My question about being a Paramedic!!!!

[paramedicchick2246]

I am currently taking courses in school to become a paramedic
but I heard you need to know how to do mathemathic conversion problems to
administer the right amount of medications. I am not
that great in math but my heart is set on being a paramedic
so my question, if you would be so kind as to reply,
is how Often do Paramedics use conversion problems on a day to day
basis.... is there usually bottles of medicine that are already pre-calculated the
amount that the patient will be given? How often do paramedics use mathematic conversions?
Please let me know!!! Thanks!!! Daniela

 

[Shishkabob]

Tried replying to your PM, but that was a no go, so here's the response



Don't be worried... I suck at math as well. Infact, I failed college algebra... numbers are just confusing.

In class they will teach you how to do it the proper way. When we were done learning it the "proper" way, we were taught the quick ways used in the real world.



Having said that, most drugs used on an ambulance are in already prefilled syringes, and you won't have to do much math aside from making sure you give the right dose when it comes to things like weight based medications, such as Lidocaine.

Say you're supposed to give 1-1.5 milligrams per kilogram to a patient that weights 100 kilos. That means you give 100 - 150milligrams total. Pretty easy, right?


The only drugs that you have to do more math for, such as Dopamine, are rarely used and there are shortcuts to get to the correct dose.



Don't worry about the math... that's the easy part of being a Paramedic

 

[medic417]

You will use math quite a bit. Some services protocols though put a chart so you don't have to as much but it is still better to double check by doing the math. EMS math is actually not hard.

http://ems-safety.com/emsfiles.htm has a good simple math for Paramedics free download.

http://emsbootcamp.com/2010/07/medical-math/ has a great video program but costs about $15. He teaches you 1 formula that covers just about every math problem you will face as a Paramedic. It is much easier to remember 1 formula rather than a bunch.

Hope this helps. With those two items you should be able to master the math needed to be a Paramedic.

 

[medicRob]

I just sent PM. I also included a simple calculation of Epinephrine 1:10,000, an example of me calculating it, and 2 practice problems.

The first one so you can get comfortable with converting lb to kg,

The second the actual drug calculation step using your answer from #1.

 

[sir.shocksalot]

I would bet money that most people in EMS are probably not great math people. As other's have said just learn how to convert for class, the rest of the time the math is pretty straight forward. For example if you wanted to give 5 mg of valium, and it comes in a 10mg/2mL vial, how much do you pull up? Half. Most drugs are packaged for easy drawing and dosage. The last time I had to think really hard about a dosage was with a dopamine drip, which they will teach you short cuts for, like the clock method.
Long story short: There is math, but it's usually really easy, get a cheat sheet for the hard math.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

The only drugs that you have to do more math for, such as Dopamine, are rarely used and there are shortcuts to get to the correct dose.



Don't worry about the math... that's the easy part of being a Paramedic

Even though Dop is rarely used it was just about the only drug we had drip questions on when taking exams. Dopamine, Epi, Narcan and Lido drips.

 

[Shishkabob]

Lidocaine clock is easy

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

Lidocaine clock is easy

The epi clock can also be used for an epi drip. All the 'med-math' is fairly easy. There are only 3 formulas to memorize and learn to plug numbers into

 

[medicRob]

The only other formula's that you will use that I can think of right off the top of my head involve MAP calculation, the Parkland Burn Formula, your basic cardiac calcs, and maybe the how much 02 do I have left formula

 

[Chimpie]

Thread closed but remaining since there have been multiple threads created by the same user on the same topic.