MedicDude

There are two units I'm usually in. One is a Demers extended cab, and the other is a small-ish Crestline. I was surprised that the crestline had more room to recline than the Demers... ah well, I suppose it depends on what model and options you get. But, I'm a side-sleeper so.... yeah

I'll bring my iPod next time, but I'm too poor to afford a port. dvd player or gameboy... Damn student poverty.... A book is an excellent idea! Anybody know of any good books you've read lately? (NO romance or mystery novels though!!!)

Done and done! Though sometimes I'm just not tired, and "trying" to sleep is one of the hardest things you can do... Didn't stop me from getting a few hours sleep on the bench last night though!

Well, I'm in the final phase of my training (consolidation, placement, or whatever you want to call it) with a semi-rural service. They're a good bunch, and we see some good calls sometimes, but I noticed a disturbing pattern. See, when another unit in a nearby area is on a call, we're often called in to provide some coverage, at an in-between location. Unfortunately this location isn't at an entertainment complex or anything like that-- it's beside a farmer's field, just off the highway. Last night, we were there 3 times, one of which lasted over two hours. So, any ideas what to do while on these boring standbys? I realize studying is useful, and I do it sometimes on standbys, but honestly, at 11 pm there's only so much studying you can do before your brain turns mushy. Talking to my preceptor is good too... except when he's tired and not in the mood for conversation (a common occurrence on late-night standbys). Techniques I use for fighting boredom here will probably carry on into my employment, I imagine :wink:

Hmm, good point

Ahh, that was awesome

Hey guys, It's getting to be that time when we have to start thinking about applying to services where we would like to work. So, I figured it's about time I might want to update my resumé. For the most part, it's been fine, but I have one little point I was wondering about... I was on my university's "first response" team back in my first year, and I put it on my resumé, thinking it would look good. However, this team wasn't a true first responder team; it was a bunch of people with standard first aid, walkie-talkies, and backpacks full of bandages and stuff. At first (being the naive 19-year-old I was) I thought it was neat. I mean hey, we got to wear a special shirt AND carry neato radios. Well, as it turned out I only ended up getting a few calls ever, which were very very minor in nature. I lost interest in it after a while, realizing it wasn't very stimulating, nor was it a good learning experience. If anything, it interfered with my studying (and social life, for that matter ). I decided not to continue after my first year (which would've been a royal pain anyway, seeing as how I was living off campus) and I can't imagine continuing with it. There were those who did though, but I always thought those guys were rather odd... So what do you think? Keep it on, or remove it? Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Exactly! Another problem is the amount of sharps you have to handle in that situation... I'll definitely look into using a cannula for next time though. Either that or using just the syringe, sans the needle. Of course, that means I'd have to hold the ampoule upside-down and draw from underneath, but it could work... Nice suggestions, fellas! Also, when I'm in the lab or hospital, finding a good working surface for drawing up meds is easy. However, what about on a call, in a residence? Should I clear off a coffee table or something? I'm interested to know what happens in real life...

Reminds me of that Mythbusters episode where they tested that scene from Jaws... You know, with the "exploding" SCUBA tank...

Hey guys, I had one slightly embarassing incident happen while I was doing my practical-based midterm test. Luckily it didn't affect any grades, and nobody saw me do it, but still... My face was a little red... You see, the primary care medical directives (aka protocols) in Ontario state that we can give nebulized epi for children with croup, who have stridor and moderate-severe respiratory distress. The maximum dose is 5mg NEB. In our scenario, I was the secondary (aka driver) so I was the one getting all the equipment together. Since this "kid" in our scenario was 6 years old, it called for the maximum dose of 5 mg. The thing is, our epi is stored in 1:1000 1mg glass ampoules. Therefore, 5mg required me to draw from 5 ampoules. Ok, so far so good. I started drawing up the epi from the ampoules with a 1cc syringe, and injecting it into the nebulizer. Unfortunately, when I injected it, I think I was a little overzealous and caused the needle to come off the end of the syringe! Luckily, nobody was looking, and I promptly grabbed another one. We were able to successfully complete the scenario. My questions for you are the following: 1. Is there a better way to get the epi into the nebulizer? 2. should I insist that we only use "Luer-Lok" syringes? 3. Or, should I just make sure the needle is on securely and try not to do a gorilla impression on the syringe? Your ideas are greatly appreciated!

Wow, I never knew anything like this existed! Not only is it relevant and well-written, but it's damn good music too. Almost makes me want to dust off the old 6 string in the corner and start playing...

A lot of my instructors, friends, and my preceptor tend to use the term "amb" (pronounced amm or emb) in conversation. ("ok, park the amb over behind the timmies"). Otherwise it's "car". I.E., "this station has five cars on duty".

I'm with you, tinman! I'm gonna go oot and grab myself a two-four of molson! (Doug and Bob Mackenzie got nothing on me! )

Not to mention the fact that they spend all this money on "toys", but how much time and effort do you really think they put into their education and patient care skills? Honestly! Take some A&P courses, invest in some continuing education, and forget about all the doohickeys... The most expensive "toys" I've bought have been my comfortable boots and my Littman classic II. The funniest thing is when the other posters on that forum say: "why do you need all that crap anyway?" and he says "I do fire and EMS" but when you dig a little deeper, it turns out he's a volly EMT-B (so who knows how much he actually works) and a probie FF. And he outfits his car like a police cruiser??? I've never met anyone like this personally, though I imagine it's only a matter of time before I do. :shock:

Yeah, I was reading and thinking "man, what a loser" until I came to the guns section, when I thought "my God, what a nutjob!" In Ontario, Volunteer firefighters are allowed to mount a green light in the front of their vehicle while responding to fire calls. Volunteer EMS is unheard of here, unless you talk to some of the "old guys" (my apologies to the old guys here ) who remember working for a rural service that had volunteers. This sort of wackerdom totally wouldn't fly here. Just a couple of thoughts though... I never hang my stethoscope from my mirror because I'm afraid it will: obstruct my view; swing around and bonk me on the head; be wrecked by the sun exposure. Oh, not to mention the fact that someone might break into my car and try to steal it... Are these concerns valid or what?

Hey all, If this guy has already been "featured" here, I apologize in advance. However, I've been reading a lot about the wanker types out there, which often make me laugh, but sometimes make me want to bash my head on the desk... Seems the American wankers (or wackers, however you want to say it) are more visible, but I have no doubt there are some up here in Canada too. Anyway, here's the link to this forum thread. http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=59662 :roll: I don't want to give away any surprise, but man... I don't know whether to feel frustrated, sad, or just laugh! (personally I think laughter is the most productive response in this case!) At least the other posters in the forum gave him a bit of a reaming...

Ok so the consensus seems to be that a PDA and a good software package (epocrates and others) is the way to go. I've actually used epocrates before and I quite liked it. Now for another question... Any particular PDA that comes recommended for use in EMS? I'm going to check reviews on cnet.com but I just wanted you guys' opinion. Your input would be much appreciated!

I agree with not using a field guide as a "crutch" for bad assessment skills. I got myself an Informed EMS field guide a while back, and it's been a nice quick study tool, I've never used it while on clinical or in the field. It just gets in the way really. However, one thing I think would be a really great tool is a pocket pharmacopeia or some kind of drug list... There are a zillion drugs out there and it's impossible to know all of them. I like to think I'm familliar with about 100-150 of them, which leaves about 999,999,900 drugs that I'm not familliar with... So, any suggestions for a good drug reference guide? I've heard Epocrates mentioned, and some medics I know like it, but I'm not really willing to go drop a few hundred on a PDA AND software... Ideally I'd like a Rx guide that's portable, handy, thorough, and relatively inexpensive. Oh, and durable, since it'll be in my pants pocket most of the time... 8)

From what I've been reading, if you want protection from ballistics AND sharp objects, you want a vest made from SPECTRA. This is made by Honeywell, I believe, and is used in prison guards' stab vests. Further improvements have made spectra vests good against ballistic threats as well... I think you can get spectra up to Level III, but check with the manufacturer. SPECTRA stays together better when wet, and is stronger than Kevlar. Does anyone know which companies use spectra in their vests?

I'm "The Beaver" What the hell? :shock:

Actually, yes! Hey, Stanfield's makes the best underwear... Durable, comfortable, and a timeless design. These are the kind of undies you can will to your grandkids!

I think you can get non-latex condoms now... Polyurethane or something... But it's certainly an interesting idea! Too bad they don't make disposasble laryngoscope covers for that purpose. (interesting entrepreneureal opportunity, maybe?) 8)

I had a good chuckle when I read these... Most apply directly to me, except for the "bragging about celine dion" part! As far as I'm concerned, you Americans can have her! And as a matter-of-fact, I don't have Canadian Tire money in my kitchen drawers-- it's in my sock drawer!

We know this because of one crucial little thing called evidence. In science, evidence and findings are gathered from all different sources, analyzed, researched, debated, and put forth as theory. Old theories are replaced with new ones in light of new evidence. The age of the Earth is approximate, known from mostly geological data. It's really neat what they can figure out just by looking at layers of rocks, sediments, fossils, and tectonic plate movement. Go to your local limestone creekbed, and look at the rocks for a while. Chances are, you'll see at least one fossil of a plant or animal, millions of years old. Dinosaurs are from about 180 to 64 million years old... Actually you don't see their bones at all. What you do see are the fossilized remains of their bones. In certain conditions, flesh and bone can be slowly (over millions of years) replaced by minerals from the surrounding soil. Not only can geology tell us about the age of things, so can astrophysics... By knowing the speed of light, we can calculate how far away celestial objects are, and how much things have moved over time. I know there's a formula around here somewhere, but it's interesting how they can figure out the age of things like that. Science is neat 8)

I always thought that asking someone if they belive in God was a bit like asking someone "do you believe in Santa Claus"... Personally I'm not a big fan of the traditional "God created the heavens and the earth, so you better do what he says!" view that some people expouse. I don't believe in all that, but I'm not a total atheist either. I believe in some things though... For example I believe transformers are actually robots in disguise. I also believe that there's something more to life than the purely physical world. What with energy and so much still not understood about the nature of matter, time and space, it's entirely possible there may be some kind of... dare I say, creative force-- whatever it may be. That being said, I think one of the most beautiful theological arguments was made in an episode of Futurama, entitled "Godfellas". This is where Bender experiences what it's like to be a minor deity... I highly recommend it!