ccmedoc

I would imagine if the mother has low blood sugars, dextrose must be administered to correct this. If the concentration bothers some, reduce the concentration to D25%, D12.5%, or D10%. This may decrease any potential injury to the fetus from sudden increase in glucose in the mother. In reference to the potential damage to the fetus, or use in pregnancy, I don't believe that it has been determined with certainty that it is 100% safe to administer the Dextrose 50%. It comes down to a risk benefit decision, and the preceding options apply (reducing concentration). It would be much more beneficial to raise the mothers glucose level than have her seize, or worse. It is not required to give the entire 25 g either...use your judgement ..

Fire generally stabilizes the vehicle, chops it up, and then EMS does the actual extrication..If necessary, a paramedic will get in the vehicle with the patient, but this doesn't happen all that often in my experience. Hose draggers around here are pretty proud of the extrication stuff..even have competitions with it by rolling back roofs and such. The specifics are beyond my concern as I could care less, as long as they can do it quickly and safely. Kinda like seeing who can roll hose the fastest.. :?: :jerk:

No..I don't think so. I would think if the person was sick and needed transport, the arrival of the ambulance may relieve some anxiety. Simply having a person there with no ability to transport the patient, official or not, would not do this. Most individuals that are truly sick or injured don't much care who is there, as long as they can expedite their arrival to the hospital, even though treatment may be started in advance. This is not to say that an ALS first response is not great, but I don't think a placebo effect is in play here. As usual..just my opinion :wink:

Absolutely. I can't think of a good reason to go to the intermediate certification or licensure. You probably won't be happy with the intermediate scope and go the paramedic route anyway. Cut out the middle man, as the experience won't help much in the end..

That would be a generous improvement...thank you 8) p.s. see this thread... Why do people get so offended???

NO THEY SHOULD NOT!!! This has been discussed here ad nauseum and there has not been one valid argument for Basic EMT intubating or initiating IV therapy.....NONE! Educate yourself youngin' :wink: :roll:

Although I understand the premise of joking with "non critical" patients, they still believe they are sick (most of the time), and a joke may be misconstrued as something more serious than you intended. I like to leave the jokes for another time. In my mind, joking, calling patients by any other name than Mr./Mrs. xxx, or a name they specifically allow is unprofessional. again...just my opinion...

Tourniquet..or a belt to hold the ace wrap in place.. :wink:

I agree..The original statement is ridiculous.

No they don't protect from blood..they leak as much as any. Some are treated with a barrier, but this makes them chafe and wears off quickly. Some are thicker, yes..Blood or liquid proof, not a chance.. Not a lot of difference between the first two here..other rhan the whacker pockets.. :roll: Slacks and EMS or these More pants or these Station pants The old adage; "you can tell how new to EMS a person is by the number of tools on their belt, or pockets in their pants", holds true and is sad. There is not many situations when you need flashlights, five sizes of shears, hemostats, tape, multi-tool, window punch, EMS how to guides (which I am against carrying on your person), glove holders, multiple radios, and the such. Most should be in your jump bag and will be with you anyhow..right? I have been tin the field for a long time..rural and urban...and I still have not seen the purpose of the "EMS" pant other than image. Not a great image to portray, at that. "Impractical" is all those pockets and no use for them..They look sloppy and are generally useless. The more yo put in them, the worse they look.. IMHO (Note: The pronoun "You" is being used as a general term and should not be taken to be "anyone" in particular" .

Just the written.....

Or a pint...depending on the size of the pocket... :oops:

Yeah, I think they do. Don't carry a wallet, ID and stuff in breast pocket of shirt, Maybe some tourniquets or alcohol in my pockets..Pens and stuff up top. I dont see the need to carry scissors and crap on your person if it is in the jump bag...IMHO Most full time ops provide uniforms and replace pants when needed. Price is not an issue at that point and everyone looks "uniform"...Not a mishmash.. Again..my opinin

Yes..Too many times and I still think about them sometimes. Funny how you never forget. Thats what I got too. I think any health professional would have some amount of guilt in losing this patient...even if the death was imminent. Nature of the beast, so to speak. In the classes and general public there is an aire of "we save everyone".....very soon it becomes painfully obvious this does not happen. Not even close. Try not to take personally the fact that the child died. The deed was done before you got there and, given the circumstances, you did the best you could according to you education and training. Education in this situation would have to include what the mother was telling you...not much. In the end, not much could have been done, and moving on would be the thing to do....

I think the duty slacks are much more professional and comfortable than any BDU or EMS pants I have had the "pleasure" or wearing. There is no realistic reason to have a pant with eight pockets in them for 911 ambulance use..none that I have been privi too. IMHO the EMS pants look amateurish and...how you say?... Whackerish..

I agree. Unsupervised IV initiation and fluid administration is WAYpast the Basic scope. If they are with a medic, it is supervised, and the paramedic trusts them to perform the task correctly...I have no problem. It is a plus to have a partner that can assist in this area...kinda brings us back to the "why don't we just have medic medic ambulances" or "no basics on emergency response ambulances" arguments. Both, by the way, I agree with...but I digress. :roll:

Forgot something......PERIODS Construct a coherent question, and you may get more answers. Just sayin..... :roll:

I find this VERY disturbing!! :shock: My friends or family won't be going there any time soon...

I wholeheartedly agree. The school board and their constituents, however, disagree. We (concerned parents and professionals) present this at every school board meeting and administration meeting, and this is what we get..AED boxes and epi-pens, first aid kits, Tylenol, Motrin, and a phone number to the community health for a doctor or nurse triage call...Not for lack of trying, though. After years of pushing for nurses at every school, even LPN nurses..the money goes to athletics. Kind of a catch there, as this is who may need the medical attention the most. We alway had nurses at our schools growing up, but the budget cuts mean no nurses, same number of teachers or less, possibly no extracurricular activities. Just doing the best with what we have..or what they (bureaucracy) will allow us. We are blessed with a great 911 system, all ALS, and dedicated community health professionals. I fear it may take a tragedy to allow for more progress in the 'school nurse or not' argument. I guess the "how much are your kids worth" argument doesn't work anymore.. The shame is that in most cases, at least the cases in this discussion, the community at large give the right thing away. The taxpayers paying the millage have a bit of a say in what they get. They just don't care until a preventable tragedy is at hand..(ie. Children dying from a beesting before 911 arrives..) As always, thanks for your insight. Agree or disagree with your opinion, your responses, or "rantings" as I termed it, are thought provoking and well written....Thank you for that..

We run full time, paid, 24/7/365 ALS in this area. All are private....absolutely NO volunteer action. The fairs are only for the schools and students. Included is fire safety, DARE, and first aid/medical Q and A.... Not really sure what that rant was about??

This woman was probably not seeking..I do agree that the Toradol does have an impact on the seekers around here, as does the tylenol..The drug seekers know we carry more, but don't give it that easy. Depending on the situation, NSAIDs are the bomb when sorting them out... edit: sorry for the double post...browser stuck :oops:

This woman was probably not seeking..I do agree that the Toradol does have an impact on the seekers around here, as does the tylenol..The drug seekers know we carry more, but don't give it that easy. Depending on the situation, NSAIDs are the bomb when sorting them out...

We try to have yearly health fairs. Try to get the kids and parents involved in the prevention of these things. The administration is on board, as it was pitched to the school board many years ago. I think that if the providers got together; the hospital, prehospital, and community health, the funds could be made available for this type of intervention/prevention package. Its not that hard to talk the administration into when the possible repercussions of not having these meds available are. Education, training, and education..for the parents, teachers, administrators, and the students (where applicable). The same thing we have been preaching in this, our profession.. Besides, AED is becoming common, if not required in most public settings. Addition of epi-pens or epi-pen jr, should not be an issue..they are not that expensive once authorized..

Yep...It happens....more than you think!!

Most students have health cards in the principal's office..all necessary cards pulled before drug administration. The teacher of the student most probably would not even do the deed. Schools like this have pre-appointed faculty to go to in times of crisis. Its not a BLS/ALS issue..it's a safety issue for the students. any pride should be left at the door for this argument.