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Forum rules say no medical advise so this will likely get locked. Tell her to go see a physician. Unrelated side note, it's not abnormal to feel the pulse of the abdominal aorta in skinny people, a pulsatile MASS is very different. Anyway, she needs to get a doctor to get a real evaluation to...

You got more than I did then. I had to figure that out in college when I didn't know the math to pass college chemistry. Granted, my public high school education is probably more recent than yours is ;)

Maybe don't approach him in an overt manner. I'm not sure if you see him at the hospital ever (I'm guessing you have a large number of hospitals in your area so you may not ever see him), if you do that would be a good opportunity after bringing in a patient you medicated and asking about his...

I'm currently reading 12-lead ECGs for the Acute Care Provider by Bob Page. http://www.amazon.com/12-Lead-Acute-Critical-Care-Providers/dp/013022460X Pretty good, easy to read book. Definitely geared for those with a decent skill with basic ECG's. At the same time this book is for...

Aw, this post is sadly ignored. I'll participate. I think conferences are a great place to catch up on CEs and good current practices in acute care (or not) medicine. I too have been to the same state EMS conference as Summit, indeed we were in the same room, possibly drunk at the same bar...

How did your interview go? It might help for people in the future that are looking to know more also. I'm not sure where you have applied at for an EMT job but I would also look into Action Care and Rural/Metro for places to work. Rural/Metro is desperate for people and is critically short...

I think anyone with 1/2 a brain can tell that the US education system is a mess. I think there is some credence that the government is inflating costs with loans and grants, but I think the problem is a little more multifaceted than that. Overall, the higher education system has lost sight of...

It really depends on where you are. It might be worth it to get both. Where I live usually the ER hires EMTs as techs and occasionally paramedics. CNAs are primarily on the floor and in the ICU, occasionally being used to read the telemetry monitors (which I think is a better place to put a...

A swing and a miss Tigger :lol: I agree with many on this board, age is a number. While I am not particularly spiritual (at all actually), some have said that there are "old souls" who are wise beyond their years. I got my first stethoscope at 17 when I finished high school knowing I was going...

I'll avoid going too deep into the "your agency has an culture problem" and "work elsewhere". I'm sorry you're stuck in a situation when it sounds like you are doing right by your patients. I too am "aggressive" (I think it's reasonable, but what do I know?) with pain medication and it's my...

Anyone thinks that there is any other reason to hold these cards is kidding themselves. I have 3 pages worth of certifications I have "earned", their only purpose is to market myself to employers. In my experience, most people reading applications are not clinical people. To those people all...

Data loss is a reality for anyone using computers for storage. Radiation given off by the sun can actually corrupt data stored in RAM. Any industry using data storage will use redundant hard drives so that data can be rescued from hard drive corruption. Some RAID formats allow for 2-3 hard...

I second DrParasite. Every time I hear someone is awesome because of how long they have been doing this or because of where they work it makes me not want to stay in EMS a little bit more. The longer I stay in EMS and the more I learn about medicine the less I think this job has anything to do...

Scary isn't it? I bet it's a busy system in a bigish city? Claims to be the best agency in the region. Weird... Anyway, being mean and talking down to the new guy is modus operandi of some systems. Often not hearing anything about your call is the signal that you did well. The best thing to...

I think a lot of "great systems" are really only great because they are big city EMS systems. Under scrutiny I think many, maybe even most, EMS systems would have multiple areas in need of drastic improvement. Regarding my question about comfort measures, in KCM1's defense, I think it's far...

Your best bet is to read the textbook. NREMT is not a secret mystical test where only the lucky pass. Pretty much every paramedic textbook written is to prepare you for the NREMT (not that that's all that they are good for). Browse through the forums, numerous people have struggled through the...

I don't like it when people say this. It never exactly fosters an environment where learning and growth can happen. I've watched some good people get kicked to the curb who weren't exactly given the best guidance to succeed in this work. Nothing personal and not saying an individual might not...

I'm surprised that not every patient sees a paramedic in Seattle. Not that every patient needs a paramedic but it makes me wonder if some patients in pain or nauseated or whatever go without comfort measures because they aren't "sick" enough. Sounds like a hit and miss thing with...

I like when you post Vene, I think it's mostly because I agree with you more often than not, and you further my beliefs about EMS. I could make the argument that you make me think about what I do more. By-and-large though it's because you say what I think :rofl: Moving to the topic at hand, I...

If I had a dollar for every time an "oops" slipped out of my mouth doing a procedure when I was newer, well I'd probably have an extra 3-4 bucks a week. It happens... sometimes there is certainly a brain mouth disconnect, particularly when distracted doing a procedure. Experience will help stay...