Where I work fulltime I have the priledge of having a boss who is willing to give any of the new products a once over at least. We have had the opportunity to "play" with quite a few different items that he got a free sample of or that one of my fellow medics picked up at the last conference they went to. If something is introduced and it seems to catch more than only a few eyes, particulary those of our older medics, then we usually end up purchasing, if budget allows. (The only exception is out Zoll monitors....most of the medics I work with here aren't huge fans, yet we have 6 Zoll monitors....)
Anywho, these new SALT airway devices were introduced to us a few months ago and I guess there was enough interest piqued that we now officially have these in our airway kits and in stock. They are pretty nifty...we used them on "fred" in several positions....laying, seated, taped to the bottom of a table....and the results were amazing, even our medical director suggested we purchase these after he got his hands on one. We now keep them as a "backup" airway. So anyways, here is just one link to look at, trust me its worth the few minutes it may take!
Let me know what you think!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
just another night at the looney bin...
Its been a while since I have written and for that I apologize. I have not been seeing a lot of calls thanks due to night shift, but most of what I do get are legit ALS calls, car wrecks with drunks and people not bothering the 2 seconds and minor inconvience of a seatbelt and now with the weather turning getting some more respiratory pt. I did have an interesting call last night.
Dispatched priority one for a female c/o neck pain and slurred speech, possible ETOH on board, PD being dispatched.
I arrive right behind the BLS ambulance. EMT1 (a new medic student) and his partner EMT2 get out and #1 starts walking towards the apartment complex empty handed...no bag, no stretcher, nada but #2 and I decided to at least take the cot in...I look at #1 with a quizzical look, he says, "Its Joan*, trust me just leave your bag in your truck, she is staying here now instead of xyz street" (I have never had an encounter with Joan, but I later learned Im one of the few fortunate) We stand outside in the cold ringing the buzzer for the apt she is staying in with no answer. After a few minutes we radio dispatch who call back to the apt and we finally get buzzed in. We walk up to the apartment and Joan answers the door, looks at #1 and says, "I didnt ask for no damn stretcher, I just wanted to someone to check out my neck, I'm glad its you at least" and has this look in her eye.... Long story short, Joan was burnt a long time ago and has a scar on her neck and it had gotten dry from the dry air and it had started cracking and bleeding a little. She had no desire to go to the hospital, especially after asking who the doctor was, and when told who it was her response was "then HELL NO I definitly dont want to go"....meanwhile PD finally showed up and #2 and I had to hold our girly giggles as Joan crooned over #1 and then the young policeman who showed up. Did I mention this was all at 4AM???
I swear I love my job!!
*name changed for obvious reasons....
Dispatched priority one for a female c/o neck pain and slurred speech, possible ETOH on board, PD being dispatched.
I arrive right behind the BLS ambulance. EMT1 (a new medic student) and his partner EMT2 get out and #1 starts walking towards the apartment complex empty handed...no bag, no stretcher, nada but #2 and I decided to at least take the cot in...I look at #1 with a quizzical look, he says, "Its Joan*, trust me just leave your bag in your truck, she is staying here now instead of xyz street" (I have never had an encounter with Joan, but I later learned Im one of the few fortunate) We stand outside in the cold ringing the buzzer for the apt she is staying in with no answer. After a few minutes we radio dispatch who call back to the apt and we finally get buzzed in. We walk up to the apartment and Joan answers the door, looks at #1 and says, "I didnt ask for no damn stretcher, I just wanted to someone to check out my neck, I'm glad its you at least" and has this look in her eye.... Long story short, Joan was burnt a long time ago and has a scar on her neck and it had gotten dry from the dry air and it had started cracking and bleeding a little. She had no desire to go to the hospital, especially after asking who the doctor was, and when told who it was her response was "then HELL NO I definitly dont want to go"....meanwhile PD finally showed up and #2 and I had to hold our girly giggles as Joan crooned over #1 and then the young policeman who showed up. Did I mention this was all at 4AM???
I swear I love my job!!
*name changed for obvious reasons....
Sunday, September 13, 2009
bday trip
travelled to my folks place this weekend. yes, even with back pain, I couldnt resist making the trip because my mom, the wonderful mother she is, was baking me and my roommate a birthday cake (my bday is the 14th and my roomie's is the 23rd) and making favorite dish for dinner. So I popped a few of the pain killers the doc gave me, reclined the passenger seat of my own car (something I have rarely sat in) and let me roommate do all the driving for 250 miles while I was in and out of a conscious state, my roommate tells me I am rather hilarious when I am on drugs. The great roommate that she is did the same thing for me on the way home, although I managed more conscious time on the way back since I wasn't as "high", as she puts it. It was a great visit, just wish I could have seen the niece and nephew who were there last weekend...
pain in the...
Night shift seems to be working well for me again so far. Last week I managed to tweek my back stepping out of the back of an ambulance only an hour into my 12 hour shift and spent the last 11 hours in pain, not even able to stand up straight, thank goodness we have "triage" time, I managed to get onr of the other guys to have his time so that I spent the last 8 hours of my shift trying to find the least painful way to sit in a chair. I sucked u p my pride and had the ER doc check me out after my shift and after some x rays was told it appears to be a pulled muscle and sciatica. I figured I didnt have to work again for 5 days, should be better by then. I was wrong. Its been 5 days and I am back at work, sitting my whole 12 hours in triage because I still can not stand up straight. I spent my days off taking pain pills and laying flat on my back on a heating pad sleeping on and off. I dont know what to do next....
Monday, August 31, 2009
pediatrics
I had an interesting call the other day involving a pediatric.
Was dispatched for a 4 1/2 month old with breathing difficulty. The call was in the northern part of the county and I knew it would take me close to 15 or 20 minutes to get there but that the ambulance would get there much sooner. As dispatch kept updating me, it seemed the pt was getting worse. I pre-alrted and engaged a medevac prior to reaching the pt. Once arriving on scene I found a very sick, 9lb, 4 1/2 month old baby boy who had seen better days (I had hoped anywyas...). He had experienced quite a few problems in his short life span, to include some trachea and esophagus defects as well as some heart defects. (I learned a few new ten-dollar-words that day) Today he was having trouble simply breathing. Mom told me he had stopped breathing and she had to give him a few breaths to get him started again prior to calling 911. I can not even tell you the worries and thoughts racing through my mind. After assesing the baby I knew I had made the right decision calling for the medevac. It seemed like an eternity waiting for them about a mile from the pt house, although it was only about 12 minutes. While waiting the only thing I could do for this little guy was give him some oxygen and a couple breathing treatments to help him out a bit. I set out my infant BVM and intubation kit to ward of the evil spirits, which, thank goodness, worked.
Looking back I just had this feeling that maybe there was something more I could have or should have done, or that I should have donemore, faster. Im confident now I did all I could for him. The most disturbing thoughts are 1) This family lived so far away from the hospital with such a sick baby, and 2) I called to check on him the next day and they had not been able to figure out what caused him to stop breathing, all the tests had come back normal so far....
Was dispatched for a 4 1/2 month old with breathing difficulty. The call was in the northern part of the county and I knew it would take me close to 15 or 20 minutes to get there but that the ambulance would get there much sooner. As dispatch kept updating me, it seemed the pt was getting worse. I pre-alrted and engaged a medevac prior to reaching the pt. Once arriving on scene I found a very sick, 9lb, 4 1/2 month old baby boy who had seen better days (I had hoped anywyas...). He had experienced quite a few problems in his short life span, to include some trachea and esophagus defects as well as some heart defects. (I learned a few new ten-dollar-words that day) Today he was having trouble simply breathing. Mom told me he had stopped breathing and she had to give him a few breaths to get him started again prior to calling 911. I can not even tell you the worries and thoughts racing through my mind. After assesing the baby I knew I had made the right decision calling for the medevac. It seemed like an eternity waiting for them about a mile from the pt house, although it was only about 12 minutes. While waiting the only thing I could do for this little guy was give him some oxygen and a couple breathing treatments to help him out a bit. I set out my infant BVM and intubation kit to ward of the evil spirits, which, thank goodness, worked.
Looking back I just had this feeling that maybe there was something more I could have or should have done, or that I should have donemore, faster. Im confident now I did all I could for him. The most disturbing thoughts are 1) This family lived so far away from the hospital with such a sick baby, and 2) I called to check on him the next day and they had not been able to figure out what caused him to stop breathing, all the tests had come back normal so far....
back to the bat cave...
ok so its not exactly the bat cave...
Im back to working night shift. Im 7 hours into a 12 hour shift. We have only been dispatched to one call for a car into a utility pole, sounded pretty promising, sadly I was stuck sitting at the triage desk watching both my partners head out for the call. (someone has to hold things down back here I suppose)
I am grateful to be back on nights, or I think so for now. I am going to miss some of the daytime nurses that I seemed to have formed a relationship with. I initially thought I would absolutely hate day shift, but loking back, I actually enjoyed it. I got to run more calls, and have some learning experiences. I got to work with some nurses, doctors and paramedics I had not worked with before. I actually had enough time and energy after a shift to get things done at home, like mowing the lawn, or simply having dinner with my roommate and friends. On night shift I usually go straight home and crash, to get up and do it again, at least fr the 3 nights I usually work in a row. Guess we will have to see how things go. I have only had 3 cups of coffee thus far tonight and am doing better at 0200 than I thought I would be. I was pretty sure by time midnight rolled around I'd be dragging my feet.
On a personal note, I have been ill lately, not really sure whats going on, lots of interesting symptoms the strangest to me is that over the last 8-10 months I have noticed my body temp being low, around 96.4-96.8 on a regular basis. The doc initially thought it was my thyroid, everything came back normal (as it always has, even though I have had several docs think I have a thyroid problem). Guess we will just wait and see what the next step is.
Anywyas, you all stay safe out there, I'll keep you updated on how night shift is treating me
Im back to working night shift. Im 7 hours into a 12 hour shift. We have only been dispatched to one call for a car into a utility pole, sounded pretty promising, sadly I was stuck sitting at the triage desk watching both my partners head out for the call. (someone has to hold things down back here I suppose)
I am grateful to be back on nights, or I think so for now. I am going to miss some of the daytime nurses that I seemed to have formed a relationship with. I initially thought I would absolutely hate day shift, but loking back, I actually enjoyed it. I got to run more calls, and have some learning experiences. I got to work with some nurses, doctors and paramedics I had not worked with before. I actually had enough time and energy after a shift to get things done at home, like mowing the lawn, or simply having dinner with my roommate and friends. On night shift I usually go straight home and crash, to get up and do it again, at least fr the 3 nights I usually work in a row. Guess we will have to see how things go. I have only had 3 cups of coffee thus far tonight and am doing better at 0200 than I thought I would be. I was pretty sure by time midnight rolled around I'd be dragging my feet.
On a personal note, I have been ill lately, not really sure whats going on, lots of interesting symptoms the strangest to me is that over the last 8-10 months I have noticed my body temp being low, around 96.4-96.8 on a regular basis. The doc initially thought it was my thyroid, everything came back normal (as it always has, even though I have had several docs think I have a thyroid problem). Guess we will just wait and see what the next step is.
Anywyas, you all stay safe out there, I'll keep you updated on how night shift is treating me
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
back to school?
So I know its been awhile....went on vacation and have been back to work for a week now.
I have been doing a ton of thinking lately and I think Id like to go back to school and get a bachelors degree....I have a major in mind, something that was formerly foriegn to me, but that now spikes my interest. Im looking into an online program so that it wont interfere with work. I dont think I can do an in-class program, maybe blended....
we shall see, but I dont see me starting this fall (little late for that) Maybe winter or spring, but I definitly want to start by next fall
I have been doing a ton of thinking lately and I think Id like to go back to school and get a bachelors degree....I have a major in mind, something that was formerly foriegn to me, but that now spikes my interest. Im looking into an online program so that it wont interfere with work. I dont think I can do an in-class program, maybe blended....
we shall see, but I dont see me starting this fall (little late for that) Maybe winter or spring, but I definitly want to start by next fall
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
road trip
Still nothing blog-worthy to write. Heading to Clanton, Alabama in the morning with my younger sister to go visit our older sister....maybe have some pictures to post next week.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
update...sorry for taking so long
I feel like its been a while since I last posted, but I really have not had anything to blog about. Days at work have been on the slow side, no really interesting calls, just working a lot of OT. There has been a lot of hospital/ER traffic just not ambulance/911 calls.
Speaking of working a lot, I am starting my new PT job at MVFD this week. I have always wanted to work out of a fire department without having to do the firefighter stuff. (I have the VERY basic training and do not consider myself a fire fighter at all)
I am starting the new PT job because the old one isnt paying well. Actually it's not paying me at all. Hence, I need a job that will pay me, on a regular basis. I am being forced to go above my supervisors head to his boss to resolve this issue since my supervisor keeps dodging my phone calls and when I confronted him in person just kept making up excuses. This is the same supervisor who can't figure out why I tell him I cant work everytime he calls me and asks me to. (duh!)
I dont know what else to do....
Speaking of working a lot, I am starting my new PT job at MVFD this week. I have always wanted to work out of a fire department without having to do the firefighter stuff. (I have the VERY basic training and do not consider myself a fire fighter at all)
I am starting the new PT job because the old one isnt paying well. Actually it's not paying me at all. Hence, I need a job that will pay me, on a regular basis. I am being forced to go above my supervisors head to his boss to resolve this issue since my supervisor keeps dodging my phone calls and when I confronted him in person just kept making up excuses. This is the same supervisor who can't figure out why I tell him I cant work everytime he calls me and asks me to. (duh!)
I dont know what else to do....
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Pay pal is anti-gun
Please check out this story from a fellow blogger who a huge supporter of our military and a proud supporter of pro-gun. (Te original post can be found here.)
Now here is the story copied and pasted:
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
OK, I'm livid.
As most of you know, the fourth annual Gun Blogger's Rendezvous is fast approaching (43 days away as I write this), and this year I planned to make a special contribution to support Project Valour-IT - a gun giveaway that would be for even those unable to attend. But I'm not a 501(c)(3) organization, or any other kind of tax-free charity, so I couldn't actually run a charity raffle. Besides, I'm not really set up for it and wouldn't know how. So, with the aid of Rendezvous organizer Mr. Completely, arrangements were made with Soldiers' Angels to provide on-line ticket sales. Tickets went on sale Friday, July 17. We were ON!Soldiers' Angels uses PayPal for their on-line donations. PayPal even has a "Case Study" of Soldiers' Angels' success (PDF) using PayPal, bragging:
Today Soldiers' Angels' biggest online contributions go through PayPal. "It's trustworthy to people and so they donate," says (Founder Patti) Patton-Bader. "There's a confidence that donors feel – that it's a safe way to make a donation. There are not many companies that inspire that kind of trust."Trust.Coincident with the Gun Blogger Rendezvous Raffle, Soldiers' Angels had also started a fund drive for other projects that same weekend. PayPal put a stop to that. Here's Patti Patton-Bader's official statement:
Online donations through PayPal are a huge part of our fundraising. They shut down our entire account-not just the raffle button—for twelve hours right in the middle of an email fundraising push. Looking at the Terms of Use, we couldn’t understand where we’d gone wrong, but we had to immediately remove the raffle so we could get back online ASAP. This just breaks our hearts because we were so excited about the tremendous fundraising impact the Gun Blogger Rendezvous raffle was already having.(My emphasis). The "tremendous fundraising impact"? In the short time (3.5 days) the PayPal button was live, they had 42 participants and 109 tickets sold.As noted above, we're still 43 days out from the Rendezvous. I just found out about this Wednesday. (Post is updated to keep it at the top of the blog for the moment.)And not only did the contributions for the raffle stop coming in, ALL contributions to Soldier's Angels via PayPal were cut off for twelve hours.Because PayPal is anti-gun.So where does that leave us? Well, you can call Soldiers' Angels and do a transaction over the phone. During normal business hours (PST) you can call (626) 529-5114, or you can call their voicemail service any time at (615) 676-0239, leave them a callback number and they'll get back to you - probably the less expensive option, timewise. It's not as convenient as a mouse click, but it beats snail-mailing a check.You can also contact PayPal. Their Customer Service phone number is (402) 935-2050.I've never asked this before, but I would appreciate it if every gun- and mil-blogger on the web and every gun board picked this up and spread it far and wide. I'm tired of gun-bigots. PayPal needs to hear from US - the law-abiding gun owners of this country - that we're no longer willing to just roll over when we're abused by the companies we "trust" just because we believe in and practice the rights guaranteed to us under the Second Amendment.This post will remain at the top of the blog for the next couple of days.
Id like to have this posted a few times if possible. Thanks guys!
Now here is the story copied and pasted:
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
OK, I'm livid.
As most of you know, the fourth annual Gun Blogger's Rendezvous is fast approaching (43 days away as I write this), and this year I planned to make a special contribution to support Project Valour-IT - a gun giveaway that would be for even those unable to attend. But I'm not a 501(c)(3) organization, or any other kind of tax-free charity, so I couldn't actually run a charity raffle. Besides, I'm not really set up for it and wouldn't know how. So, with the aid of Rendezvous organizer Mr. Completely, arrangements were made with Soldiers' Angels to provide on-line ticket sales. Tickets went on sale Friday, July 17. We were ON!Soldiers' Angels uses PayPal for their on-line donations. PayPal even has a "Case Study" of Soldiers' Angels' success (PDF) using PayPal, bragging:
Today Soldiers' Angels' biggest online contributions go through PayPal. "It's trustworthy to people and so they donate," says (Founder Patti) Patton-Bader. "There's a confidence that donors feel – that it's a safe way to make a donation. There are not many companies that inspire that kind of trust."Trust.Coincident with the Gun Blogger Rendezvous Raffle, Soldiers' Angels had also started a fund drive for other projects that same weekend. PayPal put a stop to that. Here's Patti Patton-Bader's official statement:
Online donations through PayPal are a huge part of our fundraising. They shut down our entire account-not just the raffle button—for twelve hours right in the middle of an email fundraising push. Looking at the Terms of Use, we couldn’t understand where we’d gone wrong, but we had to immediately remove the raffle so we could get back online ASAP. This just breaks our hearts because we were so excited about the tremendous fundraising impact the Gun Blogger Rendezvous raffle was already having.(My emphasis). The "tremendous fundraising impact"? In the short time (3.5 days) the PayPal button was live, they had 42 participants and 109 tickets sold.As noted above, we're still 43 days out from the Rendezvous. I just found out about this Wednesday. (Post is updated to keep it at the top of the blog for the moment.)And not only did the contributions for the raffle stop coming in, ALL contributions to Soldier's Angels via PayPal were cut off for twelve hours.Because PayPal is anti-gun.So where does that leave us? Well, you can call Soldiers' Angels and do a transaction over the phone. During normal business hours (PST) you can call (626) 529-5114, or you can call their voicemail service any time at (615) 676-0239, leave them a callback number and they'll get back to you - probably the less expensive option, timewise. It's not as convenient as a mouse click, but it beats snail-mailing a check.You can also contact PayPal. Their Customer Service phone number is (402) 935-2050.I've never asked this before, but I would appreciate it if every gun- and mil-blogger on the web and every gun board picked this up and spread it far and wide. I'm tired of gun-bigots. PayPal needs to hear from US - the law-abiding gun owners of this country - that we're no longer willing to just roll over when we're abused by the companies we "trust" just because we believe in and practice the rights guaranteed to us under the Second Amendment.This post will remain at the top of the blog for the next couple of days.
Id like to have this posted a few times if possible. Thanks guys!
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