Arizonaffcep

Droperidol and ativan...ahhhh good times...

Most important inital question, is the vehicle stable to work around? Or do we need to either shore it up, or get FD to shore it up?

In the basic program that I run, after about 1/4 of the class time has elapsed (to cover A&P and other basic things), we start to do a LOT of hands on. In EVERY class day, we spend at least 1 hour doing hands on things. The class (from the beginning) is broken up into "rescue squads," with a different "squad" on duty each day. At a random point in the class, that squad will get "dispatched" over the radio, they get into the ambulance, and respond, using appropriate radio traffic etc. While this is going on, the rest of the class pulls out supplies (splinting, O2, etc) and works on their NR skill sheets until they get back. The squad, once they get back MUST do a transfer report (just like telling the RN at the hospital) and finish a run form. From there, a group critique is performed to answer questions and have a good discussion on patient care. Thus far, has proven a good thing. I can't believe that anyone would only have a couple of hours of practical experience in a basic class...if you think about the predominant learning styles for adults in this profession, what sense does it make to minimize or exclude it?

'Zilla left out one thing (which is something us in the Southwest have a minor specialty in), with all that walking/falling dehydration, the rapid fluid bolus will also help to flush the kidneys out for what is bound to be a good case of Rhabdo.

On 3 separate occasions, I have had to hike into area parks (one of which was all the way up Picacho Peak) to get to Pts before they were air lifted to the hospital.

Not sure how you can do the placebo (without an actual one) for MDI's, but for the NTG spray, you could just use water and food coloring to make it an accurate color. This is what I do for medic class when the students are using drugs. Seeing as most look and have the consistency of water, it makes it fairly easy...with a lot less liability!

I forgot to include, we were both back to work at full capacity by 6 wks.

Both my wife and I (the standing joke is we are a "pair 'o medics") have had the vertical sleave gastrectomy. This is a new option, and MOST places consider it still as experimental. The "Gold Standard" for weightloss surgery is the bypass, but studies have found that this (the "sleave") is basically just as effective, and it is less invasive. The Band, which we had both considered works well about 60% of the time. I know myself, and I'd be one of those idiots who'd get the band, and then with a syringe and NS, decide how much I can eat each day. The bypass kinda scared me a little. Then my surgeon talked to us about the sleave (which, thankfully our insurance covered). Basically, what it is, is they insert (via laproscopic surgery) as 32F Bougie into the stomach as a "mold." Then, they use a device that cuts away the "excess" stomach, and staples what is left together, in one swoop, so to speak. This is nice, as it rules out dumping syndrome (all gi sphincters are still intact). It does effectively reduce the size of the stomach to about 4 ounces post surgery. Of course, you can "eat out of it" and there are less foods that might "disagree" with the patient afterwards, but there are no rerouting of intestines, so mal absorbtion doesn't occur. Our Dr. also said that the part of the stomach which is removed (the lower part) is the part that most readily expands, has the most acid producing parts, and also is the part that is most responsible for creating the hormone that causes hunger. I know personally, that (I just had the surgery on 4/29 of this year) I'm down 85 lbs, and can eat anything I want (in very small portions). My wife, who had the surgery in March of 07 has lost just shy of 150 lbs. Which brings me to the most critical part of weight loss surgery. GET INVOLVED WITH A PSYCHIATRIST! Don't just go once or twice...make it a habit. My wife has been torn apart by it. She has completely lost her sense of self, not just with the size changes, but also the HAIR changes, and is having a difficult time regaining an identity. This has put a HUGE strain on our marriage. This type of incident is much more common in women than men (don't know why, but it's what was explained to us). It TRULY is the most important, yet most often "brushed off" portion of the surgery. If anyone wants to talk about bariatric surgery with either me or my wife, please email at Arizonaffcep@gmail.com and we would be happy to talk.

I guess what I'm dancing around is, where do you/the company/whoever draw the line between this is appropriate/this isn't and could it be construed as discrimination? Which of course if your service gets any money from the state/feds/whatever can be a HUGE deal.

Ok...so how would that apply to someone, who wasn't in EMS/public service before, has a lot of tatoos (nothing that they'd be afraid of showing to their mother), and decides for a mid-life career change to EMS. Where does that leave them?

Cool! I work part time for them, and my wife is FT for them, out of PM602.

I wish...actually, after the chief came out, all was said and done and we got back to the station...I did call my friends (they had a big truck at the time) and asked if anyone wanted pre-tenderized beef. They never did anything about it though...

Aren't PE's fun?

No signs. But during medic class I was playing EMT on a box, my medic was up front, and my wife (at the time my girlfriend) was in back (we were in class together) and driving back to the station from a call at 2100 hrs or so. The road was a dark and unlit rural road (paved, thankfully). When...we hit a cow. PD showed up and finished it (the cow) off with a shot to the head (you literally could see its abd distending in front of us). The ambo front was wrecked and the cow left a streak of green snot down the side of the nice white box...Next day, after I got back from lunch, when I walked through the door, everyone turned and "mooed" at me.

I haven't seen this one yet...this is big where I work...if you have a pillow and you put it on the cot with the OPEN end of the pillow case facing the front of the ambulance, you will be doomed to "catch" all the bad calls. Some people swear by it here, but I haven't seen anything...

Are we? How many other professions are there where the practitioners can walk up on a call where some guy decided to use his head as a pencil eraser to mark out the white line on the highway, and while walking up to him say "there's a thought...Oh there's another thought, one more thought."

Truly, this would be best addressed to the legal council for your department.

How does it work in your state then? In Arizona, PD can take "custody" of anyone they want (given the right circumstances), and when they do this, they have POA for them.

Again for arguments sake, it's not really them, but their insurance. We all know "self pays" typically don't. Personally, I really don't have an opinion either way on tatoos, I form my opinions on partners based on their performance.

Red/ white ambo, or blue/white ambo?

For arguments sake then, why is it that they then get to dictate infringement upon our freedom of expression?

Sad but true...My old fire chief has a tatoo of the US Marine Corps emblem on his R FA. He worked PT for a local private ambulance service, who tried to force him to wear long sleeves to cover the tatoo, as they deemed it "unprofessional." He fought the decision (he got his medic cert back when Christ was a Corpral) and won, with most of the reason (possibly) he had known the head honchos at the ambulance company for decades.

I'm gonna have to look into this...I've heard of similar programs (I am almost done with one at Norther Arizona University), which requires that the students come in with an AAS in Paramedicine. This is the first 4 year (true 4 years style) degree in Paramedicine I've heard of.

What area of AZ do you work?

Interesting little PSA.