Another thing to consider is how your lab/chihuahua (how is that even possible?) will tolerate having another dog to share their territory. My (ex)wife actually brought our black lab to the shelter to see how he'd interact with the yellow lab she wanted. How is your current dog around other dogs?
A36 is my personal black cloud. Whenever I was in that truck, guaranteed one of my run reports that day stretched to page 2!
The sig is a nod to my insomnia. Yeah, it could've been better.
I think at my old service they were whichever ones are cheaper at the time they're purchased. Mostly blue, sometimes purple, on special occasions snot green. Any gray ones were usually stolen from a hospital.
Pants seem to be popular, so here's mine.
Working an MCI (commuter train vs runaway railcar) and we get a pt that requires c-spine. So we do our duty just like everyone else. Next day my partner shows up with a local newspaper. I'm on the front page at the head of our pt. My excitement turned...
Transport was never my issue, but I can understand needing the apparatus if there's another call that requires it. We can scratch the fly cars then.
Boston EMS used to run cars staffed with an EMT and a police officer (this is a LONG time ago) to go to scenes and determine the appropriate...
Wish I could've done the same. Unfortunately MA protocols on DNRs are pretty rigid. If they don't have a DNR and according to the protocols they should be worked, they get worked. Of course, then there's med control but that's another mess altogether.
In my EMT-B class we had a doctor come in and give us a couple pearls of wisdom that would get your card pulled rather quickly. One was that if you had a pt with the DTs, pull into a packie (sorry, that's a liquor store for those of you not from MA) and ask him what his favorite poison is. He...
AFAIK Boston FD operates on a BLS level. I have no problem having FD doing first response on medicals. If it's gonna take the transporting ambulance 10 minutes to get on scene and the FD can be there in 1, the FD can stabilize the pt, get PMH, meds, demos, and help the ambulance crew get the pt...
I had the exact same type of patient who we were transporting to a hospice. Problem was the DNR was left at the hospital. Sure enough, she coded and we had no choice but to work her.
Long story short, the patient isn't a DNR without a DNR present and filled out completely and correctly.
One department in MA does in fact use CPAP on the ALS level (there may be more). Don't know how often they're used but one medic told me they're a pain because they blow through D tanks relatively quickly.
MA is extremely varying depending on the company, but OEMS seems willing to advance BLS...