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Brother, let me break this down for you, and I'm not being shitty, as it can be hard to understand where people are coming from if you don't live/work in this field. You believe that you helped, that you showed that you care by leaving your home and showing up. Many others do the same, and like you, most often they harm people with their ignorance. Now, don't confuse the words ignorant and stupid. You can fix ignorance... The bent steering wheel is a huge deal to most of us here as it tells us that the pt, in one way or another, transferred a ton of energy from his body to the stearing wheel, and that almost never comes without significant injury. Almost every injury that can happen from that mechanism is going to be life threatening, and most of them will cause the medics to have a battle to control and maintain the patients perfusion. (blood pressure) Now the body will fight to keep that blood pressure up, to keep the organs fed. But by giving him the Nitro you gave him a medicine chemically designed to fight against the body's efforts to save itself. You claimed that his 'vitals were fine' but not a single paramedic in this conversation, no matter how many years they've been practicing would make that statement on this patient without taking them again and again over a period of time. If this patient had any of the injuries common with this type of accident there is a very good chance that you killed him with your treatment. It is likely a good thing that you ran away, as there is also a good chance that you would be in jail now if you hadn't. It looks, from the outside looking in, like people are doing a bunch of mindless bullshit when you watch them on scene. But most of the important stuff is happening in their heads, not in their hands. You hurt a man. You claim you wanted to help, but all here are telling you that you almost certainly harmed him instead, yet your response remains, "Well at least I did something!" This is a professional forum full of people that have payed their dues for the right to go behind the yellow tape. Most have payed with years of their lives. They are intelligent, and have the ability to help people. You should really, really not kid yourself into believing that just by running to an accident and being willing to get bloody makes you a good guy. As in this case, it doesn't. Stop pretending that you want to help by buying bandages and hanging out with the local volly squad and actually get committed to doing some good and get the education necessary to do so. In this case, this man would have been better off if you had never shown up. He would have been healthier and safer if he has sat there alone until professional responders showed up. That's not your fault, because you didn't know better. But now you do. So what are you going to do? Continue to cry about it, or get the education to Do good, instead of Pretending to do good? Not running away, and continuing to participate in the forums is a good start. If you have the balls for it. Dwayne

A pen, watch, a cool calm demeanor, and the willingness to learn.

Brother I hear ya but doing the old should've, could've, would've mental fuck exercise does no one any good. This was my FB status a few days ago and it is relevant now: "There's nothing sadder than living for your death. This is what religion necessitates, this is why I am who I am. The idea that death is even "sad" is religiously influenced. Religion often forces people not only to deny the possibility of death by inventing the idea of an "afterlife," but also asserts that unless this afterlife exists, life is pointless. So they end up not even appreciating all the real things in this life." I am not turning this into a religious thread, but the point is we need to live every day and cherish the here and now...say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. This is how I live and I am quite comfortable with any of my friends or family dying or myself dying because I have left them with the knowledge of what they mean to me and how I feel about them. At this point in time, I have very few things left unsaid to very few people and those which remain are being achieved one by one without undue delay. It sucks but please do not sit around second guessing or thinking what may have been...it is unhealthy for yourself and disrespectful to the dead. Just move forward from here on out and do not allow any repeats.

Or you could just give 2 nitro's and put a c-collar on him!

Dads with daughters can fix it as well, It's cool.

You rang? I'll start by saying that I think the OP is BS (either that or Dust is screwing with us from beyond. I wouldn't put anything past him. He's probably loving every minute of this). Assuming it's legit, let's start with the fact you practiced medicine without a license. Show an EMT book that says it is legal for an EMT to give nitro. I doubt any generic EMT book, such as Brady, will say what is and isn't legal when it is used in multiple jurisdictions. A protocol manual from a specific certifying agency might say it, but no general EMT book will do so without saying something like, "See you local protocols to see if this is allowed in your jurisdiction." Secondly, you are not an EMT so it does not matter what the EMT book says. You had a good chance of killing this guy and are lucky you didn't. Your actions could have landed you in jail and no, you would not be covered by Good Sam laws. You were practicing way beyond your scope. You fucked up big time. Lucky for you, you didn't get caught. Eat your slice of humble pie and move on. Learn from your mistake. It's great that you are eager, we encourage that here but take it down a notch before you do some damage. You are under 18 and will have plenty of time to get on those awesome, adrenaline filled calls. Learn what you need to learn so that you don't hurt someone next time. Remember-Primum non nocere. Don't let your ego exceed your knowledge. As others have said, turn off the scanner. The only equipment you should have in your car is basic first aid supplies. If you stay in this field you will come to learn that the more stuff you carry, the less experienced you are. I hope you stick around, there is lots of good advice here, but you need to check you ego and attitude at the door. EDIT: As for why not today, have you looked around. There is a huge banner across the top of the page and a huge thread about it. We lost a great member today, someone who has tried to move EMS ahead. He was a personal friend to many and a mentor to many more. To come on here today and act the way you did is disrespectful to those who are mourning. Think of it as being similar to making Sept 11 jokes in a NYC firehouse.

Years ago, I recall a program where they expounded on fat as not being ugly, but being unhealthy. Putting billboards up, the State of Georgia has crossed the line into Bullying. New Jersey has anti bullying laws now on the books.

So long DustDevil....we had some good times in both Iraq and Florida. Will miss ya buddy!

Actually, I recently had to stop eating grapefruit due to numb lips after eating them. Didn't put much thought into it.... just chalked it up to a allergic reaction of some sort.

That ain't just a cold sore dude.....

There are doctors that can fix that these days.

What he said. If you are going to dump money on a high end scope, it's about utility, not quality. They are all equally "better". And even the best doesn't make you any better at using it. Littmann on a noob tends to scream out "I haven't been doing this long enough to have my priorities straight yet."

If you are doing this to present an argument to your medical director, I recommend you tread very lightly. A lot of the latest research looks bad for prehospital RSI, and intubation in general. Is there any reason they are using versed over etomidate? Etomidate is quicker on/quicker off if things go bad. From personal experience, it works much better for sedation anyway. If you adequately sedate there is no reason to complicate things by adding more meds such as an analgesic. I'm a simple person and like to keep things simple. If someone is being RSI'd they are sick to begin with. You are now going to throw a bunch of meds at them. If they deteriorate, how will you be able to decide if it is from there underlying disease versus medication issues? I'm also not a big fan of pharmacologically assisted intubation. You either go all in, or not at all (yes, I realize there are exception, but as a general rule). If they are going to have you sedate and quasi-paralyze, why not just go all the way and make sure it is done correctly to optimize your chances of success? In that case, the sux would be a much better option as it is quick on/quick off. There are a few instances where it may not be the best option but more often it will be fine.

Quote you a law ? Read your Bible. If you are atheist I guess you have no obligations except to your selfish self. The fact that you say "you used to stop all the time" tells me that you know you are wrong now. In your early years you did the right thing, now that you are old, lazy, and burned out, you choose to do the wrong thing.

Whhhhhooooaaaaa, get off your high horse. We have several volunteers in the area that have no EMS training, and it is not rocket science to put on a c-collar and hold a head up straight, would you prefer for his neck to be flopping around for another 10 minutes ? And I have reviewed my EMT book which clearly states that it is legal to assist a patient in taking their medication. The difference between me and some of you: I care enough to respond on my time off to people in need, according to another thread, most of you wouldn't even consider stopping on the side of the road to help someone.