The Conference I wish I was going to. As I’ve mentioned I am going to JEMS – EMS Today in March. Great conference, great speakers, great chance to find out what’s going on in EMS. But if I could go to only one conference this year – and I am kicking myself that this is […]

I taught my first ACLS class today. Well, actually, I was monitored for a class. This is necessary in order to get your instructor’s card. I choose to teach the VT/VFIB class, which I felt was the most challenging. It is a lot harder in person that I imagined it. I know the subject matter […]

A number of months back I had a discussion about thanks or lack of thanks in EMS, after which I decided to keep a record of how many times I had a thank you said to me in a single day. My list only lasted a few days, but it was actually quite lengthy. It […]

Here’s Part 1: The Man Who Wouldn’t Die Now Part 2: So I’m just sitting around thinking I’ve been doing nothing but routine EMS calls — lots of elderly flu, dehydration, falls, psychiatric, TIA type calls with nothing much to write about despite being so busy when the tones go off and we are sent […]

Back at work after four days off. Not much going on — a diabetic, and two leg pain calls. Occassionally when short of material, I have been posting about interesting EMS web sites. Today, I’d like to hightlight Pub Med, which is an online database of medical research. I use it often to research issues […]

I read today that SAVED, the TNT paramedic drama, will not be renewed. TNT Dumps SAVED Yahoo Report I bet it will come out in DVD and become a cult classic. *** I have been trying to call for morphine for all my patients with abdominal pain lately unless they are bleeding. So far I […]

10 calls today starting with two minutes after the moment I laid my head down after checking my gear. I’m on my fourth different crew of the day and I admit I am getting cranky. The goal is to reach a zen-like state where you can do each call 100% with full attention and senses […]

The Chain of Survival After finishing my paperwork I come out of the ER and sit in the front seat of the ambulance. My partner, who is in the back putting linen away, says, “About five minutes ago they sent an ambulance up to Pilson Way for a call where they are doing CPR.” “We […]

The suburban town where I work three days a week abuts the northern border of the city. It begins with a lower middle class black neighborhood, small one story homes tightly packed together. As you head north the houses get gradually bigger. On the mountain that lines the north and west of the town are […]

I have been in EMS since 1989 when I became an EMT (a paramedic in 1993). While I have been a preceptor for almost ten years, I have rarely done any traditional teaching such as CPR or EMT classes of ACLS. I love one on one teaching, but I don’t like standing in front of […]