What material is in KEDs? Plywood slats?

[SoCalGlenn]

EMS is a profession, not a hobby.

Medical standby at the advanced FA (EMT- level I have no problem with, but there is no reason for you to need a Sager especially since I am guessing you have very little experience responding to true emergencies.

I thought this was supposed to be a supportive web site, not a discouraging, rude, self-righteous web site. Or are you just the one bad apple? I don't know why you enjoy tearing people apart, and frankly it worries me that you are the one in the EMS profession. Mid-femur fractures are very common in open desert racing. My buddy broke both of his in one crash. My dad broke one of his in front of my eyes. My teammates (yes, teammates, not like your victims) have applied the sager numerous times, relieving pain and saving damage numerous times. A couple weeks ago we had a patient with head trauma and a broken clavicle. He wasn't A&OX4 (yes A&O x 4, not 3 in our county, no need to tear me apart on that either), so I got him to the ALS ambulance quick, and sure enough, he collapsed in the care of the ALS guys, right in front of me, thus requiring a helo. We average about 1 helo per race in the desert. We have diabetic emergencies, medical emergencies, environmental emergencies, open fractures. Nearly half our patients are children or teenagers. A racer in my club died 2 years ago; we suspect he hit his head, then wandered off until he collapsed. We have severe bleeding cases. Torn open cheeks, handlebars through abdomens, broken noses. Our entire volunteer team travels to the desert between 20 and 25 weekends a year. I travel 3 hours each way. I work my butt off 40 hrs a week supporting my family, and was the only person in my EMT-B class of about 30 people that was doing this to learn valuable skills. I ranked in the top 5% of my EMT class, did very well on the NREMT, and maintain a vigilant attitude to constantly learn. I trust and value my EMT-B training, no matter how "basic" it is. Now I am part of a team out there in the desert, and it feels great. It feels great to make someone else's day, and to make the tough decisions that wouldn't be made without me. It feels good to hand-off a patient from my truck to the ambulance or the helo crew, and hear them thank me for the good packaging and patient info. It feels good to help train other volunteers with less than my training, and it feels good to have racers thank me; even those who haven't needed our services yet. Do I interpret heart rhythms? No! Do I inject medication? no! But do you mean to tell me that I have to be like YOU to be making a difference? I sure hope not, because I don't like what I see. I didn't ask for your unjust criticisms. I want help to choose gear that will serve my patients' needs best, while still being affordable enough so that I can actually get it! I just bought a brand new KED for $54 out the door, thanks to one of the great members of this community. I like making a difference, so damn straight it's my hobby! If you have a problem with that, I suggest you see someone about your childhood issues!

[SoCalGlenn]

They shouldn't have to turn everyone's POV into an ambulance. They should have a properly stocked and supplied ambulance there for you to use at a standby event such as this. If they don't, to borrow a phrase from Dust, then they suck.

They have about 300 racers, over a course of rough desert terrain of 60 miles in length. The hosting organization (AMA - motorcycles, not medical) has to have 2 ambulances in the pits; one of which must be ALS. But even the 4x4 ambulances they have can't get into a lot of these areas. And sometimes both ambulances are full with patients, and there's backup ambulances coming, and a helo landing. So if I had to drive or ride 50 miles to get a traction splint, it's not happening. That's why we all carry what we need. That's my desert S&R organization. The other events I referred to are new ones for me; rally racing and buggy racing. Neither have good organizations like my desert S&R organization, even though both are long courses through inhospitable terrain. And I was being melodramatic about stocking our vehicles like ambulances. But we have sustained a very healthy organization off purely racer donations for decades. Every new capital expense must be evaluated in the context of the care that the racers would want, and at the cost of what else we could buy with that money. But once again, the rally & buggy races, as far as I've seen so far, don't seem to have good teams like my desert S&R NPO. This type of thing is where you have to throw your municipal protocol out the window.

My understanding of EMTs who work at standbys is that of a provider who is hired by a company that owns everything they might need. The EMT is an employee paid to partake in the event as needed. Supplies are stocked in the provided response vehicle. Personal stashes of equipment and POVs are rightly and justifiably left out of the equation entirely.

That is helpful to know, thanks. Maybe I'll run across one of those organizations some day, so I can leave the equipment behind.

How can you volunteer for several organizations but only belong to one? What does this mean?

I was voted in to a private non-profit corporation S&R team, but that team only supports dirt-bike races in the desert. Very specialized. We're all mostly desert dirt bike riders, and quit racing and turned to this. It's a nice, close-knit family. The other two organizations are not medical; they are both racing sanctioning bodies. They both hire an ambulance or two, and then solicit volunteer saps like me to provide BLS support, which is desperately needed. Off-road racing of any sort is just barely surviving in Southern California, and I guess if they can get EMT-Bs for free, why would they want to pay for more ambulances? I don;t know for sure why; I've only been doing this 6 months or so.

I'm also confused as to what you mean by "freelance". You either volunteer or work for an existing squad as an EMS professional. Otherwise, you're nothing more than a glorified first aider who has no business being involved in anything where you would have to buy such equipment.

Is this an East-coast attitude or something? Surely I must be able to stereotype you guys in the same way you're stereotyping me. See my previous response to your brother egotist. There comes a point, when people like me (NREMT and county certs) volunteer for "glorified first aid" so frequently that we actually have skills that are kept up to date. Welcome to the grey area.

Your posts to this point are not painting a favorable picture of you, any organization with which you might be affiliated, or the racing circuit you frequent. As was noted, this is not a hobby. You don't go out and buy equipment to stock your POV. Please either clarify your position here or come to terms with the fact that you're both a whacker and a troll.

Very professional indeed. My opinion of "EMS professional" is truly skyrocketing, thanks to you. Remind me to thank your mom. And I'm sorry.. so very sorry... if I use casual, and inappropriate terminology on - of all things - the internet.

At the very least, for your own personal protection from a lawsuit, please affiliate yourself with a reputable, professional organization that takes the role of providing EMS at such events seriously. If you continue here it sounds like you're setting yourself up to get hosed.

Thanks for the advice. Want some Tylenol?

-be safe.

-be polite

[NREMT-Basic]

The only whacker and troll here is an uppity medic who thinks the sun shines out of his navel. Get over yourself and listen to what your brother EMT is trying to say. He is doing things to help his community and I would rather he attended to me in an emergency than a medic like you who is obviously more worried about collar brass and what color your trauma sheers are than truly helping people. One day soon, with your attitude you will get "hosed" and you better pray to God that there is a Basic like this man who gives of his time and volunteers to pull your fat out of the fire.

[JPINFV]

I think that we have a problem here. Just as there are those rare cases of BLS IFT providers with their heads on straight, there are those situations where individuals stock their cars but aren't a wacker. It seems like our new friend here isn't trying to call himself an EMS professional. He is simply involved in a high risk hobby with inadequate medical coverage (simply seems impossible based on his account due to the risk level, size of coverage area, and number of participants). He has taken the steps needed to help secure his fellow hobbyists. If he is a wacker for supplying some of his own equipment, then is it really that much different then those of us that have our own stethoscope. After all, the ambulance company should provide us with decent equipment, shouldn't it?

[Dustdevil]

I don't know what brought up this "x3" and "x4" crap, but before you get too self-righteous about it, you should go back to school. Only uneducated, wanker, protocol monkeys use either one of those terms. Medical professionals actually understand and describe exactly what their patients are and are not oriented to, and understand exactly what it means. The numbers you are using are pointless and will only get you slaughtered in court, or by any medical professional reviewing your documentation.

And, by the way, by pointing out the error of your ways, the members here are being supportive of you. If all that happened here was people telling you what you want to hear, that would not be supportive. If you have half a brain, and any inclination of being a true professional, you will listen to them.

Before you buy another thing, I would seriously check into how much they are going to reimburse you for malpractise insurance. You're going to need it more than any piece of equipment in your trunk.

[BEorP]

I thought this was supposed to be a supportive web site, not a discouraging, rude, self-righteous web site. Or are you just the one bad apple? I don't know why you enjoy tearing people apart, and frankly it worries me that you are the one in the EMS profession.

...

I like making a difference, so damn straight it's my hobby! If you have a problem with that, I suggest you see someone about your childhood issues!

I am just one bad apple... along with many other "one bad apples" on this site who will agree with me. It may worry you that I am in the EMS profession, but at least I am in it as a profession.

Thank you for recommending I see someone about my childhood issues, I will get right on that.