Search results

We use ketamine as a second line analgesic for traumatic pain after fentanyl or methoxyflurane. It's an awesome drug that gives excellent relief. We give 10mcg/kg IM, and 1mcg/kg IV/IO, repeat until effective at 10 and 3 minute intervals respectively.

In West Australia, we only need lights going to claim the exemption from the road rules to go fast, sirens are optional. Our dispatch dictates priority to a call, but if it's not going to save any time getting there, or I'm so tired that I can't think fast enough to drive fast, I won't use them...

I know that here in WA the only people that do ride alongs are nursing and med students. You could try and ask, but I wouldn't be hopeful.

Transported an elderly lady in her nineties with dementia to ED. Her daughter was complaining about her moms boyfriend in the nursing home, apparently a bit of a controller. Triage nurse, without looking at the pt, asked if the pt was pregnant when I said abdominal pain. We all giggled, the pt...

I lost a lot of sympathy for people who are abusing me and/or the service we provide. And I guess I lost the feeling of always minimising risks. I got my bike licence, am now just waiting for approval and money to get a bike.

I would class major blunt trauma combined with either PEA or asystole as incompatible with life. I wouldnt be surprised to find crepitus in the neck when moving the head to gain an airway either, which would make me think they have even less chance of living.

12 leads. Took ages to get my head around how to translate the squiggly lines into actual heart anatomy, but once I got it I find it one of the easier things we do. Now its acid-base balance and it's finer workings.

Two stand out: 1) From the Consulting physician at a major ED to a junior doctor: " I dont care how fat a patient is, when doing a lumbar puncture, you cant tell them "This wouldnt be so hard if you werent so fat." And you definitely cant tell them that twice in the one session." 2) A...

I have heard Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel A Girls Vagina And Hymen. Stuck in my head fairly well.

Jumping straight to diagnosis/conclusion, maybe something akin to Bell's palsy?

Yep, I believe the answer was paraquat poisoning, a herbicide used on farms. It's still sold in Australia at least, it's mixed with diquat and sold as Sprayseed, a fairly cheap herbicide that will kill every plant it touches.

We follow the rule of thumb: hold your arm out straight in front of you while looking at the dangerous scene. Extend your thumb straight up. If you can still see the scene behind your thumb, you are too close.

Yes there is. Trendellenburg raises the feet a few inches above the body and also creates a low point of the head. Legs up raises the feet and legs by the length of the femur, creating a larger head of pressure, without the drain of the head.

Legs up will help improve vitals (too tired for more details) but trendellenburg will do zip. Look at the situation in another way: a fractured femur can lose a lot of blood, so it needs to be splinted for pain, long term recovery and also to reduce blood loss. Combine this with the need for...

Colleagues have treated patients as young as four stroking out, but it isn't the first thing that comes into my head when you have an altered conscious state in a healthy looking young adult.

I worked in northern BC as an oil medic: Worst. Job. Ever. I did my OFA-3, then an Alberta EMR bridging course, and headed up there knowing only that the money was good. I received very little training in what to do on the site, what anyone else was doing, and what was expected of me. The guys...

Hi all I'm an ambulance officer with St Johns in Perth, Western Australia. I'm in my third year of my bachelor of paramedical science, I've been working full time on road for 18 months, and I have just over 12 months until I graduate/qualify as a paramedic. This is roughly equivalent to EMT-P...

How did you go with your job application? Not sure if you are still info or not, but here is some anyway: Paramedics in WA are roughly equivalent to EMT-P level, without RSI, CPAP, and some drugs. The levels 1, 2, and 3 simply denote length of service and appropriate pay. Everyone starts as...

Depends where you work. Western Australia pays you (you work full time) for your second, third and fourth year at university. I believe that the other states dont do this, however they may not require a bachelors degree to be a paramedic. Direct entrants to St John in Perth (the only emergency...