Are You Prepared or Just a Wacker?

[Mountain Res-Q]

I know many new MFR and EMT's that turn their vehicles into Ambulances the second they get their cert in the mail. We all know them and probably were one of them (even to a small degree) when we started. :blush: As time goes on we all realize (hopefully) that we don't need the backboard, AED, and O2 in our POV's. However, we all likely still carry something, whether that be basic EMS gear (gloves and a pocket mask) or FF/Rescue Gear that needs to be in your vehicle for work. So my question is:

What EMS/Rescue/Fire gear do you always have stored away in your cars?

Confession: While I was quilty at one point of having an entire BLS jump bag in the trunk, I quickly realized that it never got used and that using it on anyone other than friends was a liability. Now, because of my position with SAR I do carry more than your average EMT would/should:

Small (10x6x4) EMS Fanny Pack (gloves, bandages, cravats, etc...)
Daypack (basic 12-24 summer wilderness SAR gear) - the big bag stays at home
Clothing Duffle Bag (Enough Clothing to change into/out of when called out for a SAR)
Swiftwater Bag (PFD, wetsuit, rope bag, knife)
Technical Bag (Harness, gloves, helmet, a few carabineers, prussiks, etc...)Small "Road Rescue" Bag (Flares, tire iron, a few basic tools, tow strap, etc...)
And in winter: Samll Snow Shovel, Sleeping Bag, my 48-72 hour pack, snow chains.

WARNING: Wackers will be laughed at.

 

[JPINFV]

I think it's important to divide things carried in your POV for convience (i.e. you use it at work, so you leave it in your car outside of work) and carried for preparness/wackerdom.

Convience: Steth, BP cuff, stocked fanny pack when working at a waterpark.

Preparness: CPR mask with gloves (it's in my car someplace... I need to find it).

 

[amberdt03]

in my car now, i just have gloves, eye protection, and a mask with a one way valve. used to have 4x4's but don't know what happened to them.

 

[curt]

A little of both, a lot of neither.

-Steth
- BP cuff (cheap wal-mart kind)
- Glucometer and associated supplies including oral glucose
- Exam Gloves (Latex and Neoprene... for some reason. )
- Basic first aid supplies (gauze pads, dressings, bandages, ace wraps, etc)

I'm looking at getting a much better BP cuff as well as a jump bag or something similar to carry more emergency bls supplies. I'm trying to get my hands on a set of protocols so I'll be able to utilize IV/ I85-level airway interventions should I ever need them, but if it doesn't work out, it's not going to drive me nuts or anything.

 

[medic417]

Anything beyond gloves which mainly get used for fueling and fluid checks is definitely whacker.

Now if your job requires quick response out of the area a jump bag with meds and clothes is fine.

 

[LucidResq]

I have a friend who was given a command cabinet from the local FD's BC after they got new cars.

He now has an 800 lb. + command cabinet with a whiteboard and everything in the back of his POV. On the other hand, he is a state-level mission coordinator.

 

[LucidResq]

- Glucometer and associated supplies including oral glucose

I hope you're diabetic.

 

[Stewart1990]

Convenience

i'm one of the onces who keeps that massive vinyl bag with the one way mask in it- on my keychain. hey, it had a clip, i couldnt resist. my firechief had one of everything, including AED (i think that was mostly for himself), one of every type of fire extinguisher, etc.....that poor vehicle was weighed down so bad

Edit: I carry glucose too

 

[medicdan]

Is this going to turn into another discussion of whay everyone carries in their car? Then it will morph into whacker name-calling, then sarcastic posts about carrying ECMO, then it will be closed? Have we not already had this discussion too many times before? Do I need to break out my search sarcasm?

 

[fortsmithman]

All I have is a well stocked first aid kit with a cheap stethascope and cheap bp cuff.

 

[BossyCow]

I have a jump kit that I am required to carry as a volly who sometimes responds from home. I have eliminated all the whacker crap from it because after several years of lugging around stuff I didn't use, I decided to get rid of it so I can find the stuff I actually need.

I have gloves, a bp cuff and stetho for obtaining baseline vitals. I have some minimal bandaging supplies, a SAM splint, some oral glucose, penlight and one of those clip on watches. A notebook, pens, and a pair of trauma shears. That is enough to hold me until the ambulance shows up with the rest of the equipment.

 

[HotelCo]

I'm sure that if I looked REALLY hard, I could come up with A glove. I don't really feel the need to carry anything in my car.

 

[JPINFV]

I'm actually saving up for an ECMO machine right now. Pfft, who needs to be able to intubate or defibrillate when you can just replace the heart and lungs!

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Anything beyond gloves which mainly get used for fueling and fluid checks is definitely whacker.

Now if your job requires quick response out of the area a jump bag with meds and clothes is fine.

Agreed! I just always found it interesting that many EMS folks (especially newbies) see the need to carry a full BLS setup in their cars... at least for a few years and tehn they realize that it has all expired and their is a family of mice living in the ambu bag! For your everyday EMT/Medic working ambulance: gloves and maybe a pocket mask is okay. I'll make three exceptions to the "you are such a wacker" rule:

1. If your job requires you to keep ceratin gear in your car - ofit is a good idea to do so. i.e. volunteer firefighters with turnouts, helmet, etc... or volunteer SAR wihht daypacks, rescue gear, etc... (as is my case since we are required to have enough wilderness survival gear to last a minimum of 24-36 hours in our vehicles as well as having with us any specialty gear that we need for our specialties - Swiftwater, Dive, Ropes, etc...)

2. You live in remote areas where response times by Fire/EMS are so horrible that you (a passerby - if you choose to stop) maybe on scene for ahile by yourself. And then only if you are part of the county emergency response system (County Fire, County Ambulance, County SAR, etc...). this one is also a touchy area when it comes to legalities and I won't tell anyone what to do here. But if don't even have gloves, you have no obligation to touch a patient... but could you just stand there?

If you live in urbania, just got your EMT, don't have a EMS-type job, and still have more than gloves... WACKER!!! But hey, can anyone say that we wern't there once (even a little)?

 

[Sasha]

I've got pen lights, gloves, trauma shears, a CPR face mask in key chain form, PCRs, a clipboard, O2 keys, EMS boots, two scopes, a few watches, 4x4a, some rolls of kling and roller gauze, a couple ice packs.

Of course, I don't intend to use this on anyone, they're just things that have somehow gotten in my car (most of the stuff was probably first in my pocket before I left work, school, or clinical and were discovered on the ride home and left in the car.) over the year and are floating around somewhere in the backseat or trunk and i'm too lazy to take out.

 

[imurphy]

Pretty much I have a spare uniform, and a flashlight. And a spare battery for my laptop. Can never be too prepared!

 

[nomofica]

I'm getting a BLS jump bag only because I'm going to be doing a lot of volly med staff work for events such as the Weekend to End Breast Cancer walk and the Ride To Conquer Cancer (which, here, is a bike ride from Calgary AB through the Canadian Rockies (total 600km; 2-day trip). EMS response times will be long, and I expect heat-related injuries (heat exhaustion, heat stroke, etc).

Stock it with a few different sized OPA's and some NPA's, some general bandages and gauze, some glucose jelly, gloves, BP cuff, steth, pen/paper, knife/shears/tweezers, tape, penlight, CPR one-way valve mask... Not too much, just enough of what I need for these events.

 

[RMSP05]

My ski patrol pack is in my car someplace (to lazy to carry it into my house after i cleaned my locker out at the end of the season). thats got some 4x4's cpr mask, sam splint, and probably a few other things i can't think of.

Once i get around to carrying that in, ill just have things that ended up in my pockets after a call. probably a few gloves and mabe a 4x4 or 2, other than that, nothing special

 

[VentMedic]

I'm actually saving up for an ECMO machine right now.

Just remember to carry gloves with it. The cannulation can get a little messy.

 

[Sapphyre]

I only carry the stuff I use at work, that I don't pull out of the car on "friday"