AMESEMT

I get a manual set of vitals first, then once in the unit I will use the automated if it comes to close to what I think it should be based on what the patient looks like. I have had times where it is different so I take a manual set and it does not even come close. It is a nice tool for when you want another blood pressure and you have a few other things to do. That way you can do several things simultaneously.

I didn't vote, but here are our options where I work as an ALS provider. We carry for pain: Nitrox Fentanyl Morphine Demerol I personally like to give the fentanyl. It seems like it is more effective as easing the pain versus the morphine, and without the drop in BP. Two days ago I had a patient that slipped on the ice and had obvious deformity to the left wrist. I gave her fentanyl and her pain went from 9/10 to 4/10.

Thanks but I have already accepted the position in Iowa and have already done all the paperwork and state licensing already. Plus I have already signed a lease. Thanks anyways! Hope you guys find people to fill those positions! Ames

Too bad I didn't know sooner! I am in KC right now but accepted a position in Iowa since no one in KC is hiring.

I say it was a good call on immobilizing her. Her bones are fragile with her hx and the possibility of a fracture are higher. The KED board though..... By the sound of it she was unstable and spending the extra time to put her in a KED is not warranted. Fiznat - According to ACLS pacing is necessary immediately, but atropine, epi, or dopamine can be used while waiting for the pacer. Since Nifty had help with the pacer I think it was a good call on the atropine and dopamine. I have transported people on a LBB with the head of the cot up some to elevate the head. You just have to make sure you loosen the straps on the cot before you do it.

Thanks for all the advice. I found out Friday after Thanksgiving I got the job!!!! I start December 22nd.

Thanks for all of the advice. My roommate and I talked to the agent this morning and we have worked it out. The apartments are in high demand and if they can get someone in, our lease is null and void once someone rents our apartment. The downside (or plus side) is that it is possible to move out very quickly. We are going to tell them the soonest we can move out and go from there. There is potential to move out without any problems (just forfeiting the $100 deposit).

So I have my first job as a paramedic. I am a little nervous. Going from student to the one in charge in the back is a little nerve racking. My preceptors say I know my stuff and I will make a great medic, and the National Registry says I am knowledgeable (since I passed the test). But I am still a little nervous. Maybe because for the past month I have been looking for a job and have been working part-time at a grocery store and have not been in the field, the other part of me says it is because I have had someone looking over my shoulder before and now I won't. Any words of advice to a new medic? Ames

Hey All, So I got my first paramedic job in Iowa. Right now I am in KC and thus have to move to Ames. Right now I am in the middle of a 12 month lease and will have to break it before I can move. My management company is not that nice and the lease only covers transfers (within a company) to another location. Anyone have any advice on how to get the rental company to allow me to break the lease at only 6 months? I tried to find a job in KC (applied at 5 different companies in the KC area) and no one was hiring. I have student loans coming due soon and I can't afford to stay on my meager hourly wage at the grocery store I work at, so I would not be able to pay rent as well if I stayed in KC. So I applied in Iowa thinking it was way out in left field that I would get the job. But here I am. I was going to explain it all to them and see how nice they will be. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Ames

Yea...I might scare them away. Unless they like hair, then they would probably hire me in an instant. LOL.

Not exactly sure which category to post this but since I was just a student not too long ago I will post it here. On Monday I have my first interview for a paramedic position. Besides looking nice (i.e. wearing a suit), what other things can I do to make myself more desirable (not sexually.....jeeze)? I want to give myself the best chance of being given an offer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated since I am new to the job hunt on the EMS side. I do have the ABC soup of certs (PALS, PEPP, AMLS, GEMS, ACLS, BLS instructor, PHTLS, and NRP). Thanks for the help! Ames

I PASSED!!!! You have to choose either A, B, C, or D for each question........

I wouldn't do just an NRB, bag them. If the person was able to protect their own airway stay basic. I ran a dude that was very intoxicated and was unconscious and unresponsive. Gag reflex we assumed intact. He was on the line of possibly needing to be intubated, but we did a NPA which worked. The only time I have seen anything even remotely like just doing the NRB on the tube was in the OR. They kept the person on the vent, but allowed them to spontaneously breath on their own without any mechanical help. This was after the surgery was finished and were waiting for the person to be conscious enough to protect their own airway.

um, the answers are.....A,B,C,D....... LOL

So I just got done with my test. WOW. There were a couple of questions on there that made me scratch my head. I answered like 80 questions in 45-60 minutes. I am sure hoping I passed. We will see in the next 24-48 hours. From what I have heard people say about getting done early it is typically a good thing. I hope that holds true!!!