emtannie

Sis,

Will this do until I find the real thing?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/MIB-Playmobil-Air-Rescu...A1%7C240%3A1318

We do hold on to subpar employees too long in this profession, but the worse news is that if you fired them all tomorrow, they would rehire the exact same type of people to fill their spot. Its like 500lb patients or drug-seekers, as soon as one dies off, there is another to take their place.

It isn't just this profession.... it is EVERY profession.... Every profession has their share of bottom-feeders who kiss the right ass, sleep with the right boss, or spend their days pointing fingers at everyone else so no one is too busy to notice that they aren't pulling their weight.

It doesn't matter if you are in EMS, or flipping burgers, or are the CEO in the corner office of the business tower downtown.... sometimes your job just sucks, and sometimes it is all you can do not to be on the roof with a gun (figuratively speaking...).

If you are finding that every day you wake up and your first thought is "I don't want to go to work." and you spend your entire day watching the clock wishing you were somewhere else, it is time to take a good hard look at where you are, and what opportunities you have to change where you are. There is no shame, and it is no crime, to decide that this is not where you want to be and you are going to make a change. In fact, it is the RIGHT thing to do when you cannot see anything positive left in your work.

I have been there, done that... and made a MAJOR career move 3 years ago... from something else into EMS full time. It is the best move I have made in 15 years. I was that person who woke up every day dreading going to work. I was that person who couldn't wait to leave work... I was that person who busted my ass every day and put in 80+ hour weeks, and watched others who did nothing, or slept with the boss, or backstabbed everyone else, get promoted. I was that person who had high blood pressure from my lifestyle. I made a list of the things I wanted changed at work, in order to make it work for me. I also made my list of "if this doesn't work out, what can I do." I researched it, did the budgeting, and had my facts in place before I approached my boss... I went to him with my proposal, and gave him 6 months to make the changes that would keep me there. At the end of 6 months, he had done nothing... so I handed him my resignation. That was the best thing I ever did, and the look on his face alone was worth it.

Life is too short to spend it being unhappy.... if you are unhappy all the time in your work.... do the right thing for YOU and find something else you like. Trust me, it is worth it. And, trust your gut.... if your gut is telling you to stay in EMS, stay, and give it your 100%. If your gut is telling you to go, go.. and find something else to give your 100% to.

I think I need to go self-medicate to get that image out of my head.......

There is nothing in the article that states if the man (the patient’s friend) who died was in the back, or in a seat up front. So, in assuming that this man was in the back of the ambulance with the patient, you are guessing. One could also guess that the ambulance was hit on the passenger side door, where this person was sitting, and injuries sustained due to the impact killed him.

Quote from the article: “The ambulance was conducting a normal patient transfer and did not have any of its emergency equipment activated, police said.”

Dust said “IFT’s ≠ EMS” ….. it would appear that this was an IFT…..

And cynical…..

None of that is our problem!! They let their choices go out the window when they or their family activated 911. Now don't get me wrong, they can refuse any kind of treatment that EMS may want to do, but what you are talking about in your post is a hospital problem, not ems. If they are old and senile, then they aren't going to remember anything that goes on and if it is a cultural issue, then, sorry, but we have a job to do. And when it comes to children, parents tend to make the child more aggitated because they cant control themselves. Regardless how you want to look at it to justify somebody riding in that is not seeking medical attention, we still have a job to do and we need to cover our own butts. So what if their feelings get hurt or they get offended, at least you will still have a job. There's nothing that states that we have to allow anybody to ride in.

Wow..... your lack of empathy and compassion are in themselves amazing, considering the profession you are in. Your understanding of dealing with children and your comment of "parents tend to make the child more agitated because they can't control themselves" amazes me as well.... check the research, the textbooks, and talk to ER and Peds docs.... I think they will beg to differ.

The "old and senile" comment was completely unprofessional, and shows a complete lack of understanding and education on dementia and mental health issues. Again, talk to a geriatric specialist and see what they say about your comment... and learn from them.

Of course there are situations where family members are a detriment to patient care. Use common sense and good judgment, and the assistance of the other professionals at the scene if you have to, to keep them out of your ambulance. There are also situations where having a family member in the ambulance is a good idea. I have refused family members, and I have taken family members along. They do not necessarily have to be in the back with the patient.

I always knew I needed to put some Non Skid shoe covers in my jump bag.

I wish we had a picture of him, so if we saw him we could all run, or fling needles.

You do possibly have a picture of him....... on the zombie site, where his thread is, the very first pic...... look top right hand side.... a picture of a well-dressed man and woman is on the table behind the sofa.... I am betting that is him.....

Wow. I wonder if the irony has struck him yet that come whatever disaster he is preparing for, all the equipment in the world won't be worth squat if nobody knows how to use it!

Good point.....

And that most of the stuff in that kit has expiry dates......

I am curious how things are with your preceptors. Are they only pointing out the things that you need improvement on, or are they also pointing out the things you do well? A word of encouragement can go a long way.

Have they given you any "words of wisdom" to improve your confidence?

It sounds like you are doing all the right things to be a good practitioner. Hang in there!

I believe that just like the child who is always told that they are stupid, or ugly, and they believe it, anyone, if told something long enough, will believe what they are told, and it will come true. Because they believe it, they begin to act in the way that they are "expected"" - the child becomes withdrawn or quits trying in school.... and in the case that itk posted, the lady quit trying to thrive, and did give up and die.

I also believe that there are individuals who will defy the odds as long as possible. These are the ones who, when given a terminal diagnosis, refuse to give up and either recover from the illness, or survive much longer than doctors anticipated. The human psyche is an amazing thing. When used for positive, miracles can occur. It is unfortunate that more people cannot see the positive.

I regularly remind myself of a quote from my father. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer, and was given 3 months to live. He told the doctors that he had too much to do, and that he wasn't going to die in 3 months. He lived 4 years and 2 months after that diagnosis. The last 8 months he was paralyzed from the mid-thoracic region down, as the cancer had damaged his spinal cord. My mom and I took care of him at home until he died... and one day as I was sitting in his room and talking with him, I told him that he was a hero to me, because he never complained about his condition. He looked me in the eyes, and said "If you spend your time counting your blessings, you don't have time to complain about your problems." I believe that attitude was what kept him alive for so long (and Russian stubbornness didn't hurt either).

My prayers are with you and your family. May your grandmother rest in peace, and you take comfort in all the good memories you have.

I hope you are feeling better soon Phil.

And I sent sis a new sponge for your bath.. :twisted:

But until you are up and around again, can I borrow your crutches so I can hit a few people with them?

Take care,

Annie

Now can you kill someone with .5 of epi ... again oh yes you can, just take the next obese cardiopath (that just so happens to "react" to bee stings and is already taching along at 140 bpm ... give him epi instead of benadryl ... because he is still moving air and 15 minutes after the insult ?

Quote from article:

"Suleman said she had never been on welfare and would find a way to get by with the help of family, friends and her church"

I wonder if she asked her family, friends, and her church if it was ok with them to financially and otherwise burden them with this additional responsibility...

Ok some days I can't help myself .... but "some women want to be catered too" ... so like thats out of the expected norm for north american women ? HUH ?

btw In the Inuit Culture the only time a Women has any status is when they are expecting ...

Methinks somebody isn't getting any..........

firedoc, I am sorry for your loss, and am sorry for your neighbor's family's loss as well. It is always difficult to see someone you care for suffering.

Be proud of your neighbors for wanting to do what he wanted, and that was to be at home. And God bless you for being there to lend a hand.. even though they may not say much now, I am sure it was appreciated more than you know.

This thread?

http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7470&

Thanks fiznat, but that wasn't the one I was looking for.

My request stems from a comment a co-worker made.... stating that if you can't auscultate a BP, or palpate it, you can attach the cuff, inflate it, and then watch the needle... and when you see the first "bounce" of the needle, you have the systolic pressure. After I went :shock: I decided I should come up with something to refute that.

And, sidenote for anyone who wants to post that whoever this EMS person is should get off the truck.... this co-worker is not EMS... but is an ER RN....

I think Scotty has some high quality genetics, and should be allowed to further his genetic line.....

I seem to remember a thread quite some time ago that talked about teaching newbies and students "the right way" vs "the way it has always been done."

One of the posts in that thread was regarding obtaining a patient's BP. There was some discussion on "the way it has always been done" technique of watching for the needle bounce as a non-scientific way of obtaining BP's.

I have tried the search function and came up with over 1700 possibilities, so I am hoping someone remembers this thread.

I am looking for this information as I need to prove to a co-worker that the "needle bounce" is not an evidence-based method of obtaining BP.

Thanks!

Not a bad plan annie, i like the thinking, so do those monitors have the built-in aed, if not, are you planning to put AEDS on your BLS trucks ?

Yes, our LP12's have the built-in AED.

Everyone wants this guy dead cause he killed a EMS worker not because he killed another human. Death row is full of murders that did just that killed innocent people but no one is going on how they should die like right now' date=' but because this guy killed a EMS worker everyone is after his head on a platter. Does the EMS workers life have more value the innocent kid that was killed by a mad man, or the wife that was killed by abusive husband, or all the innocent lives taken by serial killers?

Sadly death penalty is more expensive than life in prision under current method of doing things. Now if we immediatly took them out after being found guilty and carried out sentence would save money.

I agree - and I wish that is what could happen.

I am confused by your post doc. Are you asking why would you want an AED, because your units have real monitors on board with manual defibs ?

If so, the reason is basics cant interpret EKG, so having a manual defib is worthless, whereas much like on first responder vehicles, AEDs require no EKG interpretation ability. The basic truck would attach the AED and follow the directions. If the patient needed defib, they would get it.

Our basic units have LP12's... yes, you are right that basics cannot interpret EKG. but, they can apply a 12 lead, and we have the capabilty to transmit that lead to the ER via land line or cell phone... so the ER doc can interpret the initial rhythm before the BLS unit gets to hospital.

The care that a basic provides does not change. But, the care that the patient receives in ER may be provided more efficiently when they know what is coming through the door in advance.

In my area, some FD trucks that first respond for EMS have AED's and there are public access AED's in numerous locations throughout the community.

I will admit - I am biased - my first thought is that I would want him dead too, just as I would if it were a member of my family, or a child that he murdered.

For the family of the man he killed... is it enough to put him in jail? is it enough to try to rehabiltate him if he does have a mental illness? is it enough to kill him? Probably not - no matter what we do from this point on, it will never bring back their family member. It will never fill that empty hole or heal the scars completely.

So then, which decision impacts me (assuming I lived in the US)? Putting him in jail means my tax dollars feed and clothe this person, and provide his medical care. I would prefer my tax dollars go to the family of the deceased, to assist with their needs. I would prefer my tax dollars go to education, health care, and providing a paid EMS service. So, put a needle in his arm, put a bullet in him.... and I will write my tax cheque to the family of the EMT that was killed.

Just my humble opinion.

I am sitting here, wondering exactly what "damages" this person could possibly try to sue akflightmedic for.

The way I understand it, this person (let's call them person X) took a real newspaper article, and altered it so that they looked like the victim in the article.

They also contacted another member of this website (let's call them person Y) under false pretenses (pretending to be the mother of person X), informing them of the accident, and that person X was in hospital in very serious condition.

Person Y, not knowing that this was indeed a scam, started a thread so that other members of the site would be aware of the accident and be able to voice their concerns and their prayers.

Then, in order to clarify and get further information on the accident, akflightmedic did some internet research, and also called the newspaper to confirm the story.

At that time akflightmedic was informed that the information provided to Person Y was indeed false, and that Person X had also contacted the newspaper to try to cover their tracks.

Akflightmedic informed members of this site that the original information provided to Person Y had indeed been false.

When I look at that, I see several things:

- Person Y was lied to, and posted information thinking it was true, through no fault of their own. Person X was the perpetrator of this lie.

- akflightmedic was confirming public information by contacting the newspaper, and relayed that public information to the rest of the members on this site, correcting the false information provided earlier.

The only damages I see here are:

- the damages to Person Y, who was used as a pawn in the lie that Person X started

- the damages to members of this site, who tend to be concerned about people in their community and profession, who were led to believe that Person X was seriously injured, when that is in fact not true

- the damages to akflightmedic, who has been threatened with legal action because he determined the original information was false.

I do not see Person X being able to sue for any damages. The only damage I see to Person X is the damage to their reputation, which was caused by their own actions, not those of others on this site. It will be a very sad day if a lawyer actually takes this case on, and tries to pursue it. Person X appears to have wanted attention, and the attention received was not the kind that they wanted, so now they are threatening legal action in an effort to show that they are the victim, when that is not the case.

Sometimes there are consequences to actions, and in this case, the consequences are the ruination of Person X's reputation at this site, due to their own actions. They showed themselves to be lying and manipulative, and when they were caught in the lie, have gone on the attack rather than do the mature thing and apologize to those that they lied to.

AK, keep us informed on how this goes. We may have to set up an "AK legal expense fund" if this truly goes ahead....

Except in moments that one feels called to respond vigorously to a direct attack, I have yet to learn how withholding empathy ever benefits anyone. Doesn't mean I always manage to do it, only means that on the whole I know I deprive both myself and the other when I don't.

Nah.... it is a matter of priorities..... I can usually find something or someone more important to me to empathise with at that particular moment, rather than expending energies on the individual who is attention seeking. I haven't lost anything by not being empathetic to that person and by focussing my energies elsewhere... and they cannot evaluate the benefit (or perceived benefit) when they don't know it exists.

Pregnancy makes a woman extremely vulnerably physically and emotionally. Joints get softer, it gets harder to move or flee from someone pursuing you, the hormonal flux causes emotional turbulence... who wouldn't empathize with that?

Well, for most women, this was a choice they made..... fully knowing that there were going to be significant changes, and not all of them happy warm fuzzy ones.

As a woman who was never able to have children, and dearly wanted them, and tried to adopt (but our adoption regulations here are crazy), I do get tired of the women who make their pregnancy the topic of every conversation and use it as a reason to get out of doing their jobs, or to garner attention everywhere they go. I am not saying that ALL women are like this, but the few that are create a picture that does get stereotyped. Just like we all cringe when a medic does something that makes the rest of the profession look bad, women who are pregnant or have children should cringe when another women acts like the one described in the original post.

The women who make themselves the centre of attention when they are pregnant are the same ones who assume that the reason I don't have children was by choice, and comment to that effect, with no clue how painful that is. They are the same ones who think that I should cover their workload so that they can take more sick days than they are allowed, without asking if I will cover for them, or thanking me when I do. There is a Canadian national statistic - see www.statscan.ca - that shows that parents with children miss more days of work and take more sick days. I am ok with that - I think kids need a parent to take care of them, and there are always things that come up. BUT - I also think those parents should thank those that cover for them so they can take those days off.

I will not empathise with the type of pregnant person, or parent described in the article in the original post. For the rest of the pregnant population, I will. For parents who are truly trying to educate their children and teach them to be members of society, not just the centre of attention, I will be patient. For those parents who were described in the original article, I won't.