Recent content by natrab

One of the hospitals where I work has a similar policy. Their cafeteria is part of the same building that the ED is in, however that section of the building is technically owned by a different entity than the one that owns the ED, meaning their rapid response team will not respond to the...

It seems to me that if you're concerned of head trauma of that magnitude, you don't need to be pulling out the glucometer to test fluid drainage for a result that can't really hold any weight. The signs and symptoms of a head injury will be your best source of a working diagnosis. Interesting...

Typically your employer should be providing you with an EVOC training (Emegency Vehicle Operations Certification/Course) upon employment. They are usually required to by their insurance company. If they didn't for some reason, I recommend seeking your own training. There is didactic...

I think it's fine to ask questions after the call, but during the call you should be there to support the medic when you're in a 1 and 1 situation. The situation described is more of a legality/liability question depending on where you're at. Where I work, our medicine, unfortunately, is...

Nice bike medic9. I've always wanted a bike, but i know my mother would never speak to me again. Be careful with it though, as we've all seen too many (even safe) bikers get creamed on the highway.

After the past 5 years of commuting, working my *** off and commuting some more. I've finally settled in a county I love, with good pay and no more commuting (well still 20 miles for a 24 hour shift but meh). So I decided to treat myself 2009 Jetta TDI (Turbo Diesel - the new clean kind)...

Unfortunately there is a cap on what you get paid that is set by how much money your employer takes in. If you're in the public sector, it depends on your taxpayers and union lobbyists. If you're private ambulance, it depends on their need for employees and how much income they are bringing...

The definition of "Patient Contact" can vary with your state legislature. In general, when you are dispatched to a call (i.e. someone requested 911), you now have a duty to act. Once you arrive at the call, the moment you make contact with the patient, you have official "patient contact."...

Remember though, you have to make sure your narrative fits your PCR. A lot of new PCRs are now covering findings that used to go in the narrative. It is bad practice to fill out all those options (usually checkboxes or 1-2 line sentences) and then repeat all that information in your narrative...

Very interesting. I've never seen a strip of that either. Strange that he went into torsades. Did he end up getting mag? What did he do to get his system so off balance? Very strange for someone relatively young.

I think it's a nice option, but it kinda defeats the purpose of requiring CEs. It's better to go out and learn more than just retest on what you already know.

I also find it helps to hold their arm so it's not touching the gurney or gurney rail. When it's touching the vibrations from the rig can make it almost impossible to hear. You can hold your steth to their arm while holding their arm up while you take a bp.

You are right that it should be allowed if the student is in the clinical/internship phase. I'd like to see more systems allow this because it's ridiculous to be allowed to perform procedures on your internship shifts, but not on your EMT shifts when in both cases you are being supervised by a...

I only grab my shears on trauma calls. Otherwise if it's a medical we have shears in our bags. Other than that I have a pen, sharpie, my steth and safety glasses. I'm a minimalist, and I hate having a ton of stuff in my pockets. At night I usually add a flashlight to the arsenal (though...

As far as helicopters go, they are crucial to areas that don't have trauma centers. I worked in a large county with a couple urban areas that had no definitive care for trauma. Every trauma was flown out, and if not, they truthfully were screwed. I've had to transport patients from our local...