Recent content by Screwby

This hit station hard this morning. Prayers to the families...

Thanks for the feedback! Just more knowledge to chart away in my ever expanding and still frighteningly empty EMS brain :)

I still have this irrational fear of doing everything right only to have a cot malfunction that topples a patient to the pavement strapped in and helpless against gravity...just got goosebumps thinking about it...

I've had this happen before and I sped up more only to have the medic yell to go even faster. I was new and eager to please my medic, but knew this was unsafe practice. After discussing it on station with other medics they all said "you drive what your comfortable with and if your medic is...

I wasn't saying to lie...perhaps I misunderstood the way I was taught? My cert isn't worth faking vitals, I'm saying that worst case scenario you at least had a radial pulse, so BP was at least 80 systol and in narrative and at hospital I explain EXACTLY what and how I arrived at that vital...

I agree 100%...but you know as much as I do that even when you are in the right, even when you did all you could, that there are always those people in the hospital that shake their head and look at you like your an idiot. Every part of me want's to say "jump in and let me see you do it on this...

The O2 saturation tool is iffy but I've found the pulse to be pretty damn accurate. The O2 goes goofy if the patient isn't still or ride is bumpy and it shifts on the finger. If you palpate the BP you find pulse in radial or femoral artery it's at least an 80 systolic, Brachial is at least a 70...

As said above, just grab all the vitals you can. Something is better than saying "sorry no vitals for you" because the nurses or doctors will remember you as the guy who can't get vitals. Respiration, pupils, palpate the BP in the wrist when you get pulses and write BP/palp so you have something...

I'm about 4 months in and still get excited. Granted the mundane washing of ambulances, keeping station clean, stocking the rig type stuff gets old, but it's worth the payoff of having a damn cool job so far! As with any job there are going to be ups and downs, but how many jobs afford you the...