firedoc5

Meteorology sounds intriguing. But not a "Weather Man".

Don't forget the pickled eggs.

It was pretty much both. Civilians can not take it. You must be with a Police, Fire, or EMS. It didn't effect personal insurance that I know of. I guess you could consider it an advanced DDC. Classroom was either 4 or 5 hrs. I'm not sure which. It was actually through Southern IL Univ. Since Police were taking the class also we learned pursuit driving and PIT maneuvers. We all did it all. Like I said, it was a blast.

If coming around with Narcan, accidental doubling up on home Rx? What is wife's meds? Use of wife's valium, narcotic, anti-anxiety med? I know the Narcan wouldn't effect it, but ETOH? Or did I miss that? Is there an increase and improvement of resp?

Wonder how many deer steaks you could cut if you just hit the front of him?

I always tell patients that ambulances don't ride like a Cadillac. Many times I wish I was buckled in, but having to move around a lot sometimes prevented that. Get a hold on the OMG bar and hang on. YEE HAW

Illegal = NO Tolerance.

Beat me to it. O2 Sat? Any improvement with LOC with O2? Any voluntary or involuntary movement? Any Rx of Digitalis, PO Insulin? Also possible CVA. Good mention of meningitis, reaching but something to keep in mind. Also, with the snoring resp. consider aneurism. Lost my Fire Capt. to an aneurism. Outstanding scenenario.

That's what I've always said. You can't drive them like a regular car or pick-up truck. It's a whole different animal. (pardon the pun). It's not just rolling it, it's how hard it seems like they hit the first tree and then additional trees.

One thing that has always stuck with me from when I was first starting out, at first, if it's irregular, think a-fib. From there just break it down to confirm a-fib or another dysrhythmia. It has served me well. Don't get in a hurry when identifying a strip. Take your time. You'll find out that more actual strips, not always generated one's, how much quicker and more accurate you can be. But even cardiologist and rhythm techs. call back to the basics when they get something funky show up.

You did as well as anyone else could in that situation. You can ask some questions but keep them simple. If they seem to be physically and emotionally traumatized try to keep them at ease, don't raise their stress levels. You can try to get them to think about something else. Sometimes they can be really unpredictable. Note everything they do say. Things they could say, even if it's something that is off the wall, could be used by professionals on what has occurred. And please leave it up to the professionals. Don't get too indepth. You just need to show compassion, understanding, and be at ease yourself. If you seem nervous or intense, they can feel that. Keep calm, cool, and collective.

Something I highly recommend is taking a Defensive Driving Course. If they offer one in your area, take it. Some areas I know it is unofficially required. Some services, when they have a new hire, require it within a certain amount of time to let them continue driving. The course we took was based on the same program that the test drivers for General Motors take. They put you in old state trooper cars and have obstacle courses laid out for you, including a "skid" area. On the passenger side where the instructor rides has a break pedal that they can select to lock up either the right or the left wheels. They pretty much cover any situation that you may come up against. There is also classroom and a written test. It's a blast. The first time we took it was to learn, and we did a lot. The second time was for kicks and giggles, but we still learned even more. Personally for me it was a real pleasure. Come to find out one of the instructors was from my home town and my dad had dated his sister.

That is what I immediately thought. How fast were they going to lose control like that? I hate to hear about it. Thoughts and prayers go out to all involved. And, how experienced was the driver. I know sometimes it's just a reaction to swerve, but that is where experience comes into play. And a defensive driving course is something I recommend highly.

Unfortunately it does happen. And since ambulances tend to be top heavy they'll roll more easily. From what I've read they are still determining what caused it, and who might have been at fault. I know it can be a real crimp in an EMS system. A couple of years after I got on the FD full time, the private service I use to work for went up in flames, losing six ambulances in the process. That left them with two. Even though everything was going up in smoke they still had a call to a coal mine. The unit that responded hit a deer and was taken out. That left them with one. The owners thought, what could happen next? But it was remarkable when other services loaned them two or three of their own rigs withing 48 hrs. So they wound up with eight more ambulances.

"China Grove" - Doobie Bros.

Me too. :laughing6:

A friend of mine sister wrecked a car to avoid hitting a squirrel. How embarrassing would it be to try to explain that you wrecked an ambulance to avoid hitting a small animal? A deer would be a little different. It depends on how much reaction time you have. If you know there is no way to miss it, no matter what you do, then don't swerve. I know one morning, very early, we were coming back from a coal mine call and we had a deer hit us, right in the side of the rig. It just sort of bounced off. Also had the same thing with a dog one night. Ran right into the side. Another service called our dispatch one night saying they hit a deer on the Interstate. Guess they were doing about 85-90 mph. It was a large deer. It actually shoved the radiator and fan against the engine block and totalled the ambulance. We had one crew take their patient to where they were en-route to, and our own mechanic went out to help until the tow truck got to them. Between deer parts and vehicle parts, it was a mess.

Surely we didn't scare him off, or he didn't realize that he was going to have negative responses.

Who? What? Me? Naw.

Amen, brother.

Both y'all be safe. Proud of knowing you both, brothers. 8)

Now you can say, "I'm on a mission from God". :wink:

No lecture intended, just trying to give sound advice. I know Basic may seem "like a joke", but it's necessary. You have to do it. And yes, it might bore you to death, but actually, have fun with it. But what is your rush? EMS will always be there. It's great that you are so determined, and that's how you need to be. Just don't get ahead of yourself. Right now until you do go through your more basic classes, you're just spinning your wheels with the advanced books on your own. You'll just have to go through it all again in class room studies. It's not wrong to read them, but it won't accelerate you in class. You will still have to go at the same rate as everyone else. Believe me, I know from experience. I've given this same advice to many EMT's coming up in the ranks, and to my students. Keep up the good work. You'll do great.

"Cocaine" - Eric Clapton

Oh, that's bad. Funny, but bad.