I try to time my calls so that I have everything done that I need to have done by the time the ambulance backs into the hospital ED bay. I know some medics are taught to do everything on scene. If a patient is sick and needs immediate care, I will absolutely treat them on…
An old man sits on a bench in front of the police substation in one of the worst areas of town. When he sees the narcotics sergeant, he says, “How goes the War on Drugs?” The sergeant says, “Great. We put twenty dealers away this week. Sent them all to prison.” The old man sees…
For the last year I have worked primarily in a rapid response vehicle or “fly car.” There are many benefits to such a position. I do almost exclusively 911 calls. I self dispatch based on calls I hear over the fire and EMS radios. I am often the first on scene. My day is never…
Through my plastic face shield, fogged up by my N95, my too small gown tied around my waist and neck, I stand at the foot of the bed and look at the man. He is sixty years old, eyes fearful, face flushed with fever, his hands tremble with rigors. He mumbles, “What took you so…
I was walking in Pope Park, my EMS radio on my belt, and the ambulance idling not a minute away, I stopped by the pond where there is a open air building with a concrete floor where users often sit against the walls and shoot up, out of site of traffic. I go down there…
A recent article in JEMS argued for an EMS system model, heavy on BLS with just a few experienced medics, similar to the model used in Boston. The article revolved around an anecdote where two experienced BLS providers helped save a man with a ruptured appendix, by transporting him rapidly to the hospital. The article…