End-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) has been around for a while now. We started with the main-stream (BVM/ ET tube attachment) that we can use on our mechanically ventilated patients, and then we progressed to having the side-stream (nasal cannula type device) that we can use on all of our breathing patients. End-tidal has become the gold [...]
As a medical professional, have you ever wondered why we have to do a CPR refresher class every two years? It seems like you just took the class, and now it’s time to do it again. While in the class, you might even be thinking “this is the exact same information from two years ago”. Well, [...]
Morphine, Dilaudid, Fentanyl… these are medications that we have been giving our patients for years, to treat their pain. Chest pain, give an opioid. Broken bone, give an opioid. Abdominal pain, give an opioid. Back pain, give an opioid. For many years, these were our only pain medication options in an ambulance. That is finally starting [...]
In the medical profession, it is not unthinkable that we might have to triage people during a mass casualty incident, or MCI. From multi-vehicle car crashes, mass shootings, terroristic attacks, and even weather-related incidents, such as tornados, earthquakes, or hurricanes. Within just a matter of moments, we can easily become overwhelmed by patients, all begging for [...]
As medical professionals, when we are assessing our patients, one of the most common questions that we ask, is “what medications are you taking?” A lot of medics think that we only need to know about prescriptions medications, but this is not true. We need to know all of the patient’s prescription medications, all of their [...]
Anytime I am teaching a class, talking about congenital heart defects, I always talk about a unique patient that I had many years ago. I was once dispatched to transport a two year old girl who was having cardiac issues. When I arrived on scene, I found an unresponsive little girl, whose mother was doing CPR. [...]
