Eydawn

I swear to God the next FTO I have that tells me I need to drive faster than I do emergent or on my way to a call routine, I'm pulling over... Our company policy states no more than 10 mph over posted speed limits not to exceed 45 mph within city limits... and I adhere to it. I also don't enjoy driving 65 on this windy road we have in the county in the dark... not used to handling the ambulance yet, so I won't go faster than I'm comfortable with. They're not going to die if I don't cut 30 seconds off my trip by speeding. We might if I get into a bad situation I could have avoided. I don't understand why people don't realize how much of a risk driving the rig really is, regardless of your experience level and comfort level. It's a big shiny box that's top heavy, hard to slow down and NOT YOURS! Why would you drive it like you stole it and expect to never get hurt? Wendy CO EMT-B

Do not under any circumstances operate as an EMT (BLS level care) without a medical director in the BSA. I worked for 2 summers (paid) as an EMT for the BSA in the summer camp setting, and I can tell you that without a medical director to back you, you will be taking all of the liability yourself. The BSA will not cover your back if something goes awry- if you've spent any time working with them you know how lawsuit-shy they are. My medical director was the same med director for the local FD who did BLS transport... if there's something similar in your area, you may want to get in touch with them and see if they'll sign off on you as well. I'd also put it to your camp directors that it significantly increases legal coverage for the camp if you have a medical director for you. As far as medications go, you are not administering them, you are storing them and monitoring their administration. As long as you are never counting out the meds and handing them to the kids from the bottles, only handing them the baggie with the bottles in it, you're fine. There's something in BSA protocol (in the millions of pages of camp paperwork that you'll read) that allows a camp to store and monitor medications. As a matter of fact, troops are not ALLOWED to keep meds per BSA national camp standard, save for rescue devices (glucagon kits, Epi pens, rescue inhalers). And if you take this position, MAKE SURE that ANYONE with a history of asthma or allergies requiring an Epi pen has them ON PERSON or goes home. You can get their doc to call in to the nearest local pharmacy if they're an out of state or long-distance troop so that the kids don't get screwed... but DO NOT allow someone to stay without their emergency meds. Good way to get in trouble and a risk that nobody needs. There are some kids who will need help with their meds. This is where the grey zone emerges. What I used to do is have large tupperware bins with our named campsites on them and a corresponding MAR sheet for each kid in a binder. Sometimes we had a few troops in the same campsite, so every kid's meds went into a separate ziploc baggie with a label on it with the kid's full name, troop number and campsite name. At med times (which you can establish of your own accord... before/after meals and just before bed works pretty well) the kids would come in, line up, and you'd get their info, hand them the baggie, mark off on your sheets that they came in to take the meds and then take the baggie back, putting it back into the bin. For the kids who seem to struggle with it, get their scoutmaster to help them double check that they're taking the right thing, or do it yourself... but be aware that any mistakes you make helping them could bite you if you're not careful. OR, you could go and get your state's equivalent of the medication administration provider cert that many CNA's get to be able to pass meds to folks in nursing homes, and then you'd be able to dose out the kids' meds without fear of no legal coverage. You don't have to have a CNA to get a med pass cert in the state of Colorado... not sure about where you'll be, but it might be worth looking into. It's pretty simple, to be honest, and you'd be acting separately from your EMS certification/licensure, so no fear of exceeding your legal limits there. How long will you be out at the camp? Are you the only "medic" "health and safety" type person, or will you have assistance? If you are going to be the only one and the camp runs past 4 weeks, what provisions will be built in for you to get some time off ranch? How far out is the nearest transport agency time wise? Do you have a backboard, transport vehicle (a suburban works quite well) and supplies? Who will be buying supplies- you or the camp? Will you have an AED? Do they already have dedicated helo zones? All questions I'd be asking the people who are asking you to volunteer. Why are they not paying you? Are all the staff volunteer, or are some of the counselors paid? Where will you fall in terms of workman's comp issues- for yourself and as far as who handles the paperwork for the other staff? PM me if you want a deeper discussion on this... Scouting medicine is where I cut my teeth and I'm very familiar with its modus operandi, lol. Wendy CO EMT-B Medic 2006, 2007 Peaceful Valley Boy Scout Ranch, BSA

We've got disposable one time use tarps with lots of handles... I think we've got one per rig, I know the FD carries them and our supervisor's rig has one too. Good for large people and weird places. We also have a folding soft-carry type stretcher that locks to be rigid, and gets suspended above the bench seat for those annoying rural calls where it makes more sense to load everyone into the rig at once (especially if you have some nice lighter patients, like kiddos from an MVA...) It's an aluminum frame with a soft suspension webbing... it's kinda like the old school stair chair material, 'cept it's a stretcher. Wendy CO EMT-B

Happy birthday!!! I don't look at the birthday feed thing. And you ain't old. And I hope there is something diabolical in the works for you!!! *hugs* Wendy

While you may not FEEL compassion for every patient you encounter, you MUST display a semblance of it to your patients. You're not there to be a robot to take vitals and drive them to the hospital, unless they're the sweet old lady that everyone loves seeing even when they're sick. If you can't fake it then don't tech that patient. You are there to provide the best possible care regardless of who your patient is, remember? So how is it NOT unfair to show compassion and provide an extra level of comfort to one group, but exclude another from that just because you don't like their modus operandi? Cynical, the reason some people are reacting so strongly is that they've had *lots* of study of psychology. You might have a good natural feel for how the human psyche works, but until you really study it, I don't think it's correct to hang on to any opinion you have about mental illness-- good or bad. You don't realize just how complex something like a suicidal ideation is until you read the multiple analyses by decades of psychiatric care professionals... The action of suicide is selfish. No argument. It damages families, friends... and can trigger others to follow suit. The process of becoming so lost that one sees no other option is not a selfish process, it is a process of illness. Killing the self is something innately abhorrent to logical thought; therefore, to reach that point, your thoughts have to change to the point where it is no longer abhorrent. Can you even *begin* to imagine how F*cked up that must feel? What those thought processes could be like? Not to mention that depression is an isolating disease... the guilt felt by people reaching out often outweighs the potential guilt they see in just removing themselves from existence. How more isolated can one get inside one's head? Can someone really be blamed for that, logically, when looked at from that perspective? You've seen how much we push for educated providers in order to best serve our patients and provide the most complete care we can. You've seen people get jumped on for thinking that medicine is seat of your pants, that background education doesn't matter. Here's the thing... by dismissing suicide and the inherent mental illness that goes along with it as simply "selfish" and not "worth compassion" you're expressing the same type of attitude, only in the field of mental health instead of straight paramedicine. Do the reactions make more sense, looking at it that way? If we are all the same, and no different than any who may come, then what is the point of trying at all? We are all different, and should use our strengths to advocate for our patients to the fullest extent of our ability, even though we only be lowly pre-hospital medical providers. No one is putting EMS on the pedestal; we're fighting to get it into the same damn gymnasium as other previously lowly-regarded sectors of medical care now inhabit. Strong opinion is good. Phrasing is everything. That's the lesson I've learned recently. With utmost respect, Wendy CO EMT-B

Tell me you're putting the other kids in the ambulance with you and making sure they're properly restrained before you take off with the kid who's sick... tell me you aren't leaving kids on a scene by themselves. You mean haul ass with all the kids, or with the other kids with an LEO, right? I keep hearing that you're not necessarily waiting to make sure someone's with the kids in your tone and it's kind of worrying me... not trying to read too much in, but I'd swear we had a duty to make sure little siblings were safe... part of that chain of scene safety.. me, partner, patient, others around me... Wendy CO EMT-B

I'm not leaving any 5 year old or 3 year old at a scene without an adult, period. Unless the LEO's get there right as I'm ready to leave, the kiddos come with in car seats. Wendy CO EMT-B

For the Basic who can't for the life of her figure out where you got septic from in that brief history and set of vitals, mind elaborating a tad? And how can you rule out other illnesses- you're going to trust a 5 year old on a medical history for someone? That's why I want to physically look for bottles, purse contents, etc. Finding bottles of narcotic pain meds would up my suspicion for OD or bad reaction... but I wouldn't necessarily give her narcan just because she's in the hood. *confused* Wendy CO EMT-B

I think women who falsely report sexual harassment should be shot for the sake of women who have been harmed everywhere. I also agree that a contracting agency could definitely see potential for problems especially sending women to remote areas where they will be in the minority. But I will say this; if it ever comes out that they're not hiring women solely as a gender based fear, they need to be ready to run for the hills. It sucks either way. I think anyone heading to a remote area like that should have a psych screening as a mandate... to reduce the possibility of anyone being a predator or a victim-waiting-for-an-opportunity (different kind of predator, I think!) Wendy CO EMT-B

Did I ask what ethnicity or race she is? Talking skin color, jeeze! As in cyanotic, pale, bright red... Also, if she's African American, might be thinking sickle cell as a confounding factor... but I didn't ask that, did I? (Sorry, the prednisone is making me uber cranky.) Wendy CO EMT-B

Any medical ID on the sister or in her purse? Epi pens, perhaps? First thing is suction. Hopefully I had the foresight to put the suction kit on the stretcher with the monitor... Suction, place an OPA, if we have a paramedic with us, grab the airway kit and prep to tube... full head to toe, do we see any bite/sting marks, track marks, or other things that would give us a clue? Even though I can't interpret it, can we put a 12 lead on and see if anything pops out? Meanwhile, let's ask the kiddos what the older sister's name is and look for any pill bottles around the house, with her name or not. Assistance would be good just to help wrangle the little guys and someone's gotta be responsible for them. Any food or drink containers close to where this lady fell down? Any signs of poisonous ingestion (chemical odors, weird smells, localized burns)? Is it mucus in her mouth or vomit? What color is she? Wendy CO EMT-B

New Jersey is behind in terms of protocols and utilization of ALS. From what I've heard, it's also very mother-may-I if you do happen to have a paramedic on your squad, which most don't. Here's some pertinent threads. http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...ighlight=jersey http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...ighlight=jersey http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...ighlight=jersey http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...ighlight=jersey Note the profuse bitching from anyone currently on this forum who actually works in Jersey. Why are you moving there, just out of curiosity? FOR the job? Or moving there because of something else, so you need a job? Wendy CO EMT-B

Vent, in pneumonia they can see the fluid/mucus buildup on the x-ray, right? Isn't that why they use an x-ray to definitively rule it out or in? Spenac, I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. Perfumes, cleaning chemicals, candles, all of em are not my friend. I'm not totally sick or respiratory-screwed all the time though... been doing great on a maintenance dose of 1 puff of Asmanex until this chest cold got me. One of our stations is based in an old Kodak plant and I water and sneeze and get a little tight out there... and we're not even in the main building. I'm not the only one that station bothers, either. Wendy CO EMT-B

Some of the original embryonic stem cell lines were from embryos that were created in laboratories from ova and sperm. The fertilization was conducted much like for in-vitro fertilization, but when the embryos reached the blastocyst stage the inner cell mass was removed, effectively "killing" any potential for the embryo to develop and become a human baby and harvesting those totipotent stem cells that people think will be the panacea. As to your argument, I have to say that abortion is controversial enough and women undergoing it often not in frames of mind to effectively make decisions that they know they are ethically comfortable with, so getting a woman to release the aborted embryo for scientific research is difficult ground, ethcially, legally and morally. Wendy CO EMT-B

Yeah, I'd heard of allergies and postnasal drainage exacerbating asthma symptoms but not the reflex thing. Makes sense though! I contemplated saying "pulled it out of one's arse" but the prednisone hadn't fully kicked in yet. Has now, lol. As far as how long I've had it... I didn't get diagnosed until 14, although I probably had EIA a bit earlier in life. Didn't start the full blown wheezing, constriction dealie until I got to high school and endured the barrage of body spray, cologne and perfume. Class change was never a happy time, everyone in front of their locker slathering it on lest (gasp) anyone think they had some semblance of BO. I'd rather the BO over the cloud of toxic perfume. Soooo jittery. I hate prednisone! Lol... thanks for the well wishes, folks. Wendy CO EMT-B

I posted this yesterday with no bites Maybe your title will bring more people in! Wendy CO EMT-B

Now, it's not often that the doc will surprise me with whatever diagnosis they pull out of the hat... but last night was a special night. Turns out I don't have pneumonia, that lovely chest X-ray was negative (thank the Lord) but I do have "asthmatic sino-bronchitis" and the treatment's pretty much the same... Augmentin for the sinus part, prednisone for the inflammation, up my controller corticosteroid and life should cease to suck. I still feel like royal hell though. Anyone ever heard of this before? It kinda cracked me up, to be honest! --Wendy

Looks like they were able to grow a mainstem bronchus to transplant into this TB patient. It's wicked cool, if you ask me! MSNBC NEWS: Doctors Transplant Windpipe What do y'all think? The stem cells came from her bone marrow in her hip! I think it rocks, personally. Wendy CO EMT-B

Ickfray! Haul ass. Get her nice and quietly into the ambulance, and then some nice high flow diesel therapy to a good surgical center with a good phone call in to tell them what's coming their way. Be ready for her to code... and get moving. Wendy CO EMT-B

Take a BP on the other arm, for God's sake... just in case we're screwing around with time she doesn't have and could rule it out a little better! Recent pregnancies? Family cardiac history? Overuse of the hydrocodone and the heroin? Wendy CO EMT-B

I love the ultimate showdown. You just made my night! Wendy CO EMT-B

MLA or APA? Visit the Purdue OWL site.. their online writing lab. It'll walk you through both there. Just google Purdue OWL. Wendy CO EMT-B

Are we talking about semantics, or semiotics here? If you're going to argue that the entire language system and the way it has been constructed with signifier/signified is inherently discriminatory towards women, we're going to have a LONG thread. That's a really complex issue. Yes, language imparts meaning. But some of that meaning comes from the interpretation by the recipient- not the original intent of the use by the person communicating. If folks want me to cut this off here, speak now. Otherwise, I'm going to go along on a loooong exploration of language theory, feminism, and cultural interpretations of gender roles. I'm full of this stuff from my latest classes. Wendy CO EMT-B

You can post the email I sent you... I'll let you make that judgment. I feel like the wall means something about your relationships to your family... first your mother and father, and then your own children. But you never bring it forward with enough detail through "showing" us them, you mostly "tell" us how you feel and even then, mostly that you feel drawn to this wall. It's a great first draft and I really dig that you shared it with us... and I agree, there is something deep in there, but it's still lurking behind something and hasn't really poked its head out yet. Way to go! Wendy CO EMT-B

Gender issues and the treatment of people based on gender is absolutely something that both sides not only have a right to comment on, but something that NEEDS input from both sides. One of the biggest mistakes that feminists or women who have been hurt by men make is they flee to all-female circles and make men the "outsiders" implicitly, thereby removing potential for actual dialogue and progress in the realm of gender prejudice. I have seldom felt targeted for improper or condescending treatment due to my gender. The times that it has happened to me, I have stood up for myself, confronted the individual in question, and continued on my merry way. I think if you get hung up on the gender aspect of it, you tend to get tunnel vision. Blinders, so to speak. You start interpreting EVERYTHING based on your gender, rather than your performance, your personality, etc. So I usually don't even think about it. I am Wendy, a person, a green field EMT, a woman, a college student... I am not Wendy the female person, the female EMT, the woman, the female college student. Equal treatment is something all persons deserve regardless of gender. However, you will notice that many men confronted by "women's agency" type groups are not treated as equals, but rather as mindless oppressors... guilty simply by virtue of gender. That doesn't help anyone... it's not a "male problem" as to how females are treated, it is a *societal* problem that both parties factor into. Gotta run to class... more later. Wendy CO EMT-B