island emt

was his name Charlie ?????

As a resident OLD GUY: I will state that there are definitely lots of folks more educated than I am, lots of young Medics that are smarter than I am. But there are few that have been beating the streets as long. Most of the things they have read about,we old guys had to figure out on the fly. When I was at a medium sized service, they would give me all the new baby medics to teach them the street smarts to help them survive on the job. A lot of these kids were the children or grandchildren of my peers and some weren't even thought of until I had been in EMS for twenty years. I actually worked with three generations of one family. Mom was one of my mentors back in the early 70's, her son was my age and his son::: well let's just say he's a twenty something with a degree and lots of book learning , & no common sense. Took a lot of work to get him on board in thinking outside the box . I guess it's a good thing the kids of today are smart, because they'll be taking care of me soon as I drool and soil myself.

nothing at a nursing home surprises me. We once walked in and found the lunch aid and the med aid taking care of a pt that had "collapsed" so they were doing CPR. Well the intent was really good anyway. the med aid was pushing on her abdomen and the lunch lady was blowing air into her like a car wash dryer. You get the idea. fill the stomach up with air and then push the contents back out. Would have been comical except the lady was alert and screaming bloody murder for them to stop which we heard as we were wheeling our gurney down the long hall We were expecting a major trauma from all the noise. The nurses you ask :::::::: why they were all down the other wing in the cafeteria chatting and having their break We did transport the pt out of that place just to give her a break. This was years ago in another state that shall remain nameless to protect the guilty

You kids play nice or I'll send you back to the sandbox !

Are you sure nurse nail polish nancy even has the correct room? A pissed off night nurse has revenge in mind for you. How dare you go against her wishes. Don't you know who your superiors are you lowly ambulance driver!

welcome to the city

The story of my life: A lot of the folks on this board were born after I started my career, I guess that does make me OLD & grey. The bone are starting to feel their age. It just needs to be put into perspective though. Had a Pt the other day that called me a young whippersnapper. He was 96 and going in for a cut on his foot from playing soccer with a great x 3 grandson in his bare feet. Loved his attitude!

All the slugs in the kitchen at mickeyD's made sure to add the special sauce when they knew the cops were getting freebies. guaranteed!

That is a simple recitation of a cookbook medicine protocol. Do you know when to and when not do do the above & why? Why are you giving the aspirin? according to current AHA practice recommendations are to give 325mg even if they have taken a daily dose :: UNLESS ??? what effect does it have on the cardiac system? Why are you giving the O2 by nasal@ 4lpm? What are the effects and contra indications for giving nitro? It's a little more than asking if they're taking viagra or ciallis or levitra. I'm not busting your chops here really. These are just things you have to know before blindly going down the cookbook medicine protocol. Education is a wonderful motivater knowledge is king! I would expect that before giving nitro that a 12 lead would be done to rule out a few things and IV established. Do you know why? Peace edit to add: The answers to the above are things that any provider should have in their knowledge base, Even at the Basic level. The first rule is : Do no further harm!

Not to keep at it, but do you even know what the chest pain protocol is for Paramedics in your system? I've had calls where the basics kept telling me I needed to do this , & do that . When I inquired why, & explained what my assessment had determined, they got the deer in the headlights stare. They then had to tote all the ALS gear & IV box back out to the truck because I had the pt packaged and was ready to head to the hospital in my office where interventions can be performed while en-route to the hospital. Kind of reminds me of a call many years ago where the first responders got to scene and found unresponsive, shallow breathing ,slow weak carotid pulse, so they started CPR and rescue breathing. Now this was a known brittle diabetic that we have been to help many times. Pulled up got a IV box and d-50 from truck & had to almost yell at them to stop abusing the poor pt. 2 minutes later Pt is sitting A+O & and asking why his chest hurts so much. many moons ago a wise old mentor once told me, In EMS it's hard to realize how much we don't know about the human body or medicine! he was a funeral director and one of the first dedicated ambulance owners in that area

Don't apologize for asking questions: If you need the full time gig for the insurance , then go into this with your mouth shut and eyes & ears wide open. You might learn something and find out that the gossip is wrong. Not to be blunt and to the point BUT: you are the new basic and he is the Paramedic. You haul gear & hold steering wheel , he treats patients. Just the facts of life. again you are forming opinions based on shit house gossip without any first hand knowledge.

Dwayne my friend: It's time to let loose and get home for some homemade pron. Your starting to sound like the folks down on the Antarctic ice pack. Where the only erotica is watching the penguins mate. In order to be an old timer like me you have to know when to call for help. doesn't matter what sex you are. I've worked with female providers that could outlift me anytime they wanted. I've also worked with guys that couldn't lift a wet paperbag of donuts. It evens out in the long run.

The questions would seem to be why did you bid that shift knowing you would end up with him? Since you have yet to work with him, how do you know what he does or doesn't do in regards to following protocol? Stop listening to the shithouse gossip mill and form your own opinion once you spend some shifts working with him.

As a just shy of 60 yo male thats been in the business since 1971, I'm not bashful about calling for lifting help with the size of some of the Patients we are seeing today. Back in the old days, there was the occasional 300lb + pt to move. Today it's rare to find one under 250lbs. We have several regulars that go 400 + and one thats just shy of 500 lbs. I don't care who you are, or how buff you think you are, You , your partner , Pt the pt will get hurt trying to exceed common sense when lifting & carrying pt's that size. We only get one back ,and back injuries are the # 1 career ending injury in prehospital care providers. Lets be careful out there kids!

There is a big difference between accepting a drink or a snack and taking an envelop full of cash or gift cards , which is what the intent of most public policies are written for. We are in the public service business and whether paid or not we are professionals. The OP scene is very common in rural areas and the locals felt that it was their personal way of saying thank you to the entire crew involved . Many of them left their paying jobs to respond to this scene and the public knows it.

As I stated before. I'm not trying to be argumentative of attacking you , just trying to figure out where your head is at on this " problem" . The crash scene is secure with one vehicle out in a field the cars have been torn apart, the patients have been treated & transported Kitty litter has been spread on spilled fluids They are waiting for law to finish up or the wreckers to arrive. Do you think they should be standing in the road watching the now deceased motor vehicle or just standing around looking official in the hot turnout gear? Maybe the officer in charge should have them all line up and stand at attention by the side of the road in the sun. Would that be professional in your eyes? Please don't take this personal: But to me it sounds like a new supervisors fantasies of how things" should " be in utopia. Edited : to add link to a lot more photos of the crash scene showing the FF's doing their jobs properly, dressed in their DOT required reflective gear doing traffic control around the scene. The large warwagon ambulance bus parked in the middle of the road and more. Maybe if you worked for the evil empire you would find nirvana Dwayne : you know that you really look funning in those fireman's boots over there in PNG ! :-} but the sheep are smiling

I think Dr Mengele had those same powers to detain folks against their will. But that was in a different time and a different place. WAIT maybe NOT ! Are they building ovens in washington????

Ladies: Just remember that poor dwayne is living in isolation in papua new guinea so any female companionship is enough to get him excited. Even the sheep are starting to look sweeeeeet ! right D

Why do you feel it's unprofessional for them to accept the thanks for a well done job from the local citizens? It's not like they were sitting having a picnic lunch while there were pt's to be treated or work that needed immediate attention. Once the wreckers remove the derelict vehicles , then they can finish cleaning up the debris and go back in service. I don't see the humor in the photo myself. Now if there were bodies lying around and waiting for coroner to arrive they decided to have a picnic lunch then maybe it would be a little wrong.

G'Day Where in Oz are you? I lived in WA for a couple years way back in the mid 70's

There is a difference between "giving up on your pt and abiding by there wishes. Last time I checked this is still a country where we are free to make informed decisions about what healthcare we choose to receive or deny. By your logic a DR could force me to have cardiac surgery or amputate a limb in order to prolong my life. YOU CANNOT FORCE A PERSON TO HAVE CHEMO TO MAYBE PROLONG THEIR LIFE THAT IS FULL OF CANCER. Nowhere did we give the state or any members thereof the right to make that decision for others. as long as said person makes it knowing the repercussions of refusing and is not under the protection of the court or guardian ad litum. Just because a person is in a facility doesn't mean they are incompetent or incapable of making their own decisions for healthcare.

Then why the problem?? I'm not understanding your issue with it. Not trying to be obtuse or confrontational here . Just not getting what you perceive the problem is.

I guess one of the problems I'm having is that some providers here are assuming that a diabetics decision to no longer accept the medical intervention of dialysis makes them mentally unstable or suicidal. Your assuming your better equipped to make the Pt's life or death decisions for them. Who are we to force an unwanted intervention on anyone?? To label them a psych case because of a personal decision to no longer have an artificial means of keeping them alive in order to make What? more money for the ambulance service hauling them 3 times a week roundtrip, or the dialysis clinic, or more money in the drug companies pockets or pharmacies for the expensive prescription drugs?? I am a firm believer in a Patients right to make those personal decisions without force or coercion from outside influence. How many folks were locked up and institutionalized in state mental hospitals in the 30's, 40's, 50's and even into the 1960's , simply because they were different from the perceived "NORM'? How many of you young lions of EMS have ever been inside one of those state institutions? How many have ever read of the atrocities committed in the name of public good inside the walls of those "homes"? How many of you have seen the effects of electro shock therapy or lobotomies done in the name of public good? Still think it's OK to force your beliefs on someone else???? Hitler tried that back in the 30's & 40's, more recently the serbs tried that in Bosnia, Or sadaam hussein in Iraq. , Or mohamar khadafi in libya. do your homework young un's. Climbs off my soapbox now while the kids work google to see what the crazy old psych pt is talking about.

That evidence will be tossed as an illegal search without a warrant.

We have had an attorney come and give a 4 hr presentation on legalities of EMs issues and how to protect ourselves AND our patients rights. It was an eye opening experience and me thinks that Mike should find a similar CEH class. Several prominent EMS law firms provide these type of trainings Page Wolfburg come to mind among others that are practicing Paramedics and attorneys.