HellsBells

As an aside, I think its time to stop using the "were a young industry" phrase to excuse deficits in EMS. We have been around since the 1970's, that is more than enough time to get our shit worked out. The PC industry really didn't get rolling till the 1980's, now there is a computer in everyones home. Whats our problem?

Fucking assholes

Heres another interesting point. A lot of paramedics in alberta work for two or more different services. This might prove to be interesting for the province as they try to work out what applys as overtime. If you work for another AHS "service" on days off from your full time job, should you be compensated with overtime since you work for the same employer? Furhermore, if that said person quits, then the province loses and just one, but the equivalent of 1.5 or 2 employees.

Maybe we should link this discussion with the previous "alberta takes a step forward" topic. As it has been dormant for awhile, and I'd like to hear more peoples thoughts on the impending take over. alberta takes a step forward

I would say that its a judgement call. 110 is a borderline pressure, I'd feel much more comfortable with a line in at this pressure, but its still in the acceptable range. As an above poster said she is on her home nitro, but this may not just be her usual angina. Does her chest pain usually go away after one spray of nitro? Is the current pain different than usual? When did her pain start? Is she normally hypertensive? Another consideration for you to make is to think of the long term outcome for the patient. If she is having an MI, ASA is a much more important drug than nitro in reducing overall mortality. So if you carry ASA, make sure to give it before you worry about nitro.

I would argue that these are not mistakes, so much as medication errors borne of ignorance. If one is foolish enough to give such innapropriate drugs, I'd argue that it would be unlikely that they are the type of person to report medication errors. Particularly if he is giving ASA to a patient who just said they have an allergy. On the other hand, if the error is made due to a labeling problem, i.e. he though lopressor was atropine because the vials look the same, then its a system error and should not result in punishment. To answer the question, Yes I would report a medication error, no matter how little harm the pt may be facing from my error.

I can see both points on this issue. Dust has a valid point, saying that 120 hours, no matter how you slice it simply isnt enough. However, I would disagree that the delievery method of the course makes no difference. When so much information is crammed into a short period of time ( 18 days) there is no way to learn and retain all the needed information. It simply becomes an excercise in memorizing what is needed for the test. If the course is offered over a longer period, the student has a chance to study and learn on his own; which can lead to a great deal more time than the infamous 120 hours would suggest. However in the 18 day class, there is only so much time you can study in a day before the brain turns to mush and returns are greatly diminished.

I think that to answer this question properly, it must be established if your service allows RSI. If there is no paralytic in car I'd imagine nasal intubation would be nessasary in some cases.

Long hospital waits have been the norm, not the exception here in Calgary for quite some time. We have socialized health care, however it doesn't seem to have any effect on wait times. One of the larger problems, as I see it is that people don't use the emergency dept. properly. People who have colds, or the flu, stubbed toes, etc. seem to be calling 911 more and more often; its very frustrating to me, knowing they are going to be filling up the ER. To answer your main question, yes I have noticed a sharp rise in call volume since Jan as well. However, it seems that most years Feb and March are the busiest months at my service, economic crisis or not.

It looks interesting, but I don't really see much that makes it more appealing than the LP12. I find the video kind of pointless, there are a lot of really nice, dramatically shot situations where it’s being used, but it doesn't give any insight as to the actual function of the thing. I do find it interesting that "Calgary EMS" seems to be featured quite prominently on the website; I had no idea that the city was a shill for physiocontrol.

If such an organization exists or if anyone here is willing to form one, I would be willing to volunteer my time, and money to the cause. Additionally, I think that I could get my local union involved as well.

In this case I see to as having the foresight to swallow before inhaling. However, maybe he was just in a rush to prove that he, unlike Clinton does inhale.

The Republicans have their fair share of dummys too, remember George Bush Sr. son, George W Bush? The guy almost choked to death on a pretzel during the superbowl.

Yeah, I agree that there should be more Ambulances. My point is that if you have a paramedic on the firetruck anyway, keep a chase car at the hall, so that when a medical call goes out, he can jump off the pump the pump and respond himself, so that the whole dang crew isn't responding.

Wow a fire vs EMS debate that is rational, with no personal attacks (so far). I'm impressed. I think the real solution here is to have a Paramedic chase car at the fire station. There are no hospital waits, he simply hands off to the incoming ambulance crew, he is there as an extra set of hands, and is not tying up an expensive ladder truck. Of course there will be some extra expense to house the chase car at a fire hall, but it will be small compared to the reduced wear and tear on the fire engine.

I agree with the above posters that this is a situation where its really hard to assign blame, based on the video. Since it was just a spin out and no one was hurt, no property damage, I'd say that firing would be a huge overeaction, if not an outright abuse of power. In my service we would fill out a risk management or near miss form, describe how we would avoid the error next time, then carry on with our lives. Oh, and as for the MVA vs MVC rhetoric, its utter bullshit. No matter what it is called the outcome is the same.

Um, no. Lawyers are professionals, they do more blow then anyone and don't tell on each other.

What is a MICN?

Nah, that statement is bullshit. If anything, there is more emphasis put on CPR here than anything. As far as I know we have the same guidelines for CPR as the USA.

Is there anyone here from Grand Prairie who experienced this trial and cares to comment on it?

I'm school last week our instructor informed us that some people on the transition commitee are thinking of changing legislation so that EMRs can work with Paramedics and still charge out as an ALS service. Yestday I ran across this quote on the Calgary Paramedics union website. So, EMTs in alberta beware, your job options might be drying up in the months to come. I guess this is what the government meant when they said they will not degrade the level of service in any geograpical areas.

Since the agency didn't comment on specific reasons for removing the kids, we don't know if we are getting the full story here. There are most likely other compelling reasons for taking these kids from the parents custody. I can only assume that the bad judgement they have shown in choosing their childrens names must have spilled over into other aspects of their parenting.

Depends on the situation. If the pt has coded due to a cardiac tamponade ( for the sake of argument). Then definitive care will be given in the ER with pericardial centesis. As for the argument that good CPR cannot be given while moving to the ER, hogwash. How far is the ER from your ambulance bay? If its more than 10 seconds away, then I guess you'll just have to take frequent breaks to ensure there is minimum interruptions to compressions.

1. Ensure personal safety, if the pt is out of control, and you fear assault, wait for the police. If the pt is not combative and the crowd isn't a howling mob attempt to talk to the pt, calm them and describe what treatment you are going to perform on them. 2. due to the altered LOC, C-spine precaution is required, if possible control C-spine fit with a collar and perform a standing take down onto the spine board, strap the pt in, quickly move him into the ambulance, away from the crowd 3. assess and control ABC,s, perform a rapid head to toe trauma survey, pay special attention to the head, determine if the head wound is superfical or if there is significant injury, get some vitals, Obtain a BGL, perform a neurological exam. 4. attempt to get an AMPLE Hx from the pt or bystanders if pt is or becomes agitated consider the use of restraints and assistance from LEO's during transport 5. start an IV, 18G or so - titrate fluid replacement to BGL, Vitals, Assessment findings 6. start towards the appropriate hospital. 7. preform a more detailed secondary survey, asessing pupil response, note changes in GCS and neurological assessment, take pts temp, repeat vitals, expose all areas to look for occult injury, patch to receiving facility. Ok, next question- describe the role of surfactant in regards to respiration and alveoli...

This reminds me about a recent trend in semantics that is a pet peeve of mine. The changing of the term "Motor Vehicle Accident" (MVA) to "Motor Vehicle Collision" (MVC). The ridiculous explanation behind this change of phrase? The term "Accident" in MVA suggests that the event was unavoidable and could not be prevented, the term collision in MVC is an objective term that reenforces the fact that the event can be prevented. This was in a department memo send out by management. Maybe its just me, but I don't understand what the fuck it even means, or how changing the way a car crash is described will prevent any future "collisions"