maverick56

I'm going to make an educated guess that our new friend here is pretty fresh out of AIT and looking at his first deployment. His "hooah" enthusiasm and go/no-go judgments are pretty typical of an 18-19yo E2/E3 with no real experience. To Doc D, this is not meant as an insult to you. I love your enthusiasm and pride, and it's important to have. But slow down a minute and take a little time to think about what you say in your posts. You seem to genuinely want to learn and engage with people here and that's great! There is a lot of great information to be found here and eons of experience to pull from among the members. But keep in mind that this isn't a military forum. Going all hooah on people won't get you much. Also realize that you are taught very specific skills in AIT for very specific circumstances that are very different from what most folks here operate under. And those AIT skills, though great building blocks, are not the only or even best way of doing things - even in the Army. As you advance in your career, especially thru deployments, you are going to learn many ways of doing things, many new skills, and develop your own style. Even in the Army, every medic has their own style, every team has their own system, and every unit has their own SOP. The best thing you can do here and in the field is to observe as much as possible, take bits from what you learn and find your own style outside of what instructors have drilled into you. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

You are correct, a SAM can create a functional traction splint, but it's not my first choice, even in the field. I know all about surviving out of your aid bag, I was a line medic as well. Just wondering, have you ever used a CT-6 or Kendrick traction splint? They are compact, weigh 1 lb or less and are highly effective. I know it varies greatly unit to unit what or how much alternative/personal equipment you're allowed to carry, and we are given a lot more freedom that way in the guard, but it's always worth looking into. An M-16 also makes a pretty good traction splint, but that's definitely a last resort to take away any type fire power. That's unconscious and prompt evac.

Yep, was AGR with the Michigan Guard. Deployed with the 18th Airborne Corps.

SAMs are fun to play with and can be handy, but realize that you likely won't use one (or many other splints) in-theater. It's much faster, efficient and practical to body-splint or use the pt's own equipment.

6.5yrs 1-125th IN (AA), 38th ID here. 2 tours in the sandbox and Katrina. Welcome to the City!

Hahaha, those are camel spiders (aka 8-legged spawns of satan). We found them going at under my buddy's bunk. And an inflatable pool table?? Can't say I've ever seen one of those.

Well I haven't had any civilian crew quarters yet, but this is definitely the strangest/creepiest thing ever found in my medevac chalk quarters.

That's just disturbing

Hey everybody! I'm finally breaking down and asking for help. I have a 10pg (9 with a cover) research paper to write that's due next Tue. I've been trying to work on it all week and I'm not really getting anywhere. Topic - "Cardiology of a Rhythm". So wonderfully vague in my instructor's usual style. I figured a single rhythm was just way to narrow, so I'd take a classification instead. I was thinking I'd focus on AV blocks since they tend to stump me more than the rest, logical right? So now I'm trying to find info and figure out how to come up with 10 pages. I thought taking the approach of a case study (or studies) and breaking down the pathology/cause behind the rhythm and how it could progress would be cool (and take up space). Problem is, I'm having a heck of time finding anything useful and my eyes are going buggy scrolling through Google results. Any ideas? Should I even try a different set of rhythms? Ventricular maybe? Any input would be appreciated because I'm just spinning my wheels here and I have a hard enough time focusing as it is. I need some direction. Thanks in advance!

Hehehe, sad but funny. I have fun now and then (when I know they're ok) following the usual "what year is it?","how many fingers" etc with something like "what's the capital of Peru?". The facial expressions are priceless and it helps break the ice.

Exactly!

So far, I haven't seen anything about hating volunteers, just sub-standard providers. If that so happens to often be true of volunteer services, well, certain stereotypes can evolve. Personally, I have nothing again volunteer services - most around my area are. Some have members have fitting the stereotype to a "t", others are well-trained, high-speed organizations that provide quality care to their communities. Volunteer or not, I think the whole idea of "ambulance drivers" is a bad one. I understand that they may be in a bind, but the logic that offering sub-standard care is better than no care is flawed. Rather than recruiting for drivers, why not recruit for an EMT class? Hell, even an MFR class would be better than random people driving. Running skeleton crews is just asking for trouble. And yes, that is what this whole thing implies. A service isn't going to put out a desperate blurb in the local paper begging for drivers just so they can run 3-man crews. No, it's going to run when they don't have enough trained providers to cover shifts and are trying to spread things thin versus addressing the real problem. They are putting themselves and their patients at risk, not to mention the untrained and unprepared do-gooders and adrenaline seekers they'll attract. I mean come on, they're not even talking about requiring CEVO or other such ambulance/emergency-specific driving safety protocol. It's stupid!

A prime example of why I despise unions.

You mentioned that he is on Adderall. I would ask him (maybe away from dad) if he has taken more than his usual dose recently? If so, how much and for how long? Although this would generally cause his HR and BP to go up, there's always the exception to the rule. Meanwhile, Adderall frequently causes conduction problems and chest pain in rare occurrences. I would also check drug levels in labs. Also, has he tried anyone else's meds, maybe at school? Mixing of ADHD drugs can be bad news.

I've got you all beat - Ojibwa. Yup, that's right, I grew up near reservation land and it was required in elementary school. Not the most useful real-world language and I don't remember much.

Thanks! Speaking of resources, I don't know if any of you have used visual translators, but they are life-savers (literally). A good friend got a couple for me before my first deployment and they were indispensable. The same company makes EMS and medical versions that I plan to purchase. These are useful for anyone with a communication barrier (hearing impaired, language, non-verbal). Kwikpoint Visual Translators

I voted An online option is way easier than looking for medical spanish classes. Regardless of how I feel about immigration or a national language etc, I want to be able to provide the best care possible to my patients, and that requires communication. I've had to treat enemy combatants before, and I sure as hell didn't agree their politics (or anything else for that matter), but I learned enough of their language to provide proper care. If I can handle that, learning a little basic Spanish isn't asking much. Just as soldiers are "apolitical" in the public eye, so are medical providers in their practice. We have a duty and oath to uphold regardless of circumstances. edited for wording

PT & OT assistants require an associates and they don't do much more than set out supplies and walk patients most places. Most of the tech jobs (radiology, surgical, cardio etc) at least prefer an associates in that field, but some will hire medics with the right experience. I just applied for a surgical tech position, for example. I was told I was qualified based on experience (but I also have a BS in biomechanics, so...). Maybe try one of those healthcare/allied health career interest/info sites?

Follow-up story - the "Mexican-American" (not only do I despise hyphenated titles, it is debatable how many are legally Americans at all) students staged a protest at City Hall. American Flag Clothing Sparks New Protest In my humble opinion, whether the students meant to make a statement or not (which I'm sure they did, as I would have), this did not, and would not have, become an "incendiary" incident until the administrators made it one by directing attention to it, by their actions, telling the students that these boys had (1) done something wrong, and (2) that the Mexican's should be offended. They guaranteed that it would become an issue! So guess what? Now they have a huge, national controversy on and have incited racial tension in their city and school. Congratulations! Oh, by the way, Dwayne? I love that Roosevelt speech! One of the first things that came to mind when I read the article. edited for formatting Multiculturalism: Respecting all cultures except your own. The backbone of our educational system right there.

Are we in elementary school?

Alex, here's a little more concrete info for you from the Michigan Public Health Code: Nontransport prehospital life support operation - licensing Act 368 of 1978 333.20927 Nontransport prehospital life support operation; duties; prohibitions. Sec. 20927. (1) A nontransport prehospital life support operation shall: a. Provide at least 1 nontransport prehospital life support vehicle with proper equipment and personnel available for response to requests for emergency assistance on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week basis in accordance with local medical control authority protocols. b. Respond or ensure that a response is provided to all requests for emergency assistance originating from within the bounds of its primary dispatch service area. c. Operate only under the direction of a medical control authority. d. Notify the department of any change that would alter the information contained on its application for a nontransport prehospital life support operation license or renewal. e. Provide life support consistent with its license and approved local medical control authority protocols to all patients without prior inquiry into ability to pay or source of payment. (2) A nontransport prehospital life support operation shall not knowingly provide any person with false or misleading information concerning the time at which an emergency response will be initiated or the location from which the response is being initiated. (3) A nontransport prehospital life support operation shall not operate a nontransport prehospital life support vehicle unless it is staffed, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as follows: a. If designated as providing basic life support, with at least 1 emergency medical technician who is on board that vehicle or if approved by the local medical control authority with at least 1 emergency medical technician who is at the emergency scene. b. If designated as providing limited advanced life support, with at least 1 emergency medical technician specialist. c. If designated as providing advanced life support, with at least 1 paramedic. You should also look over state EMS licensing info: MDCH. Basically, it's possible to start a business, but it's not as simple as saying "hey, I'm an EMT, I'll work you're event." Where are you at exactly? A lot of larger campuses have on-campus first response units they may use for events. Also, have you tried any security firms? They often hire EMT/guards that work various locations. Check out Securitas. edited for formatting

As an EMT, you have no license to practice medicine. You are an extension of a medical director, practicing under his/her license as an MD. No med control - no license. I feel your pain, having been unemployed in Michigan for over a year now, but, no, you can't hire yourself out as an EMT. As for an agency to cover events etc, I don't know but you can always look. I do know that a couple services in Detroit were hiring for on-call/contingent Basics to cover Wings games and stuff at Cobo. When I was job hunting this fall, before I started medic school, there were positions posted in GR, Detroit and the Flint area. Look more metro. I'm in small-town northern MI so I can't really tell much more than that. Good luck!

I also live in a very rural area and most services have pretty long transport times. Quite a few of the more outlying services around here are using the LUCAS automated CPR device to help avoid situations like the one you described. I haven't had the opportunity to use it myself yet (I'm still job hunting), but from what I hear from guys in my medic class, it's been a huge advantage in cardiac cases. The nearest cardiologist is at least 40 min for all in my class, up to 2hrs for some, and they are small depts, usually just 2-man teams with 1 medic, 1 basic. This device not only saves a set of hands (and energy), it provides more effective CPR by providing an active decompression, allowing a greater decrease in interthoracic pressure (during recoil) and an increase in venous return. LUCAS