fireflymedic

Yes, they can still see, however, every patient I have seen given a paralytic (even those who were not sedated prior due to medic ignorance - see previous post) close their eyes - it seems to be a reflex. That is why the comment has been made that the patient appears to be asleep, but actually is not and is fully aware of what is happening. They can feel pain, process fear, etc. If their eyes were opened, they would be very much able to see.

thanks wild iris also has several free classes every month and mediced has a yearlong subscription for $55.00 a year I think it is, or you can pay by class if you like. Both are approved by ccebems. Worth looking into if you are stressing for those magic hours !

I have seen many things which state that a great majority of physical illness has some sort of psychological component. I do believe that is the case here, but we already know that physical or psychological stress predisposes the body to illness as it lowers our defenses. Interesting topic indeed.

By no means should these medics face disciplinary action. It was neccessary to sedate the dog in order to treat the person - doing anything else would have been unethical as you would have prolonged the suffering of both human and dog needlessly. I have heard of one other instance (I wish I could remember where) that a swat medic did treat an injured K9 during a situation - but was only one injured - no humans involved. At least they were able to ease the suffering and the dog was no longer unaware of the need to treat his owner as well. I should only hope that in the future they are willing to step up to care as needed. Personally, I see this as no different than providing oxygen to a dog or cat following a fire - some services carry specialty masks for that reason. It is treatment nonetheless and that is done without the assistance of a vet. They attempted to cover all the bases. Kudos to them for their care and compassion, and my sympathies to the officer on the loss of his partner.

I'll be the first to say KY is probably one of the toughest states to crack down on myspace postings. Many employers here have a "morality clause" and yes, myspace seems to fall under that. I think long and hard before I post anything and never mention anything about my specific employer, nor scene pictures. Everything I have on my page is either training photos and specifically stated as such OR public pictures which were in the paper and already public knowledge and posted with the permission of the department. For those of you that have seen my page, yes I have pics from my previous employers with their approval. I am very cautious about what I post as I have worked much too hard to lose my job to stupidity. Do I think a person has the right to post what they like on a site ? Yes if it pertains to them and does not identify themselves as a professional within a program or the program itself in a negative light. Also, any violation of HIPPA - well sorry about your luck. I have no sympathy for you. Think long, think hard, think smart before you do something stupid. It may be your job and worse your license/certification.

My comment was directed towards those that call us or others call and say pick them up they are drunk or high (and perfectly aware that is the only problem). We used to frequently get those calls and really it was not much. The cops would just pawn them off on us so they didn't have to take them to jail, or given the choice, they chose us over jail. These are your prime candidates for rehab/detox centers. If there is any question - then they need to go to the hospital for full evaluation OR if there is a question of alcohol intoxication which is also a very real possibility.

Wish granted, but you are now blind, deaf, mute and unable to read braille so it does you no good anyway ! I wish I knew what to eat for lunch.

Squint - I'm happy to stay where I am in rural america. I am very content but I did live in canada (ontario) for 9 months and enjoyed it quite a bit. I had a job promised me if I wanted to stay, but obligations at home made me return to the states. I couldn't uproot everything I've built here to go somewhere else, especially right now, but its okay. Thanks for the info though and enjoy your overload of snow - I prefer my more temperate weather !

thanks squint - I was just kidding on packing my bags. I'm quite content where I'm at now. That all being said though - i was just curious how the reciprocity for between provinces stacked up to between the states - not from states to canada or vice versa. Thanks though.

I live in the middle of nowhere, however I would highly recommend Lexington, KY or immediately surrounding areas. It's a fantastic area with plenty to do and lots of history. PRO : If you are into civil war stuff, there's several recreation things done in surrounding areas. Hiking? One of the best areas at Natural Bridge close by. Sports? There's the UK Wildcats and Thoroughblades (a minor league hockey team) and Legends (triple A ball and a great time). Horse racing? Historic eautiful Keeneland is nearby and a great time can also be had at the Red Mile if you like harness racing. The Rolex three day event is held yearly at the horse park which is olympic level competitors and the Kentucky Horse Park has an amazing drive through christmas light display every year and other awesome events throughout the year (some horsey, some not). Also, the site of the 2010 World Equestrian Games (yeah, horse capitol of the world alot revolves around it) Biking? Several mountain trail biking and road racing groups. Restaraunts? Plenty of good food - lots of variety in all price ranges. Dancing and Clubbing? Plenty of types of places from swing dancing, to line, to country, to hip hop, to ballroom. Artsy type stuff? there's opera, ballet, museums, etc and lots of concerts at Rupp Arena year round for everything from Rascall Flatts to Buckcherry to Celtic Women. Crime? Pretty quiet not too bad. Housing? Quite reasonable (especially right now, or just outside lexington). Jobs? One of the few areas that is actually expanding. If you're in healthcare, jobs are very plentiful especially. Primary EMS is fire based, but there are two private services in the area, and surrounding areas are county based with very decent retirement (though pay in some places - especially as a basic can suck). However, alot of industrial, workman's comp, hospitals, etc hire EMS so it's fairly easy to find a job. If you are nationally registered basic or medic you have direct reciprocity if your current state license is in good standing. Computer technology stuff is also fairly big in the area as well. As far as healthcare, you've got UK (pretty decent level 1 trauma center) and two other large nationally recognized heart hospitals that are private. Traffic - pretty easy to get around courtesy of I-75, I 64, and Circle 4 (aka the ring around lexington) by which you can get almost anywhere in 30 min or less. Also a bunch of little festivals going on all the time in surrounding areas year round, so if you are into that type of stuff, it's pretty neat. Also, if you're into arts and crafts, Berea (about 30 min south) has all kinds quilts, country stuff, etc. And the farmer's market just rocks ! Plus the southern hospitality is alive and well there. And the temp - pretty temperate for the most part though you get a beautiful changing of seasons. Now the CONS : Avoid the little local community hospitals - most of them are awful. If you are outside of lexington or louisville, healthcare is questionable in some areas. Also, many areas are pretty rural and it can take a good bit of time to get a response if you need one (average is 30 min outside city limits). If you aren't an outdoors person, well, there just isn't much to do. Almost everything revolves around the outside and if you don't care for it, other than shopping (which isn't that great - go to louisville, knoxville, or cincinatti) and movies, there's not much here. If you don't like rain, then you'll need to move for the months of March and April - that's monsoon season. The other big gripe is they don't know how to handle snow unlike other states - 3 inches and they think the world is coming to an end. Biggest problem isn't so much snow, it's ice and with the little back roads it can make for interesting commutes sometimes if you are very far off the interstate. Overall though, it's a pretty good place to live I think, especially if you like a laid back pace and beautiful scenery - it's definitely for you. But if you prefer the big city lifestyle try going to Louisville or Cincinatti (though I highly advise against cincinatti - hate that place, louisville isn't bad though). Check them out at http://www.lexchamber.com/ Good luck in your search !

You run the risk the same as any barotrauma with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, the benefits far outweigh the risks. More than just carbon monoxide patients benefit from it burn patients, poor healing wounds with diabetics, divers, etc are only a few more that can benefit. It was definitely to the patient's benefit as the affinity of carbon monoxide to hemoglobin is much higher than oxygen.

+5 for the explanation Vent !

how'd it turn out ?

Dust has it pegged right there

rest in peace

Can we just have a direct link to rehab centers and drop them off at the door? Sometimes I wonder if that might not be more beneficial than continuing to overburden an already stressed healthcare system.

Understand nothing is recession proof. I look for it to be much harder on private services than public. We're already seeing the start of the cuts, and it won't be until we are gone that they realize how badly we are needed.

Just really depends on the hospital and what your capabilities/motivation is. If you have CNA training as well I know it's a benefit in this area, but I don't know if that's acros the board. The biggest reason for this is they have had a problem with straight EMS workers being lazy. Of course that doesn't apply to all, but to a good portion kind of giving EMS in the ER a bad name. This has been especially true with medics in the ER to supplement nurses. However, if you jump in and work hard you'll get to see and do quite a bit once they learn your comfort level and motivation. The skill set there is entirely different as it's more like a mass casualty of butt wiping and bed changing sometimes compared to one or two patients on the street. However, depending on where you are, you may draw labs, run the labs, double as a clerk, transport, and any other variation of things. That pretty much covers it. Keep your eyes and ears open and mouth shut and have fun.

You suck tyler ! Wish granted, but now it is flooded I wish my laundry would do itself

It takes three things for something to burn an ignition source, a source of oxygen, and continued combustible material - you deprive a fire of any one of those things, it's done for. Also lone - that's awesome video - right in my old neighborhood ! Gotta love it BTW, I hear lays potato chips burn quite well - haven't tried it but rumor has it....

I hold and held several states reciprocity within the US while having NR. I have maintained NR as a medic as well and I will say by far it is easier to move within the states as a medic than it ever was as a basic. The gaps in skills between states was incredibly frustrating and the multiple bridge courses required to achieve the reciprocity was annoying as some states have chosen to do away with the emt basic and create their own entry level somewhere between basic and intermediate. If we really did have a national scope of practice to where you could just easily go between states by handing your card and showing proof of successful continuing education as it is for some states, then I would be alot happier. However, that is not registry's problem, it falls to the individual states. Overall though, NR does a reasonable job of evaluating a potential candidate as a basic or medic and as RR911 stated, it is much easier in comparisson than many other licensing/certification exams.

Poof, wish granted. You now have a new cell phone that works but the voice on it sounds like the teletubbies ! I wish it weren't raining right now

Yes, with the lack of successful pediatric intubations, yes most likely, especially if you are a newer medic you would benefit the child just as much to do an OPA and bag (provided no gag reflex is present). Now for long periods of time in extended transport, you may have to deal with the issue of gastric insufflation which is bound to happen over a longer period - so one point to consider. You are correct in the fact that additional training with pediatric patients would be beneficial, however, few services are willing to committ to maintaining the skills we have currently it may require medics to travel outside of their area to a pediatric specialty hospital in order to get a reasonable number of successful peds intubations of various ages. In some areas that may be quite a distance. Currently, that's not a popular thought - it is difficult enough for medic students to get live OR intubations in adults, much less pediatrics. It's a tough line. It can be beneficial if done properly, but across the board I think most people would say the risk out weigh benefits to most.

Depending on how rowdy we are, psych drugs can go a long way to being safe and preventing further issues on down the road. In addition, they most likely will be utilitzed in the ER in addition to leather and/or fabric restraints. I most certainly wouldn't go the handcuff route that's for sure. I would be having med control on board with me though for this one.

Is it a fairly smooth transition to transfer between provinces or is it much like our disjointed NREMT which is supposed to allow us to go from state to state , but in actuality just makes things harder?