chbare

It's going to be very hard to compete with the current reliable fiber optic technology such as the Glidescope. This is especially true now that costs are decreasing. I ran into a backcountry EMS service with a total of two ambulances in rural Texas who managed to buy a Glidescope for each ambulance. The PM I talked with stated a price of less than $10,000 per unit. Over time, you may end up having good ROI as initial costs continue to decrease. Especially, now that flash memory and video recording is quite possible. Now, we have a video of the tube passing into the glottis and carbon dioxide detection. Honestly, I see a big push away from conventional laryngoscopy in the field of difficult airway management. Take care, chbare.

My best friend is a Canadian, but he's an ass. Therefore, I must disagree with your assessment. Take care, chbare.

This is not meant to offend just a joke. I am not sure if you looked at the date of the last post, however. Take care, chbare.

Yeah, many people looking at radiology, respiratory, and sonography programmes. Take care, chbare.

Yeah, I did my Intermediate in Abq and have some experience with Abq fire. You will be hard pressed to find a nursing program without a wait list. One thing I see, is a trend for students to look at allied health programmes. Just a consideration. Take care, chbare.

I see. You are going to be hard pressed to find a really good PM programme in New Mexico. ENMUR had a top notch programme a few years ago; however, I am not sure if that is still the case. Unfortunately, you may end up going through school again if you move to Colorado. Take care, chbare.

What school in New Mexico requires intermediates to do the didactic portion of the paramedic curriculum but only test out as an I? Take care, chbare. Edit: After thinking about this, you are dropping out of PM school in NM and looking to reapply in CO ? In that case, it will be complicated and difficult to transition into another program that will simply let you do clinicals. Perhaps not impossible; however, if your program is college based the credits may transfer. Otherwise, you ma end up taking many classes over.

We are basing this discussion on the fact that being entitled to wear certain types clothing is a fundamental human right that all nations and societies must accept? Perhaps; however, with all the other travesties such as raping, killing and genital mutilation that occurs on a daly basis in other countries, what the French do regarding their national dress code is rather unimportant at this point in time IMHO. Take care, chbare.

I got a kick out of the fire fighter bragging about intubation. The "I can do more skills than you" discussion comes up from time to time and I found the notion rather funny. Take care, chbare.

Link is three and a half years old. Take care, chbare.

Looks like a mess to me. It seems Ronin has initiated 500,000 pound lawsuit against the South African HPC. In addition, Ronin does in fact advertise on their site that graduates are entitled to pursue UK paramedic recognition. I am not sure, but it sounds a little dodgy to me. Take care, chbare. Technically, the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Take care, chbare.

Thanks JPINFV! I want to go a little off topic and focus on the concept of electronegativity. This single concept explains a large portion of the conceptual aspect of how chemistry effects acid base relationship. Clearly, electronegativity effects multiple important concepts such as molecular geometry as well. As stated, the more electronegative something is, the more it wants to pull on the electron. So, if you have an element with low electronegativity combined with an element of high electronegativity, the high element will have substantial pull on the electron/s of the low element. We typically measure electronegativity by the Pauling scale. It ranges from the lowest at 0.7 (Cesium), to the highest at 4 (Fluorine). The following table sums up the electronegativity of the various elements: I had to memorize this table in chemistry, but understanding it was the "ah-ha" moment for me regarding understanding concepts like polar and non-polar. So, let's try it with regard to acid base concepts since that is more relevant to the topic at hand. Let me give you a common acid hydrochloric acid (HCl). It is known as a strong acid because it gives up all of it's available hydrogen ions. What exactly makes HCl behave like an acid? Let's use electronegativity to explain. H has a value of 2.1 and Cl has a value of 3. It is pretty obvious who is most electronegative. Therefore, the Cl has a very strong pull on the electron of hydrogen. The hydrogen nucleus (single proton) (AKA hydrogen ion) can easily leave in an aqueous solution because Cl pulls so strongly on the electron leaving behind a proton. Of course, the positive charge of the proton will then be attracted to other molecules with a negative or partial negative charge. Electronegative concepts also help explain the concept of polar versus non polar. Take a molecule of water for example: H2O. The oxygen has a higher electronegativity and pulls on the electrons causing a partial negative charge of the oxygen and a partial positive charge on the hydrogen atoms. This difference in partial charge not only creates a characteristic shape, but makes the water molecule polar. However, lets take two oxygen atoms covalently bound (O2). Well, oxygen is 3.5 and oxygen is 3.5. The difference is 0. You basically have equal sharing of electrons, and you have a non polar molecule. Take care, chbare.

In some cases, yes. The thread was looking like it could go into nursing erotica land, and I wanted to emphasize the fact that the profession of nursing is far from sorted. While this does not excuse EMS, I also wanted to point out some of the major issues facing my profession. Take care, chbare.

I wanted to apologize as I realize that my prior post contains several typos. I was on shift and utilizing my iPhone. It's no excuse, but I wanted to address the errors. Take care, chbare.

Oh no, these are not people who were failing nursing school, they actually dropped out of nursing school to go into the RT program because of what I stated above. Take care, chbare.

One of the major factors in the flight mess is the sending facility. Hospitals are just as bad if not worse in the overuse of fligh, specifically HEMS. In addition, the sexy factor is quickly ending in many areas where providers can make more money and have better hours. This especially applies to experienced nurses who should be taking these flight positions. We now have an army of inexperienced and ill prepared providers working for peanuts. This is further compounded by aggressive "you call we haul" PR programs, EMS overuse of HEMS, and sending facilities calling flight resources to get patients out along with service/helicopter shopping. Regarding nursing; nursing education is in a state of chaos. Lack of qualified instructors and program resources is hitting home hard. The nursing programs in my area now have only one clinical day a week, essentially cutting the clinical requirements in half. About 1/3 of the students in my RT class are dropouts from both the AD and BS nursing programs. Lack of structure, clinical experience, and poor instruction have been quoted. Anecdotal, yes; however, most of these people are good students who have done well in the RT program. In addition, potential nursing students are looking at other allied health positions instead of nursing. The profession of nursing seems to be doing little to ensure well qualified nurses are going going into patient care positions. However, we are doing very good at pushing indi practice DNP agenda as the cure for the primary care crisis and generally pissing off the medical community. However, it seems we are forgetting about the backbone of nursing (bedside care). IMHO Take care, chbare.

Your best bet is to establish a line at KVO of an isotonic (non-dextrose ) containing solution assuming a normal blood sugar. While the concept of HHH therapy may apply in some cases, doing so in the pre-hospital environment is not a good idea. In fact, staying away from messing with blood pressure is a good idea. If hypotension or a fluid volume deficit exists, give fluids by all means, but overhydration with IV fluids and all that crazy stuff is not for the pre-hospital environment. Do not get crazy with fluids guys unless you need to correct a deficit. Take care, chbare.

Also remember these equations people spit out: H30 + HC03 <-> H2CO3 <-> H20 + CO2 & H20 + CO2 <-> H2CO3 <-> H30 + HCO3, have a tendancy to form an equilibrium. Not equal parts, but no net change in reactant and product amount over time. Unfortunately, the human body is so dynamic that there is a constant struggle to maintain equilibrium. With that, something known as le chatelier's principle comes into play. Essentially, when you change any number of variables such as concentration of products, reactants or change temperature or pressure and you change the system, thus causing the system to attempt to re-establish equilibrium. A simple example: Reactants = A & B, Product = C. Formula in equilibrium = A + B <-> C. Now, let's play: I increase the amount of reactant A, le chatelier's principle dictates the formula will shift to the right and make more of the product C in order to re=establish equilibrium. Likewise, adding product C will cause a left shift and production of more A & B in order to re-establish equilibrium. This can help explain what giving somebody bicarb can increase the CO2 levels. Clearly, a bit more complicated but a good start to understanding more than the simple formulas you learn. Hope that helps. Take care, chbare.

Lawyer up and shut up. I would not post anything more or say anything else at this point. Good luck. Take care, chbare.

Really depends on the programme; however, the jump from ADN to BSN is not big in the way of "hard science" and clinical courses in my area of the country. The clinical requirement for the AD to BSN programme is a 36 hour community health rotation. The only "hard" course is a 3 credit online nursing pathophysiology course. While I would always advocate people go for a BSN, the state of nursing education is so chaotic, the difference in the finished product (new grad) is going to vary significantly. Take care, chbare.

MSP had a single PM setup and then pulled a first responder from the scene. I am not sure if they still operate like this? The BSN transition at many schools does not have a strong focus on "hard" science education or clinical experience. Not to say classes such as "the world at large" are not worthwile; however, the focus is not on critical care and acute care clinical experience. With that, all other things equal, I would choose the BSN. Take care, chbare.

History assessment. Why are we taking coumadin? (Atrial fibrillation, valvular disorder, etc.) History of WPW or LGL? Take care, chbare.

You want to consider potential electrolyte imbalance. I would want to look at the XII lead, med list, and obtain additional history before charging down the blast em with the antiarrhythmic of the month pathway. Take care, chbare.

I would leave it alone. Let the doc interrogate the device and do a workup. Check the sugar enroute. Take care, chbare.

The nurse will typically make more money. I would not suggest attempting paramedic school and nursing school at the same time. Nursing school is not what it seems on paper. You will have little available time. Take care, chbare.