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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-29

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@p_e_naylor Um, aren #
@therealjillk How far South? #
@sambradley Hey, where were you at during Katrina? #
ATTENTION EVERYONE! If you type "Is there any nurse jobs that don't deal with bedpans" into google. I am the 4th result! (My Answer: "No") #
@scoolgirl101 Oh I think it's just precious in reply to scoolgirl101 #
@UKMedic999 @thehappymedic Fantastic job guys! #CoEMS Couldn't be more proud of you! in reply to UKMedic999 #
@SamBradley11 Cold , wet. Pretentious. Political. in reply to SamBradley11 #
@firedaily Hmmm, my spidey sense is tingling… I miss Jeremy! One must remember that one can never script october! #
@aascharf And how do you take that Martini? in reply to aascharf #
@aascharf I like to scare mine with a vermouth bottle somewhere in the same room as my tanuqueray, gotta be dirty. 3 olives #
Yay! If you google "Making you EMS service shine" (sic) I'm the TOP result! http://bit.ly/8lW41N #
@rvaemsexaminer Im Hooman! #
Awww The poor lil' guy's a sick one today. A decade of being a medic and when he's sick I melt. 500ml of chicken soup! Stat! #
Don't have a place to be today? Are you hanging around a vollie FD waiting for kitchen fires? Public safety random dinner @ my place. 5ish #
Oh Food Network. What forth have you wrought upon this Paramedic. I'm a chef!(ish) #
http://bit.ly/5QXYvc – The Handover Blog Carnival's up over @thehappymedic 's place! The Theme this month is "Close Calls" Head on over #
Been taking some tweetin breaks during the holidays. Be back soon. Happy Holidays to all!! #
A great night with family and friends. Kids playing, a turkey overdose, and a bolus of togetherness. Hope your holidays are warm #
@FireDaily As always, thanks for the RT buddy! in reply to FireDaily #

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by admin on November 29, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Welcome to Hell Feet 2: Magnum Boots Review

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As promised, here is the review of the new EMS Duty Boots that I was given to try out.

First of all, if you didn’t catch why I am writing a post about EMS and Fire work boots, you should read the post here: “Welcome to hell, Feet”

A while ago, I was contacted by Magnum Boot company to review their new Magnum Elite Force 8.0 WPI boots. The deal was, they’d send me free boots and I’d wear them and tell the devoted readers of my “Popular EMS blog” (both of them) about my thoughts on the boots.

So I decided to put these boots, and my poor feet, through hell week. My thoughts were that you all were gonna get Magnum Boots Money’s worth and the fruits of my foot pounding in a post where I review these things that are on my feet as I type this.

I wear my boots a lot. If I am working, my boots are on my feet. Since I work anywhere from 70-110 hours every week I had quite the chance to try them out. Trust me, this post isn’t going to be boring. During my hell week for my feet I had one of the best rescues of my career. Sure, I did lawn work, and played tag and kickball with the kids, but I also free climbed a 70 foot 100 year old grain silo to treat a critical trauma patient and put in some pretty tough other calls too. So let’s dive in, shall we?

Magnum Boots sent me their Magnum Elite Force 8.0 WPI boots to try out. The first thing I noticed is that they look sharp. They don’t have the nylon filler stuff on the sides that I don’t like the look of, and while they’re not exactly what I’d consider to be leather, they’re made of some stuff that looks and feels great. They’re also not even close to what I’m used to. I have always worn steel toed boots in the past. I like them because of the things we get exposed to in the field and the dogs that sometimes think my hindquarters look tasty. I also like the side zip models and these are straight laces. I suppose that one could put in a front-zipper insert, but I didn’t for this post. They’re also taller than I usually wear by about three inches.

They took some getting used to, but I didn’t want to review them before I broke them in. So, the first thing I did was put them on and mow my lawn. I don’t usually do that in my duty boots in order to keep them looking nice, but I wanted to see how they felt. As expected, when new they rubbed in places that they shouldn’t have. I didn’t get any blisters though and within a day or two they broke in quite nicely. Now they’re comfier boots than I’ve had in years.

Another thing I notice is that when working 24hour shifts or working in a fire station where you must put them on and take them off quickly, the height and the laces impede me getting them on and off as fast as I’d like. I’ve got the hang of it now, but they’re not as fast getting on at night when getting up for a call than my zipper boots were. They also got sworn at once or twice when trying to slip them off and get into my fire boots. Again, I’ve got the hang of it now… but I’d suggest that they add a pull-loop at the back to help in getting them on more quickly. This isn’t an issue if you’re working a shift where you don’t sleep or straight EMS without turnout gear.

The next thing I noticed was how stable and light they are. I played tag for an hour with my 5yo boy and the neighbor boy and was able to juke them like nobody’s business in damp grass. They don’t quite feel like I’m wearing tennis shoes, but they’re close. I can run and jump and play with the kids in them and be quite comfortable. The first ambulance shift I worked in them it was raining hard, I didn’t slip a bit on the wet leaves and didn’t have a drop of water get in. I’ve purposely walked in puddles and sprayed them with the hose and my feet stay dry. They have something called “Ion Mask Technology” (which is something scientific involving bonding individual threads with something sciency.. I think. It means “liquid-proof”) which they bill as a new process to treat them, head to their website to check it out.

That first ambulance day was awesome, we got called as a single ambulance response to a very rural dairy farm for a “Male Subject Crushed By an Engine In a Silo” Going out there, the information was that he was 70 feet in the air. We arrived first after having dispatch tone out the volunteer fire department that covers that area. Right off the bat, I hopped off the ambulance into ankle deep cow poop that was covering the whole area around the silo. The sheriff’s deputy directed me to a small, dark ladder on the side of the 100 year old silo that lead up to the top. The “rungs” of the ladder were steel rebar and after all that time, they were very worse for wear. I climbed it and noticed (Yes, I was actually thinking about the boot review) how stable the boots were. Once I got to the top, the silo was full of corn silage (shredded corn stalks) and our patient was lying on top of them, gravely injured from having a 700 pound engine that powered the silage pump fall on and crush him. It took a 2 hour tech rescue on top of that pillowy, messy, unstable silage to get him out. He survived… and so did my feet.

All it took to clean the boots? A quick spray from a garden hose. My feet felt great. I even took off the boots that night for bed and noticed that my socks weren’t wet. It was like my feet hadn’t sweated at all. My old boots had big holes in them and my socks came out soaked with sweat even on a dry day, these boots breathe and that doesn’t happen. I’m really shocked about that.

After two weeks of hell on my feet, the boots don’t show any signs of wear other than being broken in. I’ll wear them from now on.

I recommend them without reservation other than the above caveats. Magnum Boots, your free boots passed my test. You can send me free stuff anytime J

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 28, 2009 • Filed under: EMS, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Rescue Topics, Magnum boots, duty boots, fire boots, magnum elite equipment

The Handover Blog Carnival – Now Up At Happy’s Place!

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Fresh back from his UK excursion, the Intrepid Happy Medic has been busy yet again putting together this month’s edition of The Handover Blog Carnival, the original and premier blog carnival featuring the best content from around the EMS, ER, A&E, and Public Safety blogosphere. The theme this month? “Close Calls”

Here’s the link over to: The November 2009 Edition of The Handover Blog Carnival at The Happy Medic Headquarters.

Here’s the link to my post for this edition, in case you missed it “The Day I Didn’t Die – Firefighter Close Calls”

If you would like to find out more information about The Handover Blog Carnival, click on over to its homepage: Http://thehandover.wordpress.com for some awesome content from some of the most talented EMS, ER, A&E, and Fire bloggers out there. Some you might not have heard of yet.

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 27, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

The day I didn’t die – Firefighter Close Calls

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Laying prone on the quivering floor, I had been pushed down flat on my stomach by the searing heat and smoke. I was as terrified as I’d ever been as I frantically yanked and tugged on the inch-and-a-half hose line that was stretched down the basement stairs towards the engine company that had disappeared down the dark hole an eternity ago. What had started out as a small, concealed fire with light wispy smoke conditions had quickly deteriorated into this hellish, searing inferno that I was convinced was killing the three men below me.

Twenty minutes before this, my two man tanker company had been first on scene to this structure fire that had been dispatched while we were returning from a small brush fire. We were the closest unit and were first on scene. Light staffing that day caught us when this fire was reported during the height of our daytime volunteer shortage. These factors combined a two-man tanker company together with a two-man brush-truck company to make a primary search of the structure. The light smoke and little heat had lulled us into a false sense of security as we entered the single-family home. The concealed fire between the first floor and the basement caught us unaware. It spread quickly and weakened the floors we were standing on. When I found the first floor had been weakened, I sent out my partner to inform command as we were on the tanker and had no radio communications inside the structure. Unfortunately, another engine company with a hot-shot lieutenant arrived and, despite my fervent protestations to the contrary, he took his three firefighters down the stairs to the basement. I stayed to mark their exit.

Outside the air-horns sounded their three quick blasts, calling for an evacuation of the structure. I stayed, waiting for the crew to emerge from the staircase so that I could lead them to safety. They never showed. The intense heat burned me through my turnout gear as I screamed as loud as I was able through my SCBA mask into the abyss. I tugged on the hose and screamed at them to return, only taking a break to recognize the ringing of my low-air warning bell on my air tank. I had no idea how long it had been ringing, but when I noticed it, it was slow. Instead of a sharp ring, it was a slow ding that was getting slower as I was sucking as much air as I could to yell down the staircase.

This moment, this intense moment, was where I made a decision the likes of which I hope I never have to make again. I knew that if I stayed more than a few moments longer, I would suffocate and burn to death right there on that floor. I also knew that the men below me needed me to be there for them when they came out of the basement. They needed me to be there to lead them to safety.

It was a decision that made me choose between leaving my brothers to perish by saving my own life, or staying to face my own probable death. Ding… Ding… Ding… the sluggish bell ticked off my air supply, inching ever closer to the point where it would just stop, leaving me to asphyxiate.

That moment, I chose to flee and save myself. It’s why I’m sitting here typing this story.

I knew where I was in the structure. While it was pitch black from smoke and I was blind, and while every movement made my skin contact my turnout gear and burned me, I turned tail on my stomach and frantically crawled towards the doorway I knew it was only a few feet away. I knew I could make it. I knew my brothers were dead or dying. I knew…

“CRACK” went the floor as it opened up to reveal the inferno underneath my belly. I felt myself falling I saw the flames come up and envelop me. My vision turned from completely black to completely orange as I felt myself falling into the intense heat. I screamed and reached out ahead of me into the darkness. I clawed and flailed forward, grasping on to anything that I could grab to save me. God willing, my fingers found the concrete steps out the outside door to the residence. Inch by excruciating inch I pulled myself up and out into the light and the fresh air.

As soon as I was out of the house I stopped breathing as my SCBA mask sucked into my face for lack of air in the tank. I ripped it off of me and sucked in the sweet outside air. Waiting for me outside, about to try and find me, were the three firefighters who had went into the basement. They had evacuated through a basement door. Nobody knew that I was still inside waiting for them until they made a headcount in the confusing scene and found that I was not accounted for.

Looking back at this experience, I am proud of myself for finding out that I will go up to the last possible second to try and save my brother firefighters… although thinking about the decision I made to turn tail and run, I’m almost ashamed that I didn’t stay past that point of no return.

Of course, my policy is that I go home at the end of the day every day… but still.

Close calls are terrifying experiences. Thinking about losing any one of my coworkers or colleagues is unfathomable. It can happen, however, and we combat this reality with safety and organized command structures. This call was years ago in my career but it sticks in my mind at every call I’ve been to since that day.

Train hard. Keep your wits about you. Take everything seriously.

The Hole a firefighter fell through in a strucure fire (uninjured)

The Hole I fell through in a strucure fire (look right by the door)

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 25, 2009 • Filed under: EMS Health & Safety, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire department, Firefighter, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, accident, fire, training-fire-rescue-topics

Some posts you should read today

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It’s been a busy week or two over here behind the scenes at Life Under the Lights. The whole staff is committed to long-term high intensity projects that promise big payoffs upon completion.

Yes, I am the entire staff… so I’ve been a busy guy lately. I’ll fill you in later.

However, while I’m off slaying some local dragons and working on some cool stuff, here’s some things you shoulf pay some attention to;

First Firegeezer wrote this post about Kansas City FD’s takeover of MAST ambulance. I don’t want to go there… but I’ve always liked MAST and looked up to it as one of the best ambulance services in the country. If KCFD is taking it over, all I’m going to say is that they better have the best intentions and better be ready to step up and take care of business the way MAST did… or their citizens are going to suffer for it.

Our well-travelled brother The Happy Medic is over in England riding with Medic999 at the North East Ambulance Service. Here’s his latest post “Ask Not What Your Service Can Do For You”. Here’s also Medic999’s post from the project: “You Guys are Awesome” Hey! He’s talking about US! We’re AWESOME!

Is everybody following the Chronicles of EMS yet? You should be.

Look for more stuff coming up soon. I’ve got some cool stuff on the burner coming down the pipe and whatnot.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 23, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-22

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The tweetup was just amazing. All I can say is wow. I can't remember the last time I felt this energized about EMS. Thank you #CoEMS #
If I could get every #EMT and #Paramedic to feel the way I do right now… Heck, not just EMS, but the whole world would change #CoEMS #EMS #
Oysters on the half shell and wine with my wife. @ginakaiser I love you #
Just had a pint and hot wings with @ukmedic999 he's good people and a stand up guy #CoEMS #
Thank you #CoEMS, @thehappymedic @ukmedic999 @setla @sambradley I haven't been this energized since I was a new #paramedic #
Heading home. Buh bye San Fran! Thanks guys! It was great to meet y'all! #
Wtf is with all of this "pay to use wi-fi" crap? Argh.. #
Touchdown at MLI! #
Back to the grind. 24 today on the #ambulance – Yay reality! #
@geekymedic I dunno, I'm really starting to like @setla #
@bwils Hell yea I do, I get off at 8am. #
@thehappymedic He's the kinda guy that would do that (@setla) I wonder if he knows that @ginakaiser is available for acting work #
@RVaEMSexaminer @thehappymedic @setla Um, well yea actually now that you mention it #
@gfriese @rescue_monkey The alphabet soup stuff does keep us current on all the high points, however. #
@rescue_monkey @gfriese Yea, I agree. I read, you read… but there's a certain subset of the profession that only gets the minumum. in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey @gfreise I completely agree. The cert cards, while annoying (and they are) are a way to prove it… necessary evil thinks me in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey @gfriese Have you been following EMS 2.0? We're working on it in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey @gfriese Oh, we're moving… hopefully some day we'll be the ones who get to steer in reply to rescue_monkey #
@ukmedic999 And actually I have it on good authority that you were home in bed every night about this time! #
@rescue_monkey @gfriese Naw, if I have my way we'll all have gone to PA school. But that's just dreaming. For now in reply to rescue_monkey #
RT @geekymedic: RT @gfriese "Does anyone know my twitter name?" @SteveWhitehead just asked #
@tlczek There's an article on Cracked.com – It's a good one about that in reply to tlczek #
@stevewhitehead @geekymedic @gfriese Oooooh, burn dude! #
Yay! a call!! #
@tbchick Hey! If I could reveal where I'm from, you'd know my FD's extrication team! #
@geekymedic My dream was aways to be a Colorado medic… I'd move there in a second. Do they accept NREMT? #
RT @setla: If @traumanbc can get 18k fans on facebook, our goal is 20k at http://bit.ly/1Jrsk0, calling all EMS Professionals #CoEMS #
@ginakaiser – my wife just sat down to arm wrestle and laughed "You got yer butt kicked by a Brit!" @ukmedic999 #CoEMS #
@rescue_monkey @RVaEMSexaminer Have you guys gone to http://lifeunderthelights.com and read my stuff on EMS 2.0? "The Medics are revolting" in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey @rvaemsexaminer I've written some great rants on just the very topics you're speaking on.. and I don't support the union idea in reply to rescue_monkey #
@RVaEMSExaminer Well, yea… actually some of us are moreso than others I meant as in "Staging a revolt" You know the way in reply to RVaEMSExaminer #
@rescue_monkey @rvaemsexaminer I'm not a member of a union. That issue is bigger than we can explore through twitter. Did someone say FBEMS? in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey EMS 2.0, our tagline and philosophy that I and other champion has a lot of those tenants. I very much agree. THat's not all in reply to rescue_monkey #
@rescue_monkey @rvaemsexaminer Oh, I didn't see that. I'm feeling that here daily. I am a medic, you know. EMS 2.0 will fix it… I hope in reply to rescue_monkey #
@RVaEMSExaminer THere was a bit of tongue in my cheek (Read: Irony) when I wrote it, and I appreciate crazy in reply to RVaEMSExaminer #
@rescue_monkey Absolutely. What are your plans? How can we help? in reply to rescue_monkey #
@RVaEMSExaminer Well, I think that there should be paramedics performing PA level assessment/triage/treatment in the field in reply to RVaEMSExaminer #
@rescue_monkey @rvaemsexaminer Not without a lot more physiology in our educational standards. I like what Gary's doing up there at GC ambu in reply to rescue_monkey #
Goin dark for a while. Family time! #
RT @tweetmeme Another Example: Size Really Does Matter… http://bit.ly/3LxCXL #
@SamBradley11 Ohhh that sucks. Good thing I'm my own editor… today. Hopefully I'll get one soon! It was great meeting you, btw in reply to SamBradley11 #
RT @firegeezer http://firegeezer.com/2009/11/19/another-uk-usa-exchange/?success – Another UK exchange? Wow #
@fossilmedic The first arm wrestling attempt was sober The second was less so. I did better on the second time, but @ukmedic999's HUGE! #
@ukmedic999 @thehappymedic Hooray for the safe arrival! #
@tlczek Dontcha hate that!? Especially when they're um "hefty"and therefore think that they're always hot #
RT @tweetmeme I found this on Facebook. It’s um.. interesting – Life Under the Lights http://bit.ly/4hMmHy #
Off to my first parent teacher conference as the parent! OMG… #
@dg_medic OMG did I feel old and immature walking in there. Am I really mature enough to be a parent with a kid in Kindergarten? #
@setla Really? Man you hollywood types are all the same I've been up since 4am! Must be the California lifestyle #
He is too cute! Awww! That's AaaaWEsome!
You guys do us proud over there. You already blew us away with the US side… http://disq.us/44pg6 #
Oprah's stepping down @Setla Maybe we can work on this… can @ginakaiser be the next Oprah? You can film… #
Yay! #102 followers!! Here's hoping that I have something interesting to say #
@MsParamedic I'm an #EMS rockstar!? Thanx! #
@geekymedic (even though you don't follow me… Harrumph) Ooooh! Is it Oprah? I KNEW she'd only leave her show for something great! #CoEMS #
@setla Is there any other way to think?? #CoEMS #
@msparamedic And got my hindquarters handed to me… but in my defense, the guy's Huuuuuuge #
@msparamedic @geekymedic (pssst… It's CKEMTP) And um… perhaps I do exist maybe? #
@msparamedic @geekymedic See? Now THAT'S networking. #
14 hours left! Let's see if the city can behave itself tonight #
@therealjillk Oooh, whatcha find? #
@TherealJillK Oh absolutely. DId I ever tell you about the time that I made a salesguy cry up near CHicago when buying that brown Subaru? in reply to TherealJillK #
@TherealJillK Hey, when your wallet is at stake… ya gotta do what ya gotta do in reply to TherealJillK #
@TherealJillK Ahhh, in the business, that's what we call "a clue" (Oh, btw it's @ckemtp (no space ya Twitter Newbie) in reply to TherealJillK #
@TherealJillK Sorry I ran out on ya. Had to go to dinner in reply to TherealJillK #
@mack505 Oh man, I've got so many interesting things on the burner for the blog that I don't know where to start! No "proper jobs" today tho #
@TherealJillK Oh you have just GOT to go $500 lower! in reply to TherealJillK #
@TherealJillK I do that to patients who complain about their ambulance bills. I walk out until they call me back j/k in reply to TherealJillK #
In honor of #CoEMS on all emergent responses I run I will exclusively use the British "Hi-Low" siren tone @ukmedic999 @thehappymedic #
@DG_Medic Naw, I can't do it… even though I lost the arm wrestling match, their ambulances are just too funny lookin! #CoEMS @UkMedic999 in reply to DG_Medic #
@PedroParamedic Dude, it happens. I've worked in two seperate haunted stations here in Illinois. in reply to PedroParamedic #
@PedroParamedic @ ElbertTheGhostOfRFPD Weird how that happens some times. I've had the truck from hell.. not a haunted one though. in reply to PedroParamedic #
RT @p_e_naylor: @patrickjscott Scrubs is back, but over 3 episodes they are going to introduce a whole new staff http://bit.ly/8kd2zL ^ Yay! #
RT @ckemtp The Profession that is EMS http://retwt.me/1tSkX #
This is an older post that I hope to give a bump to my new wider audience by commenting on. It's an early look at EMS … http://disq.us/45rz8 #
@theHappyMedic I read the Illinois Compiled Statutes. A self Retweet wasn't mentioned as an offense in reply to theHappyMedic #
@tbchick I've got two kittens that look exactly like the two kittehs on your picture #
@TBChick Same with mine. I love my lil kittehs (and I'm more of a man cuz of it) but they drive me crazy! in reply to TBChick #
@msparamedic I'm looking to start our own ambo service somewhere in the country. We'll need a town and an ambulance… Hmmm #
Heading off to Chicago City of to party tonight #
I'm at a trendy Chicago Argentinian restaurant. It's BYOB. Will they care that I brought a case of PBR? #
Made it inside! Only an hour past our res. It's dimly lit and there's only one restroom. Apparently trendy people don't need to see or pee #
I may be close to twinking #

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by admin on November 22, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Uh oh, is it that time again? EMS Recert Time Cometh…

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I’ll betcha that a lot of you reading this are in the same boat that I am… Here’s the reminder!

Yesterday I had the occasion to pull out all of my various certification cards and licenses, photocopy them, and turn them in to one of my departments for verification that I still had them. Much to my chagrin I noticed that it is indeed that time again… the time for me to start gathering up all of my hard-won continuing education hours and credits, compiling them into packets, and begin sending them off to the various places that I hold licensure through.

So let’s see… that’s Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and the National Registry of EMTs. Actually, the Illinois license is on a 4 year schedule, so this is an off period for them. Thank goodness for small favors. Unfortunately though, I also noticed that my ACLS card expires this month and I hadn’t noticed it till now. Now I have to frantically find a class to sit through and get me some learnin’ at. Here’s hoping it’s not like the last time I took the class… It was horrible. Since I had let my card expire by, ahem, a “short amount of time” (3 months) I had to take the full class. Worse yet, the only class I could find happened to be when one of the big hospitals near me was pushing through a bunch of OB/Peds nurses through the class so that they could accept regular med/surg patients on their units. The nurses, suffice to say, were less than thrilled to be there and answered most of the questions with “I don’t know, what does the Doctor order me to do?” The instructor, who was also a nurse, actually accepted that answer for most of the questions. Really. I listened to them give waaay off the wall answers that were accepted as correct by the instructor.

I don’t think any one of them has ever been in charge of a code resuscitation… at least not a successful one. But I digress.

The State of Wisconsin EMS bureau has been changing the rules for renewing your licensure quite a lot this year. Frankly, I don’t quite understand what I have to do as of yet but I’m working on finding it out. As far as I know right now I have to take a “refresher” program. I *think* that by completing a National Registry refresher program I will be fine. Feel free, however, if you’re in the know for Wisconsin EMS renewals, to set me straight on this in the comments section. It’s kinda important for my livelihood.

My Iowa EMS license is much easier. All I do is send them in the exact photocopied packet I send in to the NREMT, fill out a short little form, and a few weeks later I get a shiny new license in the mail. Thank you State of Iowa EMS! Keep Being Awesome!

For the National Registry, I’ve heard faint rumblings about this whole “Computer test based” renewal program. It sounds cool, from what I’ve heard… but I’d have to do the exact same CE for my Wisconsin and Iowa licenses and I wouldn’t get the CE bump I need for the 4 year Illinois license. So much for that, then.

Lucky for me, there’s an awesome NREMT recert class they put on in Davenport, IA. I’m heading out that way to get me some high-quality learning and have me a little bit of fun as well. Thanks EICC and MEDIC EMS!

This post doesn’t have much of a message to it other than for me to gripe about having to yet again put all of this stuff through. I am all for education, and I research EMS stuff nearly every day, but unfortunately I haven’t thought of a way yet to translate stuff I learn from my colleagues on the EMS blogosphere and the other sites on the interwebz into hard Continuing Education credits. Maybe I’ll spearhead that issue too once I get time. Maybe…

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 20, 2009 • Filed under: AHA, EMS, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, EMS training, EMT, EMT-Intermediate, EMT-Paramedic Specialist, Emergency Medical Services, Iowa, Iowa EMS, Paramedic, Training & Development, ems education, paramedic education, wisconsin

I found this on Facebook. It’s um.. interesting

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Staying Alive! The Music Video – This will take you to Face Book. Friend me whilst yer there

Just click on the link. I can’t find it not on FB… but since everybody’s on there, here ya go!

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 19, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Changing the EMS World – The Chronicles of EMS

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Man, my arm hurts. I think I pulled something over the weekend… which is funny because it was Medic 999 who was the one handing me my hindquarters in an arm-wrestling match. In my defense, the sun was in my eyes, the gravity was especially strong on his side of the table, and um… the… (There’s gotta be another plausible excuse for losing to a limey… There’s not? Oh well)

The weekend I spent with my lovely wife Gkemtp(it) in San Francisco to go visit my buddies The Happy Medic and Medic999 could be summed up in one word: “Awesome”. I could say it was profound, I could say it was “Bitchin”, and I could also say that meeting the two biggest EMS bloggers and the other fantastic people I met changed my world view and reenergized me on this profession. The word “Awesome” just seems to fit though.

Seriously, between the time I got to spend with Justin and Mark, The Angry Captain and Justin’s wonderful family, the time I spent talking to some wonderfully dynamic people at the Tweetup, and the time I got to spend meeting Thaddeus Setla and The ‘Dridge something changed in my world view.

It’s hard to say that someone like me can become cynical to something that I love so much. I don’t know if you can tell it in my writing, but I really do love EMS as much as I say that I do here on the blog. It’s just that someone like me who really and truly wants the profession to change for the best can become disillusioned when it feels like they’re constantly and consistently hitting their head against brick walls. I had recently asked one of my coworkers if anyone actually cared about EMS anymore. Sure, I get a decent bit of traffic here from people who obviously are caring and concerned about the profession and their patients, but sometimes a guy just needs a face-to-face meeting with people who are just as committed and share the same goals.

And well, folks, I got that.

Today’s headline on the blog could read: “Ckemtp heads off to San Francisco for Chronicles of EMS: Becomes reenergized. Finds no Rice-a-Roni and no limits either. Thinks he can change the world and knows we can do it.”

I haven’t felt this energized, this positive, or this good about EMS since I was a brand new paramedic with a brand new paramedic card. I tweeted that if I could make every paramedic, EMT, and other EMS person feel the way I feel about EMS after the Tweetup, that our profession and whole society would change for the better overnight.

So hold on to your hats folks, because that’s just what I intend to do.

Justin and Mark, The Happy Medic and Medic999 respectively, are two stand-up guys who really are just who you expect them to be. Their blogs really are what the medium truly should be, a place where they communicate to their readers their true thoughts, feelings, and emotions so much so that you feel like you really know them. Meeting them face-to-face, I felt like we were friends who’d known each other for years already. Even though Mark has a nearly incomprehensible accent. (Wait, wait… no, we settled that. Per the arm-wrestling outcome I am obligated to say that his accent is perfectly fine)

Thanks guys, you’re an inspiration. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us at the tweetup and to everyone who watched live over the interwebz. All of you showed me that there really are people out there who care about EMS just as much as I do. This is fantastic. I intend to help leverage this collaboration and cooperation between us to help us change the profession together. I know we can.

So hold on to your hats folks, from here on out it’s going to get interesting. From where I sit there just aren’t any walls out there anymore that we can’t smash through. I’m truly excited and I intend to change the world. With your help, there’s no stopping us.

It’s just plain awesome.

Justin, have fun over there in England with Mark playing in their funny looking sickly lime green ambulances professional and sharp looking equipment with Mark’s limey coworkers. I’m figuring it’ll be a hoot! Mark, take good care of him like I know you will. I can’t wait to see what you guys turn this in to. You’ve got my full support! For what it’s worth… now that I can’t really move my right arm.

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Posted by Ckemtp on November 18, 2009 • Filed under: EMS, EMS Blog, EMS Conference, EMS Topics, EMS blogosphere, EMS pep talk, Emergency Medical Services, blog, blogger, medicblog999

If I wasn’t so sleepy…

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If I wasn’t so sleepy from my whirlwind trip to California followed immediately by a busy 24hr shift, I would tell you about how energized I am. I would tell you about the fantastic things that are heading our collective way from the meetup in San Francisco. I would tell you to hang on to your hats because all of the walls seem to have crumbled away.

But that will begin tomorrow. Because I’m sleepy and the tones seemed to have paused enough for me to either blog or close my eyes for a bit and I’m choosing the latter. I will tell you that I met some fantastic people and I am a very lucky little paramedic blogger to have such wonderful peers and such a great group of readers. Thank you to everyone.

When I started blogging (literally) between calls at work at the station and from the front passenger seat of my ambulance who knew that it would take me to San Francisco, introduce me to so many new friends, and make me feel like I could change the world? I probably wouldn’t have believed you if you told me.

You, yes you personally, are awesome. Thank you for reading this.

More… MUCH more, to come. Starting after nap time. This just got really exciting. Hold on to something.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 17, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-15

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@gfriese Being forced to watch the #packers again at work. Is it wrong to hope that the calls keep coming in? Go #bears #
@setla Just saw the @! Sorry, I missed it. Heck yea come out here and chronicle our over 50% CCR save rates #
@gfriese Wisconsin's starting to affect my brain, #packers on tv and cheese brats on the grill! Working sundays on a beautiful day is great #
@gfriese Hey! You're pretty quiet! Howsabout them #packers? #
@thehappymedic Godspeed buddy #
@heartbrokenpara Here here to that #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 @setla Heading off on a call, welcome Mark to US soil for me! Have a cold one for me if I run all night! #
RT @ckemtp The DNT Order?? http://bit.ly/1zOC8F #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Hope you guys are having fun. Big day tomorrow! #
@bella_medic I'd be surprised if I hadn't seen that exact scenario 124345234512345 times in the last five year… argh #
@gfriese Have fun! I warmed up the ambo calls for ya yesterday! #
http://bit.ly/2bDpY #
RT @ NationalJuggernaut http://bit.ly/2bDpY – This cartoon seemed far-fetched in 1948 #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Go get em' guys! #
#musicmonday Do your thing by Basement Jaxx #
@gfreise Are y'all doing CCR over there? #
@setla and I just got a technical error message from twitter… Hmmm, what are you guys doing? #CoEMS #
@justmyblog Thanks for the follow hon! I always enjoy your stuff – http://justmejustmyblog.blogspot.com/ #
@bella_medic You might just see me down there #
@bella_medic Is that through the National Ambulance Service contract administrated by AMR? #
@podmedic Can I jump on that? I need one of them too! #
RT @tweetmeme Could it be? A Good EMT-B Student? – Life Under the Lights http://retwt.me/18XX6 #
@emtdani Then come help us! #
@gfriese It's trying to come up with original ideas. #
http://bit.ly/4FgziC – RT #
Off to fire training. Does anybody's EMS/Fire agency do a newletter? Lemme know plzkthx #
RT @firedaily There. We admitted it. So what? http://bit.ly/3Q9thH #
Still looking for Fire/EMS agency newsletters. Anyone know of any? #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 @setla I've been busy tonight and haven't seen the vids from #CoEMS yet. Can't wait! Hope y'all had fun! #
Off to work at the FD today! Yaaaay!!! Man this shift starts too early #
@firedaily If I can get my way out there to SF, which looks pretty unlikely.. I plan to chastise him for not using "the president's English" #
Upcoming blog post includes things that will blow your mind. Upcoming Statement for my tweeples: "Transport is deadly" #
I should have said "Here's a taste for my tweeples" And Transport *is* deadly, at least in the example I show. #
@aascharf What about starting your own? Is that possible in your state? EMS systems shouldn't be like the DMV #
@aascharf I can imagine that. Here in IL it's dang near impossible unless you're a hospital. I've got dreams of a for-profit one… #
@aascharf Just to promote good CUSTOMER service. It would realize that EMTs, Medics, and services are CUSTOMERS and not bothersome #
@ukmedic999 #CoEMS Well, not since you used the "Q-Word" twice in one tweet #
@aascharf I'm looking for a whole community that would like to have us start an ambo service that embraces EMS 2.0 community wide #
@thehappymedic As a matter of fact, I DO know a publisher that's looking for new EMS books! Let me hit them up #
Anyone else want to film a video response to #CoEMS from the front of their ambulance? I think I will @setla @thehappymedic @ukmedic999 #
@setla @thehappymedic @ukmedic999 My video tribute to you guys is up! Check my FB page. #CoEMS #
@firedaily HA! Not a "whilst" in the bunch! #
Is anyone else going to do a video response to #CoEMS ? #
@gfriese I did an um "impromptu" one in front of the ambulance at the station whilst (@firedaily) on duty today. Vlog like I blog, y'know? #
@justmyblog Didja like my vid!? (Ooh! Ooh!) #
I suggested every one of my EMS FB fans to become a friend of #CoEMS – Make her pay! #
@justmyblog I mesed up and ignored it by accident! Then I sent you one… resend? Or go to the #CoEMS page #
@firedaily Finally you whilsted whilst you tweeted… um #whilst #
@insomniacmedic Hey, thanks! #
@smedix Thanks for the RT #
@tlczek Hmmm, I sense much anger in this one #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Ok, so what hotel should I stay at tomorrow and Saturday night? #
@aascharf ok thanks! I actually kinda am #
@setla Hey, have Justin check his twitter or text messages. I gotsa question! #
Amazing News! @UKmedic999 is considering leaving San Francisco early because he's SCARED to arm wrestle @Ckemtp #CoEMS (ha ha!) #
RT @tweetmeme Education vs Training: The “Professional Ambulance Cleaner” – Life Under the Lights http://bit.ly/MbFTj #
RE: @firedaily Hmmm, so I poked the FF's a bit and haven't gotten a response? http://disq.us/3n6ov #
I get to go to San Francisco!! #coEMS #
Oh, Gkemtp(it) is keeping guard so I pack instead of being on the laptop, but did I mention tomorrow We fly out to #CoEMS ? #
@MSparamedic Ha! Me and the wife will be departing Illinois tomorrow for San Francisco! You'll see us there… on video lol #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Found a hotel, Mark, you're off the hook for tomorrow night. Except for the arm wrestling! #
@beandip4all #nomnomdeliciouscheesecurds Actually, I live in Illinois and only *work* in cheeseland. Go Bears! #
@schoolgirl101 Woot! Midwestern EMS (from like, an hour from Chicago) will be in da house! British Arm Wrestlers be afraid! #
Packing packing packing… #CoEMS Gotta get on the road! #
@firedaily Area Firefighters Kept busy whilst operating in 2008 – http://bit.ly/2c6I4W #
@LawGuy60606 Thanks for the Follow #FF – I would love to have you comment on our #EMS2Movement. Capitalism *IS* fun! #
Packing the car. #
Going dark. Heading to the Airport. #CoEMS #
Eatin lunch, waitin for the plane to fly #CoEMS @thehappymedic @Ukmedic999 @setla #
On a plane! #CoEMS #
Sittin in an airport bar headin to #CoEMS #
If one wishes to go to hell, one would still have to connect through Atlanta #CoEMS #
Boots on the ground in San Fran! #
Maybe soon I'll check my @'s, because I haven't all day. San fran's pretty cool #CoEMS #
Good morning world! Finally got my computer up and operational. San Francisco is fun on a Friday night! #CoEMS #
My phone's only a one-way twitter device (Yea, I'm low tech) So Thanks Everyone for all the RT's and the follows yesterday! #
Watching SFFD handle an EMS call from the 30th floor – Heard the federal Q all the way up here from the street. #CoEMS #
Great news! In person, it is possible to understand up to 80% of what @Ukmedic999 says! #CoEMS #
I finally got to meet @thehappymedic and @ukmedic999 – Those guys really are a class act. Can't wait for the tweetup tonight! #CoEMS #
Gonna whoop me a Limey tonight! Don't miss the arm wrestling match streaming live! #CoEMS #
Watching @UKmedic999 tweet is amazing! How does he hold the iphone with those twig-like Limey arms? #CoEMS #
@ginakaiser will be cheering for me and the honor of the USA #EMS people @ the #CoEms tweetup. Will you? #
it's funny to hear a geordie say the word "testicles". My what? Yer "balls"… Balls… You know, tersticlus! #CoEMS #
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/setla – THe Live Stream! #
On scene! #CoEMS #
If I called 999 because my pride hurts would Mark make me take a cab to the A&E? #
Thank you to everyone who watched me lose twice to @ukmedic999 This is still so cool tho! #
Eating Indian drunk food in San Francisco at 1am outside the Hilton after being beaten in arm wrestling by a UK medic.. So glad I Blog #

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by admin on November 15, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

See you at the Tweetup! It’s tonight!

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http://www.ustream.tv/channel/setla

Tonight, starting at 7pm California (USA) time the Tweetup for the Chronicles of EMS will be streamed live!

It will be streaming live from 7pm to 9pm Pacific time. Stay tuned for the Transatlantic Arm Wrestling match between me and Medic999, Mark Glencourse.

I finally got the chance to meet Justin (The Happy Medic) and Mark face to face and I have to say that they are as dedicated and committed to improving EMS and to this project as I’d hoped they were. What a dynamic group of individuals everyone is here. This is so cool.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 14, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

BREAKING NEWS: British Paramedic Blogger Fearing US Arm Wrestling Smackdown

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SAN FRANCISCO – Banking on the success of “The Project” morphing into the “Chronicles of EMS” in cooperation with Setla Productions and The Happy Medic, Medic999 believes that he may have spoken too soon.

“Aye, me frumpydumples wot in the wizzik de muffin” Says Mark Glencourse, Medic999 in his thick Geordie accent. He also expressed some other things believed to relate to something about his experiences with the San Francisco Fire Department. (More can be found on their facebook page including video shot by Mark and Justin) (Medic999 and Happy Medic).

Mark states that he may have bitten off more than he could chew by challenging US-Based paramedic blogger, Ckemtp, or Chris Kaiser, to a “Drunken Arm Wrestling Match” at the Blogger Tweetup on Saturday the 14th at the Gordon Biersch Brewery in San Francisco where the event will be broadcast live on various forms of social media.

“Wot Cru? Hope wizzmuh hat Bedrussle muptin” Says Mark, who will no longer be interviewed for this article because he sounds like Groundskeeper Willie (Ha!) and nobody can understand him (See the vids for yourself!)

We think that he was jus fearing the ARM WRESTLING SMACKDOWN at the Tweetup!

Oh, and CKEMTP and GKEMTP(it) are heading to San Francisco to meet up with the crew from Chronicles of EMS and to finally meet Mark and Justin. We’re leaving as soon as this is posted. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook! This is going to be so cool.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 13, 2009 • Filed under: EMS Topics

Education vs Training: The “Professional Ambulance Cleaner”

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Imagine if you will this hypothetical scenario:

You and your roommate have just graduated EMT school together and go to work at competing ambulance companies in the same city. He works for HIS ambulance service, and you work for YOUR ambulance service. Both services have similar fleets, similar deployment patterns, and similar call-volumes. In fact, there’s really no way to tell them apart other than the fact that the HIS ambulance service uniforms are sickly green jumpsuits, and YOUR ambulance uniforms are Macho Blue Shirts with navy blue pants.

You both go off for your first day on the job which understandably includes several hours of training on company policies. For both of you, the whole day turns out to be a long class on how to clean the inside of ambulances.

Here’s the differences, though. At YOUR ambulance, you learn about the biological functions of bacteria and viruses. You learn their strengths, their weaknesses, how they reproduce on inanimate environmental surfaces, how they create biofilms to increase their reproductive capabilities and life span, and how pervasive they are in randomized samples from real-life ambulances. You learn how grime collects in the ambulances, how it adheres to the surfaces that you will be cleaning, and what the various types of substances are that you will most commonly find in real-world applications. The whole first day is spent on nothing but learning about dirt, grime, and germs and how they contaminate ambulance interiors. They even threw in the types of materials that the ambulance interior is made from and what the specific dirt-holding and germ-breeding properties of each material are. You see samples and scenarios pertaining to germ and dirt proliferation on ambulance interiors.

Not only that, there’s homework, reading material, and a report due the next day.

The second day that you report to YOUR ambulance service, you learn all about different types of cleaning products, tools, and disinfectants. You learn how to properly choose the detergent needed for optimum dirt-dissolving power on what type of surfaces you may have to clean; You learn the proper disinfectant to choose for each type of commonly encountered bacteria, virus, and fungi spore; and you learn the proper contact times to leave each product on for optimal disinfection and/or dirt dissolving power. Then you learn about every different type of sponge, mop, rag, fabric, and tool used to clean the ambulances. You spend a few hours in the laboratory they have testing out the material and performing experiments in the name of learning.

Oh, and after that day too, there’s a lot of homework and reading material.

Your roommate, on the other hand, went to work and found out that he too had to learn about ambulance cleaning. He learned that they also expect clean ambulances, however his choices and training are much simpler. He is told to clean the ambulance using two bottles: One marked “Cleaner” and the other marked “Germ Killer”. He is given ten rags and is told to clean the ambulance for inspection by the owner of the company using the tools given in the time allowed. He does so and is told “Good, now do it again tomorrow”. The next day, he again cleans the ambulances using the tools and training provided, and is again told “You did a good job”

In the above scenario, the first ambulance service, “YOUR Ambulance, uses a form of advanced education to teach their people how properly to clean the ambulances to their specifications. The education is rigorous and in-depth.

At “HIS Ambulance” they use training, and vocational experience to teach their employees how to properly clean the ambulances.

Here’s some questions I have:

Which ambulance service do you think will have cleaner ambulances in the long run?
Which employee do you think will do an overall better job in cleaning the ambulances?
Which employer, “YOUR Ambulance” or “HIS Ambulance” do you think has the better philosophy?
Which ambulance cleaning class will result in the better, more motivated, happier employee?

Anyone else see the relationship to EMS training/education here? Which one results in a more “Professional Ambulance Cleaner” that is better equipped to handle the job?

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Posted by Ckemtp on November 12, 2009 • Filed under: Ambulance cleaning, Ambulance maintenance, EMS Management, EMS Topics, EMS training, Emergency Medical Services, Management, Paramedic, Training & Development, disinfection, ems 2.0, ems education, ems scenario, ems scenario based education, paramedic education, profession, professionalism, sanitize, scenario based training, training-fire-rescue-topics

Cardiocerebral Resuscitation – Change brings Fantastic results

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Hold on to your brains here people, because I’m about to blow your mind.

With new research comes new treatment modalities, and with new treatment modalities comes a change in our profession’s very foundation. This change is hard to accept and hard to convince others to implement, but it is necessary for us to do so.

I’m talking here about CCR, or Cardiocerebral Resuscitation. Hold on, because it’s coming, it’s fantastic, and it will shake the very timbers of our profession.

First off, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are some things you should read first. Go ahead and read them, then come back and read this. I’ll give you a teaser on why you should read forward:

40% – 60% resuscitation rates are possible in witnessed V-Fib cardiac arrests.

Is that enough incentive for you?

First, go visit: Http://www.CallandPump.org to read about the ongoing research project.

Then, read my first post on CCR: “Advances in Resuscitation – CCR, if you’re not doing it now, you will be”

Follow the links on that post to see the article outlining the research project and the subsequent article published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Did you read them? Good.

So here are some things you should know about CCR.

It’s about moving blood – Good compressions make all the difference. Press hard, press fast (100 compressions per minute) and switch out compressors every 1 minute. Yes, do this even though you’re going to complain that I “don’t know how it goes in the field”. Yes, I do because I’m a practicing paramedic with a decade or so of experience and two full-time EMS jobs. I know it’s hard and unwieldy, but the results are almost magical.

When I first became a CPR instructor for AHA some years ago, I taught my students, incorrectly, that chest compressions were all about compressing the heart between the sternum and the spine. It turns out that I was wrong. The point of effective compressions is to vary total intrathorascic pressure creating both a positive total pressure that forces blood out of every vascular space and organ in the chest including the heart and aorta and also then creating a negative total pressure to pull blood back inside. The more blood you can get flowing, the higher pressure you create in the arteries moving blood through the vascular system and perfusing the heart and the brain. By continuing compressions, you boost the arterial pressure higher to the point where it will perfuse the heart and the brain adequately to maintain some amount of metabolism and prevent some cellular necrosis. When you stop, even for a few seconds, the pressure falls to almost nothing and must be worked back up to the level needed to provide some perfusion of the critical organs. 100 compressions per minute isn’t a request, it’s a mandate if you wish your patient to survive. Switch out compressors every one minute. We’re human beings and we’re fallible. It’s been shown that we cannot maintain adequate compressions for more than a minute. Pop on your ETCo2 monitor and watch the number fall after one person does compressions for longer than that and you’ll believe me.

Transport is deadly – One of the tenants of CCR is that every intervention that interrupts compressions must be proven to be of more benefit than continued perfusion of the heart and brain. If we are to maintain adequate compressions to continue this perfusion until the heart restarts and begins moving blood on its own, we must not move the patient from a hard, level surface. One of the biggest interruptions of compressions is the act of moving and readying the patient for transport. We jostle them around, put them on a narrow cot, bounce them from wherever they fell, load them into the ambulance, and then bounce them along the road to the ER. All of this decreases arterial pressures by negatively impacting our ability to adequately compress and also by limiting our ability to effectively compress and increase intrathorascic pressures to the extent possible. Therefore, transporting the patient is deadly because it harms our ability to resuscitate our patients.

Of course I want you to take them to the hospital eventually (hopefully once they’re resuscitated) just don’t be so eager to get them there. Work the patient where you find them. You’ll do your best work on scene and will be pleased with the results.

Be prepared to use more and less common medications – How many medications do you carry on your trucks? One service I work for that doesn’t use the new CCR protocols carries 6 prefilled syringes of Epinephrine 1:10000 on the trucks. Let’s see… One Epi every 3-5minutes x 6 syringes equals 18-30 minutes of epinephrine for the arrests we run. I put the officers on notice that I will be needing a second truck to respond to codes that I attend. In addition, since more patients are being resuscitated, the need to practice post-resuscitative care is increased. Be prepared to hang antiarrythmic drips. Be prepared to hang dopamine. Practice caring for patients post resuscitation. You may want to consider researching induced hypothermia to mitigate reperfusion injury to the heart and brain.

Also, remember that Vasopressin and Amiodarone are in the AHA ACLS protocols. Does your service use them?

Approach cardiac arrest with a clear game plan – If you’re in the emergency services, you should be familiar with the Incident Command System, or ICS. Resuscitations should be no different. One person is the “Code Commander”, one person is the “CPR Sector Officer” and so forth. Train on these like you would train for any other major incident and watch your success rates climb.

I’ll be posting more on this in the coming days. I’m really excited about CCR and the possibilities that it holds for our patients and our profession. You will be too, trust me

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Posted by Ckemtp on November 11, 2009 • Filed under: CCC, CCR, EMS Topics, EMS training, Paramedic, Patient Management, Protocol development, Training & Development, cpr, cpr save, ems education, paramedic education, save

Attention Everyone!

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If you’re here reading my blog and you haven’t yet been to see what our two EMS celebrities, Medic 999 and The Happy Medic are up to, then you should go there right now.

The long awaited “Project” between those two has taken off and is now being filmed by Thaddeus Setla of Setla productions. It’s been retitled, “Chronicles of EMS” and has become quite the social media sensation.

Since Mark’s been here, I’ve finally had a chance to speak on the phone with him. I gotta tell you, it was cool hearing one of my blogger buddies, who’s accent sounds just like Groundskeeper Willie Sean Connery actually talking to me from here on our side of the pond. You can hear him too, just click on over to his blog and watch the Youtube Vlogs that they’re putting out. You can also follow the web series. Don’t forget to follow @UKmedic999, @TheHappyMedic, and @Setla on Twitter as well.

This is just too cool! You go guys!

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 11, 2009 • Filed under: EMS Topics

Request for ideas on a problem – Can we be paid enough already?

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Howdy! This post is random, disjointed neural firings. It comes from me trying to reconcile the fact that I really, truly do love working EMS but also hate the fact that I get paid worse than a fry-cook. It’s not the easiest read, and I’m sorry about that, but I can’t think of any good ideas.

So really, I’m just complaining about being paid so poorly. Sorry.

Can you help? At the end I’ve put some ideas. Care to expand upon them in the comments section?

A comment I received on my last post got me thinking on this beautiful Sunday. Here it is:

“Loved the quiz. It would not only appear that I have another decade left to supplement the two already under my belt, but will most likely be found pulseless and apneic while seated in the rig one day…. I can’t think of anything I would rather do for a living!”

(Thanks to JimHaden for the comment)

On that post “Will Your Career Survive a Decade or More in Full-Time EMS? Take this 3 question quiz!” I got a lot of cool comments from long-time EMSers stating how they “beat the odds” and have survived upwards of a decade or two in this business. Then, the above comment kinda tied it together for me.

And on a warm, Indian Summer day here on duty, I gotta admit that I’m getting the warm fuzzies from my career choice. I’ve always said that I have an abusive, co-dependent relationship with paramedicine and EMS. I may need it more than it needs me, but…

Dang I wish I got paid more.

I love this job. I like the quirky personalities of the people I’ve met that do this. I like the camaraderie I’ve got with them. I like the pressure to perform in challenging conditions. I like having to think on my feet. I like meeting new people. I like making people feel better. Heck, I even like driving fast and breaking things.

I could go on.

Sure, there’s a ton of things about this job that I could do without. I’d like to be able to schedule calls to handle them when I’m ready. I’d like to be able to have the 911 dispatchers instruct certain patients to “Take a shower and then call 911 back when you’re done.” I’d also like magnetically levitating stretchers that can pick patients up with cranes.

I can go on there, too.

How are we going to make this into a profession that pays, heck… If not a “good” wage, at least a “fair” wage?

It’s not fair what we make. It just isn’t. Sure, I’m a rural paramedic but I feel strongly about rural paramedicine and the fact that the lives of people who don’t live in urban areas are just as important as the lives of those who do. The fact is though, that rural paramedics make much less than their urban counterparts. Yes, I know that it’s because of call volumes, but also because the competition with the overall amount of jobs available in urban areas as opposed to rural ones. It’s also due to tax base and service delivery model issues as well as overall economic conditions and demographics of the areas we cover.

I could go on, but you get that it’s a complex issue.

Today I had someone complain to me about their recent ambulance bill that they received for a long-distance transport. They felt that it was unfair to be billed so much for something they felt they could do with a taxi cab. I was very professional like I always am, but honestly I’ve got mixed emotions on this one. I don’t know how many people share this opinion, but I’m one to think that ambulance bills are a tad on the too expensive side. I don’t think that cost should be a deterrent to people calling for emergency assistance. On the other hand, this person is a resident of one of the jurisdictions I work for and I don’t think that our bills are out of line. I wish I could have told this person that they had the ability to help their own problem with the bill by simply paying more of their share of the ambulance service though their taxes. The money’s gotta come from somewhere, folks. People need 24 hour ambulance coverage and more lives are saved (debatably to some, but not to me) by 24hr paramedic coverage. While I would do this job for free, and do so by volunteering my time in some places, I also have to eat

So I don’t have the answer, even though I would like to say that I did. I think that it’s too complex of an issue in order for there to be a magic fix to the entire situation. If there were, I think that despite the political forces at work, someone would have put it into place by now. I will say that the “Fee For Service” model of ambulance revenue is failing. You know, the one where we only intake revenue if we transport and the volume of transports is supposed to be able to pay for everything. Well, what if you’re in a small town that cannot support a high volume of transports like I am? Or what if you’re in a big city like The Happy Medic (follow @CoEMS on Twitter!) and a high percentage of your patients can not or will not pay you for your services?

The fix, in my opinion, to find new revenue sources for EMS. If you look at professions with the highest salaries, they’re the ones where the people earning those salaries earn large amounts of revenue for the company. Say someone in sales whose salary is commission-based and is dependent on making large sales, or large amounts of small sales, or an athlete who not only fills the stands but also earns tons of money from licensed products. EMS people don’t do that, for the most part our patients cannot afford what we charge them and aren’t using their disposable income to pay our salaries. We’ve got two sources, Secondary payers (Medicare/Medicaid/insurance) whose revenue depend on NOT paying as much as possible, and tax revenue. Yes, there are some that rely solely on one or the other, but most services that I’ve seen rely on both.

So what do we do? As I’ve said, I don’t have the answer and I’m pretty much winging this post from this point on. I don’t know. I’ve thought about adding home care services, having EMTs and Paramedics staff a community health-care clinic, and even working a 2^nd job while on-duty (really, I’ve picked up an application from the local McDonalds to see if I could park the ambulance out back and flip burgers for a while in between calls – I’m only half-way joking about that) to increase the revenue potential for me personally.

Hey, maybe that’s the answer. Could we get the local ERs to let us staff them as techs whilst on duty? The local clinics? Dialysis facilities?

No, probably not…

Help. I can’t finish this because I don’t have a good idea. Maybe I will later, because I’m thinking of this issue pretty hard lately. I need EMS to pay better. You probably do too. Let’s work this out.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 10, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, EMS rant, Economics, Emergency Medical Services, Funding & Staffing, Paramedic, Uncategorized, ckemtp rants, paramedic salary, salary

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-08

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My laptop went on the fritz yesterday. A 24hr shift without a computer. Wouldn't have mattered much though, we wuz busy #
@gfriese Hey! How 'bout them #packers? #
@gfriese Oh, duh! I'll be putting up EPS411.com on the #medicpreneurs page soon. Having some computer troubles… errg #
@gfriese I'm hoping #fireemsblogs will have a blogger meet and greet @chebert #
@ukmedic999 @thehappymedic My new post? Well, let's just say that I wanted to contribute something I was good at: Stirring up trouble. #
Today: Truly Transnational Transatlantic Trash Talk. Http://www.lifeunderthelights.com #
@gfriese Are ya working close to my neck of the woods? #
RE: Oh what's that? Hey, my momma's a saint. She reads this blog too, HI MOM!!
So it's drunken arm wrestling, is it… http://disq.us/2uq0v #
RT @tweetmeme Blog Tip – When the Honeymoon is Over http://bit.ly/20qSud #
RT @medicthree I Am Sam: EMS 2.0 | Medic Three http://bit.ly/3Kf64F #
@thehappymedic Someone said something about "Manscaping" in my Transnational Transatlantic Trash Talking. They thought you'd know? #
@medic999 You may have me there… but as was said on the comments, I can drink more than Shandy All in good fun buddy #
@emtdani I got mine, haven't had any <oink> problems. <oink> It didn't seem <oink> to affect me at all <oink> Anybody else smell bacon? #
RT @FireCritic Fire Rescue TV http://bit.ly/4bQ55d #
RE: @thehappymedic Dontcha just love the Dispatch Diagnosis? I make sure that my newbies actually do an assessment and… http://disq.us/2wp56 #
@msparamedic Care to share the ideas you've got with the class? #
@msparamedic You said that you and yer new partner had some ideas that you were going to share with the boss. I'd love to hear them #
@bella_medic thanks for the follow! #
@msparamedic Write it up in a post and I'll link to it or have ya guest post on mine if you'd like #
@thehappymedic Hey! What about me? There's a nonzero chance that I'm available for coffee #
@thehappymedic I've got a cup sitting right here next to the laptop buddy, I drink the magic beans (read: Not fluffy coffee) 24hrs per day! #
I'm sitting here LMAO at the comments posted on my last two posts @ambodriver Hilarious! I do that too, never mentioned the zoo though. #
@medicthree Alright, blogger meetup in the MIdwest. WhiffleTree bar and grill, Roscoe, IL – got a date? Dollar drafts of PBR #
@gfriese Yes, I got a copy of it at the department. It didn't seem to have much meat to it. I worry about name infringement with WEMSA's rag #
RE: @@medicthree This doesn't surprise me. I work in Wisonsin. We may have some dumb rednecks in our state… but at l… http://disq.us/2xwdb #
@medicthree @audreyj84 Oh no, we're not going where they have GRASS FED beef. That would just be wrong. #
RE: @thehappymedic For more information regarding how to properly use the Happy Medic's blog page, consult this helpfu… http://disq.us/2xxg8 #
@msparamedic The reaper only wins if he gets there before you do. Http://www.callandpump.org #
@tbchick there's nothing wrong with liking what you like #
@stevewhitehead Thanks for the follow! I linked you in blog and print today #
Oh, and I linked @thehappymedic @ukmedic999 and @gfriese in print and blog today too #
Oh, and Http://paramedicine101.blogspot.com too #
@msparamedic I want to start an ambulance service to use as a lab for all of the EMS 2.0 stuff… anyone know of a town of about 30-40k? #
@ukmedic999 @thehappymedic @gfriese @stevewhitehead And they just saw fit to link it on #JemsConnect 's Facebook page. lotsa traffic #
RE: @thehappymedic I notice that all of our sites lag here on the network. I just thought it was my computer(s). Happy… http://disq.us/2ys1i #
@jedifire11 Yes, absolutely. For the practicals you've got to have "Verbal Diarrhea" Just keep talking, don't stop. You'll end up hitting it #
@jedifire11 Just keep talking. If you can't dazzle them with details, baffle them with BS. There's no penalty for talking too much. #
Just ruined my night. Long distance OB transfer in active labor-ish… <sigh> #
here I go! #
New guy working his first shift today. He's got wheelchock syndrome. One refusal so far today and it wasn't even my turn to run out #
Well, there goes another one. Here it sit. It still wasnt mine to go on. #
RT @firedaily Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup http://bit.ly/2fuUnv #
Headin on a long transfer #
@anna_n_chicago Ahh So you're an EMS person I see. Or does "squad" mean cop to you? #
RT @ckemtp EMS 2.0 – A Paramedic Dreams of Changing EMS http://bit.ly/1OTk9z #
Just under ten hours left on my 48 hour shift. Then one, maybe two, days off with the wife and kid and kittens. I miss them #
RT @ckemtp Irish Dog Bloody Mary Mix – Life Under the Lights http://retwt.me/1JcGR #
@ukmedic999 You should skype me, you can call a US phone #, right? #
@ukmedic999 Oh, and I've been training for you! Been picking up kittens and challenging my 5yo. #
@anna_n_chicago Ahh, cool. I should try and find a newsletter to write for. I've been wondering about doing one for #ems2.0 #
@emtdani I'll help! Whatcha wanting? #
@insomniacmedic Heh, when is your exchange program starting up? You can come lift kittens with my FD and see how you like it, ya Tea Drinker #
@insomniacmedic And I use the term "tea drinker" with much love, brother #
@anna_n_chicago You know, you were probably being serious… but I've got a great joke for that one. #
@gfriese @setla Looking for someone to jump in? I'd be more than interested. #
Hmmm, I was in Milwaukee on Thursday night at around 9:30pm… But I have an alibi! MY partner saw me, so did the pati… http://disq.us/379lu #
@ambodriver ?? WTF?! You didn't invite me? I mean sure, we live 1000 miles apart… but I like redneck sports as much as the next guy! #
@cupdike1987 Sure ya do! Isn't it just freakin grrreat!? #
@aascharf Same here in Northern IL – 66deg and beautiful! #
The mother who brought down the Fort Hood killer – Times Online: http://bit.ly/34sibv via @addthis #
Wishing I could find a way to make it to San Fran… Oh well #
Anybody know how to send a text pic to twitter? DM me plz #
RT @FireCritic Your Unofficial Guide to “The Project” http://bit.ly/4tTLkU #

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by admin on November 8, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Will your career survive a decade or more in full-time EMS? Take this three question quiz!

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This is a simple test that you can use to see if you have the proper mindset to make it a decade or longer in this insane profession we call EMS.

NOTE TO NON-EMS PEOPLE: This post is geared especially to those in the industry. It explores humor that we employ to keep us with a healthy degree of insanity. If you’re not in the industry and you find this to be disagreeable in some way… well then in the words of Motorcop: “You’ve got the wrong frikkin’ blog pal!” Go read about scrapbooking or something.

This is a simple three question blog based quiz that you can use to determine if you have the right mindset needed to make it more than a few years in this crazy, wild profession we call EMS. If you fail this quiz, um… well then you should tear up your EMT card immediately or not. Nevertheless, if you find this at all funny, you’ve come to the right place. Howsabout that?

Question #1:

You’re working a service that employs two paramedics per day to support BLS ambulance crews in your jurisdiction and beyond. The other paramedic on duty with you that day responds to a neighboring jurisdiction and manages to resuscitate a patient in cardiac arrest. He transports the patient on-board the BLS ambulance to the local community hospital that does not have ICU admitting capabilities on site. Shortly after he transports the patient to the small ER he contacts you asking you to respond down with the ambulance to stat-transfer the patient to a tertiary ICU approx 1.5hrs away lights and sirens. The patient’s got three drips going, is receiving bolus cardiac meds, is on a ventilator, and is not doing well. The ER doc wants the patient outta there as soon as he can get him reasonably stabilized for emergent transport. Oh, and before you ask, the helicopter’s not flying due to weather. You’re it, Buddy.

You arrive at the ER with your EMT-Basic partner and um, you’re “enthused” about the “challenge” you’re about to face. Walking into the ER you hear more than the expected commotion coming from the patient’s room. You enter the room to find the ER staff performing CPR and attempting to resuscitate the patient after he went into cardiac arrest again. You and your partner assist, but despite everyone’s best efforts, the patient unfortunately expires.

When you return to service and get back to quarters, you expect your coworkers to:

A. Be supportive and consolatory, understanding that you’ve just been through an intense, traumatic experience.
B. Make fun of you and suggest that you’re an incompetent paramedic because, after all, the other paramedic “saved” the patient… then you showed up and killed him.
C. Insist that you’re an agent of the grim reaper and pin up another chalk outline with a line through it on your “Bulletin Board of Death” they’ve got going.

Question #2:

Your rural ambulance responds to a local community health clinic for a “Woman in Labor”. Upon your arrival you find a 36 week pregnant female Gravita 3 Para 3 (3 Pregnancies, 3 live births) with contractions 5 minutes apart. The physician wants the patient transported to the local OB unit that is 45minutes away lights and sirens. You load the patient in the ambulance after assessing the patient and find that she is an otherwise healthy pregnant patient possibly in early labor. You initiate ALS care including o2, an IV, and an ECG monitor for good measure. Your partner points the ambulance towards the hospital and you take off lights and sirens. Ten minutes into the transport, the patient’s bag of waters ruptures and the patient states that she urgently feels the need to push.

Do you:

A. Tell your partner to pull the ambulance over to the side of the road in a safe area so that he can come back and assist while you pull out and open up the OB kit, preparing for imminent birth.
B. Administer a fluid bolus in the hope that you can slow the imminent delivery.
C. Calmly tell your partner to “Drive it like he stole it” and coach the patient in “trying not to push” while you try answer “B” and hold her legs firmly closed because hey, who wants to clean up afterbirth all over their ambulance?

Question #3:

You’ve just returned your ambulance to service after a mundane call on a particularly busy day. The other ambulance in the jurisdiction has not had a rough of a day as you’ve had and was out getting lunch when you returned to the station. Before you have the chance to radio dispatch and let them know that you’ve restocked and are back in service from the previous call, the tones drop for an unresponsive male patient that sounds like he has a severe lower GI bleed. Although you’re probably two blocks closer to the call than the other truck, they are dispatched because you haven’t gone in service yet. Their most direct route to the scene puts them right past the front of the station where they’re sure to see you on their way by.

Do you:

A. Call dispatch on the radio and inform them that you are indeed in service and will respond to the call if they wish you to do so.
B. Quick, hide! Close the station door and pretend that you’re not yet back in quarters. They deserve to get the call, they’re only out two blocks farther than you are, and you don’t want them to see you and know that you’re ducking it.
C. Run out to the front apron of the station and smile and wave as they drive by! Hiiiiieeey!! Enjoy the butt bleeder! Don’t forget to write!

Extra Credit Question:

How many fingers do you think that the other crew will wave back at you with when they pass you in the previous question?

Answers:

If you answered mostly “A’s” – Congratulations, you’re a new, competent, caring EMT. Feel proud of yourself, but you’re probably not going to retire from this job. I could be wrong… but you’re pretty straight laced. Have fun with that.

If you answered mostly “B’s” – You’ve been in the business a while, haven’t you? You’re well on your way to developing the hard outer shell you’ll need to survive for a while in this business. Just don’t lose your gooey center.

If you answered mostly “C’s” – Um, you’re one of my coworkers, right?? Guys, come on… Why’d you go and dump a bucket of water on me last night while I was sleeping? If you’re not one of my coworkers, e-mail me and I’ll send you an application. You’ll fit right in.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 6, 2009 • Filed under: ALS Intercept, EMS, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Humor, EMS Motivation, EMS Topics, Emergency Medical Services, Paramedic, ambulance humor, camaraderie, emotions, ems scenario, ems scenario based education, inside the mind of a paramedic, mental illness, paramedic education, scenario, scenario based training

I can’t believe I missed this one

Comments

Our friend TOTWTYTR posted up this latest one on EMS 2.0 entitled “Ten Tools that Basic EMTs Need”. It ties in some skills that he thinks should be pushed down to the EMT-Basic level. Most of these things are good ideas, and I really like the one about the education, but then again I would.

I left my thoughts there in comment form. It’s a good list.

Now I’d like to see TOT’s thoughts on THIS: “IAFF and IAFC Show Support for…”

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 5, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Shoutout to JEMS and Dr. Wesley – Everyone should read this

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I couldn’t have said this better myself, no really, I couldn’t have. Dr. Wesley, a physician heavily involved in prehospital care who writes extensively in JEMS Magazine too square aim at the Miami Study entitled “Prehospital Intubations and Mortality: A Level 1 Trauma Center Perspective.” that was published somewhere by someone. You can read more about it in his article.

This was the study that said that Paramedics and EMS people in general kill people when we intubate them

Well, Dr. Wesley doesn’t agree with that. He reviewed the study and posted it up in JEMS

My favorite part of the article? This quote:

“This is one of worst, most biased examples of pseudo science you’re likely to read”

If I had an EMS 2.0 hat, I’d give it to ya. Good Job Dr. Wesley. Go read it, then go wonder about the things reported as “science” that drive our profession.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 4, 2009 • Filed under: EMS Topics

A Motivational EMS Article Geared towards Newer EMTs

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The following article is what I submitted to my Fire/Rescue/EMS department’s monthly newsletter for this month’s EMS column. It has a readership of every one of the the 110 or so members of the department, their families, and a good percentage of the 30k or so people in our district. They know me personally as someone who (Imagine this) likes EMS.

If you like this article, feel free to steal it and use it for your purposes. All I ask is that you keep the links intact and give byline credit. Shoot a comment to me too so I can see if it indeed does go anywhere.

Oh, and here’s a thought. If you would like a short EMS related piece to put into your department’s newsletter, shoot me an e-mail at proems1@yahoo.com I’ll be happy to come up with something.

————————————–

It’s well known around the department that I like the ambulances and EMS in general. I do, and I’ve always been proud to be a part of (My Department’s) EMS program. I think that the level of dedication and professionalism in our department is second to none and that our program is certainly one of the best in the region and in the state.

With that said, in EMS there is never a time to slow down and rest on our laurels. The science that drives our brand of medicine is constantly evolving and the only constant is change. In my EMS career, I’ve seen “The Right Thing to Do” for my patients change more times than I thought possible. Continuing education, reinforcing the basics, and studying the latest research is key in keeping oneself in step with how best to care for our patients. As with any community based Emergency Medical Services provider, our citizens are our families, neighbors, and friends. We have the responsibility of being the first line of defense against the very worst times in peoples’ lives and it is our duty to be at our best when we are called to make a difference. The people we care about most are depending on us.

Just as in firefighting, in EMS, the little things make the biggest difference. It really is the Basic Life Support care that makes everything else work and our calls run the smoothest. Patients do not necessarily perceive the skillful application of Advanced Techniques or medications given to them, but they certainly appreciate the attention given to treatment of their ABCs, their comfort on the cot, pain relief and stabilization through proper splinting techniques, the compassion of the care providers, and the cleanliness of our ambulances and equipment. It has been said that “Perception is Reality”, meaning that the way someone perceives you or your organization affects their own reality. In EMS, good perception actually has been shown to provide for better patient outcomes. Really, if you have more confidence in the skill or effectiveness of your medical provider or a technique, you’re statistically more likely to have a better outcome.

It is so important for us as healthcare providers to focus on providing the best care possible for our current patients, but also to keep an eye out for future patients. Start now by making sure that the ambulance is thoroughly cleaned at the start of every day and after every call. Make sure that your equipment is ready to go and that you’re an expert in its use. Read something educational every day to keep yourself in the right mindset and to keep your skills sharp. Pull things out and practice with them. Come up with questions to ask the more experienced providers and don’t be afraid to ask them. It is every EMTs duty to become an expert in prehospital care and you are the only one who can expand your knowledge enough to become one. Study every day.

Here are some resources I use every day, they teach me something every time I use them:

- Http://www.happymedic.com – A San Francisco Firefighter/Paramedic and his adventures in EMS.

- Http://www.999medic.com – A British paramedic working EMS with our neighbors across the pond.

- Http://www.theEMTspot.com – Educational tidbits, tips, and tricks from a Colorado Paramedic.

- Http://www.EveryDayEmsTips.com – A Social Media, training, and EMS guru with daily tips to improve your care.

- Http://paramedicine101.blogspot.com – In-Depth Educational Articles for EMS providers.

- Http://www.LifeUnderTheLights.com – Your’s Truly’s random musings on the EMS.

Of course, getting your hands on a copy of JEMS or EMS Magazine is great too. Learn something every day, take pride in yourself, your service, and the care you provide. Your next patient could be your loved one, make sure they’d get care that you’d be proud to give them.

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 3, 2009 • Filed under: Ambulance cleaning, EMS, EMS Motivation, EMS Topics, EMS pep talk, EMS training, EMT, Emergency Medical Services, Patient Management, Public relations, Training & Development, Your Happy Medic, courtesy, ems education, medicblog999, profession, professionalism, technology-communications-ems-topics, volunteer fire department, volunteer firefighter

Patient Handoffs from EMS to the ER, a Fictional Case Study (not a rant)

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< Rant>

One of the burdens of having a “Popular EMS Blog” is that when someone ticks you off, you have the temptation to come down on them publicly, in blog form. The chance to fire off a scathing criticism of them and everything they stand for in the name of sweet revenge is a siren song that I have resisted up to this point.

And it’s one that I’m resisting today because I’m not that kind of guy. Systems and the way they work? Yea, they’re fair game for my rantings and aren’t spared very often, but people and individuals don’t get picked on here. I just don’t play that way. Everybody has a mother, including me, and my mommy wouldn’t like me behaving like that in the sandbox.

So the following is a completely hypothetical, fictional scenario that didn’t happen. If it happened once to someone I don’t know, then it must have happened a long time ago in an area far far away from anywhere I’ve been. I’m not saying that something like this has never happened to me, but if it did, I’m not writing about it here.

Got that? No picking on individuals here. If you read this and see yourself, then it’s your guilty conscience, not mine. It’s not my job to judge you. You’re the one that has to look at yourself in the mirror my friend. If you’ve done this to someone, have fun shaving and or fixing your hair without having to look yourself in the eyes.

So say someone in EMS gets called to a motor vehicle accident. Imagine that it was a high-speed, head-on MVC and the patient that the EMS person gets called to treat is a middle aged male who is pinned in the vehicle. The patient has multisystem trauma, but is fully conscious and alert. There is one glaring orthopedic injury that looks pretty gnarly, and some other more subtle signs and symptoms of traumatic injuries. Extrication is needed to remove the patient, and it takes about 20-25 minutes to be completed. During that time, the hypothetical EMS person we’re making up here is inside the vehicle, under a blanket, treating the conscious patient. He or She assesses the patient’s injuries, provides stabilizing ALS treatment, packages the patient to protect his injuries, and provides compassion and comfort to him as well. Under the blanket in the car it’s just the hypothetical EMS provider and the scared, injured, fictional trauma patient; During that time, a strong patient/caregiver relationship if forged.

Say that the fictional EMS person takes the fictional patient to Made-Up-Big-Trauma-Center – ER after providing further stabilizing treatment in the ambulance and rapid transport to the made-up trauma center. When the fictional EMS provider wheels the fictional trauma patient into the room where the fictional trauma team is waiting, He or She begins to rattle off the handoff report about the patient to the team. That’s when this happens: One of the fictional nurses on the fictional trauma team talks over the made-up EMS person and starts asking the patient questions that the fictional EMS person had just said. In fact, the fictional EMS person only talked for about 8 seconds before He or She is cut off by the fictional nurse. So, the fictional EMS person shuts up and waits for Who-Does-She-Think-She-Is to ask her questions to the patient, the questions that fictional EMS person was going to answer in just a second or two. Then, the fictional nurse says “Oh, I’m sorry” and let’s fictional EMS person start talking again. Fictional EMS person gets three words out until Ms. Important says “Wrap it up”.

Fictional EMS person wasn’t happy.

Of course, the above story is made up and never happened anywhere in the history of EMS. Trauma Center and ER nurses never treat paramedics like second-class citizens or unpersons. Prehospital assessment findings and patient reports are taken very seriously and are given the respect they deserve. Paramedics and EMTs are treated as respected colleagues by ER staff and work together to provide the best patient care through a productive and respectful working relationship.

Ewww, I think that I just threw up in my mouth a little. Lying does that to me.

So, I figure I’ve probably got a few ER nurses that read this blog thing. How do we fix our relationship in the name of patient care?

< /rant>

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 2, 2009 • Filed under: EMS, EMS Topics, ER, Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Nurse, Emergency Room Nurse, Emergency room, Ethics, Paramedic, Patient Handovers, Patient Management, RN, Transfer of Care, ckemtp rants, medical ethics, rant

The Project is coming and I’m Helping

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“The Project” is coming. As I’m sure that every single person who reads my blog knows, Happy Medic and Medic999 are planning the first International Medic Swap between the United States and The United Kingdom’s EMS systems. It’s beginning very soon, and I’m very excited about it. Fact is, I just plain can’t wait for Mark (Medic999) to pop over here across the pond and get a taste of Good Ol’ US EMS. Then, I’m sure that I’ll be anticipating Happy heading over to Mark’s side of the pond just as much. I’m planning on making it over to one of them to hang out with the two biggest stars in EMS blogging.

There, that’s enough fawning over my two best blogger buddies. Now it’s time to add something that’s missing from this whole equation that I think that I’m amply qualified to provide. Here guys, this is my gift to you. Enjoy. I’m helping.

Today I sent out a Facebook comment directed towards my friends on the Packer’s side of the line congratulating the Packer’s fans for being so “Sportsmanlike” after being decimated by their former godlike QB. I’m not a Packers fan, and actually I’m not much of a sports fan… but I do like Bret Favre. Not so much for the sports, although he is an artist with a football, but because he really seems like a stand-up guy in the vapid egotistical wasteland that is contemporary “professional” sports.

But enough about that. This is about my Facebook comment. Medic999 popped up and commented that, basically, we US people were whiny little crybabies and our favorite sport is meant to be played by 8-year-old schoolgirls who have sprained ankles. (I’m paraphrasing).

And with the ensuing exchange of comments, I figured out what I could add to The Project.

Trash Talkin’ that’s what!

So, ya Lilly Liver’d Limey (What does “Lilly Livered” mean?) Whatcha gonna bring to show us US medics? Huh?

Oooooh, so your little car is GREEN with BLUE CHECKERS on it! Mine’s a big SUV with a big powerful engine. It’s a 4×4.

Just got the IO drill? Hmmm, had that for a while over here. Yep, good thing you’re catching up.

Oh, so you’ve got “Tail Lifts” to pick up your stretchers for you, huh? Here we’ve got these things we call “muscles” and “brute force”.

Hmmm, so you UK guys run all blue lights and have “nee naw’s?” We run Lights and Sirens, or “Code-3” or “10-39”. Yea it’s manly! Ever heard a Federal Q? You’re going to. Better bring some aspirin, you’re gonna getcha self a headache.

You may have played some Rugby, but we occasionally run in to burning buildings. I get to go to work and “Drive Fast and Break Things” when I’m on the fire side. We get to swing axes and mauls and tear apart cars with hydraulics. What do you guys have? Crumpets? What’s a crumpet?

Awful quiet over there from your side of the pond. What’s that? Nothin…. That’s what.

(Attention, the above has been all in good fun. No offense intended. If you were a whiny cry-baby and couldn’t take a little trash talk, then I apologize)

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by Ckemtp on November 1, 2009 • Filed under: EMS, EMS Humor, EMS Topics, ambulance humor

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-01

Comments

@ems2foundation Hey, you should buy ems2foundation.org ^ck #
@gfriese Ya know, I know at leasst 5 nicknames (all derogatory) towards IL people. Only "Cheesehead" for WI people. Inferiority Complex? #
@mack505 Swine flu! Don't touch NOTHIN! #
Argh… watchin the Bears game in WI now. Freaking cheeseheads #
@cupdike1987 Howdy CupDike #
@MsParamedic same here… one call so far today. Had a nap though. Now watching football. Dang Bears are losing #
@cupdike1987 I use Tweetdeck #
Wearing my n95 respirator mask for no reason other than a coworker farted #
it doesn't help! OMG!! @cupdike1987 #
@cupdike1987 It's those crab rangoons. Deadly #
@cupdike1987 Is it wrong that I'm a closet EuroTechno fan? #
@cupdike1987 Darien's dispatch tones? Or siren tones? I can't decide #
@cupdike1987 And you know I'm right! #
Anybody want to pay my way to attend #EMSExpo ? @gfriese #
@gfriese Kidding, there. Of course. #
@gfriese I would love to, really. However I've budgeted my trip to Cali to go see Happy and Medic999. Can't do both #
@gfriese What are the dates? I can probably hop AirTran from Midway or the QCs to ATL on a direct flight. but I've got 96hrs this week #
@ginakaiser http://bit.ly/2PeTJ8 #
@kevingetrhythm No, it's a mac in reply to kevingetrhythm #
RT @tweetmeme 360 Burn Around the Fire Web http://retwt.me/1t7Vp #
http://bit.ly/17qqUO – Anyone care to jump in to the comments section? #
http://bit.ly/17qqUO – Care to jump into the comments? @thehappymedic @ukmedic999 #
@EMS2Foundation We have a lot of work to do before we partner with anyone. For now, let them come to us. They will in time buddy in reply to EMS2Foundation #
@thehappymedic You around today? Or are you too busy "working" to do important stuff like blogging #
@gfriese Just got a chance to read your article in EMS mag on Social Media. Good Stuff. Now if I can just put it to work for my blog #
@gfriese Maybe.. but since you mentioned Happy's blog in there and not mine… Just kidding bud, I'll subscribe #
@gfriese Ahhh, sure. I understand. Cutting edge and all in reply to gfriese #
@fossilmedic Hey, next semester I'm heading to school with y'all. Where should I start? I plan on writing a guide for old medics like me #
@ems2foundation Well, yes. While you are correct I'm looking at writing this as a series for *ahem* seasoned medics like me to get the degre #
@ems2foundation Something's gotta get us um, not younger medics back in school. Education is key… and that includes me too I guess #
@thehappymedic Oh you poor guy! It almost sounds like I should wish you to be busy… maybe not #
@garywingrove Love it, just love it. #
Back on the twitter feed. #
Is anyone else an ambulance cleaning geek? #
@firedaily Hey, could you shoot me an e-mail? proems1@yahoo.com #
@eastcoastemt I had the same problem and @thehappymedic helped me greatly. You see, "Wordpress is like a science project" #
@eastcoastEMT I migrated from blogger. That's where you are, right?
"Blogger is like a bulletin board" #
hey, correct me here. A BVM running 15-L o2 gives what percentage of o2? (a medic student is making me check) (yes, it's my wife) #
@geekymedic @msparamedic She does seem to be awful quiet on the twitterfront #
@eastcoastemt I just did by trial and error. May I ask why you're leaving Blogger? #
Does anyone else snicker when they see #EMsexpo thinking it's almost dirty? #
@ukmedic999 You never commented on my frumpydumples #
EMS 2.0: Critical Thinking in Prehospital Training: http://bit.ly/15VliA I agree AD, thanks for spreading the word! @ems2movement #
@eastcoastemt Wordpress is ok. I'm kind of nostaligic for blogger and Win. livewriter, however. Once I got the hang of blogger it twas easy #
@pedroparamedic Shoulda been 2747.2 times. Now you've probably gotten the piggy flew #
Anyone want to read a prereleased post? I want to see how much trouble I'll get in if I post it before I do #
@ukmedic999 I spoke to a physician about this. He stated that if you've had the H1N1 there's no need to be vaccinated. #
WOW!! If you type the words "Funky Bedpan" into Google, my site is both of the top TWO results! #
ooooooh, my latest post is stirring up trouble. I dunno if I should be worried, or elated @ukmedic999 @thehappymedic @roguemedic #
@medicthree Yeaaaa…. but One gets nervous when one calls out his entire state's EMS program.. I'm just sayin #
@medicthree Oh, I've done stuff like that too. I can't change the state office (which surprisingly was very helpful in our last dealing) #
@medicthree I'm hunting smaller, sacred cows… the local control boards that are the real reason things are Effed up #
I don't really hate you either… I will however see how late you can stay up the night of the blogger meet up here in… http://disq.us/2ldmc #
G'night all #
I actually updated my "Medicpreneurs" tab on the blog. Anyone know of any medic owned businesses to promote for free? #
@p_e_naylor I rkfd, huh? Whatcha doin after the meetin? #
@p_e_naylor Sleep in Rkfd? #
Preaching to the converted? Well, yea… probably. Although there's the chance that people might read us for entertain… http://disq.us/2ng27 #
@patrickjscott Check out the #medicpreneurs page on my site http://lifeunderthelights.com/medicpreneurs/ – Irish Dog Bloody Mary Mix is new #
Kids….. Not always a horror story! http://networkedblogs.com/p16134427 #
Having breakfast with the MIL and the wife. We actually have a day off together! #
@patrickjscott It's a sign of your heavy investment in pop culture #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Hmm, what was meant for me? Something about troublemaking? Yep, sounds right. #
New tweet feature: Random ideas. Now with 47% more randomness #
Off tonight with the wife. Going out to play trivia and drink cold beer. #
@thehappymedic @ukmedic999 Could that have been @ TheNappyMedic? I've been one of those after busy 48hr shifts #
Does anyone else play NTN trivia? DM me. We're taking all comers #
Firehouse Pub! Nationally ranked in trivia! All me, Gkemtp(it) and the MIL #
Any more DM well wishes for an off duty medic who's out and who didn't get to go to #emsexpo? #
Winning the pub trivia match. We should do this as an online thing for #ems @gfriese #
@p_e_naylor @patrickjscott y'all should come out tonight. I'll buy #
@patrickjscott All bets are off Man! #
ten o'clock and at home like a good boy. Gotta work tomorrow #
On today with Phil C, Landfill, and Nacho. Happy Halloween #

Care to Share My Stuff?? C'mon, Go ahead.

Posted by admin on November 1, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

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