Kaisu

Makes sense to me. I think the "dumbed down" version was just for openers. We are not finished the cardiology section yet and this instructor will sketch out the broad bones of a topic first, then fine tune it in subsequent lessons. That way we are always adding on to an existing knowledge base instead of trying to digest it all in one foul swoop. I really appreciate that way of learning and I certainly did not mean to imply that this was all there was to it.

cell phones are not allowed to be on in class. One guy lost all his points for the day because his phone rang. However, there was no supervision in the class during the test. Most of the people in the class think he is a loser, and 2 of the other top students urged me to turn him in. They told me they would back me if required. That feels really good - to know I am not alone. I still had to run it through my own head anyway. In case you missed the post, I did turn him in.

We are extremely lucky in our county. Their is a tremendous level of cooperation and mutual respect between the head of our paramedic program, the medical director, the FD and the privates that run in the county. This is a spirit of innovation and improvement that has risen up over 35 years. A lot of the credit can be laid directly at the feet of one paramedic. He received the first EMT-P license in the state (taught the class and got licensed in it), was the 5th NREMT in the country and has maintained the longest continuous license in the country. The medical director is totally approachable (through the right channels) but you better know what you are talking about if you challenge the protocols. Its not a perfect system by any means, but darn I'm proud to be a part of it.

Wow.. you people are amazing. I thought for sure she'd get blasted big time, especially considering her volly status. (If she's good enough to license then she's good enough to pay) . That aside, I will be 50 when I graduate as a paramedic. (a couple of months before grad anyway). I am a martial artist, blessed with great genes. I can kick the $$$$ out of most of the people that are younger than my underwear and I still have to deal with ageism from time to time. Thanks so much for the responses.

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate the time and the generous words. I did turn the student in. All along, I was worried not because of possible reprecussion, but because I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. I once cheated back in 4th grade and was caught. I'll never forget the humiliation and the shame that I felt. I mean who am I to point a finger ? The other part of it was that I don't respect the guy. He a me first sort of fellow and I'm not sure why he's in the field. I wanted to make sure that my personal feelings about him were not the main reason I wanted to turn him in. You all really helped clarify the issue for me and I totally appreciate it. Thank you again.

My instructor explained it as this : It takes about 1 hour for cardiac muscle to be injured and 6 for it to die. Often, there hasn't been enough damage until later for it to show up. I'm sure there are more technical answers but that one makes sense to me.

sounds like unstable angina that was on its way to an MI. Sometimes, they have no ECG or enzyme abnormalities at all. If angina doesn't resolve with nitro, we bring them into the hospital. If they have normal ECG/enzymes they are admited to the CDTU (cardiac diagnostic testing unit). Tests are repeated here for 12-18 hours. Often, the changes will reflect at that time. If all is normal, then we send them to the big belt sander (stress test). Anytime we pinpoint an MI, they go directly to the cath lab. So yes - it is normal for a patient to be having an MI with no changes in enzymes or ECG.

I'm pretty sure he would just blow me off... he's a bit of a jerk. Comes to class late, is often unprepared, etc. It would be the honorable thing to do all right. DAMN - I wish I didn't have to deal with this. It opens all kinds of questions that I'd just as soon not have to deal with. I really appreciate the input and the advice. I'm going to sleep on it.

In my paramedic lab, there is a student that cheats on the tests. He uses his cel phone to look up the drug trade/generic names. I really don't care what other people's marks are. What concerns me is that this guy is going to be on the street, taking care of people. I would not be comfortable with him taking care of me or someone I care about. What should I do? Should I turn him in. Would that make me a fink? Should I just mind my own business? I would really appreciate any input you may have.

I am delighted to do it Dwayne.. It is a real pleasure - and thank you for introducing me to Alyssa.

cool.. I can hardly wait till we start learning about the liver.

a patient wearing an onion bag called me an ugly white motherf****** I'm not ugly

My guess would be a pulmonary embolism with resultant decreased LOC, scream for pain (lung) and yawn to try and relieve atelectasis... but I am still learning

There is no way that a DVT can cause a stroke. Any clot must pass through the lungs first, which are a big giant filter system.

I only post from home. Mrmeaner, I noticed your location is slightly west of the frozen tundra. Are you referring to Green Bay? .. because Im about 35 miles west of GB.

My paramedic clinical partner is red/green color blind. He has worked for a couple of years on a 911 service as a basic. It hasn't bothered him or his employer. Good luck.

killjoy

There's darn little that an EMT can rule in or out either through lack of education or protocols. My guess is that they were instructed to take C-Spine and they did... and appear to have done a fine job of it as well as they didn't let go.

You weren't stuck - you were entrusted with caring for what may have been the most significant injury of this woman's life.

I went from basic to Paramedic school without any work experience as an EMT B. The program I am in puts a lot of emphasis on clinicals. We work shifts in the ED, OR, CCU and OB over and above our required ride time. We have over 320 hours in clinicals and and 216 on the ambulance. I feel very confident that this will give me more and better experience than any I could have gained as a transport EMT. I am not sorry that I went directly to paramedic school.

oh my gosh... I would have totally freaked... I am very glad that no one was hurt. Good story - thanks for posting

You are the Class Clown. This means you wear grease paint and have a big, red nose... I really need to stop thinking so literally... Anyway, I MEANT to say that you are the Class Clown, and this means that you are extroverted, mean, and arrogant. You are not very rational, so you gravitate towards things that produce feelings or emotions over thoughts (like fart jokes or spitballs, for instance). You are also an extrovert and rather full of yourself, so of course you want constant attention for yourself and think you are somehow better than others. (Upon hearing the expression "you are full of yourself", you probably also slyly feel the need to ask women if they would like to be "full of yourself" too. I am assuming you have a penis. I often make that assumption, being fond of the penis.) You can also be a bit mean-spirited, and like a class clown you wouldn't hesitate to make a joke at someone else's expense, no matter how terrible it would make them feel. A lot of people probably find your antics annoying, sophomoric, and desperately histrionic. Like some sort of crack-taking hyperactive monkey, you'd do anything, mock anyone, just to get someone to pay attention to you for five seconds. So your personality defects are that you have to be the center of attention, that you don't care about others, and that you are rather irrational and motivated by intuitions. Now stop walking around with those books on your head and sit down this instant! Or else I'll be forced to stand here, hands on my hips, doing nothing once again! To put it less negatively: 1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational. 2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted. 3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle. 4. You are more ARROGANT than humble. Compatibility: Your exact opposite is the Robot. Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Schoolyard Bully, the Smartass, and the Brute. * ha ha ha and the only penises I have are temporary

I made up about 4 sets of cards. The first set was the trade name on one side and the generic on the other. There was about 85 cards. I started 5 at a time, repeating them till I got them perfect. Then I would add 2 sets of 5 together. I did it over and over. My next set of cards had the class of drugs, then the mechanism of action, then the indications, etc. I repeated it every chance I had, eventually shuffling the cards. It took me 2 weeks to get them down cold and I scored 99% on the final in pharmacology. It took time, effort and a LOT of repetition. Good luck.

I copied that address and pasted it into a new tab. It worked very well.. better than linking. Your niece is going thru difficult times. I was glad to sign the guestbook and I will be back to sign it again.

This is the site I came up with Dwayne. Would you please confirm that this is your niece ? If so, I will post. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alyssa