# Paramedic School Mega-Codes



## ihalterman (Apr 16, 2011)

When will I get to work on the 17yo Male that OD's on grandma's tricyclic antidepressants, in the garage where he get's organophosphate poisoning and downs a bottle of benzodiazepines after getting bitten by a poisonous snake, then falls from a ladder and gets bilateral femur fractures?


If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.


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## abckidsmom (Apr 16, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> When will I get to work on the 17yo Male that OD's on grandma's tricyclic antidepressants, in the garage where he get's organophosphate poisoning and downs a bottle of benzodiazepines after getting bitten by a poisonous snake, then falls from a ladder and gets bilateral femur fractures?
> 
> 
> If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.



I have come to believe that there are never, ever accidental overdoses on TCAs.  They are like some protected class of meds.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Apr 17, 2011)

abckidsmom said:


> I have come to believe that there are never, ever accidental overdoses on TCAs.  They are like some protected class of meds.



You are so screwed now......h34r:


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## firetender (Apr 17, 2011)

*and you STILL won't have a clue!*



ihalterman said:


> If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.



With that much going on, nothing will unfold like it did in the exercise. All the little pieces don't fall together so neat and clean out there. But the practice you got using you're head to figure WILL serve you.


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## CUjays34 (Apr 17, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> When will I get to work on the 17yo Male that OD's on grandma's tricyclic antidepressants, in the garage where he get's organophosphate poisoning and downs a bottle of benzodiazepines after getting bitten by a poisonous snake, then falls from a ladder and gets bilateral femur fractures?
> 
> 
> If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.



Make sure the first thing you do is open the airway!!!!


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## firecoins (Apr 17, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> When will I get to work on the 17yo Male that OD's on grandma's tricyclic antidepressants, in the garage where he get's organophosphate poisoning and downs a bottle of benzodiazepines after getting bitten by a poisonous snake, then falls from a ladder and gets bilateral femur fractures?
> 
> 
> If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.



I went to high school with that guy.


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## rescue99 (Apr 17, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> When will I get to work on the 17yo Male that OD's on grandma's tricyclic antidepressants, in the garage where he get's organophosphate poisoning and downs a bottle of benzodiazepines after getting bitten by a poisonous snake, then falls from a ladder and gets bilateral femur fractures?
> 
> 
> If I ever meet him, I will have the skills.



Dumb and unproductive. Unless this was meant for fun, it should never have even been used. :glare:


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## ihalterman (Apr 17, 2011)

rescue99 said:


> Dumb and unproductive. Unless this was meant for fun, it should never have even been used. :glare:



Agreed, but these are some of the codes they are using.


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## rescue99 (Apr 17, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> Agreed, but these are some of the codes they are using.



Is this during ACLS, or just being stupid during practices?


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## ihalterman (Apr 17, 2011)

Skills lab.  I think they are running out of ideas.


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## rescue99 (Apr 17, 2011)

ihalterman said:


> Skills lab.  I think they are running out of ideas.



Which should give some insight into just how easy mega codes actually are.


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## BandageBrigade (Apr 17, 2011)

What school are you attending? You can pm if you don't want to post for all


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## ihalterman (Apr 17, 2011)

I'm not knocking the school.  I actually enjoy my class and instructors.  I go to mercy College of health Sciences.  http://www.mchs.edu/


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## AnthonyM83 (Apr 17, 2011)

The scenario doesn't have to be realistic...don't you feel better knowing you can think quickly and change paths in a megacode and respond to whatever you assess might be going on within your algorithms, now?


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## rescue99 (Apr 17, 2011)

AnthonyM83 said:


> The scenario doesn't have to be realistic...don't you feel better knowing you can think quickly and change paths in a megacode and respond to whatever you assess might be going on within your algorithms, now?



I don't agree but, that is not required . Realism is not 100% necessary, but stupid? That isn't necessary either. It muddies the goal of the whole exercise. The exercise is to work on thinking through the process. If a student knows a scenario is stupid, he/she will spend way too much time being distracted by stupid, rather than what they are there to learn. Unless stupid is, as stupid does, and that is the goal of the exercise


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## mycrofft (Apr 17, 2011)

*The OP belongs in "Humor, The Best Medicine"*

"Megacodes" like that are fun, but some pose them seriously and beat you senseless with them. When the scenario guru puts the cards away and starts winging it, it's time to stand up and call "C#*P".

HOWEVER....IF you are doing a code drill and if you screw things up, then they might accelerate things to simulate the cscade of badness that descends when time is spinning around the drain for your pt you failed to help, to mix a metaphor. You will remember the helplessness you experience and learn to do better.

But not with the type of deal you cited. That's a "blanket case"...pull up the blanket.

Hey, you forgot that the victim is dressed in a skimpy swimsuit but lying on a live electric wire.


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## BandageBrigade (Apr 17, 2011)

Ah. Ive heard good things about mercy's school. Bit on the pricey side though


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## AnthonyM83 (Apr 17, 2011)

rescue99 said:


> I don't agree but, that is not required . Realism is not 100% necessary, but stupid? That isn't necessary either. It muddies the goal of the whole exercise. The exercise is to work on thinking through the process. If a student knows a scenario is stupid, he/she will spend way too much time being distracted by stupid, rather than what they are there to learn. Unless stupid is, as stupid does, and that is the goal of the exercise



I guess that might be on the student. Something as simple as not letting the stupidness of a scenario distract you from being able to perform a megacode skill.


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## mikie (Apr 17, 2011)

*Simulators*

Do you have any (advanced) Simulation mannequins (i.e. Laerdal SimMan)?  

Endless possibilities (that is if you know how to make scenarios for them)...


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## rescue99 (Apr 18, 2011)

AnthonyM83 said:


> I guess that might be on the student. Something as simple as not letting the stupidness of a scenario distract you from being able to perform a megacode skill.[/QUI
> 
> Students pay to learn, not put up with ignorant, underskilled instuctors who know less about teaching than they apparently know about what happens out there in the real world working the road. In my experience, the shorter time on the road, the more an instructor pulls this sort of "exercise."
> 
> There is plenty of time late in a course and beyond, to apply such thinking on yer feet silliness. First things first; learning to think on one's feet, in a realistic setting. Make it asthma, OD, acute renal, hepatic, etc., a mega-code they might actually encounter. The initial learning process is too valuable to waste. It is a time to teach, to learn, not worry about acting out someone elses idea of fun.


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## AnthonyM83 (Apr 18, 2011)

Well, that's a whole separate issue then...


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## rescue99 (Apr 18, 2011)

mikie said:


> Do you have any (advanced) Simulation mannequins (i.e. Laerdal SimMan)?
> 
> Endless possibilities (that is if you know how to make scenarios for them)...



Just got home from a tour of our colleges brand spankin new SimLab...very nice! Can't wait to put it to use. It's best feature is the ability to provide audio and visual feedback in the debriefing area. Students can watch their own simulation.


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## mikie (Apr 18, 2011)

rescue99 said:


> Just got home from a tour of our colleges brand spankin new SimLab...very nice! Can't wait to put it to use. It's best feature is the ability to provide audio and visual feedback in the debriefing area. Students can watch their own simulation.



Yessir, its even better when you _forget_ to them they're being recorded!


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## Veneficus (Apr 18, 2011)

rescue99 said:


> AnthonyM83 said:
> 
> 
> > I guess that might be on the student. Something as simple as not letting the stupidness of a scenario distract you from being able to perform a megacode skill.[/QUI
> ...


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## rescue99 (Apr 18, 2011)

Veneficus said:


> rescue99 said:
> 
> 
> > +1000
> ...


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## AnthonyM83 (Apr 18, 2011)

Veneficus said:


> rescue99 said:
> 
> 
> > +1000
> ...


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## mwmedic (Apr 30, 2011)

Don't forget scene safe, bsi/ppe, c-spine, and back-up. see if the birds are flying as soon as you get out of the truck!


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## mycrofft (Apr 30, 2011)

*I'm against detailed moulage.*

I am in favor of real clinical and field ride-alongs, and detailed closeup realistic photographs starting the first level past basic First Aid.
For exercises on triage and mass patient management, use strap-on moulage and hidden kitchen timers to indicate when they have died.


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## Handsome Robb (Apr 30, 2011)

There's nothing that can replace actual patient contact. I don't see how advanced simulation technology could be a bad thing if it is used as a supplement to pt contact and during the didactic portion of a class. 

I will admit, the METI-men are kinda creepy though.


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