Informed field guide

[crotchitymedic1986]

Well i have not had a BM today, so I may be full of it, but I still stand by my assertions. Doctors have much more area to cover than we do in our limited scope, so using a book is not necessarily a bad thing, as I doubt that i could remember all aspects of every disease known to man, nor the proper dosage of every drug known to man.

Paramedics should be able to keep up with the 30 or so drugs that we administer, the proper dosage, and the proper way to calculate a drip rate.

[Dustdevil]

It really depends on what exactly you are using it for. If you are using it as a crutch for things you should have learned in paramedic school, or through years of practice behind you, then that is teh FAIL! But if you are using it for those bizarre rarities that occasionally confront us, or those off-the-wall Rx meds that turn up on some patients' nightstands, then it's a good thing to have around. But if you carry the thing around so that you don't have to ever go look those things up yourself, ahead of time, then that is sheer laziness.

As for comparing us to doctors, not really a good analogy. They have a LOT more information to stuff into their brains than we do. There is zero excuse for not being able to hang on to almost every bit of information that can be delivered in a thirteen-week monkey school. The information in a field guide should be limited to that information that you did not get in school, and maybe those few essential pearls of wisdom that rate reiteration.

In order to progress professionally, you have to test yourself constantly, and push the limits of your comfort zone. That means kicking the crutches aside as early as possible, which should be NO LATER THAN graduation, and preferably a lot sooner. If you don't jump from that cozy nest, you will never fly.

[spenac]

I actually mainly use mine for the odd drug grandma hands me, so I know what it is. I will verify dosages on drugs that we do not administer very often. But I would say 99% OF WHAT WE DO IS DONE BASED ON EDUCATION BUT THERE IS NO SHAME WHEN THE 1% COMES UP TO OPEN THE BOOK.

sorry hit cap lock

[sirduke]

I use mine to look up prescription meds, not for drug calc or drip rates. It also has spanish/english translations in it, which usually aren't worth a sheite moslem, but I try. Lost most of my spanish after I got out of the military.

As for a 13 week medic school, where are they? I spent a year taking pre req courses, then a year in medic school and finished with an AA. Must have wasted my damn time...

I got as much use for a 13 week medic as I have for a "zero to hero" medic, friggin useless to me.

One man's opinion

[Dustdevil]

Zero to hero is the best way to go, so long as it takes you a couple of years to do it. Don't most doctors go from zero to hero without ever being a nurse first?

As for the thirteen week medic schools, head to Los Angeles. Or you could jump ahead and git 'er done in ten weeks at Texas A&M.

[sirduke]

Too late, went on and did it the hard way, can't say I regret it either. Still learning everyday even after all that, can't imagine being on a truck as a medic with only 13 weeks of training, in my opinion that is just criminal.

I still disagree with you on the zero to hero, guess we'll have to agree to disagree, seen several of them and they wern't to swift. Could have been their youth, but again maybe not.

Anyrate, there it is.

[Kaisu]

Actualy pilots are allways reding "the manual" on air but understand what your are saying.

Kaisu: what guide do you use ?

I use Informed Emergency and Critical Care ACLS version.

PS .. I also like it for Hemodynamics and blood labs for my long distance transfer patients.

[EMS Solutions]

Most of the commercial field guides are way too big to fit in a pocket and are really just mini textbooks. They can be a good tool to use if kept in a bag or fornt of the truck to refer to. Especially for newer providers and those returning after a leave. I do agree that they should not a be a crutch or replacement for good retention of drugs, dosages, treatments etc. But there are calls like pediatrics that it can be better to look up some things to "refresh" your memory on the way to a call, rather than give an incorrect dosage or med. A quick refresher on certain drugs is all that should be needed. You should not be reading from the little 3x5 book on each call.

I get a lot of agencies to create custom guides for that start off wanting to have a 300 page guide with all the nuts and bolts included. I try and suggest that they keep it as a short reference guide and not as a replacement for being a well educated and knowledgable paramedic.

These guides can be useful in a regional setting since dosages and medical control options and treatment modalities can change from region to region and some of us work in several regions. So having a specific guide for a region that focuses on that areas protocols can be a very useful tool for not only "refreshing' on a particular protocol but also during chart writing.

So while I agree that any guide should not be a go to resource on each call you do. They can be another tool that we use in the field to ensure the best care is given. I would rather someone peek at a drug dosage real quick than give the wrong med. While at the same time, if that same someone is looking up the same med or dosage every time, then there is an issue. Whether it be laziness or just lack of interest in their career.

Field guides are a tool in our arsenal and it depends on how you use them.

[AnthonyM83]

When I first started, I used to review pertinent questions about my call-type enroute to scene. Yes, this all should have been learned and practiced in EMT school, but it wasn't, so this is how I learned.

Of course, also a good drug reference guide. It was always kept in my backpack in the front, though. I might pull it out during an IFT and review the pts meds list.

I also recommend the ALS version even if you're BLS.

[nari]

I have some thoughts about the question a asked you all.

I am a part-time EMS, every other week all year round I'm on duty.

I live in a "small" town in Iceland 1000prs. in a rather remote spot part of the country.

If I'm "lucky" I'll get 50+/- calls a year. most of them are transporting old people from our nursing home and health center to a hospital 45min drive in the summer. so i thing it is essential for me to have a good field guide with me when the big calls come.

do i make any sense ore I'm i just lazy ?