kuo34

I wonder if our PD has access to O2? Regardless it'll be a good idea for them to get K9 nonrebreathers. Doczilla, where'd you get those doses for drugs from (not that I don't believe you, I'm just interested in sources). Also, I've heard of giving fluids subcu to animals but I'm just not comfortable with it since I'm used to humans. Can you elaborate on or give a source that might be able to elaborate on that procedure? Definitely need to go talk to the department vet on that one. Thanks for all the info folks!

All the homework I've done so far seems to support all the info in here so far. Saline flushes and 4x4s will be the bulk of it. I do agree that I need to talk to a vet and see what kind of dog specific care might be out there (and probably should see what a K9 first aid course consists of).

Righto. I figure the usual trauma stuff would be good. I'm just wondering what little tips and tricks might be good on a K9.

We've gone over the equipment to treat "tactical" injuries, but I didn't see anything regarding canine injuries. An officer at the city asked for a first aid kit for canines, but he wanted to be able to address canine injuries as well as injuries sustained by people vs his canine (including himself). Anyone put something like this together before? I'd imagine it'd be geared towards puncture wounds and such, but anyone with experienced input would be welcome. Same goes for treating canines.

Hey Dust, We've had real good results with jamshidis on adults through the sternum. They take up zero space and weigh nothing. As for bags, the ol' M5 seems to still be the best size imo, large enough to carry the basics, small enough to keep me from getting stupid with supplies. That being said, I have a TT M5 with the PALS strips on the outside and I've loaded it to the friggin' gills. At least I can move the external pouches to a vest when I'm doing something that isn't ambulance based. Dust is right when he says that folks with their own IFAKs really reduce your load. And Dust, that pack still rocks.

Took TMO-1 in January. Lots of good info. The water was real cold though.

Repeated use will make the MAT fail. IIRC it's intended as a single use item. All of the tourniquets on the market have their pros/cons. My favorites are the rubber tubing or cravat/dowel combination. The MAT was my favorite one handed application tourniquet even though the demo models we had failed after several users. One of the airmen that I talked to had a real simple solution to accidentally hitting the release - 100 mph tape over the key. As always, YMMV. The rubber tubing and cravat/dowel don't take up much room to boot . . . but maybe I just like filling my jump bag with items from hardware stores.

That's when your tactical (black) pajamas and non squeak non slip tactical bunny slippers come into play.

I like spenac's answer. Short and to the point. It's just a different label for the same old game, though I've noticed that the civilian world is a lot less healthy than the military world (barring nastiness from unnecessary trauma). All the "tactical" stuff we've been prepping here is a lot of who will be providing medical control and who's in charge of what and when. Environment seems to have a lot to do with it, but in the end we're there in case something goes wrong. Not much else. The current vision for our "tactical" support will require us to be unarmed, so the deadliest thing we'll be armed with is a state license. I'd rather we were called "Wooly Mammoths" instead of tactical medics though. At least there's some personality there.

Glad to see you're still in one piece, even if a cast is holding you together! Welcome back home!

It says required weapons and ammo will be supplied by Tactical Element at the bottom of the course description pages.

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't sure if the supplied materials meant we couldn't bring our own gear. Does the TMO course include live fire?

Am I reading that all supplies, lodging, food, and equipment are provided for the course? Would we be allowed to bring any of our own gear?

As an Air Force Reservist (yes, I left the Army for the Air Reserve because they have a/c and cable), direct patient contact personnel are usually referred to by their job titles or associated nicknames (i.e. I'm referred to as a BeE because my job title is Bioenvironmental Engineering), LPNs and RNs (enlisted and officer) tend to be referred to as nurses, flight medics (I'm not sure what the official term is) tend to be medics - these are the NREMT certified basics that are the baseline of military medicine in all branches from what I understand. A friend of mine has a son that just got through corpsman training and he's NREMT-B certified now. Anywho, all that being put aside, the common terms I've heard in my limited exposure to the Air Force for personnel are the official "Airman" term, medic or flight medic in reference to medical personnel by non-medical personnel, and "trooper" as an all encompassing term for AF personnel in lieu of airman. It's not always easy to identify who is patient care personnel by uniform insignia alone. The AF uses a job field identification type badge above the name tag on the left breast, but the snake and staff only broadly identifies the personnel as working in the medical field in some shape form or fashion. EFMB and CMB badge wearers are not necessarily Army medics. Personnel wearing medical unit patches also run the range of job fields. I recall the Navy having similar insignia for veterinary services personnel as well as corpsmen (though it's been a long time since I've worked with any of them). I guess what I'm saying is the best way to figure out who's a doc, nurse, or medic as far as the military and military type services are is to observe them carrying out patient care or getting a good look at their CV. It's just like the civilian side - I've seen a lot of NREMT certified EMT-Paramedics that I wouldn't trust to feed my fish - titles and nicknames only give you part of the story. Working a few hundred hours with them will tell you who's a real medic.

Just remember everyone in the medical specialty series is not a "medic." When I was in the 91B was the "combat medic." Any 91 series with direct patient care (including allied health services) went through 91B school first. 91J (medical records), 91S (my MOS, preventive medicine), 91T (vet tech), and I think there were some others that didn't have to go through B school. Mental Health, X-Ray, LPN, and others with direct patient contact were required to go through B school. I'm sure the rules have changed. The official title varies in application. I've seen SWAT type units use the term for any medical personnel, civilian agencies use it as a term for paramedics, civilian agencies use it as a term for any medical personnel, military use it for any random medical personnel . . . the list goes on. Though we had no direct patient care responsibilities, our preventive medicine detachments were always referred to as "docs" when we went with field units. What's in a name? Well sometimes a cigar is just a cigar . . .

Taken under advisement. We'll be trying out the big AAOS book for the upcoming paramedic course if no objections are found. DD, been super busy. I'm a training officer now and I'm going to have a kid! Life is dynamic. You still out in a sandbox?

Does anyone have experience with AAOS EMT-I and EMT-P texts? I know what Brady's and Mosby's texts are like, but none of the schools in this area use the AAOS texts. Any info would be appreciated!

I had a lot of trouble with snagging too. The folding chairs was one. Bouncing off of door knobs and other wall mounted items when squeezing through a tight space. I snagged a drip set on a hanging bag while working my way around the back of the truck. I like having them with me but in reality they work better in my jump bag. Just my thoughts on it.

Sounds promising. Are they as superduper as advertised?

I can't remember who makes the rolls we use for our ET kits but I like the idea. It's beyond my scope (for now), but the idea seems to work well for IV kits. It does seem like a one trick pony though, as you only get one setup, but I'm guessing if you need everything in a hurry you'll only need (hopefully) your large bore needles and the rest of the gear can be pulled from your jump bag.

I searched to see if anyone had posted about Haix Airpower X1 boots but no joy. I see the ad every time I'm in my office stall flipping through JEMS. It's boot replacement time and I'm wondering if anyone has ponied up for a set of these boots. I'm also tired of going through three compartments in our department issued jump bags to start an IV. I've been looking at the IV rolls offered by Statpacks and CSM Gear. Does anyone have experience with these? I'll probably just tie the IV supplies to the bag with a tourniquet but I'd still like to hear what y'all have to say.

Seems like the price is right as far as comparable bags go. I know LBT puts one out that's very similar for twice the price. Too bad a BVM won't fit.

I miss my M5. I can't seem to find one to save my life either. I know Tactical Tailor builds one, but anyone know of a source for the NSN one?

I don't work with a rescue service and only have a very basic familiarization with getting through windshields. I'd feel comfortable taking out the windows on the door with the shears but getting through the windshield . . . I don't have enough experience to really tell you if it's feasible with those shears. I'm sure if you were determined enough it'd be possible but you may find some debris from an MVA that'd be more useful for getting past a windshield. Again, I don't have the experience to really give a yes/no answer. Perhaps some of the rescue folks here could chime in?