There is a scene in Apocalypse Nowwhere the Martin Sheen character shows up at an outpost base that is under fire by enemy forces and has been every night for months. He walks through the chaos looking for someone to report to. He asks a soldier who’s in charge and the flustered man says, “I […]

We went to a doctor’s office for an unknown. The secretary led us to an exam room where a man in his sixties sat in a wheelchair, his chin on his chest,eyes closed, looking very tired. He had a huge distended abdomen and a hint of a yellow tinge to his skin. His wife was […]

You are probably excited and apprehensive about starting your preceptorship. I know I was many years ago when it was my turn. I wondered whether I would make it – whether I was cut out for this job, whether I had spent so much time and effort studying only to fail, to have to hang […]

Sorry for no posts this week. I worked four days straight. Did zero calls on Sunday, and then was flat out for three days. The highlight of the week was was a lights and sirens response to a nursing home for a stroke, only to be told the patient was outside having a cigarette and […]

Eric from the EMS Haiku site has just posted his trip report from the JEMS EMS Today conference. Like his blog, it is a good read. His post gives a good feel for what the conference is like, complete with educational session recaps and photos of interesting products. Add his site to your bookmarks.

A couple weeks ago I noticed the soles were starting to peel away from my boots. I tried to ignore it at first. I was in denial. I didn’t want to admit that the end was near. I spend some time surfing the internet looking at new boots, thinking I should have some on hand […]

I had just left the locker room at the fitness center and was standing at the information desk when a man ran out of the men’s room and said, “Somebody call 911, he’s having a heart attack!” Now I hate these situations. I am in “plainclothes.” I am anonymous, yet I carry a card that […]

It’s been my week for diabetics. Actually where I work, as I’ve written before, is a diabetic town. Some towns are trauma towns or heroin towns. I work the streets of a diabetic town. Lots of African-Americans and Jamaican-Americans with diabetes. I’m constantly going into dark cluttered homes or into nursing homes for the unresponsive. […]

Many of you may have seen the recent news story about bystander CPR without mouth to mouth. Here’s the link: Web MD Article NY Times(AP): Without Mouth to Mouth CPR Still Works And here’s the study abstract: The Lancet 2007; 369:920-926 Cardiopulmonary resuscitation by bystanders with chest compression only (SOS-KANTO): an observational study BackgroundMouth-to-mouth ventilation […]

Unresponsive in the waiting room of a large medical clinic. The woman is a GCS of 3 – no response at all. The staff thought she was sleeping, and then after walking by her multiple times, they finally noticed she was awfully pale and clammy. They checked her sugar. It was ten. I notice what […]