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Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag LINK REMOVED - SEEMS TO HIJACK THE USERS SCREEN - ADMIN

Yes. We are called when people need help the most. I trust that when I invite a emergency worker into my house in my time of need that I shouldn't have to worry about whether they are a child molester, rapist, druggy, etc. The public expects us to be held to a higher standard, as we should, and we should embrace it. I wish Washington State did the same thing. As for pending charges for a crime, our employers should place us on paid administrative leave or to ride a desk while the court action is in progress. It happens to law enforcement, why should we be the exception?

I have had good luck with Amio. It is not as expensive as it use to be, $6.00 per 150 mg amp on Life-Assist's web site.

Sounds like an right Coast, Mid-West, Canadian problem. Water's great in Washington State. Did that stir this pot??? Can's we all just get along with out stereo typing "All Firefighters" or "All Paramedics?"

We use the FAST IO with mixed results and have started looking at teh EZ IO. I'd say that the problem with the FAST has been it getting displaced during aggressive CPR (from what I've been told, not what I've seen). I know Portland and Multnomah County in Oregon have been using the EZ io and love it.

I had my Thorogood's for about a tw years as duty boots and hated them. The leather didn't hold up good at all, one call in the gravel and the boots toes were trashed. They were light but I thought tehy didn't offer much arch support. since we had to wear department issued boots and only had two choices (Thorogood's or Red Wings) I chose the better of two evils. We know issue Red Backs, Pro-Warrington Style 3003, Danner STRIKER 45 GTX 4.5", or STRIKER SIDE ZIP GTX NMT 8". I have a pair of the Pro's and Striker 4.5" boots and love them both. The Pro's are a little heavier and the Strikers are light weight. Both have great craftmanship, hold up well, and are comfortable.

"EMSA is the bestest place in the world and everyone else sucks." Okay, the EMSA guys didn't say it but that's what it sounds like. As for cook book medics, how does aggressive protocols with a good medical direction (that likes teaching instead of head hunting) and a good field training program sound? Now There are plenty of places that teach new medics to be thinking medics that don't worry about getting "in trouble" when they don't follow the recipe exactly as long as they can articulate why they did what they did in the best interest of the patient. As for KE5EHI, I'm not attacking, but why in the world would you put System Status Management (SSM) as if it is a good thing? SSM has been proven to be ineffective for several reasons, back problems sitting in rig, poor crew rest and how do you guess where the next call will be? If SSM is so effective why don't fire departments and other EMS agencies do it? It's different to move units during a major incident to cover an area, but to just move units to move units is just plane dumb. SSM belongs in the trash can, your back will thank you for it.

We have several STAT Packs and LA Rescue items and love them. Blackhawk also has good gear. As for drop legs, good for temporary situations (i.e. SWAT call outs) but I couldn't imagine wearing them on a wildland fire. I wore a drop leg holster most of the time when I was in the Gulf and started to only use it when we went out side of the wire because it restricted the air flow through my trousers and i would get heat rash. Also, during a wild land fire you need to be able to drop almost everything to get in your shelter. Good luck.

I have never worked 48/96 and couldn't imagine working it at a station that runs 8-12 calls a shift with most of those being transports. You know the administration wouldn't give a sh*@ about how tired we were, day work would still have to be done (training, maintenance, etc.). I could understand if you had a 100 mile commute because it was to expensive to live in the area you work (San Jose) or in a very remote district. Good luck, Boise FD has a good 48/96 site, see below. Boise FD 48-96 site

Our hospitals keep our IV's unless there is a question on how clean the start was. As for blood, for the most part they only use the green for the I-Stat for suspected cardiac calls.

One reason to drink in Europe? Fortified booze.

Guess that's why they call it the "practice of medicine."

I've seen retrograde used several times, including in the ED with more failures than success. I also just attended the The Difficult Airway Course: EMS and it was great. They asked the 50+ medics, RN's, and MD's in the room who still uses Retro and no one raised their hands. Check out the link for more information including video's on airway management. The book is also a great tool. The Airway Site With the advent of fiber optic blades, the Trachlight, Intubating LMA's, bougies, etc, I think retrograde has outlived it's usefullness.

My county in Washington State just replaced MS and Demerol with Fentanyl and it is still a standing order. As for not giving pain meds to patients, give me a break, GIVE IT!!! Until you are in a position where you didn't get pain meds for something like an extremity Fx, you don't understand the Px. People also have different pain tolerances, what might not hurt you might make someone else thing they're dieing of Px.

I just had a case like this. The patient was a known diabetic with a sugar of 22, was actively seizing, and I couldn't obtain IV access (got the line, couldn't advance the cath). I gave him 2 mg Versed IM, got the IV and gave him the D50, and he came around like a normal diabetic. As for Glucagon, he had been seizing for 15-20 min and I didn't want to wait or blow out all of his reserve stores until I absolutely needed to, he didn't need it after D50.

Check out this link, Dr, Bledsoe talks about the "coma cocktail" and how it has out lived it's usefulness in medicine along with ET drugs. He also wrote an article in the Nov 2002 JEMS on the "coma cocktail." Dr. Bledsoe Handouts Click on Prehospital Pharmacology. Good Luck

We carry Versed and Ativan. Versed is for RSI (after Etomidate), conscious sedation, chemical restraint, and Sz. Ativan is used for Sz, chemical restraint and can be used for long term sedation during RSI, although no one uses it for that purpose. I have found that Ativan is great for Sz as long as you have a line, it hasn't worked so well for me if I have to give it IM. As for chemical restraint, Versed is my drug of choice, I haven't had any luck with Ativan, but it works good for anxity. As for refridgeration of Ativan, the literature says either keep it in the fridge or it has a 60 day shelf-life out of the fridge.

"Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges!"

Rid, Thanks for adding the hospital based side to management of this patient.

I agree with everything else you said except the statement above, I'm not putting anything in her mouth unless it's a tube after I RSI her. After benzos didn't work I'd most likely RSI her (lido, Versed, Roc). I guess you can also try Mag if you really wanted and it's in your protocols.

I agree with everyone else, the thing still looks like crap, glad our department has it's own EMT/PM patch, although the state one isn't that bad either. I feel bad for all you poor saps that have to wear that piece of crap. Oh well, I guess it would take too much work to put out a compitition for a better, new, non '70ish design. DUMP IT!!!

I have seen accelerated courses (120 hrs in 3 weeks) in the military but now anywhere else. It's a lot of information in suck a short period of time, makes me wonder if you really understand the information.

Sounds like my wife when she is pregnant.

We have seven Braun NW units (4 E350, 3 E450) and one Mobile Medical that was rechassied at Braun. We love them and don't think we will ever change. I will say when we were shopping around I was impressed by Horton though. Good Luck.

We see patients that are either just as bad or worse than they get in the ER. ER The advantage, and at times disadvantage, that they have plenty of resources, it is a more controlled environment, bright lights, plenty of help etc. Field We see patients in all kinds of environments with all kinds of things going on with limited resources. You would think that the patients have a worse chance, but they don't. Most hospital codes are like going to a 3-ring circus, at least those on the floor where the RN's last took ACLS in 1978 because they needed it to pass school. I will say that a majority of the ER resuscitation's I have assisted in (code for needing tubes) have been good most of the time.