What Do You Carry On Your Person?

[WANTYNU]

I keep the following on me on the Truck

…. Hemostats, Kelly Forcepts, ….

The only question I have is why do you carry these, you planning on doing field surgery?

-w

[spenac]

and I keep my scope around my neck so I can remember to check lung sounds (trick I learned in school and it has worked so far, so why not keep with it)

Great idea until the psyco patient decides to strangle you with them. It is a bad idea to carry your stethoscope around your neck. If you need it around your neck do so by the ear pieces so if someone grabs it, it comes off.

[p3medic]

I've had hemostats come in quite handy, and never for field surgery if you can believe that.

[WANTYNU]

I've had hemostats come in quite handy, and never for field surgery if you can believe that.

Don’t get me wrong, I carry a (one) clamp as well, I find it good for hanging an IV bag or holding something to as well as closing a sheet, but would never use one on a patient.

I was just wondering what RomeViking09’s reason was, and since Kelly clamps (Forceps) are basically just hemostats with a different grip pattern, why the distinction.

The field surgery quip was just being obnoxious (sorry).

-w

[STREMT11]

When I first started, I carried all kinds of stuff with me, but now I carry 2 pens, Pen light, Rescue Knife, Search Gloves(for the rowdy patients), cell phone, wallet, and truck keys. Everything else is in the truck.

[EMT-B 55]

No matter what you carry on your person, let your partner know what you have and where it is located. At a recent MVA, my shears came out out my pocket, as did my pen light, pad, pen and gloves all the while I was holding c-spine on one of the many patients

[John8Food]

Full-Time Job:

Required:

-Narcotics Pouch (Ativan/Morphine/Versed)

-Company Nextel (Dispatch communications/Call Info via Text)

-Company Pager (For Open Shifts/Closed Messages, also unlimited personal use which is great since where I live I have no cell service)

-Ambulance Keys

-Narcotics Key

-ID Tag/Collar Brass/CAAS Pin/Pen/Notepad

Personal:

-Wallet

-Cell Phone

-Skell Gloves

Plus a Duty Bag in the Ambulance (iPod w/ FM Transmitter, Coffee Cup, Tea/Coffee Pouches, Maglite, Books, etc..) and a bag full of company issued crap (Ballcap, Knitcap, Vest, Fleece, Commando Sweater, Jacket, Turnout Jacket)

Part-Time Job:

Required:

-Keys (Company Narcotics Keys (x3), Ambulance, Drug Box)

Personal:

-Cell-Phone

-FT Job Pager

-Skell Gloves

Duty Bag

While I generally agree that the more on the belt the newer the person, I have noticed especially at my current fulltime job this is not true, the most senior Paramedics (aka approx 15-25 years at the company) or those considered the "best" seem to carry a ton of crap on their buff belts

[ladybear]

I'm actually surprised that more of you don't carry your stethescopes with you. I carry mine on a clip made for it, that way it's not on my neck.

Since I work in the ER what I need is a bit different than you guys.

I carry my shears on a clip attached to my waistband, my id clipped to my lower right pocket, a few pens since I always seem to be misplacing them, and a roll of plastic tape attached to my pants with a pair of forceps. I love plastic tape sometimes... Keeps my pockets clear and things handy.

Those are my basics I have all the time.

Now if it's busy and I'm running like crazy starting IV's all night I might have a handful of IV flushes in my pockets.. but that is occasional... not nightly.

My backpack which goes every place I work.. my asthma medicine, a variety of food and drink products since a 12 hour shift often turns into a 14 or 16 hour one,

my personal cell phone, off since I don' t use it at work anyways, and anything else I shoved in there the day before and forgot to remove.

Oh yeah.. my palm pilot because it has reference material in case we can't locate it easily otherwise at work, like drug dosages and such. I used to carry it on me but ended up dropping it so many times I figured it was safer in the pack than in my pockets.

[EMS49393]

I'm bored, it's early, for some reason I'm awake (that really ticks me off), so I'll play. It's not as if I have anything better to do, seeing as how I can't get back to sleep, secondary to the amazing, yet obnoxious sounds being produced by my other half. It's like a bloody concert in here.

On my person:

- Sunglasses.

Belt (one of those fly basketweave leather numbers issued by my company):

- work alpha pager, when we receive a call, the information is transmitted via radio and pager. It's also used to transmit vital, and often not so vital information. They use them to page out road closings, weather alerts, open shifts, and of course who just had a baby. :roll:

- my handy little retractable key chain thingy that has my fob and a universal station key on it.

In my trousers (hehe, I said in my trousers :twisted: ):

- right rear pocket: a small checkcard wallet with checkcard, drivers license, small amount of cash, cert cards, insurance card, and frequent coffee club card.

- trauma shears at the small of my back

- right front pocket: narc keys, my keys, cell phone, extra hair tie. I can't stand having my hair down and in the way when I'm at work.

- right cargo pocket: nothing, hate this pocket, have even cut off the little snap flap things that hold in a pair of shears, they were completely useless.

- left cargo pocket: nothing, hate that pocket too.

- left front pocket: couple pairs of gloves

- left rear pocket: nothing

I carry one or two pens in my shirt. I carry my steth. I refuse to use the cheap pass around steths, I have a problem putting those dirty things in my ears. I've had the same Littman cardiology III for the past ten years or so, never lost it. I cavi-wipe my steth after each patient contact. I had those antimicrobial diaphragms for a while, but they turned out to be a giganitic pain in the arse.

I have a workbag I toss in the truck. I have a different truck, different partner every shift.

- I keep my mapbook, which has all the major city running streets highlighted and extra block number notations in it.

- I carry extra narc adminstration records (in case their isn't any in the narc box).

- A small plastic clipboard with signature sheets on it, signatures are required for every call, and the ePCR tablet is difficult for a lot of people to sign on.

- Incident reports, believe it or not, I'm in trouble quite a bit.

- Drug guide, a good one.

- The book I'm currently reading.

- Cavi-wipes.

- A large bottle of water, or diet ginger ale, depends on the season. Our trucks have ice chests in an outside compartment, and we are able to get ice and bottled water at work during the warm months. I might toss a bottle of poweraid in my bag if I know the temp is going to be high.

- I have a separate little small bag in my workbag that has my Zune in it. My personal safety glasses. It also has my mini halogen flashlight in it. I work mostly days now, so I have no real use for it anymore.

- I have another little bag that I call my "ah sh*t" kit. It has several nasal canula capnography, and ETT capnography sets. A couple packs of pedi-trodes and pedi SPO2 stickies. I have a set up to bag in albuterol put together. (Ever try to put one of those things together when you really need it?) I'm about the only medic at my service that utilizes capnography on a pretty regular basis. The capnography stuff is often neglected when stocking supply cabinets or truck cabinets. This way, I always have my own regardless of what truck I'm assigned.

- In one little side compartment I carry my pocket calendar, little notepad, field guide, black sharpie, highlighter, and a bunch of toss away company issued pens. "Go ahead and keep that pen, sir. (Especially since you snotted/bled/vomited all over it.)"

- In the other little side compartment, I have hand sanitizer and hand lotion. I have to keep these delicate hands in good condition.

- In the small front pouch, I have goodies. Gum, granola bars, pumpkin seeds, sugar-free drink mix singles, teabags, my handy little splenda tablet dispenser, an apple. I refuse to be a slave to fast-fatfood. I also keep some Excedrin Migraine and Advil in this compartment.

I also have one of those hospital-issued big cups with the lid, covered plastic straw, and ounce markings. I keep that in the truck, and refill my ice when I get to the hospitals.

I have some pretty bad OCD, and I'm a creature of habit. I have to have my cleaning stuff since I'm always wiping things down in the unit. I have to have hand sanitizer, a lot of things we touch are just gross. I have to have a book, I find comfort in silence. I have to have granola bars, because McDonalds is not an option. I have to have my sugar-free drinking options, because empty calories are not an option. Surprisingly, none of that makes me strange or difficult to work with.

The fact that I give every patient 110% is what makes me difficult to work with. I'm set in my ways, and I am thorough, which drives a lot of these "me" generation EMT's crazy.

[Dustdevil]

While I generally agree that the more on the belt the newer the person, I have noticed especially at my current fulltime job this is not true, the most senior Paramedics (aka approx 15-25 years at the company) or those considered the "best" seem to carry a ton of crap on their buff belts

Let me guess... New York or New Jersey?