Equipment Usage + Creativity = ?

[paramedicsue]

One time our primary ambulance was out on a call (we are a volunteer service) and there was a call for a cardiac arrest in a local store. We had no ambulance or anything so one of the First responders took the tail gate off his pickup to use for a back board, loaded him on the board and in the back of the pickup and they did CPR on him on the way to the hospital ( a couple blocks away)...They had to think of some way to get him out of the store and this was a good brainstorm. I never would have thought of that.

[brentoli]

One time our primary ambulance was out on a call (we are a volunteer service) and there was a call for a cardiac arrest in a local store. We had no ambulance or anything so one of the First responders took the tail gate off his pickup to use for a back board, loaded him on the board and in the back of the pickup and they did CPR on him on the way to the hospital ( a couple blocks away)...They had to think of some way to get him out of the store and this was a good brainstorm. I never would have thought of that.

:shock:

[Dustdevil]

Just wondering, how do you people get permission to do chest drains?

I can't speak for everyone, but in my experience, those who can do chest tubes don't work in systems where permission is required for anything.

The improvisation I am most proud of is figuring out over twenty years ago that those orange or yellow Ferno CID head blocks worked wonderful for chocking your patient's body in between the siderails, preventing them from rolling around on the board during transport. Although, that doesn't seem as important these days, now that most of our patients are too fat to leave any room between their hips and the siderails in the first place. :?

[AnthonyM83]

There lots of uses for safety pins – put one across the end of a NPA to keep there, pin the tongue to pt cheek or T-shirt or a variety of T-shirt options.

Huh?

[brentoli]

Sorry... Still stuck on the make-fricking-shift ambulance. Hope to the skys above there is not any insurance agents on here. I don't want my premium going up!

[Richard B the EMT]

How many of us use the short spineboard as a writing desk during transport of the patients, to do the call report?

I don't think I am the only one.

[Dustdevil]

I didn't think anybody outside of Louisiana even carried short spine boards anymore. I haven't seen one since the 1980s.

[AnthonyM83]

All our rigs have them...though no one ever told me what they're used for. I gathered from posts at EMTCity that they were used to in place of the KED and rapid extrication techniques and to quickly place under patients if they code en-route.

Richard...don't you have a clipboard? Wouldn't that always be easier?

[Dustdevil]

Richard...don't you have a clipboard? Wouldn't that always be easier?

Hey, go big or go home!

[brentoli]