Any interesting anecdotes about interference with patient care from a CNA, lifegurad, etc.?

rescue1 said:
I remember blowing the minds of upper year medical students when I demonstrated how to palp a BP at a clinic event. It's not really something docs would learn until intern year and beyond, but at the time it was pretty funny.
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I remember bugging the eyes out of some residents when I had them palp the pulse on an ICU pt... monitor read 50s but they were palping about 15 because he had bigeminal couplet/triplets.
 
Bullets said:
EMT is 120 hours of class, how much more watered down can you make it?
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your information is outdated...... Current standards for classes in NJ is 250 hrs of education, although many places are transitioning to the hybrid format so there is a lot of online studying, so not all of the time is spent in the classroom.

As for the driver/only thing, that's a topic and argument for another day.
 
DrParasite said:
your information is outdated...... Current standards for classes in NJ is 250 hrs of education
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Is there a source for that? I found some sites saying 120, 140, 200, and "250 including clinical rotations"?
 
http://www.trinitashospital.org/emt_training.asp I picked up the phone and made a phone call to the guy who runs the program. He told me the class was 168 hours of classroom time, supplemented by online content. I asked if there was a statewide standard and he said it was 250, including clinical time.

I called two other hospital based training sites, and got answers between 200 and 220, with other materials.

Unfortunately, the state EMS page is sorely lacking in content about the program.
 
JSUMC is like 160 hours of in class work plus 10 hours of clinical. I didnt think that there was a specific requirement for the length of the program, hence the wide variation.

Either way, 120, 160, 200hrs, its something that can be done in 2-3 weeks if you do long days. I know our site runs an accelerated course for lifeguards, cops and college kids. It basically 1 month.
 
So I just called the NJ Department of health, and spoke to one of their education coordinators....... He told me the minimum number of hours is 180, and the maximum number of hours is 250, and each program create's their own schedule, as long as it covers all the required topics.

In theory, all the content is covered, and regardless of how many hours the course is, the content should all be the same..... that being said, it boils down to a statement that I made in another thread, as long as the information is enough for them to pass the final exam (which is designed to judge baseline competency, and evaluated on a pass/fail level), are the hours involved really that important? and if more hours is better, wouldn't they have better retention and first time pass rates?

BTW, we have one of those boot camp EMT classes (https://ncoae.org/trainings/19-day-intensive-emt-basic-emt-b/ ) where after less than 3 weeks time, you can take the NREMT exam.... personally, I don't see how you can keep up with the reading requirements, but apparently students have been successful at it...... I am curious how much content they actually retained 2 weeks, 2 months, and 2 years later.
 
DrParasite said:
personally, I don't see how you can keep up with the reading requirements, but apparently students have been successful at it...... I am curious how much content they actually retained 2 weeks, 2 months, and 2 years later.
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It's really not so bad...2 hours a night or so of reading on top of 8-10 hours per weekday of class. If you have the time and a solid background in basic math & English skills, I highly recommend it.
 
yikes... 2 grand for a class. Thats quite a financial hit
 
This thread kind of reminds me of an episode of "Bondi Beach Rescue" in Australia. Lifeguards pulled a man out of the water in full arrest, started compressions and bagging. An anestheiologist happened to be watching, identified himself and told them politely to bag a bit slower (he was 8ft away, not interfering at all). The lifeguard took offense to it and told him they knew what they were doing as they have done it for awhile. I believe later in the episode the lifeguards talked to their medical director about the case who confirmed what the anesthesiologist was saying was correct. I'm pretty sure the patient still made it.
 
Working the streets of The Rotten Apple while BLS with a good partner, a 70 pound FW Mdl. 8 stretcher & a half broke bus gave me more real world education & a healthy respect for all things on all skill levels EMS then Maspeth could ever give me. L4 training gave me a skill set beyond compare but the BLS survival mode mindset always worked, when an external factor enters your equation, then make lemonade, make that individuals competence or incompetence or even threat status work for you, hold some innocuous item for you, listen for our bus number on the portable, look down the street for whoever is responding & flag them down, etc, etc, etc. Even perps that jacked our patient were elicited to help lest they decide to jack us too. Back in the day we didn't have the luxury of staging like the kids today enjoy. Any L4 that looks down on what they consider lesser people in the profession are usually found out to "be" themselves the lesser person because esteem lacking individuals depend wholly on objects to boost their self image & when equipment fails & it does, the lesser man mentally malfunctions while the greater man works the call in BLS mode.
 
EMS HOT BOX said:
Working the streets of The Rotten Apple while BLS with a good partner, a 70 pound FW Mdl. 8 stretcher & a half broke bus gave me more real world education & a healthy respect for all things on all skill levels EMS then Maspeth could ever give me. L4 training gave me a skill set beyond compare but the BLS survival mode mindset always worked, when an external factor enters your equation, then make lemonade, make that individuals competence or incompetence or even threat status work for you, hold some innocuous item for you, listen for our bus number on the portable, look down the street for whoever is responding & flag them down, etc, etc, etc. Even perps that jacked our patient were elicited to help lest they decide to jack us too. Back in the day we didn't have the luxury of staging like the kids today enjoy. Any L4 that looks down on what they consider lesser people in the profession are usually found out to "be" themselves the lesser person because esteem lacking individuals depend wholly on objects to boost their self image & when equipment fails & it does, the lesser man mentally malfunctions while the greater man works the call in BLS mode.
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I really didn't want to engage, but I can't let this one go. What does this even mean?????
 
Tachy55 said:
Wondering if any members had any appealing stories about lower level healthcare providers such as lifeguards, CNAs, etc. trying to interfere or take over patient care during EMS's assessment/treatment. One of my buddies is a certified lifeguard at a community pool and thinks he knows everything when it comes to emergency medical care despite only having a four hourish long CPR/AED and basic first aid course...
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My take on what I'd do when running interference when incompetents try to overrule my patient care. Try to keep up.
 
#TYFYS

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EMS HOT BOX said:
My take on what I'd do when running interference when incompetents try to overrule my patient care. Try to keep up.
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I am exceptionally skilled at jargon... But that was a bit much
 
I think he's saying he used to work bls in New York City back in the 80s...... Bringing out the dead style....

But i can't make heads or tails out of the rest of the word jumble or the major run-on sentences
 
DrParasite said:
I think he's saying he used to work bls in New York City back in the 80s...... Bringing out the dead style....

But i can't make heads or tails out of the rest of the word jumble or the major run-on sentences
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Us young whippersnappers are spoiled because we get to stage for pd?
 
This is a perfect example of why I don't poke my head in on that FDNY thread; the one or two times I have in the past it's left me scratching it.
 
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Nurses seem to be the worst about trying to butt in... We see it fairly often in the Athletic Training world too. I had one last year insist that a kid go to the ER for a CT scan for a concussion. I tried to explain to her (and to the kid's dad) why that wasn't necessary. But she had scared him enough to go. Guess what... CT didn't show anything! (Just like I told them it wouldn't).
 
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