Ask A Medic

maybe a "Ask an Emergency Personnel" thread? . . . . . i wont be making it, im not a good fireman. no lights and shit all over my truck, and i learned it all from my bad fireman father. i.e the first thing i do when a structure fire gets called out at night is go pee. he said "son, you never want to be in a burning house at 3 in the morning with a full bladder" lol!

 

Ahhh so you're one of those medics...


JK!

 

Well since you said EMS, Im going to chime in a little.

Im a FF, we do medical runs to help the squad.

Personally I will eventually be a medic, what makes me want to do that?

To help save a life and possibly change it, I saved a kid from drowning when I was 16 I think it was. It made me want to help anyone I could. I watched a guy start choking and no one knew what to do. So I started taking classes.

I LOVE what I do, wether its a medical call or a fire call.

Ill stop and help anyone, that doesnt mean I trust everyone but I wll stop and help to my best abilities. If I stop and help someone on the interstate, Im most likely carrying.

For the last question it varies for everyone IMO

But for me the bullshit from my life stops at the door, I wont let it come into my working area. If im not paying attention to many things could happen.

If Im not ony A game, I could get someone hurt, I could get contaminated, I could let one of my FFs do something wrong, I could do something wrong.

When ghe tones go off, I try to stay on my A game, once we leave til we get back.


Of course this is just me.

 

I didn't even see this, scrolled past it on me iphone.

-I chose the career because when I was 13 I got electrocuted and was tended to by numerous emergency personnel throughout my "journey" through the health care system. Ranging from general First Responders, to Basic Life Support to a Critical Care helicopter-evac in one day, and Infant Transport (they deal with pediatrics, not just infants) and more Basic and Advanced Life Support paramedics later on.

-I believe I do have a genuine desire to help people. I'm not a trauma junkie as a lot of people I work with are. I don't need to see a nasty car wreck or a lot of blood to call it a good work day. Don't get me wrong, trauma junkies have a place on the street too because they do keep a level head, but I have seen a couple that are so "calm" on scene that they aren't even doing their job. I much prefer a medical call where there's something wrong, obvious or not, and you have the chance to fix it or at least make an improvement. That's what I like, and it feels good to look at your patient and see the change from in bed unconscious to sitting up talking "what the hell am I doing here and WHO the HELL are YOU!?"

-I put my personal life aside when I get to work, just like how my work life doesn't go home with me. Leave it at the door, or in the bottom of a double on the rocks when you get home (drink responsibly ). It's a whole different environment on the street and personally, I think that if you're unable to put some sort of filter mechanism up, your partner won't enjoy working with you, your patients will think you're incompetent and the nursing staff will cut you down even more.

 

Already answered this. See below.

That's more or less correct.

^This. Posted before you did.

Suckah.

 

I wished I could start IV's as an EMT!! We don't have EMT-I in Cali just BASICs!!!

 

Really? Yeah we do that all the time up here.

 

Yup. Basic sux. Can u all use combi tubes?!?! Or king tubes?!?!

I heard Emt-I could

 

in louisiana basics cannot do ivs or combitubes. now with that said what happens in the truck stays in the truck

 

At my level all I can do is: OPA's, nitro, ASA, entonox and O2. Gotta get my ass in gear and go to licensing (I finished my next leve like 2 years ago just haven't gone for licensing)... That level will let me do: OPA/NPA/Kings, nitro, asa, epi, benadryl, ventolin, SC/IV narcan, IV's D10W, thyamine, glucagon and oral glucose.

Still not much, but it is what it is.

 

OPA, NPA, O2. That's about it for me

 

We JUST got the opportunity to become endorsed for NPA's (EMR level) and Kings (EMT level). Kinda pointless though, as you're only going to be using Kings in an arrest. And for arrests, ALS or "Paramedics" are dispatched and they'll intubate anyway.

 

Thats why I am in medic school!!!

So I can do all the fun stuff.

Our county sucks when it comes to protocols. We don't really have any of the cool stuff. This is because we have hospitals everywhere!!

I know some states allow medic to RSI. Any you medic have it in you SOPs!?!?

 

Both. OPA's, NPA's, Combitubes, LMA's, King Tubes, IV's. Drugs, we can give, ASA, Nitro, Salbutamol, Ipatropium Bromide, Epi, D50W, (Obviously Saline), Oral Glucose, Glucagon and laughing gas.

Our paramedics can RSI.

 

No Narcan for you guys?

 

What's the drillio with the new CPR hubbub? Assuming the alive person is TRAINED and CERTIFIED to preform the aforementioned task on the less than alive victim and all constrictive money carrying devices have been removed. Is it really more about compressions over mouth to mouth other than a combination of the two as now is being discussed?

I've preformed CPR a couple a times and with a 2 and 0 record, it doesn't matter how many classes or chats you have with trainers. There is no way to be ready for that first rib "CRACK" to get you prepared for that sound/feel.


One of my Dad's neighbors (89 years old) wandered into the yard for help, he was "cashing out". Never knew he was there 'til we saw him fall like a tree past the window. That one ended well.

Other was in a super market parking lot. Saw a group of people mulling around and being human, I wandered over too only to see a pair of legs sticking out by the carriage return thingy. The EMS that responded told me that that person had actually "rolled a 7" but made it back in from the bright light. All those people and not one swinging dick had a clue. It ain't that hard folks and time is precious. What makes you butch up is when you hear that siren coming at ya. I remember having the EMS jump out of the rescue and peer over my shoulder, I stopped to move out of the way and he said "Oh no...keep going while we set up. What?!!!!

Think of the feeling you'd have seeing a loved one there and no one wanting/willing/knowing what to do.

Thank you US Air Force for the training and the Red Cross recerts from there on out.

I have aged parents and that will make you want to be ready.

 

http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21312.aspx

Personally, with all of the diseases out there like Hep-C, HIV.. I wouldn't do mouth to mouth on anyone I didn't know. Even with pediatrics I'd have to think twice about it. You never know.

Our CPR ratio has changed to 10 WITH 1. We're not stopping chest compressions for a breath, the person breathing will hammer that breath in on every 10th compression.

I've only had one save. I'm 1 for 3. (Don't get many arrest where I work). The one save, I wasn't even working. I was riding along with a crew, getting the feel of things when I was a quarter of the way through my schooling. They needed the extra help, so I jumped in. Spiked a bag, got the attendants drug ready for him, then switched with him and did compressions while he started a line and pushed the drug. Pretty awesome. Guy had been down for about 12 minutes, we worked him for about 10 on scene, got a pulse back and boogied off to the hospital. By the time we got there (about 8 minutes) he was sitting up trying to speak. I was hooked after that.
(Then his son fainted in the emergency room so we had to tend to him too)

 

Cuz California is stupid and certifies by county, this changes.

Out in San Diego (I think, it was in the desert) I've seen the EMT-B's using combitubes.

Never seen an EMT give an IV, but I've seen paramedic-students-to-be starting them..

 

We RSI here in Clark co WA