scubanurse

THAT is pretty nifty! I like that a lot...reminds me of the EKG ruler strip I got in my first ACLS course to figure out HR... Thank you for sharing and filling me in

Even if they aren't EMT's but I think they are...their actions (if all is true) is deplorable at best. Any compassionate person would do more than just call it in...as trouble breathing no less... even the firefighters(per the article) who happened upon the store stepped up and took action.

I hope the family finds some peace at the end of this nightmare. I am glad the prosecutors are taking this seriously and doing the right thing by giving the family the autopsy they requested before there was the funeral. Sucks to be those two EMT's though!!

How does the respiration and HR meter work?? The watch looks pretty nice though just curious how those functions work

I had a watch like that itk... but the band irritated my skin too much. My dive watch has a rubber band but since I wear it on the outside of the neoprene it doesn't irritate my skin at all.

I used to hate watches but this one is pretty light weight and low profile I hardly know it is there. I also seem to be an oddity and wear my watch on my right wrist even though I am right handed? Who knew... I wore my claddagh ring but that's it and sometimes I would wear ear rings.... How would a patient steal something off of your body??? I worked in a rough part of town at the trauma center and would wear diamond ear rings daily and never had anyone really even notice them. In my experience the patients you encounter are more focused on themselves than on you and what you are wearing...if they're truly patients and not just looking for a taxi ride.

It has served me well http://www.citizenwatch.com/COA/English/detail.asp?Country=COA&Language=English&ModelNumber=EW0620-52E That's the one I have.

I have the citizen eco-drive for women... it is wonderful!! I got it for my birthday and it has held up very nicely both at work and for every-day wear. The face is scratched up some but only noticeable if you look at it from the side. It also has the date where the 3 should be. Very functional and when I've gotten blood on it, which was only once as we had long-cuff gloves, a disinfectant towel from the hospital cleaned it right up.

As someone with a relatively unknown medical condition that carries severe complications and some complex medical history, I have a USB Key on my key chain that carries my most recent neck MRI reports, a letter from my genetic doc describing Ehlers-Danlos, and my op-reports for my surgeries. Recently after a car accident, the ER doc used this USB key to get the previous neck MRI report and compare it to what he saw on the MRI from that night and the letter about my condition and was very thankful to have those two things. While not useful to the paramedics (the medical bracelet was though), the ER doc found this very useful. It also had a document on there with all my emergency contact information to reach my brother if need be. And this all for the one time fee of FREE because my dad's company hands out 1G USB keys like candy. Used red nail polish to paint it red and white out to put a cross on it so it's clearly labeled as something medical.

Sounds like a plan!! Welcome and have fun... most here are helpful and have loads of experience to learn from! Best of luck to you!

They could have been there and called 911? It also sounds like the seizure was secondary to another event... such as hypoxia/anoxia or some bleed in the abdomen... Even if they couldn't do anything but call 911 and support the patient on her left side, that's still doing something. I've been off duty in a diner when someone who worked there had a seizure, and I stopped what I was doing, put gloves on from the kitchen staff, and held her head from banging against the tile floor possible giving her a concussion. So off-duty with no equipment you can still do SOMETHING...that is besides walking away.

The link is to the exact same story you posted in the body of the thread... how is that more information?

That is what I thought. The articles I have read refer to them as off-duty medics. I was just unsure if that was the press lumping all levels into one or not but I haven't seen any reference to EMD's in the news about this incident, with the exception that the store was located below dispatch. If they are indeed paramedic then absolutely shame on them. Get on a cell phone and call yourself if you're off duty and do not have a radio. I have done this several times, get on the line with dispatch, identify your name and rank on the recorded line and state the problem and what you are going to do. Even with no equipment they can relay appropriate information to dispatch and more detail than an untrained civilian could provide (i.e. I need a medic unit, etc). I understand from a scene safety stand point but get on your damn phone and deal with the situation don't just run from it. As far as the comments made about why the manager was running to the store to ask for help instead of calling 911... One article did state that the store was frequently occupied by uniformed officials. I understand completely his rational for checking in the store for EMS first then having someone calling 911 at the same time. Bottom line is that there is absolutely no excuse for their behavior and they should face the legal system of this country.

Dear Santa, May I please have that wicked cool yo-yo, a nanopet, a razor scooter, and the tiffany's necklace I've wanted for so long. Love, Kate

Happy Birthday!! Have a wonderful weekend!

Watch Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams... You'll learn everything you need to know...seriously...no not really but it was a good movie about the clean up business and about going through the hoops and how tough it is.

What does distance traveled have anything to do with it? OR even a low "serious" collision percentage?? My county had a low percentage yet I was involved in a wreck on the way to a call < 5mi from the station. Had we had a patient in the back at the time it would not have been good at all. Your arguments have no strength in them.

Just my notes on what you said... It was a horrible episode though. No way would an attractive woman walk into an all male bay looking like that...cover yourself up woman!

If someone is passing their class with flying colors, and failing NR...It's not time to look at NR, you should be looking at what the class is teaching or not teaching. NR is nationwide... people pass it all the time with no problem, so how are those people passing? They had a good school behind their education. It is the EMS education system that needs higher standards. Medic mills and poorly trained instructors are the problem not the NR test. If we want to be taken seriously by other medical professionals we need to have a national standard to practice. Someone already mentioned NCLEX for nursing, the USMLE for the docs and there are tons of other accreditation sources out there. If we as EMS don't have a national test and standards, we are regressing and not progressing in the medical field.

Up to the individual department as to what their insurance will cover. Best to just wait and see and do what you can to take the points off. I doubt anyone here will give you a definitive answer though as individual city's insurance is just that.... individual. Good luck!

I read a study and will have to do some digging, on departments who use the gentle waking system versus the sudden waking system. If memory serves me correct the department that used a gentle system had less overall stress and burnout rates and maybe even less cardiac related issues with providers. Anyone remember this article? I'm going to go look through the amazing world of google

Or get a mac?

Great article...but links don't work

Thank you for this post. My grandfather was a Marine in Korea and WWII. I miss him so much every day as he was a magnificent man. After retiring from the Marines (and serving for 20 years), he went to finish his HS degree and go to college. He worked as a Special Education teacher then until retiring at 70. He truly gave his all to this country. I miss him all the time.

I worked with someone who got the BA in criminal justics from GWU, a Med Student from GWU, a Med Student from Georgetown U, the PR guy for the head of the FBI, the lead counsel for some big DC law firm, a chemist, a few researchers from NIH, and a bunch of other interesting people from all professions. Having volunteered in a suburb of D.C. we got some pretty interesting people coming in to volunteer. The chief at my former station works at the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Assistant Chief Information Officer. "Leusch, who spends his days as the Assistant Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of Transportation, hopes to instill his own thirst for knowledge on the rest of the station as well, by offering classes and seminars." http://www.gazette.net/stories/10142009/nortnew192530_32526.shtml Probably some of the most interesting were the criminal justics major from GWU, he had been a U.S. Park police officer first and worked in both D.C. and CA. Also a metro police officer in DC before becoming a FF in montgomery county, and the PR guy who then became a close friend and I babysat his kids often. I'm not interesting like Kaisu but I do have my own story to tell...haha. I recently resigned from EMS due to a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Before that, I joined the fire service as a junior in high school. Became an EMT at 17, EMT-I at 19. I'm now a nursing and philosophy major out in Colorado.