EMS safety...well said AD!

Surfing through my regular blogs this morning and Kelly Grayson, aka Ambulance Driver, or AD, hits the nail on the head in his latest article on EMS1.com. Any EMS provider should not only read this but take it into serious consideration for the safety of ourselves and our partners.

Conversation in triage tonight

Conversation in triage tonight:
me: (lookint at todays paper) I cant believe Imissed the guys in kilts atthe parade this weekend, all because I slept in...(sarcastically)
Triage nurse: what? you think its sexy or something? men in skirts?
me: oh yea, very sexy...
TN: at least you know they dont have sweaty balls...
me: (sing-song) do your balls hang low do they wobble to and fro...(laughing)
TN: you know theirs do!
(both laughing, me crying from laughing...)


Guess you had to be there.... ;)

never gets easier

I have been a part of the EMS world for over 6 years now, and today I realized some things just never get easier. I currently work in a hospital based system, which means we get the opportunity rotate though triage for 4 hours every 12 hour shift. Today I am working a 16 and somehow wrangled 8 hours in triage. (It's really not too bad some days) Well, my fellow paramedic brought in a cardiac arrest who was a rather young pt, in their 30s. The call came in as a seizure but upon BLS arrival it was a cardiac arrest. The crews did their best but was unable to resuscitate. His buddy rode in on the ambulance with him, but family was completely unaware of what was going on. About 30 min after he was called in the ER family showed up, were shown to the consult room and the doctor went to talk to them, you could here the cries and screams of grief clear out in the waiting room. It never gets any easier at the point. I can handle a pt not making it, I have done it several times, but when the family can't handle it or handles it badly it is like daggars to my heart...

soldier's angel update

Ok, so a while ago I mentioned I had 2 military penpals, well the one I was emailing just stopped....the other one I failed. I was terrible at sending consistent letters and packages. I got discouraged because I never heard back from him. Well I just got an email that he is on mailstop now and is supposed to be returning home in December. I have decided to try a new "adoptee" and to be better with this one. I got his name and address tonight and have written my first letter to send in the mail tomorrow morning. The group I get these names from frowns on passing the address out to "strangers" but I am more than willing to accept and send anything anyone might want to send, just let me know! The more the merrier!!

more thanks

I am thankful today for good work relationships with my fellow coworkers....it makes for a much easier shift when you not only enjoy their company but know they have your back in any situations.

love notes from the nurses

If you can't read it, it says:
"Tiny insects brains can solve big problems"
then handwritten below says:
"See? Even the medics can accomplish something!"


This was a love note from one of my favorite RNs here at work that I came back to after a call tonight.

It's such a shame that she will soon be leaving the dark side of the ER for dayshift. I am definitly going to miss her love notes and her humor!! Thanks Sue!!!

be careful what you wish for

When I was in high school I went through a phase where I decided I did not like original spelling of my name. I guess I wanted to feel unique. The proper spelling of my name, given to me at birth is Stephanie. In high school (around the age of 15 maybe) I decided to start spelling it Steffanie. My parents and family did not like the idea of this. I went through this phase for a long time. My mother eventuallynhumored me and somehow the whole family began spelling my name Steffanie. It was as if someone passed a memo around to the family. When I got to college I continued this phase, confusing many professors, teachers, officers at the firehouse, and other new people who thought someone else made a mistake, since all of my "official" paperwork had my name spelled Stephanie. Well, about a year ago, maybe even two, I realized how silly this "phase" was. I began to respect my birthright, I guess you would call it, and began using the spelling of my name given to me at birth. I am now 25. The odd thing is, the majority of my family is still spelling my name Steffanie, even though I have been using the proper spelling on all cards, gifts, and our family website for the last year or so. I guess it's true you should be careful what you wish for....

giving thanks

ok, so I am double counting on this post...this is my "thanks" post for yesterday (the 15th) and today (the 16th) so that I dont keep feeling like Im a day behind.

for the 15th: Im thankful that I had a warm place to sleep today and a for the hot shower I had before work.

16th: Today Im going to be thankful for meeting new people....I believe people are brought into our lives for one reason or another....its figuring out what that reason is thats sometimes the hard part.

compliments

I am not the kind of person who receives a lot of compliments, or if I do I don't realize it...but today I received what I feel was a major compliment, not just me as a person, but me as a paramedic.

I was working tonight, a shift I normally don't work, but switched shifts for a fellow medic, and we were sitting at the nurses' station, just chit chatting, when one of the nurses (well she is a nurse practitioner now) mentioned they were hiring a medical assistant at her office, I was getting the info for a friend that I thought would be interested. She mentioned the pay "isn't that great", when I asked how much she said it was $12.00/hr. I was astonished folks, thats almost as much as I make as a medic at the hospital. She couldn't believe me, and gave the compliment that we, as medics should be making much more than $14-15/hr.

For now, I'm just going to have sweet dreams about that and continue working my 2 lower paying jobs...

giving thanks....

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I have seen a lot of media online about being thankful...I am going to attempt to list at least one thing a day I am thankful from now until the big Turkey day.


Today (well, 11/14/2009....)

I am thankful that father lived to see another year in his life, and that he is the best dad I could have been blessed with.

I am thankful for my "girlmate", my best friend and roommate, Sara. While we are two completely different people, we make great roommates and even better friends, she is definitly one of those people I can not imagine what my life would be like without her being in it. She is intelligent, is beautiful both inside and out, unique, and eccentric in her own way. I think living together is a new learning experience everyday. Sara- thanks for being my friend!!

Thats all I'll write about today....stay tuned for more to come!

Any EMS providers...Help!

I have seen a few of my colleagues carrying the best thing..its a mini metal clip board, maybe 5 in x 4 in in size at the most. the top flip opens and is used to open the "clip" that holds the papers inside. Our protocols fit perfectly in this plus paper to jot down the essentials. I have looked everywhere online I can think of and can not find one. And no one seems to remember where they got them, all they know id they have had them "forever"....I had never seen them before working in Pennsylvania...if anyone else has seen these or knows where I can get one, please let me know!! Thanks!
Stay safe....

When do you know you have had too much to drink?

When your friends have to literally drag you home, your teacher from school sees this, calls 911, the fire department and paramedic shows up to carry your unconscious body down a flight of stairs to the ambulance, takes you to the hosiptal where you end up intubated....thats right, intubated because you didn't know when to stop.

And since you are only 17 they have called the helicopter to come get you to transfer you to a facility who can care for a "pediatric" pt on a vent....



UPDATE:
11/11/2009
This guy walkd into the ER today looking for his clothes from last week, he turned out alright....hopefully he learned his lesson!

angry

Today I am angry.

Im not sure exactly why. I woke up before my alarm, not neccissarily a good thing.
I found my roommate gone when I woke up, found she had gone to her parents. I thought we were going to hang out and do laundry today...

I have a few insecurities and my personal safety is one of them, when I found that my roommate had left the garage door wide open when she left to go to her parents today I found myself extremely angry...I felt like my personal safety had been violated, I was left sleeping in a house that was completely unsecured. (I am one of those people who check the locks on the door at least 2 times before going to bed and have been known to lock my bedroom as well.) I sleep like a rock, I would have known no difference if someone had walked into our house until it was too late. Did I mention my car (which is only a year old) was sitting unlocked in the garage, my keys (and my purse) sitting on the kitchen counter just inside the door?

Then I had to go to the laundrymat....I hate crowds, I hate strangers walking up to me and making small talk....(I know, I have issues...)I take my laptop and occupy my time there playing online and blogging usually, and usually it works so strangers will leave alone....but of course not today....sone guy decides today would be a good day to try and small talk after changing the football game I was half paying attention to so that he can watch his NASCAR....and then feels the need to talk football with me....ugh....

ok, so Im in a "off" mood today....maybe a cup of coffee will help, hope I shake this pissiness off before work tonight....

short rant

Working as a paramedic out of an ER has its pros and cons. Im not here to list them right now, just to rant about one con....

They put us here to "help out" in between calls, but when you go into a room to help with a hyperventilating teenage girl and get glared at by the brand spanking new RN its a bit frustrating.She and I were helping another nurse who was trying to talk to the pt. She had just untangled the cords when I told her if she would hand me a gown I could help the pt change she snottily (yes i just made that up)looked at me and said "I will as soon as I am done" then gave me the "I am holier than thou lowly paramedic" look....I have never had a problem with this person until today....I guess we all have bad days, but don't take it out on the people who are trying to help you.

Friendly reminders

Don't forget to change your clocks and also the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO detectors, etc.

Oh and please enjoy your halloween, but be responsible, especially when consuming alcohol.........and please don't drink and drive!!