Recent content by wildrivermedic

Little late to post, but I work at a community health clinic that does a lot of urgent care since it is located more than an hour from any other providers. I fill an MA role but am able to put on my paramedic hat when needed by contacting dispatch and putting myself at scene, then transporting...

Third. Thank you so much for this. I shared it with my paramedic class after a presentation on burnout and stress. Hope it helps make up for a psych issues class that was pretty short on compassion.

I'm about halfway through the didactic and clinical parts of paramedic school, doing really well in both, basically living the dream. There might be a delay in starting my internship for several good reasons (none of them fear-based). I'd like to start providing limited ALS coverage for my rural...

On my clinical shift with phlebotomy, it took a while to get comfortable inserting the butterfly needle far enough that it didn't fall out with a big bloody mess. Then I started my next ER shift blowing right through veins until I readjusted. Phlebotomy was great for learning venous anatomy...

What was the pt's temp? Any edema or swollen nodes in the neck? Drooling? Epiglottitis is not exactly common in elders, and they are less likely than kids to progress to complete loss of airway, and that progression would have been really fast in this case... but maybe? Did he remain sitting...

Assisted with my first RSI last night. We're in California, and when the Oregon flight crew RSIs they have a lot of spectators / helping hands. This time was the first since I started medic school, and everyone made sure I had a good view of the video laryngoscope screen. The flight nurse asked...

Can you go back and help with skills practice for the EMT class you took, or another class in your area? Explain that you'd like to keep your own skills up. As an EMT instructor I keep in touch with past students for this reason. Otherwise just practice on your own friends, family, pets (not...

Usefulness to size and weight ratio makes them a standard part of my kit. And I have used one as a c-collar backcountry. We also have the OK to use them as c-collars in tight spaces during extrication.

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=34639&highlight=burning

As said above, it would be good to know what situations this information will be used in... how do your patients end up in need of rescue? What activities are popular in your area, and what specific risks are present? Talk about what is relevant - snakebites? Heat? Recreational MOIs like...

Oh I feel for you, OP. Our transports are an hour and a half minimum on a very winding river road. I routinely get carsick. Some rigs are better, some drivers are better, some calls are better (the ones where I'm too busy to get sick). But sitting sideways in the back, checking the monitor...

A podcast interview with Bledsoe and friends: http://emsgarage.com/846/burning-man-ems-garage-episode-148/ This podcast gives a good inside look at large scale event medicine. It's been a while since I listened, but as I remember the event has its own first aid volunteers who hand out the...

This interests me, as I've been taught to view point-specific abdominal pain as much more of a red flag than generalized pain when it comes to deciding if this is an emergent emergency. The idea being that visceral pain indicates an issue that could be or become serious, but peritoneal pain...

Yes, people do seem to have a fetish for suturing. Every wilderness first aid class that I have taught, someone has asked about it. Sometimes quite insistently and with growing disapointment. Not a useful skill for us without a) the ability to prescribe antibiotics for the certain infection...

They don't really advertise this, but if you already have your EMT cert you can take the cheaper and shorter Wilderness First Responder course through WMI and get an WEMT card. The full course is a great way to go if you can afford it (look into their scholarship program) and need to get the...