Recent content by MedicDoug

Yes, indeed... state of the art at the time, no moving parts to fail, either. We used to put a foldup non-wheeled stair chair on top so it would be easier to hoist the patient into the hospital bed. I don't think they even make those contraptions anymore, although they were very comfortable for...

Most practical exams will vary a little based on the local protocols. Some places EMT-Bs do epi, nitro, etc., some places do not. When I proctor this station I expect the candidate to tell me if the epi-pen, for example, is in the Basic Scope of their state. I know Oregon has a whole bunch of...

How about this... when you "question bystanders" ask "how long have you been doing CPR?" Or ask the proctor "is CPR in progress?" Or, after checking abc's (and finding apnea and pulselessness) state "start cpr" if you have a partner. I'd review the AHA sequence as well before the test...

This is my station when I proctor Basic skills exams... I have three pieces of advice: 1. Take a breath, Take your time 2. Take a breath, Take your time 3. Take a breath, Take your time. And verbalize what you're looking for/at... ok, that's four... Quite often when candidates mess up...

Generally a long spine board, but since I'm old I'll reach for the scoop more often than some of my partners... an under-rated piece of gear for sure. Sometimes there's less patient movement with a scoop, especially if we're short handed on scene. MSDeltaFlt is right, though... the EDs do get...

A quick and non-comprehensive search of local EMT courses reveals that most require the candidate be 18 "by course completion". This is because you cannot be an EMT in California unless you are 18... and you don't want to hang around for months after your course completion to take your exams...

That would be the NREMT site www.nremt.org, same place you registered to take your test. Who sent the letter asking for an explanation? Your local EMS agency or NREMT? I doubt that your offense would keep you from becoming an EMT in California. You don't say whether or not you were...

Student run ambulance services exist at a lot of colleges and universities and are a tremendous asset to the community. Some only serve their institution, some also serve the surrounding city/town if needed. Syracuse University Ambulance (www.sua.syr.edu) is one of the oldest, and where I got my...

It was a dark and stormy night (really) in Central New York back in the 70s. Roads iced over, sleet, snow, hail, and cats and dogs I'm sure. I'm getting near the end of my "riding-third" training when the Ops Supe calls the Crew Chief and me into his office at about 1700. Seems one of the night...

Assuming (!) you're staying with polo shirts, try the 5.11 Tactial Polo available from the usual variety of sources. Comfortable, long-lasting, a bunch of colors, and mine has a nifty pen holder in the sleeve. I think they're about 30 bucks.

No specifics in protocol here either, although under IO it says PED after one IV attempt and IV access is essential, Adult Cardiac Arrest after 3 attempts. 3 seems to be the accepted standard per provider (on the rare occasion there's more than one medic on scene). Our local diagnostics lab has...

THIS should be fun...;>) A friend of mine is thinking about becoming a paramedic and asked me what I thought about a couple of programs in the area. After answering that question with what specifics I knew, I began to wonder what exactly makes a "good" paramedic program? Or a "good" EMT program...

OK, here's the standard advice: Get a good night's sleep before your test. READ EACH QUESTION COMPLETELY!!!!! There are "all except" and "which is NOT" questions throughout. You will find questions that you will swear have more than one correct answer, and that may be true. Pick the best answer...

Yeah, I'm probably trying too hard... my point is that we don't do enough pain management in the field... regardless of resources available. We should use all of the resources at our disposal to make our patients comfortable, be it a well padded splint correctly applied, oxygen in a chest pain...

Couple of things here worth noting. As others have written before, no set of treatment protocols can cover every possible situation. BUT, the Treatment Protocols in our systems were written and approved by the physician medical director, after some degree of review by the local community...