There’s been a flurry of activity about whether or not EMS should be armed. WANTYNU started it on Facebook, Rogue Medic posted on this, and there was a great discussion on EMS Office Hours. I have been in a few scary situations, but have never wished that I had a gun. I do wish I [...]
EMS 12-Leads: Early and Often
February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The 12 lead ECG to detect ST elevation MI’s (STEMI) is one of the most important things we do for our patients. I didn’t grasp how important they are until I started working in a system that integrates them into a hospital heart alert program. To answer the 12-lead non-believers at other organizations I worked [...]
Copy, Paste, & Send to Congress
February 11, 2012 By 2 Comments
Or better yet, join NAEMT and use their advocacy tool. The Field EMS Quality, Innovation, Cost-Effectiveness Improvement Act is a chance for us start being recognized as the essential public service that we are. Whether your service is fire-based, private, third service, or volunteer, this law will help define what quality care is across delivery [...]
My BA & EMS Part 2: Lost Prospects
February 4, 2012 By 2 Comments
My BA and EMS: Part 1
January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
On a recent EMS Garage episode, there was a great discussion about whether paramedics should get, or be required to get, a Bachelor’s Degree. Not knowing what to do after high school, so I followed a quarter of my Catholic high school class mates down the street to Canisius College. I was fortunate that my [...]
Pyro-medics of WNY
January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In my home town of Buffalo, NY Rural/Metro Ambulance has gotten some national attention for two scandals. The Buffalo News reports that the company is being investigated for fraudulent billing and that management attempted to cover up being aware of two of their EMT’s starting fires. Fraudulent Medicare billing by ambulance services has become [...]
The Art of Persuasion
January 15, 2012 By 1 Comment
Last week on EMS Office Hours, we discussed when patients should be allowed to refuse to be transported to the hospital. This was brought up because of an incident Sean Eddy wrote about, where a seriously ill patient was going to refuse transport unless she could go to a hospital on diversion. I think Sean [...]
Am I Glad We Didn’t Get A Call…
January 9, 2012 By 2 Comments
I firmly believe that when we are on duty we should be prepared to quickly respond to a call at any moment. This blog is about being there for our patients. Still, I have been in situations between calls that would have required explaining if we were sent on one. We were on our way [...]
Five Years Since One of My Worst Calls
December 30, 2011 By 2 Comments
ET Tubes Should Maintain, Not Fix
December 29, 2011 By 2 Comments
On EMS Office Hours, Jim Hoffman JD Graziano (co-host of EMS Standing Orders) discussed how “always” and “never” protocols hinder good airway management. One such protocol is the ridiculous “intubate if GCS is less than 8,” and another is to never use nasal intubation. JD discussed how he managed the airway of CVA patient with [...]
