Has anybody heard of an ambulance being involved in an MVA where an unsecured 12 Lead hit the pt. and caused head trauma? As in the squad's insurance adjuster went home sick that day, the pt.'s attorney just bought an island for her retirement home, and the pt. now owns the agency?
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The book I referred to is [I]The Basic Provider: Assisting with Advanced Life Support Skills. Authors: Dominguez and McPherson. Published by MosbyJems not Brady.
I had a similar experience. Pt had kidney stones. I start doing my asessment, OPQRST, Hx, my partner says I should call for pain mgmt, so I do. Medic gets on board and whammo pt says HepC and HIV+. I'm thinking hello, what part of Hx did you and I miscommunicate on? You have to roll with...
No ALS gets done w/o BLS done first. Don't wait for direction. Get it done, so you don't hold them up maintaining airway or gaining IV access
Any good Basic class will have a lab that spends an hour to explain how to spike a bag, the difference between micro/macro drip, extension sets, and...
Do yourself a favor and get the leads labelled with your agency name and number.
They are an expensive item $400 for the 4 lead to accidentally leave behind or swap during an intercept as it sprouts legs.
Snap the cap. I am a "green" basic and have done it several times. Using the Medtronics lifepak is instantaneous to watch the waveform and no lag compared to Sp02. Think about your diabetic emergencies who are acidotic and your COPDérs.
Make sure they are breathing off that C02. As Bob Page...
Thanks, Your replies were pretty much what was discussed last night. Checking with other agencies and giving ourselves enough lead time to negotiate for a Demo Unit rather than to spec out and break in a new unit with the associated headaches.