do you carry anything when your off duty?

[bbbrammer]

Usually no. I only do when the weather is bad since I am the only paramedic in my service and they may need my help on something.

[beckoncall62]

I personally carry a jump kit and several pairs of gloves. My pov has flares, chocks, my jump kit and bunker gear. I am a paid/volunteer firefighter/EMT on a rural fire department. Our district is half in/half out of the Olympic National Forest in WA. State. Driving back and forth through my district to the nearest city, I am constantly "happening" onto different types of situations.

[paraloco]

I carry nothing. I'll call 911 as needed. Unauthorized posession of medical supplies or equipment (that belongs to your employer) is grounds for decertification. There are devices which can only be purchased by or on order from a physician. True, you could, with little effort, jump through the hoops to possess this stuff legitimately. But why pay for it out of pocket, when all I have to do is call 911? If I lived in a sparsley populated area, I'd probably feel differently about the issue.

[becksdad]

I carry a combitube. I like to inflate the cuff and tell people it's a tamponade device for lower G.I. bleeds.

[firemedic37]

I carry a set of latex gloves.. but, it is not for stopping at incidences.... :oops:

R/r 911

I would not carry Latex gloves just to be safe. There are a lot of people that are allergic to Latex some minor rashs, some more

severe life threating reactions. To be safe I would carry Nitrate Gloves, they come in about any color you can imagine.

As for me I carry a EMR Kit in my Car even though I am a EMT. Some States (or Countries) vary in what you can do if you respond diect to the scene. Where I live you can only provide Basic First Aid (The First Aid taught by AHA) until your unit arrives than you can provide your level of care.

As for my person I always have a Mask Sheild for CPR on my key chain and a pair of Nitrate Gloves.

As far as responding when I am "off duty" or "off call", if I see someone that needs help I will help them only if there is no medical help there already (First Responder Unit or Ambulance), or if I see just a couple people I will approach them and see if they need anymore help. Also I dial 911 to confirm that assistance is on its way, then I help. I have been told a thousand stories about people dying because a "off duty" or returning ambulance did not stop to assist them.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Firemedic - your 1st post is quite surprising

As far as responding when I am "off duty" or "off call", if I see someone that needs help I will help them only if there is no medical help there already (First Responder Unit or Ambulance), or if I see just a couple people I will approach them and see if they need anymore help. Also I dial 911 to confirm that assistance is on its way, then I help. I have been told a thousand stories about people dying because a "off duty" or returning ambulance did not stop to assist them.

How many stories have you been told - a thousand -- That's amazing that you know enough people to have been told a thousand stories. I'm really very very skeptical at that statement.

Off duty or returning ambulance if it is in their coverage area should stop and render assistance. if it is out of their coverage area they should stop to confirm that help is on the way and then render assistance if they get permission from the county or city that they are stopping in.

But I truly do not believe that you have been told a thousand stories. That's a tall tale.

[Richard B the EMT]

I carry my department issued "Jump Kit" with me, off duty, for when I stop at street scenes to render aid. I also have set up a personally owned kit with the same stuff as required by the job for the issued kit, so I am actually carrying 2 kits.

I also have licence plates that identify me as an EMT. I am willing to stop at something streetside to render help till the on duty crews arrive.

I have a scanner radio and I monitor sometimes. I will not go to a scene where the call is inside a residential location, then I have no way of saying I "saw something happening and decided to help".

Can we all agree to disagree that some of us will stop at something in the streets that we see from our POVs, others will not stop?

On a side note, if something happens in front of you, and you do decide to stop and help, make sure that SOMEBODY has called the emergency number for the area? I have heard urban legend horror stories for years, where someone stopped to render help, but all the bystanders thought that the individual was responding to someone else's call to 911.

I call it "Elevator Syndrome". Everyone stands in front of the elevator doors, complaining how slow the elevator is, but everyone thinks somebody else pushed the call button, and the elevator never comes.

[Lone Star]

(knows I'm gonna take fire from all sides on this one)

I've set up my own personal 'jump kit' (yes, at my own expense)

I've been known to stop at incidents and checked for injuries, called and started EMS rolling to that location. I've also found that most emt's are willing to replace what you've used out of your own personal jump kits from the supplies on the rig. I dont mind helping others when I have the skills and knowledge. This is, after all, why I became an EMT.

I don't view this behavior as a 'Johnny Gage/Roy DeSoto complex' ... if I were injured and needed assistance (been there done that) and an off duty EMT (regardless of their level of licensure) stopped to help me, I would be grateful beyond words.

There is too much of this 'me first, screw you isolationism going on today, and we need to get back to things like 'The Golden Rule' and 'love your enemies as you would love yourself' mentality. Have you ever noticed that when those values were actually in place and used on a daily basis, how much nicer things were?

Now, I've stated that I do posess my own jump kit (stocked at the MFR level), but I don't always carry it. I don't worry about getting sued because I do not try to perform procedures that are above my licensure. The Good Samaritan Act should free me from prosecution as long as I do not violate the guidelines of my licensure level.

Since I dont carry airway adjuncts, IV's, etc...I cannot violate any of my state protocols. (those things are for the on duty crews)

[Dustdevil]

I would not carry Latex gloves just to be safe. There are a lot of people that are allergic to Latex some minor rashs, some more

severe life threating reactions. To be safe I would carry Nitrate Gloves, they come in about any color you can imagine.

Nitrate gloves are even more dangerous than latex. If you use nitrate gloves on a patient who takes Viagra, it could very well kill him. 8)

As for me I carry a EMR Kit in my Car even though I am a EMT. Some States (or Countries) vary in what you can do if you respond diect to the scene. Where I live you can only provide Basic First Aid (The First Aid taught by AHA) until your unit arrives than you can provide your level of care.

What exactly is the difference between an EMR kit and an EMT kit anyhow? :?

...or if I see just a couple people I will approach them and see if they need anymore help. Also I dial 911 to confirm that assistance is on its way, then I help.

So... you just stop everytime you see a couple of people chatting and ask them if they need help? You must be a busy boy.

I have been told a thousand stories about people dying because a "off duty" or returning ambulance did not stop to assist them.

I call bull$hit on this one. Either somebody lied to you (a thousand times) and you're the most gullible person on earth, or you're just making this up to inflate your own sense of self importance. Regardless, your assertion is crap.

[zippyRN]

off duty kit ?

personally i carry the same kit in my car as i use when doing EMS stuff becasue it's 'my' kit - most if not all the consumables are supplied by one or other employing agency but the bag itself and the durable items are mine ...

not i nthe car - gloves and cheap face shield in the zip bit of my wallet - another couple of pairs of gloves a pocket mask and some ambulance dressings in the daysack that mrs zippy is prone to referring to as a 'man's handbag ' ( there's also pens, filofax, scrap paper, tourniquet , cheat cards for the ER systems, can of pop etc in there )

stopping when off duty? a judgement call - if someone is obviously in distress and there's little or no help, i'll stop and see if i can assist - if there's obviously more casualties than resources again i'll stop if it;s safe to do so and speak to the OiC on scene and offer assistance ( occasionally this does result in 2 + hours on scene and a nice letter to my boss - like when mrs zippy and i stopped at an RTC on a rural road in derbyshire where there were 3 casualties 2 ambulances and a 'unknown' ETA on the 3rd ambulance - a diecision which the oiC appreciated when they decidied the van driver had to by moved to a Helo LZ ASAP - no way of getting the helo to scene , being at the bottom of a wooded valley where hte road and the river ran along the bottom - meaning rapid chopping up of van by the fire serivce and out and loded and away ... leaving one ambulance on scene with 2 people trapped (relative entrapment) in the other vehicle ... gave the OiC the opprtunity to be able to stand back and do OiC things rather than be hands on with the 2nd casualty.

the 'rules' for stopping off duty

1. don't stop unless it's safe enough to do so ...

2. if the locals are on scene - ask if they would like the help and be prepared to be told no ...

if the locals aren't on scene make sure they are on the way - or if you are in a fully equipped ambulance - talk to the powers that be for the locals ...

3. be guided by the locals OiC and be prepared to hand over the scene on the arrival of the locals

4. restrict your own off duty equipment to that you will be supported in using by yout employer and/or your professional duty of care / practice guidelines ( if you are a Health Professional in your own right)

5. respect usual professional boundaries - which means if you aren't dressed / equipped to stay withdraw gracefully ( e.g. thinking aobut stopping at RTCs here and whether you have suitable PPE once the firebods get started ... respect the locals authority when it comes to performing advanced interventions - there is no point in tryign to acquire a set of government bracelets... be judged by 12 rather than carried by 6