indicated. Knocking out his hypoxic drive (COPD patient) should be the least of your concerns. It will take a prolonged amount of time (we're talking hours and hours) before high-flow O2 would possibly do this patient harm, even if then. If they are hypoxic, they get O2.

"SkidMarks"....some people would say that fits me just perfect... :wink:

Same here...11

If your going to work on a transport unit, the best option is to have at least one Paramedic on the rig... If it's BLS system then at the minimum I would want an EMT on the rig... If your just a first responder without EMT training, you really shouldn't be transporting patients... Just a few of my brief opinions...