Sunday, September 16, 2007

Two new jobs in one week..... the Alberta dream continues!

This week has been quite hectic for me... I have recentally gotten 2 jobs in the same week.

I am now working in a small rural service on 24 hr shifts, but the manager is pretty decent with giving me 3 or 4 days in a row since its quite the commute up to the service area. It great up here, BLS service, protocols that allow me to practice to the very exstent of my scope of practice, and an atmosphere that promotes learning and team work. Low call volumes so there is lots of time to spend out in town, eating, sleeping, whatever you want to do on your call time... oh, and a 5 min shoot time... just because not everyone who works at the ambulance stays at the base 24-7.

On thursday, I was given a job offer for a full time job with the large center that I live in. ALS service, i get to drive lots i suppose, triaing starts in a few weeks, but there is a high call volume and if I am with a partner that actally trusts my skills I just might have a chance to do some cool stuff. Its a union job so I know that I am protected, and that a part of my paycheque will go towards the honour.

I think I'll take both jobs... plus still work in the ski hills as a ski patroller and teach part time.. what the heck... might as well stay busy and try to beat the tax-man at his own game...

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9/11, 6 years later

6 years today, i was sitting in my grade 13 kines class when the fire alarm went off... outside everyone went for another start of school year fire drill... while outside, someone received a text message alert saying that the WTC was hit by an airplane. The rest of the day was spent wondering what would come next, watching TV's in the foyer and cafeteria. The home town that I grew up in is 4 hours north of Toronto, Ontario, so our airport is Pearson International Airport's back up... we were anticipating the large influx of people who might end up in our little town.

We only got 6 planes.. the people were housed in the army barracks at the airport. Life continued. I was lucky, I don't konw anyone who was directly impacted by a friend or a family member who was lost 6 years ago.

Now, as a member of EMS, I feel the pain that must be felt around the US and the world, remembering their loved ones as the anniversary comes and goes. hundreds of rescuers, lost. Thousands of people, still on the missing list. Hundreds of people who have been and will still be lost in the war on terrorism that followed that day.

My life has stayed on track, my career has started, but we are only one call away from being finished. Take care of yourself out there, get over the little spats you and your partner have and work together. Take care of your family, go home the same way you left.

Lessons from 9/11, it can all be over in a heartbeat.

Monday, September 10, 2007

My funny bone...

I like to laugh as much as the next one does, due to the abnormally quiet time I have been having at work, I have decided to add my favoriate postings from "Words that should be in the EMS dictionary, but aren't"

Apathitis: n. An inflammation of the apathy organ. Symptoms include pronounced lack of caring about patients, who are often referred to by their symptom and room number, e.g. "GI bleed in room 6.” Condition can be chronic as is seen in individuals working in the ED for too many years, or in EMS staff at around the 20th hour of a 24-hour shift. Treatment for chronic cases is retirement. For recurrent acute cases, evidence-based treatment includes vacation to locations serving drinks with little umbrellas in them

Cement Poisoning: n. Poisoning introduced transdermally via deceleration syndrome. In most cases, potency is directly proportional to the number of floors the victim fell.

Abracadaver: n. Patient in a back-and-forth, up-and-down ACLS scenario. Example: "OK, he's coded." "Wait, I have a pulse." "OK, then start CPR." "Is that asystole or fine V-fib?"

Hospitalis proximitus: n. Condition in which a patient's health mysteriously deteriorates the closer you get to the hospital; usually accompanied with loud wailing, moaning and writhing as you stroll into the ED.

Glasserations: n. Term used to describe the numerous lacerations caused by fragments of a tempered-glass window after it has been broken during an MVC. Example: The patient complains of a headache, has a hematoma to the forehead and numerous glasserations to the upper extremities.

HWAJAMA: acronym. (huh-WA-jam-a) He Was All right Just A Minute Ago. Often used by an EMS crew when the ED staff notices the patient on your stretcher is not breathing well, if at all, while the crew is chatting and waiting for a bed assignment. Also used in reference to the provider who frequently has these types of train-wreck patients (aka, a black cloud provider).

PMD: acronym. Paramedic Mechanical Disassociation. Syndrome associated with desire to implement ALS procedures prior to handling key BLS functions, such as airway positioning, suctioning, stopping bleeding and other non-glamorous skills. Usually associated with “newbie syndrome.”

The Stare of Life: n. Upon arrival, you find a crowd of “First Responders” doing this effective brand of patient care.

Gravity Attack: n. An occurrence during which one's ability to normally move about is overcome by a sudden increase in the force of gravity on their body. Can affect any age patient but is most common in the residents of elderly care facilities during the early morning hours or just before the end of your shift.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

When God made Paramedics

There are tons of poems and short verses to describe being a paramedic... this by far has to be one of the best that i have read for a long time... enjoy!

When the Lord made Paramedics, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling around on the one." And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

- A paramedic has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet, grassy hill in the dark, dodge stray bullets to reach a dying child unarmed, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle his uniform.

- He has to be able to lift 3 times his own weight, crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move, and console a grieving mother as he is doing CPR on a baby he knows will never breath again.

- He has to be in top mental condition at all times, running on no sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way." "Its not the hands that are causing me problems, " said the Lord, "Its the 3 pairs of eyes a medic has to have.""Thats on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The lord nodded. "One pair that sees open sores as hes drawing blood and asks the patient if they may be HIV positive. When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job.

- "Another pair here in the side of his head for his partners safety.

- And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, You'll be all right ma'am when he knows it isn't so."

"Lord" said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't" said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk out from behind a steering wheel without incident and feed a family of five on private service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the paramedic very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked. "You bet, " said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses; recite drug calculations in its sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue CPR nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear....and still it keeps its sense of humor.

- This medic also has phenomenal personal control.

- He can deal with a multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door,

- comfort a murder victims family, and then read in the daily paper how paramedics were unable to locate a house quickly enough, allowing the person to die. A house which had no street sign, no house numbers, no phone to call back."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Paramedic. "Theres a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."

"That is not a leak," said the Lord, "Its a tear." "What is the tear for?" asked the angel. "Its for bottled-up emotions, for patients they've tried in vain to save, for commitment to that hope that they will make a difference in a persons chance to survive, for life."

"You're a genius," said the angel. The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," He said.

-UNKNOWN

Reminds me of my first Paramedic teacher ever... "Real men cry"... I'll always remember him... Thank You

Monday, September 3, 2007

Linky Love

Besides Ambulance Driver, the first Blog i read, i have branched out to some others... some of my favoriates are linked at the side... they include.. Medic 110, Meat in the Seat, and Ten out of Ten... Welcome!

Great Day...

Some people in EMS say that its a great day in EMS when ther is nothing for you to do... screw it, i did nothing today, it sucked, i could have done with a good trauma....

Saturday, September 1, 2007

...the many faces of chaos culprit...

So, my EMS career is just at its start... but, i have been blessed to have so many other experiances that I can call upon to make me the best EMT I can... to name a few....

- First Aid Instructor
- First Responder Instructor
- Ski Patroller
- Bike Patroller (just like ski patroller, but on a bike...)
- Dispatcher, for ski/bike patrollers (those who can't... dispatch?? I better leave that one alone... but i love all my dispatchers!)
- Industrial First Aider, on the rigs of alberta... whats that song, Hell for a Basement... rumor has it its all about the oil out here... meih
- and now... EMT, casual for a bunch of services, full time for none... but hoping to get a full time job soon.

While working one of my many jobs, I get quite the variety of calls... such as one the other day...

Drunk Patient (DP): Um.. can you help me
CC: Sure, whats up?
DP: Um, well i was biking, and now i can't drink any more beer...
CC: Hmm.. well, tell me about it...
DP: Well i was laughing at this guy, and i think a wasp or something flew into my mouth
CC: Come on in and have a seat... how does you drinking beer have anything to do with being stung in the mouth?
DP: Well, its getting hard to swallow, but breathing is ok, i just want to drink more and its tough...

We continue to banter back and forth while more of his friends come and go from my clinic and i continue to monitor for all signs of difficulty breathing... give some hummidifyed oxygen because i have to think of someway to decrease swelling and thats all I come up with...

15 min later...

DP: I feel so much better now, i can go and drink some more
CC: I don't think thats such a great idea, i think you should go and get checked out at the local ED
DP: Nah, i'll go and drink more untill i pass out, if i'm not better in the morning, i'll go...

*sigh* you can't beat stupid... I did my bets to tell this guy what could happen if he drinks, passes out, and swelling continues he's too wasted to wake up...

He signs my refusal and leaves.. a friend of mine that works for the local ambuance tells me of this party he went to and a guy was unconscious.. something about swelling... go figure...

I love my job...

Monday, August 13, 2007

The Star Of Life...

I'm not sure how many people out there are reading my blog... but if there are some... i highly suggesting going to Ambulance Driver's 'Star of Life' blog... (http://staroflifenovel.blogspot.com/). It will make you laugh, cry, become a part of you... I can't get enough of this guy!!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Jobless in Alberta... WTF??!?

So its been a while since my last post, I have found myself inspired by more and more great health workers, but yet I am stuck for words on my on blog. I haven't been working since I have gotten home from holidays, it seems like all the forces are working against me... but I will be at work again soon enough, maybe everyone careers start slow.. Mine will start soon enough!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

The Big City...

While on vacation recentally I decided to join a friend at work to ride along in the big city... Its funny that no matter where you go, the calls are all the same, people not taking care of themselves, others not interested in life all rolled up in a package of over reaction.

Our morning was quiet, story of my career... I have this habbit of being a white cloud with a sliver lining... and I wasn't about to dissapoint my fans.

After a much enjoyed breakfast and chat we went to our first call... transplant patient unresponsive... awesome i think... me and my buddy that i'm riding out with start making bets on what kind of transplat patient the patient is... i guess correctly with liver for 300... its a sick world we work in to make bets on someones ailment... but you do what you can in EMS to get through the day.

Next call up was a 2 year old with a language barrier, remember how i said that EMS is overreaction... prime example... mom says that the boy was choking, he had been sick and stopped breathing, on arrival you get a screaming 2 year old who won't look at you, but feels warm... and the mom is suprised that he just might have a fever... 2nd prize... trip to 2 to the childerns hospital.

After lunch we got a special treat of a person in the 8th floor of an apartment building... not moving and the caller has baricaded herself in her apartment and won't check... up we go to save the day.. give a few carefully placed nudges and the patient wakes up and is hammered... go figure... banana bag for you once we get to the ER....

The last call was for sure the best... now, the fire dept does get called for lift assists.. but when your patient is flagged as a bariatriac patient with dispatch, you know you will need a crane!... 500-750 lbs of pure women awaited our arrival complaining that all this water on her was her problem... 12 men, 3 hours, and 1 bariatric stretcher/ambulance combo with a winch later she was off to the hospital to solve her 'water' problem and her numb legs...

It was good fun playing in the city again, after working rural for a while, its easy to forget the fun you can have.

First post

So here I go, the first post of my blogging career... I'm not sure where this is going to take me, but I enjoy reading other peoples blog so much (http://ambulancedriverfiles.blogspot.com/) that i feel that I should now contributet to the blogging community. Post 1. Done. That was easy!