the 100% directionless thread

Do scheduled flight runs ever say "Hey the equipment we need is going to be heavy and the fuel is too because it's a long fight, we should get RT X and Medic Y because they're small and light?"

Is that a thing?
 
In some aircraft the crew weight doesn’t make a huge difference however in others it can make a huge difference. With our heaviest crew configuration with a full load of fuel we only have 5kg worth of patient weight. So if we have an ambulance crew come to our base with a patient we have to burn a lot of fuel before we can legally fly.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
In some aircraft the crew weight doesn’t make a huge difference however in others it can make a huge difference. With our heaviest crew configuration with a full load of fuel we only have 5kg worth of patient weight. So if we have an ambulance crew come to our base with a patient we have to burn a lot of fuel before we can legally fly.
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5kg. So a neonate....
 
ffemt8978 said:
Total or per crew member?
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Per clinician. Pilots are 250lbs per their CBA contract.
DragonClaw said:
Do scheduled flight runs ever say "Hey the equipment we need is going to be heavy and the fuel is too because it's a long fight, we should get RT X and Medic Y because they're small and light?"

Is that a thing?
Click to expand...
We schedule crews based on their weight (partner heavy medic with light nurse and vice versa). Usually the only extra weight we add for medical equipment is for ECMO, IABP, Impella’s. But there are a lot of times when we have to flat out decline a flight due to weight.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Per clinician. Pilots are 250lbs per their CBA contract.

We schedule crews based on their weight (partner heavy medic with light nurse and vice versa). Usually the only extra weight we add for medical equipment is for ECMO, IABP, Impella’s. But there are a lot of times when we have to flat out decline a flight due to weight.
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So then are light crewmembers in high demand, supposing they can back up their work and perform?

🤔

I have thought about getting into flight. 49 kg future flight medic here? Lol.

Even without any weight concern in still wanting to get into flight and get xp on rotor wing.
 
DragonClaw said:
So then are light crewmembers in high demand, supposing they can back up their work and perform?

🤔

I have thought about getting into flight. 49 kg future flight medic here? Lol.

Even without any weight concern in still wanting to get into flight and get xp on rotor wing.
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As long as you are under the weight limit the company won’t base anything off of weight. All depends on your experience, resume, clinical test, interviews, and scenario testing.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
As long as you are under the weight limit the company won’t base anything off of weight. All depends on your experience, resume, clinical test, interviews, and scenario testing.
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Medic school first then we'll see. Helicopter, I'm looking at you.
 
If a pt is being paced with a pacemaker w/o defibrillator, will that only kick in if they go Brady (relative to the setting) or will it place tachy too? Does it depend on the model?
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Yep haha. We have 1 medic and 2 nurses at my base who have some weight to cut
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Honestly it is long overdue. You do not have to be an athlete but you should be a reasonable weight to do this job. We had a crew in the region that could only take a 74lb patient one day. Obviously you try to schedule around that but call ins happen and you can't always make accommodations.

I think there should be a reasonable exception based off BMI for those over 225.
 
DragonClaw said:
Do scheduled flight runs ever say "Hey the equipment we need is going to be heavy and the fuel is too because it's a long fight, we should get RT X and Medic Y because they're small and light?"

Is that a thing?
Click to expand...

Yes for high altitude, medic gets ditched on the mountain.


DragonClaw said:
If a pt is being paced with a pacemaker w/o defibrillator, will that only kick in if they go Brady (relative to the setting) or will it place tachy too? Does it depend on the model?
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There are several pacer settings, however implanted pacers do not have the ability to overdrive pace (or more accurately no cardiologist would every program overdrive pacing).

Overdrive typically tanks cardiac output, and we only usually do it to break junctional tachycardia. You can also rapid atrial pace at like 900 to break SVT or flutter sometimes, but that is a burst that lasts maybe a second.

If a pacer is failing to sense it may pace despite the patient being tachycardia, but that is a malfunction and not intentional.
 
We have a 215 weight limit. It gets overlooked for some, doesnt bother me. In my flight suit and helmet with a 1 liter bottle of water I still have 30# to spare.

With the crew on now, we could probably take nearly 400# in our normal aircraft, the one were in right now has weather radar so probaly sitting around 300# and we have less fuel on board to do that.
 
One of these days I wanna be strapped into the front seat of one of them whirly birds..
 
Peak said:
There are several pacer settings, however implanted pacers do not have the ability to overdrive pace (or more accurately no cardiologist would every program overdrive pacing).
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Anti-tachycardic Pacing (ATP), which is essentially overdrive pacing, is a very common feature of AICDs and effective at converting VT without full discharge

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5442411/
 
I know I've been dispatched at least once to a patient with an implanted defibrillator who called because "it was malfunctioning". 12 Lead showed that nope, his heart kept going into V-Fib, and his pacemaker was indeed working perfectly fine, shocking him back into normal sinus every other minute or so. He got a transport with the medics Zoll defib pads pre attached to his chest...
 
Dang, pretty much every day I've had off this last week I've seen our Heli-Tender responding down the freeway.

They only do that where one of our helicopters needs to be able to land in the field (either brush fires where they wanna get the bucket, or long duration search and rescues so they don't gotta fly all the way back to the main international Airport where they're based everytime they need to refuel). The Tender isn't normally a busy unit, but like I said, seen it going out almost daily... Guess our pilots must be getting some hours behind the stick in...
 
So. My partner volunteers for Cypress Creek. He sent me info they were hiring. I have also been invited to volunteer for them.

I applied for the paid position and they're having me come in on soon for a PAT and interview.

This is new to me but they just informed me last time I was 15 second slow on the physical. They told me before I passed. Maybe if I'd had experience they would waive it.

I do not need to redo my my personality test or written exam (NREMT style questions and exams plus regular basic life knowledge).

My concerns are this.

1) Is the job steady enough with Rona and Creek’s current battle?

2) 24 hour shifts. Are these better if I work less days for the same or more pay?

3) Being a Medic Student in the fall. This will give me more experience and better resources (I think), but can I balance a schedule on 24s and have enough time to study? Might be a question for me, but any advice is appreciated.

4) The whole Cypress thing going on right now. Of course.

I don't want to get hired on and in the next week lose my job due to restructuring. AMR advertised they'd keep all the Cypress folks if they got the contract but would everyone else keep the field crews?

I'm at a fork of great risk and reward. Someone please chime in with your wisdom.

Maybe I'm chasing after lights and sirens and I shouldn't be. But just the clinical experience and.. I dunno

I want 911. I want to have those skills to help people.

I don't want to look bad by leaving and crawl back because cypress imploded.

It's just .. ugh.

I'd had my heart set on Cypress as a student. But now? It looks risky and not what anyone wants to deal with.

Their volunteers are just extra eyes really. They don't do pt care and most don't even drive
 
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Oh and would you mention your concerns about the current investigation and pending results?

Would you pretend like nothing is going on?

If they asked, what would you say?
 
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