Recent content by OnceAnEMT

  1. O

    511 responder 84 bag and other ALS backpacks

    I wouldn't recommend the Responder 84 backpack for non-technical street use. The pack is a beast and has its purposes, but frankly I think you'd be better off with duffel version that 5.11 offers (never used it), or any other jump bag for that matter. I use my 84 pack for wilderness SAR and...
  2. O

    New Intubation Method - looking for feedback from the field

    Welcome. Interesting approach. I'm not at that level yet, but I do have some questions. Are you constructing these as a modification to a stock laryngoscopes, or are they a whole new device? What material is the loop made of?
  3. O

    Strange stuff on your truck

    I saw a video that said you can get them in nylon or a metal material, which I assume is just a mesh. We already get funny looks from everyone as we drag the clanging device over to the room, I'm sure it would only be worsened by multi-colored Chinese finger traps :P
  4. O

    Auto CPR, why doesn't it work?

    Well there you go. Was a top-down view of the chest possible, and they just elevated the xray? Or did they have to stick with side views? Whenever I see the top-down view the machine is mere inches from the chest (making compressions difficult and rather useless, if in progress). I guess if the...
  5. O

    Strange stuff on your truck

    Quite well. Usually. In the ED we have a device that may or may not have been custom-made, I can never tell. Think of an IV pole (wheels included, yay!) with a spring scale hanging off one of the hooks. Attached to the spring is a horizontal bar, attached to the bar are 5 "finger traps" that...
  6. O

    Auto CPR, why doesn't it work?

    Also have to consider the time that it takes to take LUCAS off. If a transport decision was made and the crew brings the patient with LUCAS on-board, the crews take LUCAS and the board after transferring to our ED bed while we continue to work the code. Also can't use LUCAS in a cath lab (at...
  7. O

    Hospital refusing patient?

    The crew could be held liable for going to a different facility if the patient didn't request such. The ED should have "accepted" the patient one way or another. We can't just turn folks away. Even if they get discharged, walk out of the department, go sit in the waiting room for 5 minutes, then...
  8. O

    Do you think it is good practice to draw bloods in the field?

    I've never heard of pre-hospital blood draws for lab use in this area, though the idea of putting iSTATs on trucks has been tossed around. From the ER perspective, it would be a QA nightmare. Between hemolyzed samples and contaminated blood cultures, it would be difficult to educate those who...
  9. O

    What does the first arriving ambulance at a MCI do first?

    Easy there. You're just getting some grief because the answer to that question is probably in the first few paragraphs of whatever chapter in your book discusses MCI. Keep doing your practice tests and keep reviewing. If you start triaging before establishing IC, you'll run into a number of...
  10. O

    18 year old soon to be EMT

    I believe "age discrimination" isn't a thing until the to-be plaintiff is at least 40 years old. EEOC.gov says, "The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older." An advantage of hiring young is you may have the...
  11. O

    CERT CAR AND EQUIPMENT

    http://ambulance.vic.gov.au/community-education/volunteers/ Interesting. Where are the CERT vehicles stationed? What kind of response time do the CERT teams have, and how long until the ambulance shows? How are y'all notified/dispatched? Can you execute a patient refusal and/or "no patient", or...
  12. O

    Ice/cold packs for fever

    Somebody get this guy an ice pack. Oh wait.
  13. O

    Personal History Statements!

    These are a joy to fill out. To those of you who have lived, let alone worked, in multiple states or have job hopped a bit or even just changed residences in the same neighborhood... respect. I could have sworn I made a made a Word file and documented all of my answers, specifically the ones...
  14. O

    How do I handle very long hair on patient?

    Things that disgust me: 1. Penetrating eye injuries. 2. Emergency c-sections. 3. Nails so long that they are described in years, not inches. Oh right, yeah. Tuck the hair in the shirt or under the patient.
  15. O

    How do I handle very long hair on patient?

    Let's just hope it's only the hair and not... ...the NAILS!
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