donedeal

The ECG machine at our hospital only has 10 leads? Is this normal for hospitals? What other information would the other 2 leads produce?

You can find thousands of articles on EMS public policy. Look at peer reviewed scholarly journals. Go to your local library or university and look into search engines such as PubMed and Ebscohost. These will provide you with articles from a variety of journals based on your search query. What are the specifics of your research? I have done plenty of research on EMS policy while in college...the articles are out there, you just need to run searches for them ( NOT ON GOOGLE).

Treat and Release....which in turn requires paramedics to make a patient diagnosis. For complicated cases this can only be achieved through a variety of tests including blood work and radiology. In prehospital medical treatment, this is not an option as these tests 1) require expensive medical equipment not available on an ambulance 2) take a great deal of time, 3) are interpreted by doctors. However, there are a number of non emergent cases seen in the hospital which could be treated in the field. Before giving paramedics the ability to rule out conditions and release patients after an examination, they must receive higher education. They must have the ability to rule out underlying symptoms and illness. Similar to a physicians assistant, they would still be required to confer with a doctor/medical control. By removing non emergent cases from the ER, and giving paramedics the ability to treat, release, and refer patients to primary care providers, hospitals ER's and the EMS system will be relieved of the burden that non emergent care puts on the facilities (use of healthcare resources and healthcare costs). The available funds produced can be used for continuing education of personnel and upgrading of facilities. Without an ability to pay, healthcare costs skyrocket. For every uninsured patient who enters the ER experiencing a non emergent condition, which could have been treated and released by a qualified paramedic, costs the general public several thousand dollars in tax resources. This cost is budgeted into EMS systems and hospitals. Hospitals are required to examine all patients, regardless of ability to pay (EMTALA). But if the examination and treatment paramedics provide could fulfill the EMTALA law, millions of $$$ would be saved. This money has countless uses. Including being able to morph prehospital treatment into advanced levels of care through medical technology research to put efficient laboratory and radiology equipment on all purpose rescue ambulances.

for those of you working in the ER, or even those of you who frequently bring us patients, what percentage of your patients do you believe truly belong in the EMERGENCY room? I would say that during my shift, maybe 3 out of 10 patients are actually experiencing an emergency. As for the other 7, the frequent flyer drunks, the earaches, the sore baby toe, the unproductive cough....these people need a primary doctor. well, except for the drunks, they need rehab. but all these other cases clog up the ER and unfortunately, they do not have health insurance, so in the longrun john taxpayer picks up the tab anyway. now...massachusetts recently passed a bill for mandatory health insurance for every state resident. it would be very interesting to see any correlation from the passage of this bill and a reduction in nonemergent ER visits. anyone from mass experience this? i honestly dont know if the bill has been put into effect yet, so perhaps in time, keep a lookout in the ER for me.

what is an appropriate wait time between sitting, standing, lying, when running an orthostatic assessment on a patient? won't running BPs continously cause a higher, misleading BP, but if you wait too long, between positions won't the body compensate, rendering the test useless?

I just completed my undergrad degree, so i already have that under my belt....but unfortunately, EMS services don't really care if you have a college degree. but this is what i really want to do. So, like you said, I'll take these FF and paramedic courses, along with my B.S. degree, and be all the better, gain experience and reputation before I am able to change anything...of course, by then, you'll really need a graduate degree to get anywhere far....neverending studies, oh well.

If only it were broken down that way in every county of every state. I am moving to Florida, where every ems system in the southeast part of the state is fire-rescue based. This requires me to complete a firefighters minimum standard training course (FF1 and FF2) before being able to find work as a emt-b or paramedic. I understand cities and towns require greater use of their well paid firemen since structures are being built more fireproof.... but just because i want to work in emergency MEDICAL services, does not mean i want to put out fires. I'm not sure how that association was made, but it was. Now what am i supposed to do if i remain in that region? I could make 9 bucks an hour, with a college degree, working for AMR, or i could complete a year of FF training, and make upwards of 60,000. Am i doing a disservice to my patients because i haven't decided whether I am fire or ems?? well the disservice has been committed by politicians who have outfitted the fire departments as the primary EMS system, so unfortunately for me, I really have no other option, besides moving, than to complete fire training and ems training...work, gain experience, get into management and policy, and change the situation from the top down.

Many employers, in particular, American Medical Response, offer tuition reimbursement as part of their benefits package. Would this consist of paying part of the cost for medic classes upon being hired as a basic? If so, what length of commitment is required on my behalf if they share part of the cost for my classes? and if this is not what tuition reimbursement even means, someone please inform me. Thanks!

I am studying for my national written test and i have come across a couple discrepancies between my textbook (Brady Emergency Care 10th ed) and my review book (Brady self assessment exam prep). what is the compression to ventilation ratio for infant cpr? text says 3:1 review says 4:1 what is the correct depth for chest compression in a newborn? text says 1/2 to 3/4 in review says 1/3 depth of the chest finally, approx. how far from the infants abdomen should the first clamp be placed on the umbilical cord? text says first clamp goes 10 in away from body, followed by a second one 7 inches away from body (3 in. apart) review says the first clamp should be 6 inches away and the second clamp 3 inches from the first clamp (so im assuming 6 and 9 inches away from the infant, but which clamp goes on first? the one further or closer to the infant? thanks for the help! back to studying...

would you consider it a valuable experience to become a paramedic before continuing my career into something like emergency management and disaster planning? do any of you have any experience in this particular field? I would love some insight. I have completed a B.S. degree in health policy management and have completed my EMT course. I feel that having actual hands on emergency experience will be of great benefit later in my career. I have read articles that criticize the federal emergency management agency because the majority of its members/staff have no prior experience with emergency situations. on the other hand, many of my friends have questioned my desire to become an EMT, typically a job that does not require a college education. thoughts? similar experiences? thanks.

weird...i actually just watched bringing out the dead 2 nights ago because one of my classmates brought it in for me to watch.... the person below me is up bored on a saturday night

what is the rationale or benefit of 24 hour shifts 2 days a week as opposed to 8 hour shifts 5 days a week in the EMS and or fire industry? and why are these the only industries that have this type of schedule (that i can think of)?

training for the EMTb program i am currently in is 136 hours followed by a written and practical exam. the total length of time is 12 weeks. so...if you get out there and find you dont like it, big deal...you lost 136 hours of your life. its better to lose those 136 hours to find out if you are satisfied with your new career path or not, rather than worry the rest of your life, (god knows how many hours), what if? actually....i reword that phrase, "lose those hours", regardless of whether you decide to stick with the field, you are learning VERY valuable skills that may come in handy at some point in your regular life. i say stick it out.

I've started same day, ive done a month or more of orientation first. LOTS of variables there. No differences really... Why do you ask?

Once you pass all the exams and finally land a job with a service, about how long is the on-site training the company gives you, before you can actually go on calls? any difference between privates or public services?

what kinds of stuff do yall do when youre not out on a call? like when youre just hanging around the station? im really excited to get a job and kinda just want to know what its all like.

In between taking the EMT basic course (which i absolutely love) I am currently writing a senior thesis on how GPS enhanced wireless 911 can reduce dispatch intervals which increases the chance of survival for a patient. does anyone have any experience with the wireless 911 system? perhaps a dispatcher? or can anyone give me a detailed story of when accessing the patient as soon as possible increased their chance of survival? (which i know is probably a lot of calls) But i need to be able to cite a specific story from personal communication to start my paper. Any help? Thanks!