Arctickat

From the court documents one can read that this "rescuer" was the type of person who is easily excited and prone to hysterics and over reactions. Add to this that she was drinking and doing drugs and I would surmise that she didn't put a whole lot of thought into anything including her attempt to rescue her friend in a somewhat prudent manner. If we, as medical professionals had done something like this, we would also have been held accountable. Why shouldn't she? Simply because she lacks the training that we have? Because she was too drunk and stoned to realize that her friend was in no imminent danger and could have stayed where she was? People told her to leave her friend where she was and that she was in no danger, but in her hysterics she didn't listen. If indeed that had been the case, but Torti by her own admission knew better. From the Court documents One question I find interesting is that there was another person unable to move in the back of the car. Why is it that Torti was only concerned with Van Horn and not with Freed who was the more gravely injured of the two? I contend that Torti acted stupidly and without thought to the consequences to Van Horn and that she should be held accountable if it can be proven that her actions did exacerbate the injury. Just as in Richard's post, people are always willing to help, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If people act stupidly because they don't know what they are doing, they have to be held accountable. There may not be a law against being stupid, but it's not e defense either. If this case makes people think twice about rendering assistance, I say good. Too many times I've seen people do stupid things like this because they thought it was the right thing to do, most of the time they were just lucky they didn't cause further harm.

I know he was Doc, he just did it poorly and I had to call him on it. Of course I missed the point, because you did not make it clear in your first post for all the embellishments you included. Leave out the fluff and crap like this won't happen. I return you to your regularly scheduled topic. Why then was she not prudent enough to move her friend away from the car after she pulled her out rather than leave her on the pole mere inches from the vehicle she thought was about to explode?

Then why not just say that rather than embellish your story with assumptions and rumour mongering? No doubt you've been around long enough to know what that does for people too.

Apologies for my misunderstanding, I understood the "I have no proof" disclaimer to apply only to the weight issue because of the way it was written. That's why I didn't call you on that too. Yeah, even if they are totally wrong.

I see nothing in the article that indicates this is how she was injured. Do you know facts of this case that are not common knowledge? Was this your patient? Were you there? This is quoted from the transcript located here: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme...ts/vanhorn7.pdf Granted, she's most likely full of crap and never had the belt on, but you don't know that and in the courts her testimony will be taken at face value. It just irks me when people pass off wild assumptions based on "educated" guesses as the probable facts when in truth there is no actual foundation in fact. [/rant]

Personal experience?

Are you asking me Crotch?

Funny thing is, our radio system is not recorded at the hospital, but our cell phones are...go figure. We use the cell to give report so that the nurses can't bitch us out because they're too distracted to bother to listen to our report and claim we didn't tell them we were coming in with a STEMI alert.

Benign Positional Vertigo. Google is your friend.

I haven't banned cell phones because they haven't been identified as a problem..so far. My staff each has 2 phones, one for work, the other is personal. There is a company policy preventing the driver from using a cell phone at all times that the vehicle is in motion. The attendant can use the cell phone at any time provided it does not interfere with patient care. If the driver's phone rings s/he can pass it to the attendant to answer it. As I said though, it's not an issue here likely because if they are on a transfer, it becomes long distance charges. That, and my youngest employee is 32 years old, most seem to outgrow the need to have a phone 24/7 by that age. I am trying to decide if I should include a handsfree bluetooth system in the ambulances because most of our patching is done by cell. There are so many cons to it that I can't decide if they outweigh the pros though.

Indeed, BCAS is one of the most efficiently run EMS services I've ever inspected. One drawback is that they were quite stingey with the ALS staff, only having them located in 3 or 4 centres if I remember correctly. This was a few years ago, perhaps things have improved. I just hope that when I hand over my patient to a BCAS crew for transport at the games they respect the fact that even though I have the title of First Aid Provider, I am significantly more trained than that.

Not from there? Sorry, it appeared that the English language was not something you are accustomed to.

So, how are things in Quebec?

I have all the incentive I need. My scuba gear is starting to shrink around my midsection for some reason. I'd hate to have to go out and blow another $2000.00 for some new gear that fits.

[web:55ad13e627]http://www.thestar.com/living/article/554219[/web:55ad13e627] London–In some cities, the sure sign that the Christmas season is in full swing comes when decorative lights are switched on. In others, it's the echo of familiar, festive tunes or the Santa-themed displays in department store windows. In London, we know it's really Christmas when the ambulance service erects the drunk tent at the rear of a platform in one of the British capital's busiest commuter train stations.

Hmm, Heliox huh? One more excuse to carry my scuba gear on calls Wonder if I can get orders for that. lol

I'd have to argue both of those points.

Sorry, that`s information I can not provide.

I've heard of this for COPD patients, does it work on asthma as well? I didn't think it would because of the different mechanism involved.

Let me see, I've dedicated my entire adult life and even some of my childhood to becoming a more proficient EMS provider. What does a volunteer do when he's not responding to a call? Do you spend your spare time attempting to research new treatments and innovations so you can better treat your patients, or do you go to work at the job you actually get paid to do? Maybe you're in school, I wouldn't know, you haven't shared that information. Regardless, the real issue is that volunteer EMS may be able to claim they are dedicated to their profession because they go to "meetings" once a month and do their 3 or 4 calls a week for free, but they have other priorities in the real world. How often have the volunteers in your organisation been unavailable to respond because they were too busy? I know of many that have had that problem. I do get paid well for my job, because that is my career, just like any other, one has to make a living. If one excels at his chosen career, one will be rewarded for his efforts. If one moans and complains about his workplace, he is unlikely to excel. A wise man once told me, "If you find a career you enjoy, you never have to work a day in your life." I haven't had to work for decades. Your patients may like you better than those rude fulltime EMTs, possibly it's because of the bill they get in the mail next week, possibly it's because those EMTs are 19 hours into a 24 hour shift and are dead tired but are so dedicated to their patients they don't want to hand them off to a volunteer who is more worried about getting his paycheck from his real employer rather than going to save a life. Perhaps they are ensuring these people are getting a well regulated standard of care than the hit or miss that occurs with a volunteer. The more I read these posts from Garfield Volunteers, the more I am reminded of a medic I fired a couple of months ago. His ego was far too arrogant and no one he worked with or for was good enough by comparison. He too made sure that others were aware of his dissatisfaction. Interestingly, this individual was fired from his job prior to working for me and fired from his subsequent job, for the same reasons. He has been placed on a black list and will never work in this province again. In his mind he was all about superior patient care and being the perfect medic, but his lack of professionalism undermined all of that and resulted in a level of incompetence in his treatments that he would not admit. Now he is a volunteer. CBEMT warned you what was going to happen here in the very first response to Paul's post and now you're mad at everyone for sharing their opinions. It's kinda like the 4 year old who's mommy warns him that the stove is hot, but he puts his hand on it anyways and gets burned. Then gets mad at his mom for not stopping him.

Didn't check the FAQ huh? I live in another country. Can I apply to volunteer for the 2010 Winter Games? Absolutely - however, applicants from outside of Vancouver and Whistler must secure their own accommodation during the Games. Volunteers will also be required to arrange and pay for transportation to and from Vancouver.

I believe they are still taking applications. Go here... http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/work-and-v...0lvx/index.html

It would depend if the laceration is actually located in the temporal region of the head I suppose. The BP could be anything with a head injury. You may want to research Cushing's Triad.

So, I got an e-mail today that I have been placed on the short list as a medical volunteer at the 2010 Winter Olympics and that I will be functioning under the title of a First Aid Provider, Athlete Care. Part of the experience offers an opportunity for training days at the Bobsleigh/Skeleton FIBT World Cup – Feb 1-7. I'm pretty excited to be involved since this is likely the only opportunity I will have to be a volunteer at the Olympics in my lifetime.

Laerdal has a patient simulator software program that looks kinda neat. http://www.laerdal.com/Navigation.asp?nodeid=21475622 3 versions include inhospital, prehospital, and military.