Asclepius

The American Heart Association had not published any position regarding this. Our current recommendations remain in effect to do compressions until the shock is ready to be delivered and to clear the patient prior to the release of energy. Regards, ECC Programs American Heart Association 7272 Greenville Avenue Dallas, TX 75231

So who watched House tonight? I was seriously peeved when he looked at the Paramedic and told him to start an IV in the patients tibia. The Paramedic gave a bland stare and then House made a comment about how they don't teach that in EMT school. First of all, that was deeply offensive to our profession. Secondly, IOs are most certainly taught in Paramedic training around the nation. The mere fact that the Paramedic had to step away from the patient and ask House what to do was insulting. Why does every show that has an EMT in it have to make us look like a bunch of inept fools who can't do a professional job on our best days? House is one of my favorite shows, but I was ticked tonight.

I read, with great interest, the article in this months JEMS concerning retraining rescuers to keep their hands on the patient during biphasic defibrillation. I was intrigued, but not convinced that it is entirely safe, so I emailed Zoll to inquire about the safety. I also Googled to see if there were any articles that spoke to the subject. Below is what I discovered. What do the rest of you know about this? Anyone else hesitant to keep their hands ON the patient DURING defibrillation? I wrote to Zoll and asked them about the safety of keeping your hand on a patient during defibrillation. They responded that you should NEVER leave your hands on a patient during biphasic or monophasic defibrillation, because the rescuer could receive the shock themselves. That being said, I did look for scholarly articles that supported the claim that hands on defibrillation is safe for biphasic defibrillation. I would be interested in seeing some of the science behind this article. I wrote the AHA for their comment and have not received a response. What follows is the responses I got from Zoll and the link to one scholarly article that I found. "Always stand clear of victim when delivering a shock. Defibrillation energy delivered to the victim may be conducted through the victim's body and cause a lethal shock to those touching the victim." I responded for clarification and received the following response. "ZOLL Medical does advise on how to train EMS personnel. ZOLL Medical can advise that EMS personnel should always stand clear of victim when delivering a shock. Defibrillation energy delivered to the victim may be conducted through the victim's body and cause a lethal shock to those touching the victim." Then I found this article online: http://circ.ahajourn...tent/short/C...

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In my experience, many times they can afford the cab and/or they may even have an operating vehicle in their driveway, but they know they're not going to have to pay the ambulance bill, so they call us and like idiots, we keep taking them. I,too, worry about the potential can of worms this could unleash...but we've got to stop GIVING away our services to non-emergencies...so, who has other suggestions?

I just sent Kotex an email requesting information about this for EMS purposes. We'll see what kind of response I receive. I'll post it here, if I get one.

I get it Richard...I just don't think I want to support a lobbying group that is not supporting the things I think are important or that are supporting things I strongly disagree with. They're very vague on the things most important in America, like this Healthcare Bill, but take a position on something as insignificant as EMT participation in capital punishment. They have a position statement on the Healthcare Bill, but it couldn't be any less committal than it already is.

It's ironic that someone posted on this thread bringing it to my attention again. My NAEMT membership is due to renew. I have decided I am not renewing my membership with the NAEMT for two reasons. One is because I strongly disagree with their position on EMS participation in executions. The second reason is because the NAEMT has not made a public stand denouncing the Healthcare Bill. I, for one, support capital punishment and I think someone has to carry out the sentences. It's not like the people being executed don't deserve it.

I know many people who volunteer mostly because there is a need in their community. And while you're correct, the initial training is the same, many volunteer's do not do as frequent as training or get some of the additional certifications that working for a paid service would provide. I think that if you were to do a comparative study on the certifications paid staff have compared to the certifications volunteers have, you'd see the point I'm trying to make. I'm not saying anything to disparage the volunteers, I just think paid services tend to invest more into the education of their staff than volunteer services can afford to. I hope you feel better soon.

Not at all. I'm saying without volunteer's the EMS system we enjoy would be even farther behind than you seem to think it is.

This is as absurd as claiming you're too fat and that the IV attempt is cruel. If that person was having a heart attack and they tried multiple times to start the IV for the meds and the patient was saved then that would be okay. If you have to be stuck, however, multiple times to be executed then it is cruel. Come on, you're being executed because you showed no mercy for your victim(s). Frankly, I think that executions should happen more frequently for more types of crimes and I don't really care how cruel and/or inhumane the process is. Violently rape someone...death. Molest a child....death. Torture a civilian....death. The list goes on and on.

Volunteer Departments are the backbone of EMS in America. The problem with Volunteer's is that they're volunteers. They're not required to participate in all of the training that a typical career EMS provider goes through. They also don't run the call volume that paid services do. EMS is not typically their passion or career choice, but they do it because if they didn't, who else would? As a state regulator, I see many different kinds of agencies. I see good and bad volunteer agencies and I see good and bad paid agencies. Volunteer's most generally do the best they can with the resources they have. Sometimes they knock it out of the park and other times they do just enough to get by. I can say that of some paid agencies. Do the best you can to thank them for their valuable service and encourage them to improve in areas of weakness. Without volunteers EMS would not be the success it is in America today.

I think this was a good call by the prosecutor's office. No matter what you think of this matter in general, the medic ended a bad situation and stopped it from getting worse.

Welcome! Tis a noble profession that you've chosen to pursue. You will need to become American Heart Association CPR certified, but many of the EMT programs include that in their curriculum. Not all do, but many do. So wait until you find a program. It can't hurt you to take an anatomy and physiology class. As you progress in levels of training, each level will teach you more about A&P, but I have found -having been an EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate and now an EMT-Paramedic - that none of the EMT level A&P classes are as in depth as an acutal college level A&P class. I always recommend becoming Nationally Registered as an EMT at any level. Most states require NREMT for reciprocity and initial licensing. At any rate, the answering to your question is no. You must attend an approved EMT program, complete the clinical and field internship, take a written and a practical examination to challenge any level of EMT test. For Indiana, if you go here, it will help you locate programs in the Indy area. Wishard has an ambulance service and if you contact their EMS educator, I am sure they will be happy to help you find a great class in the Indy area as well. I live and work outside of Indiana, but I was raised near Ft. Wayne. If I can be anymore help to you please let me know. Your fellow Hoosier! http://www.stvincent.org/education/ems/emtcert.htm http://education-portal.com/emt_certification_indiana.html http://degreedirectory.org/articles/EMT_Classes_in_Indiana_Which_Indiana_Schools_Offer_EMT_Certification_and_Training.html Just a few I found with a quick Google search.