Eydawn

I'm overweight. I'm 180 lbs at 5'8.5" but I can definitely do my share of the lifting. I might have to lift a little differently (use more accessory muscles and balance things on my knee for a sec to give me the extra boost) but I'm not going to leave anyone high and dry with me on one end of whatever's being lifted. But I think that having to adjust my lifting comes from me being a woman, not from me having a few extra jiggly bits around my midsection. I think it all comes down to fitness tests. Can you pass? You're good to go. Can't pass? You're too fat, lose the weight and get in shape. Wendy CO EMT-B

Well crapskies. Never heard of it and I'm helping to teach first aid with an emphasis on triage to some public safety cadets down in Denver this weekend. Gonna have to stick to START since it's all I know... and I don't like how I couldn't see how to actually do the Sacco Triage Method on the website there... I see that it's objective and cooler and stats back it up, but HTF does it work? Wendy CO EMT-B

Epic WIN! I learned to swim in that pool. Wow. Wendy CO EMT-B

I am going to have to disagree with the Brazilian bishop. That 9 year old girl would have died. Self-defense, even according to Dust. This is one arena I fail to defer to the Church in... Wendy CO EMT-B

This is why I hated the little I saw in my brief foray into the ambulance world. It's ok to harass a drug seeker (who is sick for another reason) simply because they're a druggie. It's ok to be crude and nasty to drunks. Empathy is reserved for small children, non-minorities and middle class looking white folks... not developmentally disabled people who don't know any better than to call 911... I think this is why I am reluctant to pick myself up and try again. The first service I worked at wasn't a good fit for me (and now that I've got some distance from it, I'm thanking my supers profusely for prodding me to take some time away and try again later.) After having done wilderness EMT stuff for years, I'm now questioning as to whether I belong in prehospital EMS. Once I got a taste of the ambulance... Let's just say I'm still kind of soured on it. Nursing school is where my focus is right now. Wendy CO EMT-B

New as far as I'm aware, there's been a rash of cases. Wendy CO EMT-B

It is something to be aware of because it may change your report to your doc, and it may change the treatment of the patient. Regardless of whether they're a junkie or not, you have to provide the best care possible with the best info you can get. Hence why I posted this. It's always good to know that there's a laced batch of something circulating. Wendy CO EMT-B

If your coke head has a sore throat, swollen lymph glands and fever, be on alert for the possibility that their cocaine may have been laced with levamisole, which is a veterinary medication used as an antiparasitic. It's a problem, and people are dying from it. Just an FYI, just saw it on the news... Wendy CO EMT-B

Ok. Why can't he have done that in a way that removed his testicles, thereby precluding any chance of reproduction? What a LOSER! Wendy CO EMT-B

I'm absolutely not forcing anyone to report sexual assault to the authorities. I'm not reporting for them unless they're a minor or vulnerable adult (very elderly/dementia, not their own legal guardian etc.) Sorry. That's part of the person's choice. Many people, women especially, decide to just move on... But I digress... Wendy CO EMT-B

If I've got time to report it and I feel it is necessary, I will... but I stand by what I said. My first responsibility above all others here is to provide patient care. No, I'm not a cop either, and no, I won't report a rape for a patient who decides they don't want to go through legal channels... If I see an arson, burglary, etc in progress, yes I will call the cops. If I see someone lighting up a joint, no, I'm not going to call the cops. That's also something illegal, and I know it is... but it's not really my problem and it's not a direct threat to someone. If I reported every single person I suspected to be an illegal immigrant, I'd have precious little time to do anything else. I'm not kidding. Wendy CO EMT-B

I'm not an immigration enforcement officer. I'm a medical provider. Sick person: gets treated, no matter what. Remember that little thing called the hippocratic oath? What am I gonna do, ask for their green card before I take them to the hospital? Not really my problem. The hospital can deal with it, involving authorities if necessary. Or I can make an anonymous tip if I'm really hung up on this guy not really belonging here. Having grown up surrounded by illegals, I can't say I've got a hard-on for seeking out people to report... as long as they're working and contributing to society instead of peddling drugs or sucking welfare, I can't say I mind too much. Speak English, work, contribute. Beyond that... *shrugs* Wendy CO EMT-B

Wolfsbane, otherwise known as aconitum, is purported to be a test for determining whether or not someone is a werewolf... quote from Wiki: "The wolfsbane flower was used to identify supposed werewolves. If the flower cast a yellow shadow on the suspected shape-shifter's chin, the werewolf test was positive." The plant is much more useful for its medicinal properties (if one goes for traditional herbalist medicine.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum Wendy CO EMT-B

Again, confusion over the semantics of the word "diagnose" I think. Dictionaries are your friends... Wendy CO EMT-B

What is the problem here? I'm confused. Wendy CO EMT-B

I think what we're really arguing here is the semantics of actual physician diagnosis vs working diagnosis for field treatment. Yes, they are different. Yes, there is reason we take our patient, even with a working field diagnosis, to a real physician for the final say. We *must* make some sort of diagnosis in order to treat. That doesn't mean it's the only diagnosis the patient gets, nor that it is completely the correct diagnosis for that particular patient. Does that make any sense? We do diagnose symptoms for the purpose of treatment, but we cannot give a patient a full diagnosis to work with in the future. Wendy CO EMT-B

Haha! That's pretty funny. Thanks, Michael... I needed the chuckle. --Wendy

BB guns are usually prohibited at workplaces because of the risk they pose for incidental injury... this guy seriously failed. \ Epic fail. I hope the folks he shot go to his next BBQ and ambush him with heavy weight shot, all at once. Wendy CO EMT-B

Oh criminy, really? THAT's your answer? And if you were really fanatical about this whole "protect ALL life" thing you'd go live in India, erasing your footprints and wearing a mask so as not to breathe in any insects... just saying, you're exhibiting a conviction to a degree, just like anyone else. Dude... come on. It's not that simple. You're not either "for life" or "for murder" in medicine as a whole, are you? Let's say you've got a terminal cancer patient... and you know that providing high level comfort care (aka more morphine) is directly hastening their demise. Do you withhold pain meds based on that? What about removal of artificial life support for a patient who has been comatose for several years? Is that murder? Or simply accepting that the patient will never again live under the definitions we use for "life" in our society? What about if you have a pregnancy that directly threatens the mother's life- to the degree where you are 80-90% sure that the mother *will die* if you allow the pregnancy to continue, thus also terminating the fetus? Does evaluating options in that case make you "pro murder"? (Note... I am not defending abortion... merely trying to further the discussion some.) Wendy CO EMT-B

God DAMN someone was bored today. Richard, you do realize you resurrected a (totally useless) thread that was last active on January 15th, 2008?!?!?! Holy heck. Wendy CO EMT-B

Hell, it was probably in a book I read recently... I like it though. Wendy CO EMT-B

Ye olde freshman bio debate. Is a virus alive? What constitutes "alive" by scientific definitions? One could argue that humans cannot reproduce alone- they require 2 conjugal parties to create another living organism. Viruses cannot reproduce alone- they require a host to hijack machinery from in order to reproduce. Do we make the claim on the basis of RNA vs DNA? How about the presence of an actual cell? Cell machinery? Ability to reproduce independently? Lots of good places to argue from here (as intellectual exercise..) Wendy CO EMT-B

Here's a funny concept... how about if you have any doubt as to whether you're comfortable letting the patient refuse, you run all your diagnostics at hand, and then call the doctor with the information and let it rest on the doctor's shoulders? Isn't that what medical control is for? And yes.... the asthmatic who's still wheezing but feeling some better after a nice O2/albuterol round is going to be screwed later if they refuse and don't get full symptom resolution. But if they're not hypoxic, not going to die right here right now in front of you, alert and oriented (forget X3... they are oriented or they aren't) and the doctor says they're being stupid but can refuse, then you refuse them. Vent... I really don't get where you're coming from here. I didn't read anything in CBEMT's posts that led me to think that he didn't pursue all avenues available to him with this particular patient. And yes, sometimes we must kidnap the patient for their own good... but thankfully, we have doctors to contact to back those decisions up... WTF happened to this thread??? Wendy CO EMT-B

Don't you dare narrow this topic down to "baby killers" vs "women haters" as so many do... yes, some of us may be weary of this topic, as it can seem futile to re-hash arguments... but it is an important facet of our medical ethical dilemma. I agree with Michael. Come on, folks... jump in. Say something (that you actually mean, not just parroting something. Take the risk... I did. And I've been arguing this topic since I was 13 years old.) Wendy CO EMT-B

Welcome to the posting world! Man, I know what you mean about being muzzled. Sorry to hear that. Hang in there and hang on to what you know! Lots of former military types here too, as I'm sure you've seen lurking. Come on in... the water only has a *few* sharks in it Wendy CO EMT-B