Richard B the EMT

I've been showing the picture around at work, saying it's the latest in from the DoH. It also is being sent around, but not by me, to non EMS people, as one I showed said she had gotten it, over the internet, a day or so before I showed it to her

The most common "Call" I hear on Halloween is the traditional call of (Yeah, I'm taking the word "Call" literally, LOL) Actually, I WAS the call one Halloween. I was walking my dog, and was passed by a bunch of teens, when something hit me in the back of the head. I looked back, and found it was an egg that had not broken on hitting me. I turned around, started saying something to the effect of "WTF', when another egg hit me in the face, breaking on me, cutting my face, and I ended up having to go to a local ER to have a piece of eggshell removed from my eyeball! As I knew my assailants, the cops went after them, on my complaint of "Assault 3 with a hen's egg". Yes, that is what the police report actually read!

OK, I now have to review a bit of A&P. Thanks.

What? That it was mentioned on one of the CSI shows, or something else? Let's face it, some folks do wierd stuff, but like the T-shirt says...

OK, with only 7 shows left, the episode of November 2 caused me to form these comments and questions. 1) A good head/neck trauma from a softball to the nose was wasted, as it was only used as a setup for why Nancy and the rookie were in response in the first place. 2) The rookie's questioning Nancy about what would turn out to be the letter of recommendation was distracting him from the task at hand, that of driving the "box" (terminology used in the show, leastwise they are not calling it a "bus"). Was he going to include the letter in that book he revealed he was writing last week? That distraction, IMHO, contributed heavily to the crash. 3) In the "prequil", Rabbit gives Nancy a ticket to the ball game. Was he planning on "scoring" himself ands Nancy "scoring" afterwards? 4) Boone and his partner respond to an EDP standing in the middle of a busy street, but don't use the ambulance to attempt to blockade the road, for theirs and the patient's safety... 5) and then do nothing to secure the EDP, either to the cot, or the seatbelt on the crew bench, even when the EDP starts throwing things at Boone. 6) The inference I picked up on, is that the 2 rookies, the EMT and the intern, might be getting ready to have sex. 7) After the collision, Nancy is laying on the ceiling of the cab, implying that she didn't fasten her seatbelt. Yet she's a student doctor who left the classes? She's probably so smart, she's dumb (note that I leave off the fact that she is a blond, which is a totally different area for jokes). 8) Boone and partner respond to the MVA/MCI with a patient already aboard? That's violation of policy/protocol in New York City and State, but do they allow that in San Fran? 9) Boone made the hard, but correct, call, to follow protocols of triage, with himself, the senior Paramedic on the scene, as Incident Command/Manager, and the partner starting to do the triaging. Boone then took command by both reminding and ordering the firefighters to follow the protocols, too. 10) How many of the Fire Fighters are in lust with Nancy, as they were ready to violate protocol to rescue her first? 11) Again, the colored ground covers for triage purposes, and again, I like, I like! 12) Rabbit violates his own experience of a stated 20 years as a Paramedic, and beelines to Nancy... 13) and effects a "Paramedic Shove" to push the EMT out of the way. 14) Years ago, Lou Ferrigno portrayed a Paramedic in a show called "Trauma Center". He didn't need a pneumatic cutter/spreader, he WAS one. Rabbit must have taken lessons from him, as nobody (?) previously had simply used his boot to kick out the windshield of the ambulance. 15) Nancy must have been in some level of shock, as she called Rabbit by his given name of Rubin. 16) The pilot's concern for Rabbit's mental state was correct, but seeing the physical attack Rabbit made on the fat guy with chest pains, she should have declined the call, "grounding" Rabbit sooner than she did... 17) and, again, since when do helicopters make house calls? Must be another San Fran "thang". 18) At least Rabbit's message to the fat guy, after the pilot calmed him down, was correct. 19) Rabbit, and several EMTs IN UNIFORM, getting sloshed in a bar? That is an act the FDNY would call "bringing disrepute on the department"... 20) and then the drunk Paramedic, Rabbit, gives proper instructions to the lesser drunk EMTs in the bar, as they render aid to Nancy's partner the rookie, who had collapsed (again!)? I can practically hear the disciplinary charges growing, per my local protocols and standards. 21) The intern blew the diagnosis, and should have run it by her supervising doctor, as stated in the show. Bad move, as she is working on her (possible) boyfriend. 22) Nancy's dad seemed somewhat angry towards the ER's OLMC doctor, who wrote the letter of recommendation. Either something is going on, had gone on, or daddy thinks something is going on or went on, with him. 23) In some systems, the agency would pretty much shut down the station that all could be with an injured member, even if it means forced overtime of members at another nearby station to provide the coverage. This showed the next best thing, as they all assembled at Nancy's bedside as soon as they all got off duty... 24) but Nancy just had a spleen removed, and they're practically force feeding her a slice of pizza. I'd think she would be "nothing by mouth" for at least 24 hours, plus she has to start taking meds to replace the stuff a spleen adds to the digestive track. <BR><BR>Sidenote: There was no mention of Boone's partner being Gay, dispite what many here stated the show was going to do.

(Anonymous)

Door to door Salesman: Boy: Salesman: Boy: Salesman: Boy: Salesman: Boy:

I agree with SA-Medic. Also, even the spell check/grammar programs can get it wrong. I was writing about a type two ambulance, and the program insisted that I meant two ambulances. Note that here, I used the spelled out number, not the digit, as the program started telling me to err again as already described.

Did you look away from the monitor? What did you look at? What it is that you saw, or thought you saw, transparent, translucent, or apparently solid? Should we be calling the Ghostbusters? Careful, Slimer still rolls with them.

Gupta's response still could have been based in religion, as I suggested in my response.

Well, he wasn't banned when I posted my original reply to him.

Perhaps I was reading this too quickly, but was the patient found prone, R/L recumbent, or supine, while "twitching" on the couch?

That sounds like a part of a religious belief, concerning reincarnation. I don't know many people, personally, who believe in reincarnation. I also won't belittle anyone who does believe in it, as someone else can make fun of me, for some part of the practice of my own religion, that would be different than the ways of that other individual or group.

Welcome aboard, Gupta. We have a bunch of countries represented in this "city", and to the best of my knowledge, you might be the first from India. I have to be a bit of a negative person in one regard: While we don't have a "caste system", were you to come to the United States, you could definitely get the training for working on an ambulance, but be discriminated against due to your age. I'm 55, which is old enough to retire from my employer, the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY), in the Emergency Medical Service Command (mission specific, as I don't fight fires), and have been so employed almost 25 years, a different way to reach retirement. However, I sometimes wonder if either my age or employment longevity has become an issue used to prevent me from getting a lateral transfer to something like teaching at the EMS Academy, instead of working on an ambulance. Having said that, I still must say that your experiences, were you to attempt to get employed here in the United States, might be totally different than mine. Good Luck in all your EMS endeavors, and again, welcome aboard.

So, does "Nessie", the Loch Ness "Monster" truly exist, or not? (Hey, it IS the day after Halloween as I post this.) Anyway, welcome aboard!

1) Agreed that control point's time will be time used for documentation, even if crossing time zone boundary. 2) Further agree, note in call comments that time change from Daylight savings time to regular, or regular to daylight savings time. 2-A) Suggest the comments of the time change primarily be on the call report. Call reports can be called into court as evidence, but per my understanding of New York State law, a "unit activity log" cannot be called in as evidence. Still, record it on the "UAL", also. Regarding the time changes, it is my understanding some long time dispatchers, on going to Daylight Savings Time, when "jumping ahead", have been known to announce When "Falling back" into Standard Time, the same dispatchers have been known to say Some units have been known to request being logged on again, following that announcement.

Tskstorm, if I may ask, are you on an FDNY EMS ambulance, a "Vollie" unit in the NYC 9-1-1 system, a volunteer ambulance corps, or an Inter Facility Transfer type service? And returning the same question of myself, I'm FDNY EMS (1985 to the present, but sidelined to light duty at FDNY HQ), a former volunteer ambulance corps member (Peninsula VAC, 1973-1996), and worked through 5 different IFT services from 1975-1985.

Someone asked about "disposable thermometers". Here is a link to one of the suppliers of one brand of disposable thermometers. http://www.woundcareshop.com/tempadotby3m.aspx?gclid=CLbElZ3q6p0CFdx05QodDXCLLg It's a strip in individual packaging, kind of like a "band-aid", that turns dots from one color to another if the temperature goes over a set point. Each dot is a degree, or part of a degree, represented.

<BR> How can you say this? Is it based on standards and scope of practice? If that were the case you could put anything into an "Epi-pen" style autoinjector, where would you draw the line. The autoinjectors used in WMD (generally nerve agents only - Atropine and 2PAM) are 1 1/2 inches long and are 18 gague needles, not remotely similar to an epi-pen (1/2-3/4" and 22-24 gague). I think these are nothing but blue sky statements. In New York State, EMT-Bs are allowed to "assist a patient in taking" specific meds, like Nitro pills, or epi-pens. Surprisingly, in a career of over 35 years, I have never been called on to do either. I'll chalk up the "vaccine as a WMD" as a typographical error. If exposed to a nerve agent, yes, I'd probably self-inject, for self rescue. I have not. In fact, the only thing we've spent time on, in my refresher classes, is a simulated autoinjector. When you press it, you hear and feel some kind of spring mechanism releasing within the device, and no needle is on the training device. I have been told that in one class, where Paramedic Trainees used an actual autoinjector with a placebo load, in classes at the FDNY EMS Academy, that a lieutenant had his finger in the wrong place, and the needle went through his thumb, complete to the thumbnail. It is my belief and hope that all EMTs, or Paramedics, in the US, Canada, the UK, or anywhere, are praying that a "General Order" to break out the 2PAM, and other "goodies" in the WMD kits, never becomes nessesary.<BR><BR>As for my statement that I'd be working the MIRV, I stated I'd be doing data entry. At no time did i say I was going to be actually doing any injections. If someone thought I WAS saying I'd be doing injections, I apologize for any confusion.

If they can put it into an Epi-pen style auto-injector, EMT-Bs in the FDNY EMS can do it, as we've been trained to use the injectors in the WMD kits. I am supposed to be on Major Incident Response Vehicle (MIRV) 2, doing data entry for this year's BioPOD (BIOlogical Point Of Distribution) drill, on Thursday through Sunday, when the H1N1 vaccine is supposed to be distributed to any and all FDNY Uniformed personnel who want it. Location and availability is subject to change.

Forget it, both of you! She's my sister! This seems to be the best response I think I have seen on the topic, both now, and in the 3 year old string.

I recall a "Lifeline" call, where the person answering the door, at the correct address and apartment per the dispatch information, denied even having the device in said apartment. On requested callback to the Lifeline operator, who was requested to call back the subscriber, got no answer, but I didn't hear the usual sounds that the home unit makes when called back by the Lifeline operator.

If they put the H1N1 vaccine into an autoinjector, I'm already trained in how to use them. Actually, all the EMTs in the FDNY EMS command are so trained, as they are in the "WMD" packages on both our BLS and ALS ambulances, to be opened if and when a City-wide general order is given from both the department's command, and Medical Control. Supposedly, the pecking order was 5 Fire Fighters under 1 EMT, 5 EMTs under one Paramedic, and 5 Paramedics under either a FDNY RN or MD. That is no longer the case, and I am going to ask, FDNY in-house, for a fast refresher on the topic, to get the correct information. So what if I make the occasional funny? I feel it breaks any tension I perceive in the room.

"Emergency!" was around 1972. "Trauma Center" and "Rescue 77" came in much later, as did the internet, and boards like EMT City. Any letters to the networks "back in the day" were what nowadays we'd call "snail mail", unlike today, when a discussion on a TV show will start even as the show is still being broadcast to the TV set. Case in point, about a year ago, there was a show, where actors would attempt to do things they were not known for. It was canceled after one episode. IMHO, that was because "Classic" "Star Trek's" George (Sulu) Takei attempted to sing "Country/Western". While I like him as both serious and comedic actor, my ears bled for several hours after he sang! (Momma B was looking over my shoulder, and remembers that show. Her hearing aid blew up from that alleged singing.)

Wait a minute! Isn't that what Gabriel "Sylar" Grey does to new characters on "Heroes" in the hour before?