HellsBells

My guess would be due to the possibility of aspiration and the inability of an EMT to intubate if the airway is compromised.

We carry it here and I've used it about 4-5 times, never had any problems, no messy vomit, just pt complaints about the taste. However, when I was with a rural service we had a pt with a multi-pharm OD, altered LOC and going down, we decided (quite appropriately in my opinion) not to use charcoal. We arrive at the hospital, give report to the nurse and she flipped out, demanding to know why we didn't give charcoal. So, with great difficulty she "assists" the pt in drinking some of the drug, which she promptly vomits back all over herself and the bed, and the nurse, and everything else in the general area.

Has anybody heard anything about this new school Columbia College, this just popped up on ACP's website under the approved schools heading, they also have a paramedic program.

...No child left behind.

This must be an American thing. I am not aware of any services in Canada that draw blood.

Interesting that you give Epi SQ, I thought that common practice was moving away from that, and going IM only.

interesting, but certainly a high risk procedure. Here is a Canadian article that I read today, buried in the middle of the paper. AIDS vaccine- animal testing phase

That is not something you can judge by a messege on a forum. He could have been been compensating right up to the time he was dropped off at the ER, then started to circle the drain. In my opinion the paramedics gave reasonable care, they got two lines and hurried to the hospital. What this man needs is surgical intervention. Sure they could have pressure infused more fluid into him, but maybe they placed the IV's enroute and were at the ER before they had time to infuse a litre or two. However, a good history would give clues on the pts condition. Did he have HTN? Was he on Beta Blockers? How long had he been bleeding? There are a lot more factors here than simply BP, pulse and amount of fluid.

I'm starting to get the feeling that iamyourgod has an ulterior motive for posting on this site. All of this individuals post topics seem to have some sort of connection to litigation. Boning up for some type of class action lawsuit with a personal injury lawyer are you?

That thing creeps me out, there is something insectile and alien about it. It looks like it might turn on its masters, run off to the side of the highway and lie in wait for unlucky hitchhikers or big breasted co-ed bimbos.

I've heard a lot of compliants on this site about lost or broken 02 wrenchs. I don't get it. I can think of perhaps one occasion that an o2 wrench has gone missing from the kit, and it was found about 10 mins later on the floor of the ambulance. Is this "missing wrench" problem just self justification to carry a cool multitool?

Ok, I have one. Who changes the regulator on their entonox between uses?

I'd say that someone ordered the wrong type of straps.

Depends on the province. In Alberta you need a class 4 licence to drive an ambulance or taxi cab. The normal operators licence is a class 5. In order to get a class 4 you must pass a written test, and the drivers test is the same as the class 5, but you are not allowed as many errors. No special vehicle is required for the test, your 1985 Honda Civic is just fine.

Hi all, I have four uniform shirts (two long sleeve, two short sleeve) to give away, I have never worn them, as they are the wrong size and were sent to me in error. The neck size is 17, they are 75%polyester, 25%wool, very nice looking shirts. private message me if you're interested. You just have to pay for the shipping.

Actually my understanding of these concepts are that: Standing Orders are guidelines that the prehospital care provider is to follow in pre-approved situations. This can apply to online or offline medical control. In a system where you are under online medical control and for some reason unable to get into contact with medical control (due to communication system failure, etc.) you can follow the "standing orders" in regards to pt care. Offline control allows you to follow standing orders without even attempting to call med control.

Fair enough, but does it really matter which truck ran the red light?

The thing I find funny is that the streets seemed completely deserted, where was all the traffic they needed to rush through? The Fire Dept really likes the lights and sirens. Just yesterday, I was in a third floor apartment and we called Fire backup to help us take a rather large man downstairs. I asked for a lift assist, cold response. The Fire Hall was about three blocks away, so 2 minutes later I hear sirens blazing, see lights flashing outside the window, they must have shaved at least 5 seconds off the response time with a hot response for our stable patient.

6 months

I have to agree with tniuqs. In Alberta we are better left with The EMT, Paramedic designation. I think that having different levels of "paramedics" makes life even more confusing for the public. At the very least the layperson can make a distinction between two sperate titles, but the difference between a Primary Care Paramedic and an Advanced Care Paramedic? It leaves a lot of people scratching their heads. Furthermore, the PCP title can be a tool used by the government to lull the general public into a false sense of security, while delivering a lower level of service so that they can pay less for it. A couple of years ago when I was working in Vermilion the father in law of one of our Paramedics (yes An ACP) came down from BC. He commented on the high number of EMT's that worked in our town, and proudly announced that there are no EMT's in BC, they are all Paramedics in his province. Of course we had to explain to him that a lot of Paramedics in BC are PCP's and have the same level of training as an Alberta EMT. In fact, there are a lot fewer ACP's in rural BC then in rural Alberta, but since they are called Paramedics the average person assumes...

Ok cool. So what exactly are you asking us to comment on? I think you did a good job handling the patient once you were on the transfer. I may have chemically sedated him,, if his vitals were stable enough. However it seems you were able to talk him down without incident.

This isnt a real news story, its the trailer for Deliverance 2.

It sounds like you did a good job getting the patients to the receiving facility, and that you're proud of that accomplishment (as you should be), so I'm not really sure what the question is that you're asking. However, it sounds like you are being taken advantage of by the hospital and your "senior" co-worker. Why on earth do you let people treat you in this manner? Taking a dual patient transfer, when one is going to the ICU is a recipe for disaster. I can guarantee that the hospital and your company have guidelines on transporting critical patients, and I highly doubt dual transport is one of them. You also said in your opening post that this guy had a history of dementia and aggressiveness. Are you or either of your patients best served being stuffed into the back of a small ambulance together? I commend you on the fact that you handled the situation well once the transport was rolling. But why put yourself in that position to begin with?

The biggest over spending here is what the taxpayers are spending for the fire department. More than half of their annual runs are for medical calls. Would it not be logical, and cost effective for the municipality to have a tax funded EMS system, double the amount of ambulances and cut down on the amount of engines that are responding to medical calls? What is the minimum number of Fire Fighters that it takes to man a Fire Engine? I've never seen less than four. Thats at least double the staff of an ambulance. For the life of me I just don't understand this idea of EMS responding from Fire Engines because they are "closer" than Ambulances. This means the system needs more ambulances, not the extra cost of two different depts doing the job of one ambulance.

Hmmm, a good start would be getting paramedics off the firetrucks.