Eydawn

We draw for 2 of the hospitals we deliver to where I work. Draw blood, invert tubes gently, tape tubes directly to bag. Help ED take tubes off of bag, label. I think we've got a red top, green top, tiger top and lavender top... maybe a yellow in there too, I don't remember. Haven't done many draws yet myself. Wendy CO EMT-B

Oh no! Fiz, don't get scared. I'm done, really I am. I blame some of it on working with literary theory right now... I'm right smack in the middle of gender studies, Queer Theory and feminist lit. Nobody get scared! I'm not shooting to kill, I promise! Wendy CO EMT-B

And I maintain that it has nothing to do with being biologically female and everything to do with being socially conditioned to respond with screeching and to have that be "acceptable" because "she's just a woman." Gender does not one's reaction make; gender ROLES learned in society has a lot to do with it. I'm not a crazy feminist, before anyone gets on my case... and trust me, I usually am the first one to crack jokes about small feet, stoves, oven timers, and two black eyes... as well as commenting on female driving, and so on and so forth. But to insist that women love to be offended and dramatic simply because they happen to have ovaries and boobs is a little misguided. They behave that way because they've been taught that having ovaries and boobs means you scream at icky stuff and get all huffy all the time. Wendy CO EMT-B

Ya know, I never even though about being re-infected. It is possible that he may be immune. As far as avoiding possible re-exposures, how the hell do you know what he will or will not do? I don't remember reading in the article how he got exposed in the first place... nor any demographic information about the man save his age, gender and nation of origin. I can tell you this, if I was lucky enough to not be infected anymore and I had originally been infected by a promiscuous method, I'd certainly be damn careful. But for all you know, he may have been infected by a bad transfusion or a needle stick. Way to jump to assumptions! ~_~ Wendy CO EMT-B

There is a lot of promise in the fact that certain Caucasians and Asians seem to have a resistance to HIV colonization and infection severity- they postulate that it is inherited from lines that survived plague outbreaks. At least, that's what the last thing I read said. There's a lot of research going on, but no possible cure coming down the pipeline any time soon. Genetic modification and gene-level therapy is still largely in the exploratory phase, especially since so many people misunderstand how it works or how it can be applied, and therefore don't fund it adequately... It should be interesting to see if they monitor this guy long term and do as many invasive tests for viral presence as possible... then it may be very feasible to use his results as a basis for more treatments along the same line, in terms of trying to figure out how it all works and maybe using it to fight HIV. Personally, I have much more faith in prophylactic measures in terms of combating this virus... it's far easier to keep someone from getting it than it is to fix it after they get it. I think South Africa really took a step in the right direction by finally recognizing that AIDS and HIV are linked and that it is a behaviorally driven disease (for the most part). Wendy CO EMT-B

It comes from a lack of exposure to death and "icky" stuff. I don't think she reacted that way solely because she was female, I think she reacted that way because it's precisely how she's been conditioned to react. I think the person with the camera was a tool. I also agree, that someone should have put the bird out of its misery. No one likes having to do it, but sometimes it's necessary. Sorry to hear about the cats bringing "presents" for you, Dust... they don't understand any better, they're just operating on instinct... but it doesn't make it any easier to have to clean up after and watch. Wendy CO EMT-B

Never mind.... someone's playing around with ad code. I got it now. --Wendy

Alright, I'll bite... WTF is the aaaaa at the top of every post about? Wendy CO EMT-B

That does make more sense. Wendy CO EMT-B

Was there something else going on with this patient that might have necessitated fluid bolus? Or are we just operating on the theory that he needed fluids because he lost fluids? Losing blood like that, I agree, turning his fluid into cherry kool-aid is not helpful, and I would challenge the idea that he needed an entire liter pre-hospital unless it was a very long transport time and the last set of vitals was under 90 systolic... then he could have definitely used more than he got. But an entire liter? Even two? I'm not sure. Paramedics, this is more in your court... from what I'm thinking, I say no, the MD is fulluvit, but I might be missing something really important. Wendy CO EMT-B

Oh... NO.... the limerick! Now I have all sorts of those popping back up (no pun intended) to the forefront of my conscious thinking. :oops: I think that's truly where half my sex ed came from. Found an anthology of limericks in my folks' house (I was a bookcase climber, miracle I didn't get hurt) and spent a good several nights reading it when my folks thought I was asleep. Darn you, Michael! Wendy CO EMT-B

If it wasn't right smack in the middle of "let's hit everyone with quizzes so they'll be shot the week before finals" week I'd drive out there with the boy and we'd both do it. Plus he can't get time off either. What a great opportunity, though, Doc! Thanks for putting it up here for us. Wendy CO EMT-B

*rolls eyes* Wait... was that too abrasive? ~_~ Wendy CO EMT-B

This post should have gone into non-EMS or the On the Personal Side. And no, I haven't seen her but I hear it's good. Wendy CO EMT-B

I will *NOT* choose to be nice over being right if it is a matter of patient welfare... having people like me as an individual is definitely a lower priority than having the patient receive the best possible care. We are here to advocate for our patients. But you are right, in that approach is key... and there are good or better ways to approach something if it might be a problem. I do a lot of active listening... and have stepped it up since catching flak in the first stage of my transitional period. Fortunately, things have been getting better. I've been up front with every instructor about how I've been perceived by other instructors in the program and asked them to tell me immediately if I come across in such a fashion so I can clue in to what is offensive or not. Haven't had a problem with it since... and things have been getting better with different instructors, as well. Yesterday my FI let me actually run calls, sitting back only for advice when asked and prompting me occasionally to get to something that might be overlooked. That really helped me establish more of a rhythm, which means I'm less choppy on scene. I've also thanked everyone profusely for the advice I've been given and the extra time they've taken to help me with things that I'm struggling with... and it's been a much better experience. Thanks to everyone who has replied... it's been great! You guys are super helpful. Wendy CO EMT-B

I agree with Mike. You have no recourse- your doc is is screwball as the rest of your superiors. RUN. PVHS is hiring out here in Fort Collins and the climate is good... (I think you might know what I mean- if not, PM me). If not to here, then SOMEWHERE. You're going to get fried by a faulty system and you need to get out of there, or you may lose your chance to really practice paramedicine. --Wendy

My SAR team was all over drooling over this robot about 2 months ago. Way to be behind the curve! j/k... It is pretty nifty though. It still needs work on the balancing, but it will be pretty darn cool once they work all the bugs out. Wendy CO EMT-B

THOSE questions, perhaps? They weren't rhetorical. Wendy CO EMT-B

I tried, boss, I tried to see if discussion could be engaged in, but all I got was knee-jerk flame... I've given up on the troll now. *sighs* Every once in a while, a troll proves to be a misguided n00b who later becomes useful. I think the only use we're going to get out of this one is entertainment value and increased sales in blood pressure medication for some of us. Wendy CO EMT-B

So what if no one objects to graphic nudity or violence in movie choice at the station? Is it still wrong if everyone going through that station is ok with it? It's sexual harassment if it is brought up and not addressed- that's a hostile work environment. If you don't have the gonads to speak out and speak up for yourself if you're being offended without response from your coworkers, then I'm sorry, it sucks for you at work. There's a reason we have means and methods to report something that is continually inappropriate. Wendy CO EMT-B

So you do what all of us do- encourage people to avail themselves of treatment. I don't think there's a single one of us who would discourage someone from seeking medical treatment. Discouraging someone from inappropriately using EMS and discouraging someone from seeking treatment are two different things. And it's "err", not "air." And if EMS in your area is routinely telling people to follow up in the morning and they're dying after taking themselves to your ER, your EMS sucks. One would hope that prehospital providers are savvy enough to clue into a need for immediate care and are only turfing the very benign, very obvious no-need-for-transport cases. Wendy CO EMT-B

*HEADDESK* :roll: :roll: :roll: Why don't you address the questions I ask? Do I smell funny? Discussion involves refuting points given by others, which you continue to fail to do, just adding "Yea but if they die THEN what smarty-pants," which makes you sound like a 4 year old. Whatever they put in your coffee out there, I think I'll pass.... Wendy CO EMT-B

You still never answered my question. Is it a you call we haul regardless of assessment, or is it appropriate to selectively transport? Answer the question, please! It's a pretty simple one, and you've side-stepped it and never directly answered it multiple times. You're starting to remind me of someone else I know lol! Also... why do you feel that it is necessary to transport so many who may need medical care, but not ambulance intervention? Do you feel that we're undereducated and thus unable to judge situations correctly? What's your motivation behind operating this way? Wendy CO EMT-B

Two scenarios. Your partner is reading Vogue. You feel that Vogue oppresses women and is a despicable publication with no intellectual merit. Even seeing the cover makes you feel ill. Do you ask your partner to put away the only thing they brought to read, or do you go in the other room and open your own book? You are reading a book by Freud. Your partner feels that Freud is a crack and thinks that psychoanalysis ruined his family's life, because his mother left the family after going to see a shrink. There's no way to hide what you're reading. Your partner asks you to not read that around him. Do you go in the other room? Sorry... anyone may take offense to anything at any time. It just happens. I get offended by certain things... does that mean I have to force everyone to conform to what I find to be offensive/non-offensive? Porno in the workplace = a big no-no, no matter what time of day. A film examining comparative sexuality in terms of the emergence of the gay/lesbian culture in modern society, even though it may contain something graphic, is not necessarily a no-no depending on the context. Does this make any sense at all? Wendy CO EMT-B

Let's look at this another way. Someone is jogging and they sprain their ankle. They've been up for 24 hours and were planning to hit the sack after the run. They are AAOX4, but they are definitely not as coherent or competent as they would be had they had a full night's sleep before seeing you. Let's assume, for the sake of debate, that we all agree that fatigue leads to a decrease in competency but not necessarily to the point where someone is not alert, awake and oriented as we define it in our protocols. 1. They are altered. But they are AAOX4. How do we define altered? Is their signature invalid because they're altered from being tired? 2. I have no idea what their BA level might be. Far as I know, they could have had three glasses of wine 7 hours ago and still have alcohol in their system... does that mean I make my judgment on their capability to refuse based on what I see, or on the hypothetical number I can't test for? 3. The friend I'm releasing them to is probably also tired. WTF? If the friend is competent then what does it matter? As long as the friend is also AAOX4 then why should their being tired be an issue? 4. You have no idea what other drugs this patient may have taken. Could be they've had 6 caffiene uppers and are just coming off of that. They could be taking vicodin for back pain. They could have taken a hit of cocaine and that's why they've been awake for so long. Since patients lie and never tell us exactly what they've taken, should we assume that every patient is on drugs? Tired patients must be on drugs, because they're tired. Drunk patients must have taken other drugs because they're drunk. 5. If the patient is a MINOR, read legal minor rather than underage drinker (who can be a legal adult but not old enough to drink alcohol) then there is no issue- you transport regardless. Anyone who turfs someone who is under 18 is an IDIOT. That shouldn't even factor into this discussion, because that's not what was originally being discussed. Alright... so... who's with me here. Does being tired also mean automatically that you're incompetent? No? Seem far-fetched? Then how does ingestion of any amount of alcohol, no matter how minute, automatically mean that you're incompetent? Answer me that and I'll get back to taking notes in my microbio class, lol... Wendy CO EMT-B