Recent content by DWR

There have been pre hospital studies on induction agents over the years which I've honestly not followed much. I work for a slightly busy hospital based system (66,000 calls in '17). We are aggressive with our RSI protocol and starting a proactive analysis on the use of Ketamine vs. Etomidate...

!. BLS skills 2.Allot of this job comes with field experience and time in the jog. Don't rush it. 3. Know and understand that you're at a really offshoot part of the bottom of the totem pole. Don't let it get you discouraged, embrace and learn. 4. Be involved, be confident and for christ sake...

I live and work in a part of NC that has a alarming number of overdoses every year. Every law enforcement agency and fire department carrie Naloxone in some form or another. Not only that but a majority of pharmacies (CVS, Rite Aid etc) offer Naloxone auto injectors to the public for free. Since...

Pretty much everything that Akulahawk said! I work for a hospital based system so I'm fortunate to have pretty much everything compatible with the next thing. I'm a fan of being able to start a Cardizem on a patient, hand off the pump and labeled bag to the ED RN and know that they would be...

Our 911 side (where I work) uses the Sigma Spectrum which we carry 2 per truck. Same ones our ER utilizes so it's an easy 1 for 1 swap. Pretty sure our critical care ground side uses the Med System III, can't speak for our helicopters side though. I honestly don't have very many issues with them...

I just finished the CCEMTP class at the UMBC campus literally yesterday. I thought that the whole experience was awesome! I would recommend it to anyone that wants to get their foot in the door for critical care or just further your education as a paramedic in general. I will say it's two weeks...

To be honest... I'd forgo the nursing union and move on. The fact of the matter is Washington doesn't utilize medics in the ER setting the way other states do. I'm sure you could state your case until you are blue in the face but I don't think you'll get very far unfortunately. My suggestion is...

St. Joseph's in Bellingham never had ED Paramedics, but over time it looked as though allot of stuff was removed from the ED techs and they were nothing more then a CNA that happened to work in the ED. Now this was my experience taking patients to one hospital for close to 7 years. I know it's...

MattB1557, I sent you a PM regarding your post.

The only thing I can think of is pushback from the nurses union. I have allot of RN friends in WA and I know they have talked about the dwindling practice of ER tech's and what they can and cannot due. I'm employed by a larger hospital that has ED Paramedics and allot of the time its hard tell...

I would say get your education in Oregon if you can. I can say that I've seen paramedics trained in California come up to Washington (where I was trained) and really struggle with the methodology of things like RSI and pit crew/high performance CPR. While I'm sure you will get out of what you...

I think overall (I know it's probably been said before) but experience and presenting yourself is key. Also the willingness to work in an area you might not want to live in particularly is also a big thing. I went to Paramedic school at Columbia Basin College in the Tri Cities. Personally I...

The tourniquet from a IV start kit works (slightly) also. Or a BP cuff if you don't have a pressure infuser or an IV pump.

Is anyone else dealing with this? Love Boat which is marijuana dipped in Formaldehyde is very similar to PCP and is pretty big in my neck of the woods. We've had a pretty big run with this stuff this year and have had some very unsavory patients. We all know everyone is different ranging from...

We just started to field it last week. For those that do carry it.. What are the indications? I ask this just because protocols are obviously different everywhere.