Laura Anne

Tech, You'll earn your first call AND 5 points back when you get dispatched to a fall victim(*cough, dust, cough*) off a roof......some guy up on it was shouting something and fell off. :shock: Seriously good luck!! Be careful!!! All love here for ya Dust...... :wink:

"What would our world be without EMTs and medics? Who would clean up the dirty work on the streets?"~Amytxn4 I think they called it 'house calls' when the Docs back in the good ol' days had to go to the persons home and take care of em. Naturally, with the gas prices the way they are now...WELL!! Thats not gonna happen!! $80/gal?????? whew... :wink:

Oh God, what a horrible ordeal for that man. Glad to know he's recovering ok in ICU. I think I may throw a bottle of water in my car...just in case!

...Don't Stop... by Fleetwood Mac. Use it for those days when I need a boost to get over a lull. 8)

Hmm.... ~Although my opinion sometimes in certain situations of another medical professional may not be of a high standard, I do value the level of training/education they had obtained to be in position they're currently in. It's just annoying when they don't give you the respect back. Many of us have had other medical care providers treat us with such disregard we saw red. :evil: I feel professionalism is how the situation is handled. ~DO you lower yourself down to the level of the person who(in your opinion) is disrepecting you, or do you complete the task at hand, patient care, and then if necessary, go back in private and explain your actions/lack of? Sometimes the ignorance and comments/attitude of others probably don't warrant any explanation because their ill-temperament basically spelled it out already and it would be a waste of your time and the patients. In most cases though, attempting to obtain and explain information/treatments is the appropriate thing to do. ~NOW, on here we all have our ways of venting and attempting to get other respectable persons' points of view on a matter. Some people can be sarcastic, colorful, or down right rude. I am not saying this is always right, but I feel venting and sharing common frustrations is a typical and quite normal characteristic of human nature. ~Basically, if any other care provider(including myself) needed an explanation as to the care provided, give it to them! Just handle it in a professional manner. 8)

under-dreaming wrote: I am considering working Riverside because it is a huge city with a lot of diversity... should be interesting enough. It's really the only job in SoCal for a non-fire paramedic, so it's not a difficult choice. Is Gold Cross still out in El Centro? Now you can't get much more So Cali than that, LOL!! 8) How far away is Riverside from El Centro, by chance? Good luck with your choice, btw!

Just had a medic the other day state to the crew coming to back him up on a code, "hey guys, he's got dependent rigormortis and lividity in his fingers." The other crew looked at him and said, "you mean dependent liv. and rig in fingers....?" :roll:

Nope, nothing personal against the Pa. In fact, this was my first run-in with her. You don't see anything wrong with a person who doesn't have the decency to provide me any medical history, events leading up to the incident, or even the decency to make eye contact with myself or my crew? Well, I am sorry....but that right there is why I went and checked up on the patient myself. Plus, she never stated who she was and refused to come to the patients bedside when asked. I didn't know if she was a CNA, RN, Md, Do, etc. until I asked one of the RNs who came in to the room to help us. If I cannot be informed of the proper status of a patient with the courtesy of a fellow provider, then my gut feeling is to double check and thats what I did. No, we don't need to have lividity and rig to pronounce someone, either. I know my job, I know my protocols, and I trust my gut when a critical call like this comes up. I would question the person who would turn and walk out without getting the info needed from the NH. So once again, a positive, happy thread on this site has turned into a nasty, bitch session. Job well done, Doc!! :roll:

Did you just comment about how people need to be sheep?????? Are you serious? Am I somehow misinterpreting what you wrote? You don't think RN have the right to be autonomous in their care provided? WOW. :shock: This is my understanding of your comments posted above: doctors know all and rarely make mistakes. If they do, just suck it up in a critical situation and follow the orders given, even if they harm/kill the patient because you're a lemming and must follow the line of ignorance and mistkaes provided....... again, WOW. I have really nothing else I can say because I am so stunned by the comments you provided. Yes, you do have a lot of growing up to do. It's not a personal attack, mind you. It's just what I and others have come to realize due to your comments above. 8)

Hey RBE.... I didn't exactly trust her "PA expertise" due to the simple facts that 1. she waived me away like some royal bimbo from her precious throne behind the nursing desk. That kind of professionalism goes ohhhh such a LONG way with me...lol. 2. she didn't have an EKG and/or good reason quite frankly for calling it, other than the fact that the guy died in the geri chair in front of the nurses station with them all sitting there. They never knew he'd passed on till they went to move him!! BTW, no liv or rig set in yet. Like I posted above, he was warm, warmer than me!!! :shock: :?

How is the healing process coming along, praying? Please keep us informed as to their recovery process. I honestly don't think anyone had any intention of being emotionally harmful to either person involved, nor to their loved ones who are praying for them. If they are, well I believe in karma. She's my twin sister.....a big b*tch!! 8) 8) 8) With that being said, being from the 'been there, done that' club of wrecking EMS units, I feel the discussion in here will be helpful more than harmful. This is such a hard lesson learned by the EMS family, but none the less, a learning tool....like all tragedies. Perhaps it'll make someone think twice before using any electrical devices, maybe reinforce the use of seat belts, drill in the heads of others the importance of not being sleep deprived on the job, to use your mirrors more often to be aware of surrounding dangers, etc. NOW, I am not saying all these things apply to this incident or to these two providers, but reiterating the importance of safety..... thats our goal here. Scott and Bonnie....and to their families...speedy recovery!!

LOL Dust.....its jut the lil things. I am willing to admit I do thisquite a bit. I tend to have a comment or question for everything and it bites me in the rear quite often! Kaisu, LP= Lumbar Puncture

OK, so I have had a run in of really, really, REALLY stupid health care providers the last few days. Unfortunately, I was one of them...no big deal, but was a TOTAL blonde moment... Dispatched for an unresponsive subject at a local nursing home, CPR now in progress. On arrival, a PA was sitting at the front desk, waiving us off like flies swarming above her head, stating, "YOU people aren't needed. The patient is dead." I eye balled her for a good second or two, attempted to ask about the patient and she replied that I didn't need to know anything because she called the time of death..... :shock: Can PA's do that???? Anyhoo.... :roll: Enter patients room and find a 77yr old male with a PEA @40BPM lying supine on top of his newly made bed, dressed in his best, with no staff providing any care. I ask for some sort of history as I begin CPR on the VERY warm patient and the staff tells me he' is blind and is there(at the NH) for dehydration. ***blonde moment*** I went to check his pupils. NUFF SAID. Other stupid run in was actually today..... different NH Called for an unresponsive subject, CPR in progress. On arrival, Pt was a semi-conscious male on a vent. I inquired as to who reported Pt in cardiac arrest and this male nurse, more female than I could EVER be, stated, "he was like in total cardiac arrest and I did a sternal rub and brought him back to life!" He got the "are you F*cking serious look and I attempted to ask him to repeat himself w/o laughing when he got his panties in a twist and stormed out of the room. SO my question is, who here has ever had a 'blond moment' or has had a run in with someone who was in the health care field and had one? I love my job.

Hopefully this outreach program will work to help reduce the unwarranted use of 911 MICUs. My only concern would be if they instruct these frequent fliers to not call 911 and one of them has a true emergency, delay's care to themselves, and ultimately causes more damage/death as a result. I'd like to see how the caseworkers are going to implement alternatives......I need coffee.

INCONCEIVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shock: 8)

Welcome to EMTCity, my ETOH brother from another mother..... I agree with your post and coming from someone who able to see it from both sides is greatly appreciated. I myself, couldn't feel that commenting on this topic would be right because I cannot understand the training that military personnel go through, therefore making my opinion one of bias and ignorance. And we all know that people on this site are NEVER either of those!!! :roll: 8) Again, welcome and thnx for the input! Perhaps recreating a class that isn't crunched into 2weeks is the right direction for these wonderful soldiers, but just needs some tweaking? Sounds like it may work, but it has to be longer and prepared in another manner.....kinda like those programs that were going to be designed for paramedics to complete their RN expeditiously. Does anyone know of any of those programs in place anywhere?

Block as in BBB..... but yes, I see what you're saying. If the patient has a poor V/Q ratio due to PMHx of any COPD or other resp illness/injury, increasing the supplemental O2 won't make much of a difference in the long run. Then again, when it comes to this medication, I can only go off of what I learned in class back in the day (which wasn't much if you knew my program :oops: ) and what I learn from my near and dear friend GOOGLE. :wink: Oh yes, and this site, too. thnx! My old instructors all 'edge-ewma-katid' me on the simple fact that when giving Atropine, always start on the lower dose due to the O2 demand on the heart, but never explained as to why this happens. Over time, I got out of my monkey suit and decided if I want to be an appropriate EMS provider, I should maybe take things one at a time and educate myself. As you can see, I am STILL learning.

Laura's most recent tango with danger..... Staging for a shooting call in Norristown.... Pull up next to a PD who is also staging to block off the street who tells us to proceed in due to scene secured. Male in 40's unconscious with GSW to forehead and chest lying at bottom of 3 steps at front door of residence on sidewalk. I walk up, look at him and say....sh*t, he dead! :shock: 8) Place monitor on him and he's got a rate of 80...WTF?!?!?!?!?!? :evil: Hear cops start shouting in residence while back boarding Pt. Cops are screaming for persons in residence to drop their guns NOW!!!! Look at partner and say, F*CK.... :shock: On scene time: 4 mins. Moral of story: even if cops say scene safe, WATCH YOUR BACK! 8)

My part time job assigns us boots, bunker jacket, and pants. We are required to wear our lovely gear on vehicle rescues. I have yet to go on a call that required me to leave my patient to dress properly. :roll: Of course, if I get the chance, sure I will, but most of the time, I will put on a helmet and a jacket while treating my patient in the vehicle. My other full time job has bullet proof vests and required gear in station. It is our responsibility to find the appropriate gear and grab it if needed.

Yup, our protocols read that a patient presenting with mild symptoms resulting from bradycardia can be treated with 0.5-1.0mg IVP of Atropine. Mind you, we've all heard that starting out with the lower dose is preferred when it comes to administering.... well ANYTHING basically in our field, BUT... :roll: Pros: well gee, it can save your life. Seriously, by increasing the HR it can help a patient who seems to be SOB due to the functions of the body not receiving enough O2 because of the low HR.... Cons: gotta watch out for those low doses becauses they can have a paradoxical effect, plus perhaps the heart block is due to ischemia.... increasing the heart rate will circulate the O2 enriched blood. REPEAT!! O2 enriched BLOOD. If you don't have someone on high flow O2 prior to this, you can ultimately cause MORE damage in the long run by increasing the ischemia to the muscle which was causing the block in the first place. So, make sure they don't have a block. Naturally, correct me please if I am wrong!! Just my ever so often two cents worth.... 8)

Hmmm, I am not sure why signatures are so darn hard for people to obtain, but for some reason, it does present itself as a problem for some reason. I don't get it. I guess people just forget. My company is busy, but if you can remember to copy the ins and id cards, get a copy of the demographics sheet, why not a signature? It's just plain laziness on their part, from my understanding. Only people I cannot obtain a signature is from the obvious. IE: DEAD. 8)

>>> Fortune teller with an accent, talking to two male characters while telling them their fortunes topless..... "FUCCUS...", says the fortune teller while rubbing herself. "That's what I say....!!!!!", repsonds male #1, all excited. "She's said 'FOCUS', you moron!", remarks male #2 angerly to male #1. "whatever...." MALL RATS

:shock: Oh crap! I guess I just lost my job cause I have influenza. :roll: Seriously, as long as the EMS person is using proper PPE to protect themselves from the patient, it should also protect the patient from any possible cross contamination of disease from the provider. 8)

:shock: So wait.....Dust??? I thought you WERE God? At least you refer to yourself as one since you know everything.....but does this mean you're a woman then? 8) Busting your stones, young man.....lol. :wink:

So after reading everyones responses, the only thing that comes to my mind is HOLY CRAP. :shock: Yes, pun intended. :twisted: Like I said before, believe whatever you wish, just don't mix your beliefs into your medicine. Want to say a prayer? Good ahead, good for you, but don't do it in front of me because your beliefs aren't the same as mine. It's more on the level of respect to your fellow peoples.....that's all. :wink: