JPINFV

^ I'm always amazed at how... different... my county's system is. All of the ALS units are assigned a base hospital (there are 6 in my county) and the county communications department is supposed to try to connect them to their base hospital regardless of the recieving facility. The MICN at the base hospital calls the facility for them. They do call the hospital directly if the patient meets the no- [base hospital] contact criteria.

Cyan is a terrible color to pick. Med Control being the worst job? Strange how they get paid more and are considered professionals [MICN or physican].

Gosh, maybe I'm just trying to connect stuff I'm learning in class (in this case Neurobiology lab) with my job. Applying my edumacation to my field work is better then just standing around with my thumb up my butt. side note: I don't work with a paramedic, and with my company's turnover rate, I'm pretty senior as it is.

Side note: The newer generation UAV's aren't remote controlled. Example, Fire Scout.

And that's because we have a ton of pre-meds at UCI that are basics. I know of at least 2 companies out here that start out at or over $10/hr working 12 hour shifts. Time and a half after 8 hours, double after 12. There's a reason a lot of people commute from Riverside.

My local university trauma center has a set of rules posted in big letters on the wall of the trauma room that includes who goes where and who does what.

Ok, I need to hijack this post for a few replies. How exactly is the best way to test out a patiens cranel nerves (specificially I, VII, and IX) prehospitally?

You've got a patient with an irregular pulse. You've got a hospital discharge packet as your "report" because the staff knows nothing. Patient is altered slightly. Now the question is do you call ALS/transport code 3, or do you transport BLS. So, exactly how much of this patient's condition is acute and how much is chronic. Charging down the street code 3 for an irregular pulse is kinda of stupid if the patient has it as a chronic condition.

1. The 12 lead in question wasn't from a SNF 2. Umm, how exactly do you plan a basic to "treat a rythum?" High flow o2 and transport? It's about trying to get as much background information as possible. Is this patient different from yesterday? Is this patient different from 2 weeks ago? Not, "Hmm, should I hot wire my AED to shock this rythum from 5 days ago, I think it's still there." 3. Each case is different. The hard choices are those borderline cases. A/Ox2, normally A/Ox4, elevated irregular pulse, so on and so forth. Nothing that yells out "patient is going to crash in 4 seconds" but not a patient that is completely healthy. Are you going to say that the treatment decisions for these patients (which BLS wise, is basically a call 911/rapid transport to the hosiptal, or BLS transport), espeically when trying to determine if a condition is acute or chronic?

Hmm, overly synical ER staff? Let's see, I can probably develop a short list of the possible hospitals that you volunteer at based on your description and the ER staff's attitude. And, umm, FYI. I ain't called for medics when I'm next door to the hospital. The hospital IS my fastest ALS.

Isn't that a pool game, or am I missing something here?

Because Basic school substitutes training for education. Remember, basic class is about anything not normal being an emergency, BLS algorithms that essentially breakdown to "1. look at patient. 2. call ALS. 3. high flow O2" and useless acronyms (because we need DCAPBTLS instead of, you know, just noting anything that wouldn't be considered normal, like burns, bleeding, punctures, etc). Maybe if BLS concentrated a smidge more on critical thinking, anatomy, and physiology instead of "look at this really cool injury," the BLS level might actually be worth something.

1. I agree with the "it exists." 2. Training and education. Is it where it should be or needs to be? Nope. That said, look where it's come from. We could be sitting around with our collective thumbs up our butts running everything code 3 as fast as can be. 3. Local flexibility. Do we need some sort of basic national structure? Sure, but the demands will always very by geographical location. It would be insane to think that EMS in Hawaii has the same demands as EMS in Alaska or that EMS in large cities has the same demands as in the boondocks. Local regions shouldn't be hamstrung when it comes to expanding the local scope of practice as needed. 4. Maturity. We are starting to move away from the voodoo beads and treatments that are "logical," but harm the patient and starting to move towards evidence based practices.

Ahh, my mistake then. When I see PCP, I think Canadian EMS. When I see "basic," I think American EMS. I connect PCP with BLS, but not with the term "Basic."

And have a college degree.

I've always had problems with transporting schizoaffectives. One was just completely out of it, and another that I've transported started to have a really bad mood swing (his mom, who rode with us thankfully, shut him up).

I guess I misread something somewhere... Sorry about that. So, mobey, who was advocating basics using ECGs to diagnose AMI?

Well, his first post where he goes off on basics using cardiac monitoring was right after your post and before buddah joined this thread. Or he can tell the future by almost 4 and a half hours.

Mobey, can you read? Honestly, he is a paramedic student. You are not even a PCP yet per your profile. It's like the pot insulting the kettle. How about you wait till you're done with class before telling people what to do?

Horton Ambulance's power locks on all the outside doors for the win.

For the sake of argument since the original poster already replied. Does it really take that long to evaulate a person for a stroke. Slurred speach and facial droup comes from talking to the patient, unless we're not supposed to do that anymore. Smile test, 5 seconds. Grip test, 5 seconds. Having your physical exam point away from CVA, priceless.

People panic and aren't sure of themselves if they've never done it in real life before. I remember the first (and so far the only) time I saw my sister choke on some food (this was a long time before becoming an EMT/thinking about medicine became a twinkle in my eye). Sure, I knew the heimlich maneuver, but I just sat there like :shock:. My dad jumped in and did it for her, but he's done it before. Or a story from the ambulance. I was helping field train a new employee from my company (by "help", I mean "train" because I wasn't a driver at the time so the FTO had to drive). SNF ER call for ALOC. Nothing major on the physical besides the AMS. The trainee just sat there. I was like, "there's something on the ambulance that you can give him for ALOC, what is it [O2]." Sure, she was certified, but that doesn't mean she was thinking about using the equiptment on the ambulance.

Is it really better, or are Canadians just slower. All hail the glorious American primary education system that prepares people for EMT courses. [that's a joke, son, you got to laugh a little]

Because the chicks dig it.