Design for EMS practitioner

[lawndartcatcher]

I have gone to a local fire station because they have an ambulance there. I wouldn't think I would be able to ride along with them. I don't have a CPR cert. or train in EMT. I think that would be a liability issue if I were to go. I will ask though and see what can happen.

Well...this might be an excellent excuse for you to get a CPR card.

Where (geographically) are you? What school are you attending? It occurs to me that one of the true strengths of this forum might be to connect you with a service that would be willing to let you ride along and observe.

 

[systemet]

I wanted to see what people would say about their experiences with what they have used already and how it has worked for them.

Let say I go into the protection against contaminants route.

Do you end up with bodily fluids on you or your uniform?

On unprotected skin? This happens to everyone at some point, sometimes as a result of carelessness, sometimes due to the patient communicating non-verbally (spitting or throwing feces). Occasional droplet exposure from people coughing / sneezing too close to me. Every now and again some blood will get on my skin.

My hands are always covered in gloves from the moment I leave the ambulance (many people disagree with this, but I do it). Safety glasses. Ballistic vest under the shirt. I try to wear long-sleeved shirts, even in the summer. If I'm on the highway a reflective vest or jacket. On cold days, wet days, and some traumas, I'll wear waterproof pants as a bloodborne pathogen barrier. Helmet on MVCs / construction sites.

If I get a dermal exposure, I'll just wipe it off, spray some disinfectant over the area, and remember to wash well when I get to the ER / the station. If the uniform gets soiled, it usually waits until the call's done, unless it's a lot of stuff. If the waterproof jacket / pants are soiled, I'll usually just spray them down, and use some disinfectant. If any other type of material is soiled, we go out-of-service, and I pick up a spare at the station.

On me: if we include really minor exposures, a couple of times a year, perhaps?

On the uniform: Minor debris, maybe every 2nd shift. Bad enough to change part of the uniform out, once or twice a month, perhaps.

If so, what do you do about that if you get another call and your needed?

Depends on the circumstance. If there's other units available, and the level of the soiling, etc. If it's just a small amount of blood on the pants, and I can spray it with some disinfectant, and it's not contacting my skin, I might take the call. If I'm covered head to toe in vomit, I'm changing and showering.

So, if it's significant, someone else takes the call.

What is your sanitation routine every time your back from a job?

Me: wash my hands, spray down my stethoscope / glasses, drink a coffee.

Equipment / ambulance: throw out the garbage, change the linen, restock the equipment, spray down the surfaces. Mop the floor (unfortunately often with the same mop bucket that 100 other ambulances have used in the last hour or two) :sad:

Realistically, the cleaning is a pretty quick surface clean most of the time. If I've had someone with active respiratory disease, feverish and coughing away, then I'm going to spend a little longer. So I guess it's guided a little by my perception of the infection risk.

Units get pulled off the road and deep-cleaned by someone else about once a month.

 

[IndustrialDesigner]

Thanks a bunch for the info about contamination situations.

I will be trying to spend a day with the local ems workers. Then update a thread about further research. Thanks being so helpful with all information has been given. More questions on the way after I narrow down my research.