chbare

--|--|--< Take care, chbare.

Physics is not a bad idea if you have the time. If I knew I was going to have so much math and gas physics in respiratory therapy, I would have taken a general physics course. Lucky for us, the chemistry department spends a solid week on gas laws in the gen chem courses in part to ensure students are sorted. However, I am doing allot of logarithms and number cruncing right now, so a good algebra course is just as helpful at this level. However, I would have beefed up a bit more if I knew that we take a dedicated gas physics course. Always research you course, take home point. Take care, chbare.

Since pathophysiology classes as the community college level may be focused on dental or other such pathology in the United States, I would substitute with microbiology. I would also look at a computer class and general psychology course as many colleges require these as requirements for graduation. I say: A&P- 8 credits English comp & lit - 6 credits Intro Chemistry - 4 credits Math- 3-6 credits Psych- 3-4 credits Micro - 4 credits Computer literacy- 3 credits Possibly a Bio class This will set you up for entering many of the AAS programmes for health such as respiratory, nursing, and radiology. Take care, chbare.

Perhaps you could articulate why you want to listen in on the local police, fire, and EMS radio traffic. When you are not at work, what benefits do you think you will gain from this activity? I do not see how it is beneficial to know that an ambulance is going to 2303 K street for a shortness of breath and chest pain when you are not actually at work? You asked if it made sense to buy your own scanner to listen in and people have responded by basically saying no. You are going to have to present a compelling case to sway our opinion. Take care, chbare. EDIT: Redundant post?

http://www.flightweb.com/condolences/index.php A condolence book is up at flightweb. The world lost two great guys last night. John was a father to be and expecting in April. His child will have to grow up never knowing dad. His family has been robbed of a father and husband while we have been robbed of a friend and colleague. Anthony was one of the nicest people I have ever known. His family too has been robbed. These were some great guys and will be missed.

I cannot believe this is happening. My wife and I are heartbroken. I do not know what else to say. Take care, chbare.

Actually, we are starting to see major benefits to using ACE inhibitors. If you guys have time and interest, you should look at what has come out regarding ACEI's. Take care, chbare.

Oh yeah, good old SDN. I went to that site after hearing near endless amounts of smack talk about the anti nursing agenda of SDN at Allnurses. I actually enjoy looking through the threads and dropping a comment every so often on the clinicians forums. Turns out it not as bad as I was initially led to believe. Off topic, sorry. Take care, chbare.

Yeah, I have no idea? The only resentment I can think of is that of Abu Dhabi bailing Dubai out of economic downfall. Take care, chbare.

I have to agree the UAE is one of the safest countries I have ever known. Take care, chbare.

HellsBells, I cannot disagree. The iPad will have much more appeal if Apple can pull off the app experience. They will need to offer some revolutionary stuff, but the app store has a few great developers. Time will tell how it all works out. The book store does show that Apple is taking the Kindle and other devices seriously. However, you want to have the best online experience, add a camera so people can Skype and such and allow the iPad to run flash for the full Internet experience. I would have a much better impression if these two concepts were included. Another potential consideration will be what the jailbreaking community will be able to do with the iPad. We could see some of the most revolutionary concepts of iPad use stem from this community. As of now, I am underwhelmed; however, I will take a wait and see approach. Take care, chbare.

So, we had our first iPad impression today. What do you think? Frankly, I am underwhelmed. No camera. iPod/Phone based OS No Flash plugin No removable battery No multiple running apications No support for Verizon 3G 64 GB memory max What we have here is a tablet sized first generation iPod touch. My guess is after Apple makes their money selling this, they will introduce updated versions with the cool features and rake in more money. As an iPhone user, I am getting sick and tired of this tactic. Sorry to be a hater Apple, prove me wrong. Take care, chbare.

Ever take any physics or astronomy? When you start covering relativistic effects, you would not believe just how true the essence of your statement really is. Sorry, off topic. Take care, chbare.

Isuprel is a highly potent nonselective beta agonist. It's use is commonly associated with tachycardias and tachyarrhythmias. It has profound chronotropic effects. While tachycardias are a concern with dopamine, isuprel pretty much takes the cake in the chronotropic department. Take care, chbare.

There are a few potentially exciting studies out about ACEI's and acute CHF treatment. The results show rather substantial hemodynamic improvements over traditional modalities such as nitroglycerine. I am talking class III and IV CHF. While the base of evidence is still rather small, I suspect this to become very popular with subsequent studies of large numbers. Perhaps large studies now exist? ACEI's are also very popular for AMI salvage type therapy. Even more so than beta blockers. In fact, beta blockade is being somewhat emphasized as an immediate core measure in the ER management of the AMI patient. The evidence is so compelling, my medical direction and clinical gurus are looking at a possible ACEI guideline to be integrated into our practice. I agree, the pressor debates are all over the place and I am not sure I would consider a pressor or adrenergic based agent with any of the given blood pressures. I guess if you really had a hardon for increased B1 effects for the patient with a systolic B/P in the 90's, you could look at dobutamine; however, I am more of a conservative fella. Yet, the argument of augmenting inotropic activity and perhaps augmenting coronary perfusion is valid when considering dobutamine or even variable doses of other agents such as dopamine. Take care, chbare.

Sounds like pectus excavatum. No hard rules on this. Do the best you can if CPR is needed. In people who are status post some types of corrective surgery, an anterior/posterior pad/paddle placement is recommended for defibrillation. I have had a few cases of thoracic and spinal abnormalities and CPR was difficult. Take care, chbare.

As I stated, there is no smoking gun against etomidate (Single dose for RSI) as far as the literature is concerned IMO. However, the theoretical pitfalls of etomidate are causing some commotion. This is especially true in the setting of patients who are at increased risk such as a patient in septic shock. Unfortunately, these conditions are associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality and I suspect making a clear correlation will be difficult, if one does in fact exist. I do not think the last word has been spoken on this issue especially in light of an aggressive surviving sepsis campaign. Taie care, chbare.

While I lived in Afghanistan, our cooporate headquarters was in Dubai and one of the upper level clinical education managers lived in Abu Dhabi. In addition, we typically spent at least a day or two in the Emirates following a medevac and had some time between leave and deployments. I am more familiar with Dubai. Hope that helps. Take care, chbare.

Actually, something I did not consider is the fact that many programs require hybrid courses that are not part of the "core" chemistry courses that biology and chemistry majors are required to take. I had to take such a course last semester to obtain additional chemistry credits for health sciences students as required by my RT program and by all the health science courses at my college. (Some credits do not transfer LOL.) The exception being the nursing program; however, this particular chemistry course is required for A&P, so the nursing students have to take it anyway. The grade they receive; however, does not directly effect their application packet into the nursing program, save the fact that it effects total GPA. The course I attended was one semester and was in essence a 3 credit survey of general, organic, and biochemistry with a 1 credit lab. While not a true course in either "general" or "organic" chemistry by a biology or chemistry major standards, it was actually quite good. Our professor was a neat lady who had her doctoral in organic chemistry. She put on a challenging, informative, and fun course. Take care, chbare.

That is one heck of a paramedic program being that a general chemistry course for many universities is typically two semesters long. Then, add courses in organic chemistry, and you are looking at 16 credits of chemistry alone. That is a hefty amount and meets the chemistry requirements for most PA programs in my area. Take care, chbare.

No, Vent is correct about some of the paramedic programs that are currently in operation. Take care, chbare.

I still think we need to look at the nursing aspect realistically. While some programs may have 1,200 hours of clinical experience, many do not. In my area of the country, nursing students receive less than 1,000 hours total. The programs near me only require one clinical day a week. I went to a program in a different part of the country where I had about 1,000 hours total. These are all accredited programs. Also, many programs across the nation are ADN programs based out of community colleges, therefore nursing is not always the perfect of example of pushing for the highest level of education. I respect nursing and as a nurse, the profession has taken me many places; however, if we continue to use nursing as an example, it is only fair to recognize the pitfalls of this profession. Regarding the DNP; yes there is a big push to transition all programs into this newer level by 2015. However, the problem with the DNP is the fact that there is a massive push for these nurses with less education than physicians to take over the physician role in some areas of health care. In several states, NP's already have independent practice. This means no physician supervision, no collaboration and no chart reviews. In essence, they are a physician and are pushing to bill the same as physicians. So, a provider with less education is taking on the role of providers who have more education. This is in essence the same stuff we see in EMS? http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/27/nurses-doctors-practice-oped-cx_mom_1128nurses.html In addition, only 50% of candidates passed the new DNP exam that was partially based on the USMLE step III exam. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/06/08/prl10608.htm In conclusion, better education is absolutely a must for EMS; however, nursing has many things to sort out before being the best role model of a profession IMHO. Take care, chbare.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up the the ResQshop critical care resource has been released for the iPhone/iPod touch. In addition to the plethora of critical care resources such as ventilator setup, medical management, infusion calculators, Parkland calculator, balloon pump quick guide, ABG and electrolyte manipulator, RSI, and quick equipment resource guide, the addition of a lab reference/resource section is a much appreciated addition. With the Fast Facts, Informed, and now ResQshop, the medical resource abilities of the iPhone are currently unmatched IMHO. Take care, chbare.

I guess you could look at buying your own, but utilising it without medical direction and guidelines in place is another story. In this case, the EMS service bought the device. Take care, chbare.

I say this with the caveat that nursing may end up paying for their over aggressive actions somewhere down the line. I only hope the time to pay up holds off for two more years. Then, I can simply toss my nursing license in a lock box and say "I am not a nurse and I have nothing to do with that nursing profession stuff." It's all about flexibility and adaptability. Take care, chbare.