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CRNA's really are rock stars of the medical world. Just an amazing combination of skill, knowledge and coolness under fire. Your OR rotation seemed like my first one. Practice bagging the patients was really valuable. So often in the field(and the ER) people do a poor job of it and don't always...

Keep in mind a phlebotomy class isn't necessarily going to teach you to start IV's specifically. It will probably be focused on blood draws, different types of additives and tests, and lab procedures in general. In my phlebotomy class IV's were mentioned and touched on in the book but all of our...

My first OR intubations were much more stressful than my first one in the field, mainly because they were younger and I saw them while they were awake so it seemed to add more pressure, and you're under the gun to get your required intubations in a limited number of shifts. I still managed to...

I never bothered with AEMT/Intermediate school. From the few people Ive talked to that took it, the class itself seems easy, substantially easier than Paramedic school and probably not much harder than EMT school. The hard part comes in the NREMT exam, which I've been told was harder than they...

These are definitely my favorite. When I was doing my medic clinicals I think I nailed my first 8 IVs with these, I thought I was an IV prodigy. Then I did shifts at another hospital that used another kind and my success rate dropped. Where I work now we mostly use Jelco. I have mixed feelings...

Not only should EMT Basics never be allowed to intubate, they shouldn't be allowed to do IVs outside of a hospital setting. Starting an IV is relatively easy to learn, difficult to master, and comes with the potential for many complications, some of them life or limb threatening. Catheter...

Ill also add that while ALS skills are relatively easy to learn, they are not quite so easy to master. I can teach anyone the process of starting an IV and intubating a dummy, but on real patients the difficulty of these skills can vary greatly, and consistent success comes with practice and...

I agree, but ultimately everyone is different. I agree there are some people who NEED that time as an EMT, especially the younger ones with less life experience. Other people took to it like a duck to water even without the experience. A lot of it is self confidence. Yeah maybe you could teach a...

This isn't entirely bad advice, but I should remind you of something. As a medic intern you WILL face more stressful situations than taking a set of vitals with everyones eyes on you, so being used to the EMT stuff isn't going to take much stress off you. I was much more concerned about being...

AEMTs in most instances are just used as EMT Basics. There may be some agencies that use them on ALS ambulances, in which case I guess they get to start an IV now and then and maybe do a few other AEMT things. Generally speaking though if you aren't a Paramedic and you are working ALS, its...

Ok, so they DID in fact divert to the ER, which is what I figured. So I REALLY don't see what the issue is. Would they really expect them to go lights and sirens to the ER for an IFT where the patient had stable vitals and 911 was never called, for a patient that apparently has some sort of...

The problem is that in the US its ingrained in us to have the mentality that everything always needs to result in profit and that is just the way the world works. There are some things that should not be profit based in my mind, and EMS is one of them. Firefighters, and for that matter EMS...

So what exactly is the issue? The words "BLS code 2" means nothing where I am, so I have no idea whether or not what you did(or didn't do) was in fact stupid. You said it was an IFT, so where did you transport this person, and did you report to wherever you brought them that the staff stated...

Like someone else said, I do whatever is convenient at the time, which is usually a sternal rub. I had to laugh when an idiot partner I had tried a sternal rub on someone and then shook his hand and said ow that hurt. I told him well I guess we established you're responsive to pain anyway.

Hospital clinical experiences can vary greatly. Just beware you never know when you are going to get that RN preceptor that grills you on med math and setting up drips and how many max CCs you can give in a given IM site etc, and if you aren't giving the right answers you can kiss any chance of...

Inevitably someone brings up stuff like the stair chair in these posts, as if it is some ultra complex piece of equipment that requires a course by itself. I don't get it. Its an unfolding chair with handles, good for getting people down stairs. Yeah you wont exactly inspire confidence in a...

We dont use video Laryngoscopes where I work, but in Paramedic school I did a bunch of glyde scope intubations in the OR and found it way easier, it was almost cant miss, although I did see residents miss in the ER with them.

So basically the issue is whether or not your partner saw something on the 12 lead that made him reluctant to pace? The patient was an unstable bradycardic patient, so he probably should have been paced. I cant think of any contraindications to pacing youd see on a 12 lead in that situation...

The reasons people used to say not to put a NRB on someone with COPD is a different issue from oxygen toxicity. Oxygen toxicity is why you should generally use o2 sparingly in any situation unless its to reverse suspected hypoxia, and not just throw people on o2 for the hell of it. I dont know...

The thing is that different precepters have their own way of doing things. If your assessments are disorganized that seems like an easy fix. OPQRST and SAMPLE hx just like you were taught. The opqrst part arent going to be the exact some questions for every complaint obviously, but it works...