One specific call
On the specific call I mentioned with an HR of 120 and BP 150/100 (I belive, I don't have a perfect memory), maybe I should mention that the patient was an 80 year old inactive man., which is why those vitals concerned me.
Also, I do not advocate applying oxygen as a...
When a patient is stressed out (as they likely are during transport, its a very scary thing), their vitals can skyrocket... surely, you're aware of this.
When the patient belives that the EMT is actively treating them instead of just kicking back and watching, they calm down and the vitals...
Well, since this thread is back from the dead, I'll chime in...
Never EVER EVER give a patient unneeded medication (o2, IV, Band-Aid, ANYTHING).
I have seen o2 have a beneficial phsyciatric (spell check?) effect. As a healthcare provider, don't we need to attend to ALL aspects of patient...
If you live near San Bernardino County, Look into County Fire's PCF (Paid Call Firefighter) program. Its essentially a volunteer firefighter with an $8.32/hr pay check. PCFs need to get certain fire-related certs within 12 months, but that isn't an issue if you're looking for short term...
Side note...
Sinusitis can cause unexpected things...
One of my first patients was my 11 year old sister. Sinus congetion backed up into her ears and threw her equilibrium off. She fainted early one morning and collapsed onto a highchair. My mother insisted it was "just puberty", so I paused...
I guess I'm just unique in the fact that I live in an area where our firefighters aren't required to do medical calls, so I've never experienced this first hand.
Stationed in Trona, CA, in San Bernardino County, approximately 3 feet from Inyo County. Response area includes the Town of Trona (pop. 1800), the road to Death Valley (45 miles and a large gold mine), and the road towards Victorville/ San Bernardino (scattered houses = pop 100, approximately 30...
I live in an area of San Bernardino County that is served by avolunteer BLS ambulance. ALS units from Kern County (Liberty Ambulance- approximately 20-25 minutes away) often come to assist us.
Despite that, I personally have limited knowledge of how the protocols differ. The biggest one I'm...
Throughout this website, I've detected varying levels of contempt between Fire-Based and private EMS. I'm curious what the reasoning behind that is?
I understand that some people want to be in strictly one area- Fire or EMS- but many other people (such as myself) are interested in both...
I agree with the point that Kern County EMS allows more than ICEMA for sure.
I also have had positive experiences with Liberty. I'm already guaranteed a job here in Trona after i finish my schooling (I know people) but I'm also going to apply for Liberty so I can get a local full time job...
I live in an area with combined volly fire/ems.
For the last 7 years, the Captain of our lowly fire station has been Doris VanHorn. We're the smallest, most insignificant station (about two-three runs per week) in San Bernardino County (two-three runs per minue),yet notheless the name Doris...
Rural EMS- Trona, CA
My area (rural) is under San Bernardino County Fire jurisdiction. We have volunteer firefighters and EMTs running our ambulance service.
We have ALS (Liberty Ambulance) and a crappy hospital (Ridgecrest Regional) about half an hour away. We're not allowed to transport to...
BLS needs to be a prerequisite to ALS.
If you become a paramedic without being an EMT-B first, you won't be as familiar with the skills of your EMT-B partner. Paramedics definately need to know what their partners can or cannot do.