Siffaliss

Facetious is my middle name Here is a link for those registered in another province interested in being registered in Alberta: http://collegeofparamedics.org/pages/Registration/AgreementonInternalTradeMutualRecognitionAgreement.aspx For those coming from a different country, it's more of an ordeal: http://collegeofparamedics.org/pages/Registration/IndividualSubstantialEquivalency.aspx

I would like to express my agreement with this comment.

Five years? I would have said anyone who's been in a nursing home or homeless shelter once or twice ...

... so I guess all we need to give a drug to someone is a radial pulse? As for technomedic? Not sure what you're referring to there. I always treat the patient, not the machine and have had the privilege so far of learning from people who have been in the industry for over 30 years as well. There are however some invaluable pieces of information which for instance an ECG can provide, and certain drugs can or cannot be administered according to what that reading displays. So if what you're looking for is how I treat my patients which has really nothing to do with you, then I'd tell you that I don't jump the gun and give something simply because I can. I prefer to investigate as much as possible before "drugging".

I had heard something about a YEG PRU and yes that would help some. I don't however know much more than "I heard a mention of it". PRU5 is now staffed by Parkland but is in the city quite a bit.

Our government wasting money? Noooooooooooooo You think we paid the tab for that one? Uh huh. As for closing the Muni, all I can say is that's just plain STUPID. The increase in flight time for some of these short haul trips required within or near city limits will in many cases, likely negate the benefits of using STARS. Heck, there's probably a special little helipad at the International they'll want to close too! But Stelmach won't care, neither will Mandel ... until it's a member of their family who dies as a result of delayed treatment. Wait and see, wait and see ...

Not sure if some rural services here are still drawing labs. There is/was talk about doing it in the city at some point, not sure what's going on with that. We're within minutes of the hospital in most cases, which is probably why the paramedics aren't doing it now.

Uh huh ... and how can you properly diagnose an RVI in the field without a 12/15 lead? An EMT can go and obtain a 12 or 15 lead all they want ... they cannot however base any treatment they provide on those findings as interpreting those ECG's are not in scope.

Looks like we have ourselves a self proclaimed "quality control" officer. Liking or disliking or whether or not one thinks a post has "quality" or not, is nothing more than a matter of opinion. You have yours, I have mine, nobody is really the same etc etc. Some obviously have a hard time trying to handle that.

Meh

Heh ... who said anything about trust?

You say 70%? That is hopeful

Ok that's a little more clear. In Alberta if protocols dictate, an EMT can administer nitro however a line first has to be in place. As a rural EMT on BLS cars I never did feel terribly comfortable with that, so never did give it when opportunity presented itself. Good thing too, because as I recall several of those patients did have RVI (as we found out later by transferring them to the city for further treatment). As a paramedic student in an urban ALS service, I get to see a lot more cardiac patients, probably due to the sheer volume of calls we do compared to what I was doing while rural. So I guess I'm fortunate in the way that I've just seen more reasons why and why not to give it. It's a scary drug that nitro ...

I'd be willing to bet next year's wages that at least 80% of the public has no idea what the difference between a paramedic and EMT is. They all still call us 'ambulance drivers' but they sure do like the morphine a truck driver can give them, don't they?? I don't know if it's possible for every person out there to understand everything we can do. There is a lot really, and most people don't care much unless they actually need us for something. And I don't mean the B.S. of late like "I've got a sore throat so I'm gonna call 911". Bite me. As an example, the Vital Heart program. After a STEMI is diagnosed and the 12/15 lead sent to the VHR doc's Palm from our LP, he can tell us to administer lytics right on car then zip off to one of 2 cath labs for some sweet sweet angio. There have been news spots on this program, however it seems that the public quickly forgets about things like this. They forget that is, until they are a participant. So who knows, should we be giving the public a little more credit? Probably not

It was a bland question that provoked broad responses. The initial post merely stated "crime", it didn't state what type of crime. If the original question was actually specific to begin with, the replies might also have been specific. Instead, the "topic" if you will, was covered with a plethora of differentials. People started giving examples of what they say are crimes, and their thoughts on those crimes. So if we pretended the original question was a patient, they would have a chief complaint of "dizzy". Figure it out ... ... WAY off topic, but before someone criticizes bad grammar, they should take a look at their own.

Yeah, we're not talking about NSR and fib. Point is, you should still not be giving nitro without being able to start and maintain an IV. You should not be giving nitro without being able to obtain and interpret 12/15 leads. Why do something just because you can? That gets practitioners and patients into trouble ...

I never said the flu vaccine was the best way to prevent the flu (or other things for that matter). There are other simple things such as handwashing etc that can certainly help, that people seem to be overlooking. Really? Well thanks a million for that recommendation, because I never would have thought of that! I guess the dispatch information you receive is 100% correct AND complete all the time. As an example ... Last night we went for a 43 year old complaining of chest pain, no mention of any flu like symptoms at all. He's lying down, appeared to be resting. Soooo we go up to him and start talking etc etc, he starts productively coughing, telling us about his body aches and other flu like symptoms and ohhh now there's SOB involved. Then we get to hospital and get this guy registered only to find out at the hospital that he's MRSA+. So it must be better over there in BC because here we don't always get all the information one would need to make a call of whether or not to gown and mask, along with the usual order of gloves and eyewear. I guess we should start going into every single call on every single shift with every single piece of BSI imaginable, because here we can't always trust the dispatch information. (For you dispatchers out there, yes I know about the cards you have to use so no it's your fault). Tell me rock, are you putting on EVERYTHING before each call you go into? So when presented with something like that, say if there was only one mask on hand with the rest being elsewhere, I would cover the source first.

So what are you saying? That the EMT's have been trained on where the stickers go for 12 leads or how to fully interpret them? And are 15 leads right around the corner? And it's kind of silly to give someone nitro without having an IV in place first, rural or anywhere.

Regarding religion ... people need something to argue about right? There will never be peace as long as there is religion so I totally agree with what ak said here ... As for cows, I love them. ... especially medium rare with a baked potato

Last I checked, paramedics were able to give this shots. They did last year, and did a fine job I might add! (No, it wasn't me) ...

The fire department brought in a CPR ... you mean they brought in a code??? Ok, I can't really say much more than Jwade because he said everything so perfectly (+1 for that one, I'd give more if I could). Here are a few very simple and non-technical things I'd like to point out. How many codes have you actually been on and participated in? Have you NEVER seen a head turn purply/bluey from prolonged CPR? What about the veins in the forehead and temporal areas popping out? Would you also assume someone with cherry red skin complaining of nausea, headache, dizziness, maybe some altered LOC was fine because their sats were 99% on room air? Maybe just a little out of sorts hey? Or not ... I can't top what Jwade said quite honestly because I'm sure he's got more on me than 4 years, and I'm a little too tired to go browsing through my resources. What does meme think about all this?

Yeah, too much to read now so I'll read it all later ... It's not that urban services fear onsite treatment, you have it wrong there. Since we're urban and full time ALS, there is a lot of staying and playing done when feasible due to the additional resources that go along with an EMT-P. Because the call volume is much higher, I know that I prefer to travel light into a call when possible because if I don't, it would be too much wear and tear on myself and my partner. We bring what we need to when we need to. And when feasible for the patient causing them no further harm, it's Airway, Breathing, Can you walk? With the additional volume you just can't carry every single person. (However there have been nights where everyone has been carried ...) And yeah, due to the increased volume there is an increased risk of violence against EMS. I won't go in if it's not safe and police haven't arrived yet. Sure I want to help, but it's not my emergency and not worth getting killed over and leaving my daughter without a mother.

No no ... he was emailed!

Just don't get married to begin with! That's how I keep smiling

Is this a 9 year old's writing?