I'm finishing my EMT class and want to get a kit going, I know a lot of people don't carry kits in their cars, but I want to I'm a certified EMR so I'm going to start riding soon . So my question, what do you carry in your personal kit that gets used a lot? Also what inch tape do you find most useful?
Essentials for a jump kit?
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dixie_flatline
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Kid - I know from your other thread that you're 15 going on 16. Firstly, do you even have a car yet? Also, what does "riding soon" have to do with carrying your own equipment? Just because you are granted the privilege of riding on an ambulance doesn't deputize you to make your own car a mobile dispensary.
As you point out, a lot of people here don't carry a kit. To take it a step further, a lot of people here don't believe in carrying a kit and campaign, vigorously, against it. For one thing, for the purposes of the law, you are not an EMT when you are just driving along and come across an accident. If you are in uniform and everything, your station might have provisions for considering a POV (personal vehicle) an official response, but it's still shaky. So the most you might want to safely carry would be some gloves, a couple band-aids, and above all a working cell phone. There is no need for you to be treating a patient, administering O2, slapping collars on them, etc. If it's a bad accident and no one else is around, you might be able to help by applying some pressure to a bleeder, but above all you need to get the real professionals there ASAP.
If you plan on using this bag during official work while riding the ambulance, then your company should pay for it (and approve of anything you're carrying).
If you want to put some stuff together for personal/family use, you're often better off buying a pre-packaged first aid kit from galls or amazon. 9 times out of 10 you will be using aspirin/tylenol, a band-aid, or maybe some alcohol wipes/antibiotic ointment.
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dstevens58
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I have a small kit that I carry in my truck. Any given day, it's 50/50 if I have the car or the truck. I have a pair of scissors, BP cuff, stethoscope, and small pulse ox, pen and notepad. That way, I can have some basic information and vitals for which ever squad shows up for the patient(s).
nwhitney
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I'm in 100% agreement with this.
bigbaldguy
Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
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Just carry some gloves and maybe a good flashlight. Don't feel bad about wanting to jump in with both feet on the jump kit I felt the same way 2 weeks into my basic class and I'm........well I'm not 16. Your enthusiasm for being an emt is great but skip the trunk full of goodies and gadgets and just stuff some gloves in your glove box.
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Gloves and a CPR mask. You could even argue against the mask with the AHA's new "Hands Only" CPR campaign for the general public.
and one of these
and one of these
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I get the fact that you more seasoned people think us newbies are toally nieve. But that's not how it is , I understand I'm not going to be fully caring for someone, but should the need arise in a less urgent situation. And one last thing don't belittle me for my age, I'm going to be just as qualified as someone thirty years older, and I DO have a car, I'm mature enough to buy myself one.
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If you really want to build yourself a first aid kit. Gloves, band-aids of different sizes, antiseptic wipes, a couple 4x4s, some kerlex or something of the sort, some neosporin and I like 1 inch tape. Flashlight is good. If it's daytime though you can improvise to look at someone's pupils by shading their eyes with your hand then letting the light hit them.
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Thank you, now I feel like I'm not the only one, but I'm a week away from being done with the training, I've given it some thought, I just want a small kit with the ESSENTIALS, gloves, 4 x4 , tape..ect
Tommerag
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You asked for advice and people are giving you advice from their experience. You should listen to it. Yes you will be just as qualified as anyone else that as taken the tests, but you will lack the experience, which I find is probably just as important, if not more, then the 120 hrs of class.
Like it was said before a pair of gloves, pocket mask, flashlight, and cell phone is really all you would need.
DarkStarr
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I live in my employers service area and am 5 miles away from the base (2 miles, if we end up moving one of the older ambulances to the fire station), and I often respond to E1 priority calls when I know I can get there before the ambulance, or if they may need an extra hand (cardiac arrest). Also, sometimes if we are out of service, dispatch will call for QRP because the nearest bus might be greater than 10 to 15 out.
I used to respond to every E1 or E2 I could (E3 is toe pain), but quickly realized other than getting a history and vitals, there wasn't much I could add to (the medic is going to get their own history and vitals anyway). These days, I rarely respond unless it's a good one. There have been a few instances where we've been able to have one person QRP to the scene, and the other grab a bus from the station and meet on scene, which means keeping our own calls, instead of having the other service get them, but that only happens if a few people happen to be listening at the same time.
We get 1 hour of pay if we call en route but get cancelled, 2 hours if we get on scene and assist, and 4 hours pay if we ride in.
That said, I carry gloves, a steth and cuff, several gauze pads, hot/cold packs, some tape, and a BVM. Might add a tourniquet but not really in a rush to get one.
The most used items would be the steth and guff, I've used the 4x4's once (with tape), and took my BVM out of the bag once, but didn't use.
I used to respond to every E1 or E2 I could (E3 is toe pain), but quickly realized other than getting a history and vitals, there wasn't much I could add to (the medic is going to get their own history and vitals anyway). These days, I rarely respond unless it's a good one. There have been a few instances where we've been able to have one person QRP to the scene, and the other grab a bus from the station and meet on scene, which means keeping our own calls, instead of having the other service get them, but that only happens if a few people happen to be listening at the same time.
We get 1 hour of pay if we call en route but get cancelled, 2 hours if we get on scene and assist, and 4 hours pay if we ride in.
That said, I carry gloves, a steth and cuff, several gauze pads, hot/cold packs, some tape, and a BVM. Might add a tourniquet but not really in a rush to get one.
The most used items would be the steth and guff, I've used the 4x4's once (with tape), and took my BVM out of the bag once, but didn't use.
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DesertMedic66
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When i started the class i wanted to go all out and make a jump bag and everything. I then realized that it would not be worth it. One guy from my EMT class bought a $300 jump bag, backboards, C-collars, the works. He has failed EMT class 3 times and failed the NR multiple times. I carry a survival kit for myself and also a first aid kit. I went to walmart and bought one. Then I added medical shears, and added more gloves.
bigbaldguy
Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
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If you use that phone the people who show up might be carrying this:
and this
out of which they pull this
</taking the piss>
Awesome
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If you want to carry the essentials you do not need a kit. You need a ziploc sandwich bag. If it can't fit in there, you don't need it in your car. A couple of 4x4s, gloves, bandaids (for you), and antiseptic wipes. I also have a quickclot in there for ski season. I don't bother with a pocket mask, anything small enough to fit in the center console isn't worth using. Hands only for me until the actual responders arrive.
Actually come to think of it I broke my own rule and have two abdominal pads with CAT wrapped around them stored with spare tire. I did not pay a dime for any of that outside of the quicklot, which is intended for personal use.
Sent from my out of area communications device.
DarkStarr
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I lied, I also have an adult and ped C-collar.
My bag is very small, more like an oversized fanny pack. The collars sit under the rear seat of my truck.
My bag is very small, more like an oversized fanny pack. The collars sit under the rear seat of my truck.
dixie_flatline
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Firstly, it's "totally naive" (pet peeve).
Now then, I didn't intend to belittle you simply because of your age (it's good that you can afford a car, although looking around at my workplace, I don't equate making money with maturity), so sorry for opening up with "kid". If anything, I was belittling the attitude that is so often displayed by the young, rash, and foolhardy over-eagers that jump on here ready to Rock and Roll. It's a serious job, and often it's the calls that aren't life-and-death that can jam up your career (and indeed your whole life).
Yes, you will be qualified the same as someone who is 30 years older who also just passed their test. There is no way that you will be anywhere near as qualified as someone 5 years older who's been doing the job for 3 or 4 years. That comes with time.
As for the car, I had been driving for 10+ years and it wasn't until i became an EMT that there were ever any kind of gloves in my glove box, which the english/grammar nerd in me found amusing. I have however carried a rudimentary "Emergency Kit" in my trunk since I was 16, that has road flares, reflective signals, a foil blanket, disposable camera (probably long since expired), and a basic first aid kit (with the aforementioned CPR-mask, band-aids, and simple painkillers).
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I live in my service area and carry a complete jump kit with oxygen because I cover parts of my town in my POV when I'm on call and have to wait for the transporting ambulance to arrive. And that is the only reason I carry anything.
The thing I use most out of the kit is oxygen, my scope and BP cuff because far and away most of our calls are medical and not trauma. But understand that I'm responding to calls for which I am on duty, I'm not keeping this stuff in my truck because I'm hoping for the "bad one" while driving around town.
My service provides all items in the kit.
The thing I use most out of the kit is oxygen, my scope and BP cuff because far and away most of our calls are medical and not trauma. But understand that I'm responding to calls for which I am on duty, I'm not keeping this stuff in my truck because I'm hoping for the "bad one" while driving around town.
My service provides all items in the kit.
I'm typing from my phone, which accounts for the spelling, sorry! The attitude of the new, I see it all the time but not just from younger people, but I could see how that could be attributed to anyone newer to EMS. Obviously I'm not as qualified as someone who's been doing this longer, I would never try and claim that I will ever be, that would just be stupid! Thank you for helping to clear this up!
abckidsmom
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And yet earlier you claimed this:
DarkStarr said:
Do you really think the two are remotely similar? Which is the real DarkStarr?
It's a lifestyle if you know what's happening at work when you're at home, just saying.