Recent content by Scottpre

Pause, Breathe I have test anxiety as well. What I have found that helps is to pause and just breath for a second. Train yourself to remain calm, even in the midst of the craziness. Always do a self-check of what every scenario needs: 1- BSI/Scene is safe 2- Rapid transport (ALS vs. BLS)...

That's messed up. No need to withhold diesel therapy to HMC.

Not physics and medicine, but environment and situation. It is not a condemnation of the RN's or anyone else. It's a simple matter of training and familiarity with a particular environment. Just as a clinical RN may not do well in a pre-Hospital situation if placed in command for an MCI, so a...

I guess it depends on where your area is, but in my neck of the woods, air lift is very situational-dependent. A ground rig can get to our local trauma center (Harborview Medical Center) from any scene between Hwy 18 and I-90 to downtown Seattle faster than Airlift NW can be dispatched, load...

In agreement with the rest of the posts, you gotta WANT to be whatever it is you decide to be in emergency services. I am not aware of any area where you can succeed without being fully dedicated to the profession. Fire, EMS, LE, even emergency management all require significant dedication...

I've ran into the nurse thing you describe before as well. It was just a large-scale MCI functional drill, but the RN in charge of the treatment area had no idea how to manage a triage flow in a pre-hospital setting. She kept breaking from her command role to perform PT care. The entire...

I do a lot of EMS work at a large college stadium. Got called to an AOB PT at one of the tail gating parties who was vomiting and weeble-wobbling everywhere. I get on scene and move to do my initial contact at the same time police arrived. They had me wait a second so they could pat him down...

I worked EMS at a large Casino for a while. Same thing there. There were a lot of times when I felt like I was working in a soap opera. What I found helpful was to comeback to the basics with PT care. Point to established protocols if PT care is the issue. Some of my own personal rules: 1-...

That's a toughie. Part of it depends on your agency protocols. Are you in charge of the scene? If so, you do what you feel is best for the patient, so long as you stay within your local practice protocols. is these scene given over to a more epxerienced EMT or Medics when they arrive? If so, do...

He probably had his 'World of Warcraft' session disrupted. Never get between an addict and their obsession! :-)

No kidding. This proves the old cliche that the amount of kit is inversely proportional to the amount of training the EMT/Medic has.

I worked a scene Dec 5 at the UW vs California game at Husky Stadium (Seattle, WA) where a guy had clearly dislocated his shoulder, but maybe had fractured his collar bone, too. I decide he needs better evaluation in the privacy/comfort of a first-aid room, so we wheel-chair him up to one. I...

When my son was about 3, he became really enamored with a bagel for about 10 days. It became stale and hard and went everywhere with him, even to bed. He named in "Bago" (bay-go). What finally ended the relationship was when he took Bago into the bathtub.

Ok, the reason I ask is my SAR unit often sends out additional information on weather, terrain, where the base camp/command post will actually be located, etc. We get turn-arounds as well.

Are you able to page out updates and additional information while the SAR volunteers are responding to the command post?